Teej to Karva Chauth: Here’s why I refuse to fast for my husband
Do you recall this time of the year!! It’s not far when all the women bound to Hinduism would be starving themselves again for the good health and welfare of their husbands.
Remember those typical Bollywood movie scenes where the wife is considered to be bestowed upon the belief of fasting for her beloved husband, whole day long. Then by evening, again slogging for him, until he gets back from work or from the temporary timeouts from his daily ecstasies and delicacies, while the wives do all the work for her “Pati parmeshwar”!!
Definitely there’s a back-story behind every legend in India, and I, on no grounds, have the right to verify or validate or assert the claim. However, I do comprehend that without quenching my thirst for the entire day, i can only end up being dehydrated. Apart from this, by not entertaining my hunger, my agitated stomach can only make the matter worse, by punishing me and sending gastric juices inside my tummy, thus an acidic roller coaster ride!
How about talking of gender equality now? Here I am, depriving my body, the right to eat and drink, while my husband hogs over all the feasts prepared for the occasion. What sort of a message does that send out? Does it mean my husband’s life is of more value than my own? I really don’t think so. Even my husband would never support this!
This concept stinks of patriarchy, if to be precise! Fasting is never bad, rather it’s somewhere necessary to detoxify your body once in a while to be healthy. Fasting isn’t equivalent to starving yourself!
Like usual Fasting, this too can include the intake of some juices and liquids on regular time intervals. By this, both your grey ones along with you can be satisfied!
The motive is not to be against these age-old traditions but to mold them according to you, in case it hinders your progress and health.
Today, almost 75-80% women are working and hence sometimes have to be food deprived in order to meet their office deadlines. By this, their husbands must always be in pink of their health but it never happens.
Also, the male life expectancy in India (with an 80 percent Hindu population) is 66 years and globally (with a 15 percent Hindu population) it is 71 years, so maybe the fasting technique isn’t working so well after all.
So, ladies! Go pack your husband some lunch and detoxify your body with some juices on the eve of this Teej/Karva Chauth!!
