Nepali Women Haritalika Teej Festival

The first day of Teej is called Dar Khane Din. On this day the women,married and unmarried, mainly Khas Gorkha of Nepalis ethnicity mainly Bahun and Chhetri cast, assemble at one place, in their finest attire and start dancing and singing devotional songs. Amidst all this, the grand feast takes place. What is unusual about this day is that the feast is hosted by gentlemen. Women, who work hard throughout the year, do not have to do anything that day. That is the day for them to embellish themselves in sorha singaar meaning dressing up and make up to the full extent, indulge in good food, and dance. Often times, because women are invited by multiple brothers for the feast, they try to dance off some food before they are ready to eat more. The food served that day is supposed to be rich and abundant. This is probably the only day in a year that allows women full freedom of expression. Consequently, women have traditionally used this occasion to express their pains and pang in the lyrics of songs they sing while dancing. With the advancement of communication and awareness, women these days use this occasion to voice their concerns about social issues and discrimination against women. The jollity often goes on till midnight, after which the 24 hour fast starts.

The second day is the fasting day. Some women live without a morsel of food and drops of water while others take liquid and fruit. The fasting is observed by both married and unmarried women. Married women abstain strictly from food and drinks with a believe that their devotion to the god will be blessed with longevity, peace and prosperity of their husband and family. Whereas, unmarried women observe the fasting with a hope of being blessed with good husband in future. On this day, they gaily dress and visit a nearby Shiva temple singing and dancing on the way. The Pashupatinath Temple gets the Shiva Lingam, which symbolizes Lord Shiva, offers the praying with flowers, sweets and coins. The main puja (religious ceremony) takes place with offerings of flowers, fruits, etc., made to Shiva and his wife goddess Parvati, beseeching them to grant their blessing upon the husband and family. The important part of the puja is the oil lamp which should be alight throughout the night. It is believed that by the lightening of oil lamp all night long will bring peace and prosperity to the husband and entire family.

highest number of devotees. At the Shiva temple, women circumambulate the

The third day of the festival is Rishi Panchami. After the completion of the previous day's poooja, women pay homage to seven saints or sages and offer praying to various deities and bathe with red mud found on the roots of the sacred datiwan bush, along with its leaves. This act of purification is the final ritual of Teej, after which women are considered absolved from all their sins. The recent years have witnessed an alteration in the rituals, especially concerning the severity, but its essence remains the same.

Teej is celebrated just before the first day of Ganesh Chaturthi. Women do 24-hour nirjala fasting (without water or fruit) for the wellness of their spouse and their married life and unmarried would be praying to get a nice husband.