Mendi, Mathai and Marriage, Oh My!!!

As a newly married woman there are many things I am still learning. Yesterday I learned about and  experienced my first Karva Chauth which is celebrated by married women in Northern India.  Women fast from sunrise to moonrise for the safety and longevity of their husbands.  The day varies from year to year as the festival falls on the fourth day after the full moon in the month of Kartik in the Hindu calendar.  What a wonderful day it was and it was made all the more special by my mother in law, aunties and cousins all there.  I have to admit waking up at 3:20 in the morning to get ready to leave the house for 4 in the morning was not easy.  Breakfast (called sargi on this day) has to be finished before sunrise and no more food or drink can be had until after the evening ceremony.  It consisted of flat breads (which starts with a P but I can't spell it, pronti is how it sounds), gobi aloo and chutney, and then finished with 7 different fruits and 7 different mithai.  After breakfast we sat around the table chatting, and then one of my cousins got out the henna cones and we did mendhi on our hands.

 After, mum and I headed to Wembley for a bit of shopping.  We also stopped to see her sister (my Massi) before getting dressed up for the evening ceremony.

We got back to Hounslow and everyone else who was fasting started as arriving as well.  Once everyone was there we did a few photos and then prepared for the next ceremony.

We all sat on the floor and listened to the story of Karva Chauth (←click to hear the story) with our puja thalis in front of us ready to begin the ceremony.

We then listened to the Karva Chauth song and passed our thalis around 7 times as the song indicated.

For the final ceremony we looked through a sieve at the moon and offered it water (from our thalis) and a bit of mithai, we then ourselves drank the water and had mithai breaking our fast.  After that it was time to eat. The men were very kind and let us ladies eat first.  The food was simple and so delicious. 

 

My mother in law, aunties, and cousins made the day so very special and I felt so lucky to take part in this tradition.  Next week is Diwali which I am also looking forward to celebrating for the first time. I have married into an amazing family with wonderful traditions that I am learning and incorporating into my own life.  Next month I get to introduce them to the American tradition of Thanksgiving, but I might be nice and not make them watch American football, but they have to eat the pumpkin pie! Lol!