A MAN'S KARVA CHAUTH







Normally, I don’t see the moon in the sky at six, early in the morning. But, today, as I was winding up my morning walk, I cited the glorious moon in the west… The sky looked special… serene and divine!

I do not know if my wife had noticed the majestic moon as she too was doing her early-morning walk… Both of us were oblivious of the significance of the day to come: the day of ‘Karva Chauth’!

My wife hasn’t fasted for me – her husband – in our tweetny-five years of married life. She hasn’t looked at the moon and thought of me… my safety and well-being.

So, does it make my wife a lesser soul when it comes to a devoted wife?

I am just asking… and, I know, she may not like I talking about such things in my blog… But, I know, she cools down and forgives me quickly for all my sins!

I love the concept – rather the legend – of ‘Karva Chauth’. All men love it… and they should, you see. After all, the very thought that your wife does all that for you – so faithfully, so ceremoniously and so romantically– makes you feel on top of the world…. Makes you feel you are a ‘MAN’… very, very special… I bet, it does!

And, look, why not?

For a wife, her husband’s safety and well-being are so central for her existence. And, if our traditions make her express such a devotion and feeling in a manner the Karva Chauth ceremony demands, glory be to such tradition… Long live this tradition!

But, then, when I recall the moon I had cited this morning, and connect it to the special day today, I ask these questions to myself:

Would I, as a husband, observe a fast from sunrise to moonrise for my wife’s safety and well-being?  Is her safety and well-being central to my existence, too?

Probably, the moon wanted me to mull over these questions before he went home, this morning…

Moon doesn’t cease to inspire me!


GERALD D’CUNHA

Pic.: Kenrick's Art



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