Teej – ‘the festival of swings’ is celebrated with gusto and fervour in various parts of India and Nepal. The festival of Teej commemorates the reunion of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. Married women and young girls celebrate the festival with earnest devotion. Being a mansoon celebration it rejoices in the bounty of nature with social activities and customs.
“We celebrate the festival with devotion. It is called the `swing festival’ where decorated swings are hung from trees and women dressed in their best attire swing on them. The others who accompany them sing songs and enjoy the day,” says Reeta Shukla, a housewife.
Legend behind this festival
According to Hindu mythology, in the month of Shravan, Goddess Parvati reunited with Lord Shiva after a penance of hundred years. In her 108th birth, Lord Shiva realized her devotion for him and accepted her as his wife. This legend is said to be the basis of Teej celebrations.
Now let’s have a look at some of the exciting rituals and customs of teej:
Mehendi: “Its one of the most beautiful traditions of this festival. It is said, “The darker the henna, the more a woman is loved by her husband and in-laws.” Back home you can see the markets crowded with women getting their palms decorated with henna. In fact, it has become common in Canada too! At my home in India all of us get together at my mom’s place for Teej mehendi and some of us hide our husband’s name in the mehndi design which later becomes part of the search game. Husbands then search out their name and gift something to their beloved wife,” says Reshma Jaju, an employment consultant at Kelly Services.
It’s time again to look like a new bride: Hues of reds, greens and pinks can be seen everywhere. “We dress up in colourful cloths and jewellery to look like a new bride once again. Our Teej shopping starts well in advance. The best part of this festival is that women have full liberty to ask for anything they wish. Even husband`s don’t stop them from doing anything and gift them whatever they desire as they starve themselves for well-being of their husband,” says Shreya Agarwal, student of York University.
Tradition of Teej Fasting
The holy custom of fasting forms an integral part of Teej celebrations. Hence Teej is also famous as ‘women fasting festival’ of Rajasthan. “For full 24 hours we women refrain ourselves from food and water to ensure long life of husband. The tradition to fast for so long without water and food has a pious legend associated with it. According to Hindu mythology, Goddess Parvati underwent penance for 100 years to be accepted by Lord Shiva. Even till date women pay homage to Goddess Parvati and seek blessings for blissful marital life. We sing and dance to distract our attention from kitchen,” says Reshma. Married women keep fast for healthy life of their husband while unmarried girls keep it to marry a person who good and understanding.
After the day-long fast for longevity of their soul mate is over, women drink water and eat some healthy food. Many husbands make their wife drink water with their hands.
The tradition of swings: Teej also known as ‘Festival of Swings’ marks the advent of monsoon season. The word Teej, in many minds conjure up the image of swings as people hang beautiful swings in gardens and outside their houses. People follow the age-old tradition of swinging in the rains and perform traditional dance.
“We usually decorate the swings with colored and fragrant flowers. Some swings are also decorated with leharia print fabric to highlight the Rajasthani culture. These swings are either hung in the locality parks or at the backyard,” says Meenakshi Maheshwary, housewife.
This way Teej Celebrations bring lot of happiness for both married and unmarried couples and create some everlasting memories.
Author: Ramya Maheshwary
