Why do I
fail to impress my near and dear ones time and again? For the record, my latest
failure was during a Teej party. I
happened to wear a beige kurta oblivious to the fact that everyone around me
was wearing red. Don’t get me wrong I do wear red kurtas and sari often and I
love the colour red. But I do not understand the importance of wearing red in
each and every festival. Why do we ostracize other colours that are equally
rich and vibrant? I fail miserably coordinating red coloured clothes with our
festivals and believe me it is not intentional. But it is so simple; the only
colour I need to coordinate with all our festivals is RED. So why do I fail to
accomplish such a simple task time and again?
No, I do
not blame it on being huddled at a boarding school in one of the hill stations
in India for years from the tender age. I do not blame all those years of not
being home when Teej came around. I was deprived of enjoying the celebration of
woman hood and bonding over delicious foods and increasingly extravagant
parties. Although I was a happy kid in
school; I have complaints now. Now that I know how much fun women have during Teej;
I miss the many years of detachment from one of the main events of celebrating
woman hood, marriage and prosperity. Teej is a festival dedicated to goddess
Parvati commemorating her union with Lord Shiva, celebrated for marital
bliss, well-being of spouse and children and purification of own body and soul.
But this is
not just about wearing red, praying and fasting. The culture of celebrating Teej,
which should have been a part of my upbringing sadly was not. The tradition of
exchanging intricate red glass bangles, beeds and tikas among married women is
a beautiful gesture of sharing the joys of marriage. Friends and families get
together to enjoy days of good food, fortune, dancing and a whole lot of
gossiping making them bond stronger strengthening their relationships further. Teej
manages to do what other festivals fail to. Teej provides women the freedom to
celebrate their marriage with their own sex and without any intrusion. Teej is
a dynamic festival as even unmarried young girls celebrate the festival
sometimes with more vigour than their married counterparts.
Despite its
grandeur, I fail miserably to connect from within with the Teej festival. I
personally encountered Teej for the first time in my life at the age of 27, the
same year that I was married. Although it is difficult for me to wholly accept Teej
at this point in my life, I wish I was exposed to this beautiful festival from
a small age. The importance of being attached to the cultural nuances and that
of Hindu religion was never a part of my upbringing. However, I also appreciate the importance it
has on women in Nepal and I am slowly bringing myself to enjoy it. The
celebrations of Teej have progressively changed over the years, and in a way it
marks the empowerment of women in the society.
Despite my
ignorance and my detachment, I love Teej for all the parties, the delicious
foods and the shopping, women dancing, I love everything about it. I make it a
point to participate in all the Teej functions and celebrate being a woman with
a hint of red.
Comments
Post a Comment