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Karva Chauth celebrated with traditional fervour
Indo-Asian News Service

New Delhi, Oct 20 (IANS) With henna designs on their hands and decked in finery, women in the capital and many parts of northern India celebrated the Karva Chauth festival Thursday by praying for their husband's long life. 

After a day spent fasting, married women in the evening participated in rituals that included sitting around the idol of deity Gaura Mata and a small clay pitcher (called Karva) and offering prayers.

The women were up before sunrise to drink the traditional sargi, a sweet made of milk and semolina. They then fasted the whole day with some even avoiding water. 

Beauty parlours were jampacked, especially with those celebrating their first Karva Chauth. 

Intricate mehendi (henna) designs on hands and feet, designer dresses and a new hairdo for the day were high on demand. 

Markets were chock-a-block with shoppers making last minute purchases and going to mehendiwalas and bangle sellers who did brisk business and charged exorbitant rates.

"I had a tough time getting ready with the rush in the beauty parlours. I want to look my best today, almost as good as my wedding day," said Sanjana Kathuria, a resident of Dwarka on the outskirts of the capital. 

The puja preparations were ready with the traditional ritual items consisting of the Gaura Mata idol, karva (pitcher containing water), cow dung, tika, vermilion, the Baya thali (plates) and gifts all in place. 

In the evening the women sat around circulating their Baya thalis, containing mathris, almonds and some gifts. Songs of Karva Chauth were sung and there was lots of merrymaking too. 

As the evening wore on, the women waited anxiously for the moon to rise so that they could break their fast by taking the first morsel from the hands of their husbands. 

"This year's lunar eclipse (Oct 17) did put a fear in our minds but we went to the temples and prayed to appease the gods. But it hasn't affected our celebrations at all," said Seema Kapoor, 32, a housewife.