Fasting or feasting

Just before Diwali we celebrated "Karvachauth". On this day most women fast without drinking water. I wrote this several years back.


The morning started like any other day. I had dropped my daughter to the bus stop. I was back home, ready to enjoy my morning cup of tea.

“Aren’t you fasting today”, remarked my husband in a sheepish tone, watching me merrily sip tea. “Ofcourse, I am. But what is the harm in drinking a cup of tea,” I retorted.

“You know, I don’t like all this fuss about karvachauth. Go out for a walk. You will feel more cheerful”; he said walking away with his golf bag and car keys.

But there was to be no strenuous activity. So no mornings walks. Even the gym instructor didn’t want us around. “Stay away and relax. All the sweating can cause dehydration,” he had warned us.

I was glad to see the newspaper man much before time. It could be my imagination but the man looked rather preoccupied. May be the thought of going back to a cranky, fasting wife was troubling him.

Indeed, with nowhere to rush to the morning stretched beautifully into mid-afternoon.

I was now ready for my appointment with Shahnaz, my twenty-one-year-old, charming beautician, at the SPA, in Saket. Not realising my folly, with a half-finished apple, that was to be my lunch, I walked into a room full of ‘Women in Red’.

“Didi aren’t you fasting,” Shehnaz piped from somewhere in the room. “Ofcourse, I am. But what is the harm in eating an apple”, I said, repeating my morning lines. I could see a few raised eyebrows. Ignoring them all, I settled down for a manicure.

“Guess what Kavita, this time my mom-in-law parted with her best diamonds. I had never realised she could be so generous”, remarked a girl, waving her hands to display the huge stone on her finger. “Lucky you. I got only a sari. But Kuku has promised to get me a gold kadda from Dubai”, screamed back Kavita from the other end of the room.

Another young lass with mehendi on her hands was avidly describing her evening dress, “I have bought this lovely lahenga-choli from the Bridal Asia fair. It is more expensive than my wedding dress. None of my friends are wearing saris this Karva. We want to do things a bit differently. We are all meeting at a farmhouse with our respective husbands in the evening. We have arranged a DJ so that there can be dancing later.”

Amid all the cacophony I heard someone say, “I had delicious gobhi parathas and kheer. It is going to keep me going till late in the evening”. Shahnaz sensing my anguish smiled naughtily and explained, “They get up before sunrise and eat sargi. It is auspicious.”

I did not like what I heard. So their feast was over and they were grudging me my 100 calories in-take. However, I had made a mental note of all the “MUSTS” for the next karvachauth. An expensive sari -a must. Gobhi paratha and rasmalai before sunrise– a must, must. And Kuku like indulgence – a must, must, must. My only problem is that the first two I can manage easily but for the last one I might have to adopt some arm twisting tactics.