Karwa Chauth and feminism.
There is no sight of light in the firmament and the vista of a dark night is suspended in the seeming stillness of nighttime. But I hear movement outside and for a tick, fear threatens to grapple with me before I realize that it is just my mother, readying herself for the famous “sargi” before she commences the strict fast, celebrating Karwa Chauth. Sargi is basically consuming comestible which ideally is the last food item to be had by the woman before she starts a day without food and water. There are plenty of stories behind Karwa Chauth and if seen from a feminist lens, this festival is a small distance from being completely ridiculous. On this day, all Indian married women are expected to go without food and water for a day so their husbands can live a longer life. Firstly, the obvious problem here is lack of relationship between women not eating and men living longer. But since this is a religious practice, it wouldn’t be right to raise any (sensible) ques...