The arrangement is turned into the scene of tradition and celebration every year by coming to a Karwa Chauth, and this time was no exception. Chandni Chowk shops through the busy street, to up market boutiques of south delhi it was all about the hues turning the city in red, gold and maroon which could be traced to the centuries old festival.
A Festival Rooted in Devotion
Karwa Chauth is an Indian folk festival that takes place on 4 th day following the full moon in the Hindu month of Kartik wherein married women of the North India observe a strict fast between sunrise and moonrise in order to have the life span of their husbands and their well being. This tradition is not only embraced in Delhi but also celebrated in outstanding manners that are unlike anything before given the history mixed with the desirable glamour.
Markets Alive with Festive Fervor
Delhi markets come alive weeks ahead of the festival time. Those two areas are Lajpat Nagar and Sarojini Nagar, and thousands of females traverse these areas in search of the perfect cloth, Langeri sarees, detailed lehengas, or embellished and elaborate suits are flying off the shelves.
This year the vogue was much more deeply into conservative lines, with a tinge of modesty- it was organza sari with a zinking of lace, velvet suits with work wrought with strands of fine thread. The same is being experienced in the jewellery markets in Dariba Kalan and Karol Bagh.
The classic sets of gold jewellery are also perennial favourites but now women are more likely to wear statement necklace kundan jewels, polki earrings and oxidised silver jewellery that bring effects without being too flashy to the outfit.
Read also: History Of Diwali Celebrations In Bihar
Beauty and Preparation: The Pre-Festival Ritual
The beauty subsidiaries and spas of Delhi operate extra hours during the preparations of Karwa Chauth. Women go to extremes in the mehendi styles and their designs elaborate up to the traditional peacock to modern day geometric designs.
The fancy henna on hands and feet has become a form of art and professional mehendi design artists are receiving reservations months before. Salon services are not limited to the mehendi area only but the hair styling, facials, manicures and makeup sessions. Professional makeup artists make their appearance on lots of females, as they prefer bright eye makeup, sharp eyebrows, strong lip colours, and all these will suit their party outfits.
The Day Unfolds: Tradition Meets Modernity
The city assumes a different flow on its own day. Women rise earlier in the morning before the sargi, post lunch meal made by mothers-in-law consisting of fruits, sweets and special recipes that sustain the women throughout the day during the day-long fast period.
This meal in most of the homes in Delhi has taken in a new twist of incorporating contemporary tastes with the old tastes as the younger generation has new tastes to follow. During the daytime, females will be in groups in the parks and community centres of their neighbourhoods where they dress into their best and offer the puja there. The meetings have also turned into a socialisation, women get to narrate, give new gifts and empower one another through the harsh fasting.
The Moonrise Moment
In the evening hours, terraces and balconies all over Delhi abound with women menacing the decorated thalis (plates) of diyas, incense, sweets and water. As soon as the moon comes up, there is a common atmosphere that surrounds the City.
Women also do their evening puja, look into the moon with the help of a sieve and pray as well as observe their husbands through the same sieve and then they feign the fast by taking water and food that is provided to them by partners. This closed ceremony, which is done millions of times in hundreds of millions of Indian households, brings an Indian diaspora of mutual sentiment, elevating above every socioeconomic edge.
Glamour in Modern Celebrations
The Karwa Chauth in Delhi today is more of a celebration than of a tradition. Hotels with five stars have special packages of Karwa Chauth; they also provide couples with romantic dinner and use of thali. Luxury brands release unique ones during festivals and the social media is filled about what amazingly dressed women are posting their Karwa Chauth appearance.
The way of celebrating the festival in the capital has also been influenced by celebrity influence. The glamour of Bollywood inspired styling, professional photo shoot and cultivated social media content has provided entertainment to the customary upholding.
People are bringing out the gifts, and most couples are giving each other gifts where the husbands will bring in gifts as jewellery to their wives as appraisals or even cars as a form of benefits.
Read also: Karwa Chauth: Best Viewing Moon Spots in Delhi
Evolving Traditions
Although the basis ritual is the same, the Karwa chauth practised by Delhi has garnered up new values compatible with modern times. Couples are also jointly exploiting fasting together and so, other couples are sharing this with their partners instead of preserving the customary one-sided fasting.
There are those who adjust the ritual according to existing professional lifestyles and get inventive in preserving the tradition and at the same time maintain the demands of the modern life.
A Festival That Binds
The feeling of community, created by Karwa Chauth is not only due to its glamour or the rituals performed in today’s Delhi, but the feeling of community it creates. The festival weaves strands of connectedness all throughout the rooms of the city; between the working woman of Gurgaon and the homemaker of Old Delhi, the newlywed and the grandmother remembering the fast of her husband.
Glowingly setting of another Karwa Chauth, the streets of Delhi gradually fuse into their usual tunis. The memories formed however- sharing laughter at mehendi preparation, fasting together, the happiness on breaking the fast- all that are long after and make us realise that even during our busy and modern life, we have the room to fall back to the traditions, faith of our heart, and enjoyment.
Karwa Chauth in Delhi is not just a festival, but a demonstration of the fact that old and historic traditions can not only exist in modern city environments but also damage and develop, still remaining the same in their main basic.
