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Hello, Hello Have You Seen The Moon?

Discussion in 'Snippets of Life (Non-Fiction)' started by Balajee, Oct 24, 2021.

  1. Balajee

    Balajee IL Hall of Fame

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    Hello, hello have you seen the moon? I am starving”

    “Someone told me it is behind the Indian Oil building”

    “Aargh, do they have tom have highrise buildings on Karwa Chauth day, making it difficult for us to spot the moon” (Messages exchanged between two ladies of the WhatsApp group if our colony on the occasin of Karwa Chauth last year)

    What an inconsiderate , insensitive world! No concern for the dear ladies on a daylong fast for their husbands; long life. The highrises should have been moved away for the day keeping their religious sentiments in view and put back in their places after the fast when the ladies gorge themselves with food after spotting the moon theough a sieve and their DHs after that.

    Highrises are really making life difficult for the fasting ladies as the moon has ample space to play hide and seek with them. Without giving a damn for the starving ladies.And Indian Oil. Besides producing product whose prices keep rising at the drop of a hat has a added petrol, diesel and kerosene to fire by giving the moon room for hiding.

    Well, DW does not observe the fast and thank God for that because the Karwa Chauth's latest trend is husbands are supposed to fast in solidarity with the DWs. I can have mice running around in my stomach for sometime but I can't afford to have cats and dogs fighting there.

    For the past there year I have been living in an area far from crowded markets which suffer the invasion of mehandi applying ladies who ask for the moon from hapless housewives in an attempt to grt rich in just one day. The hapless ladies seeking to prolong their husbands life whether the DHs want it or not , have no option but to cough up, for . looking at the moon through a sieve (yeah no direct locking eyes with the moon) without holding it ( the sieve not the moon) in hennaed hands is not the done thing. So the ladies ' wallets look as if they have gione on a crash diets.

    Wonderful thing about Indian fasts is they are actualy feasts. Karwa Chauth actually means skip the lunch and evening tea. It means eating as if there's no tomorrow before sunrise and then you won't feel rumbles in your stomach until dinner. Give a dekko to the moon (Unless it is hiding behind Indian Oil or some other highririse. In that case wait cursing skuyscrapers under your breath or tweet that they are hurting your religious sentiments.) Once you manage to spot the moon just rush into the dining room and just wolf down the goodies.



    Nowadays not just the henna ladies but even greeting crd makers try to earn a quick buck out of Karwa Chauth with HAPPY HUSBANDS DAY cards, Happy and husbands? Not if they are shanghaied into going on a solidarity fast.

    TV channels contribute their mite too with Karwa Chauth horror shows. One such episode ran like this " of the two DILs in a family one observes the "fast" andd the other makes fun of it. On a fine Karwa Chauth day the onewho observes the fast sees the Grim Reaper (Scythe and all. Why the heck didn't they have Yama astride his buffalo?) going behind her BIL (Hubby dearest of the lady who mae fun of the fast. I suppose the fasting lady forgot her humongous pre-sunrise breakfast. When you are strving you see things). By virtue of the power of her fast she manages to save her BIL too and converts his wife into a believer. And poor Mr.G.Reaper, lets out a disappointed groan not unlike the sound coming from the stomach of husbands on a solidarity fast and disappears.


    Another trend is clubs hold (at least mine does) Karwa Chauth Queen contests where they ask silly questions like “What does sola singar mean?”. Sola for Hindi challenged is sixteen. It actually means 16 steps of decking up for the ladies to look like Dracula’s consorts on the “auspicious” occasion.



    But do these rituals prolong men’s life? According to a UN study , Japanese men have the longest life span followed by Switzerland. As far as I know, they don’t fast on Karwa Chauth there. We are in number 146 when it comes to life expectancy. Looks like our ladies aren’t trying hard enough.


    When I hurled the UN figures at a staunch Karwa Chauth devotee she said :” Oh thank God, but for Karwa Chauth we would be at number 200 or something.” Sigh. They never learn, do they?
     
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  2. Viswamitra

    Viswamitra IL Hall of Fame

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    Dear Balajee,

    I always enjoy your sense of humor and this one about Karadaiyan Nombu is no different. I also feel if the wives wish to prolong the life of their respective husbands, they should put them on a diet program and have them go to a gym regularly. What is the point in them starving from dawn to dusk to prolong the life of their soulmates? Well, I am glad the affluent ladies are still not looking to make a space trip to watch the moon from the space without the disturbances of high-rise buildings in this planet. I feel their struggle to sight moon is also added by the pollution in and around Delhi and its suburbs. If the government could do something to remove this pollution, it will be a great gift to those women who are trying to prolong their spouses' lives.
     
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  3. HariLakhera

    HariLakhera Platinum IL'ite

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    Karwa Chauth is celebrated in North India. There are mythological legends about it as are the more realistic ones- one of them is husbands going to fight wars.
    Now it is more of a Me Too situation. I do not think they do it for costly gifts but that has become a tradition. Whether it prolongs the life of husbands or not but it does help them feel elevated and needed at least once in a year. It is also in our traditions that wives are blessed to be "Saubhagyavati" meaning that she dies before her husband. It is another thing that women outlive men.
    We have many such traditions that do not meet the logic and reasoning.
    As for moon sighting, it has become easy now. A whatsapp message by anyone who has seen it is enough to accept. High rises apart, clouds do hide the moon sight.
    That is probabaly why Muslims wait for their Maulavi to announce if dooj ka chand has been sighted or not to end their roja after Eid.
    We do not celebrate this tradition in our community.
     
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  4. SunPa

    SunPa Platinum IL'ite

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    Your satirical post was a welcome read on a Monday morning!

    As long as they insist on feeding pati parmeshvar all that ghee laden sweets and junk food, and over serving them during meals, dont think men's life expectancy will go up. And well men have to man up and take charge of their health.
    But fasting will surely bring good health for the women who fast ( assuming they are not bingeing after the fast)
     
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  5. Balajee

    Balajee IL Hall of Fame

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    Going by what the calorie -unconscious ladies feed their DHs it givrs rise to the suspicion that they want to bring their life expectancy down. Karwa Chauth could be a conspiracy to ruin the DHs financially as they are expected to give expensive gifts to wives in return for the fasting. Ah yest it is just one E away from fasting to feasting. And people tend to put on weight after fasting as the pre and post fast mls is loaded with calories.
     
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  6. Balajee

    Balajee IL Hall of Fame

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    Hariji, every law has a loophole., This morning I learnt through a WhatsAPP message that the ladies can still stuff themselves with food, if the moon plays the spoilsport ither due to highrise or clouds. All the ladies have to do is to wait for 20 minutes past eight , think of the moon and make an obalation . Then they are free to freak out on the goodies.
     
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  7. Thyagarajan

    Thyagarajan IL Hall of Fame

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    Dear @Balajee
    I enjoyed the humour infested karva chauth post.

    • Though I understand Observing fast helps
    1. Removal of toxins from body or and a day starving the body without any additional toxins
    2. While observing fast by DWs, their respective DHs too starve in sympathy and so it is no less than fast and sure they are to get the benefits associated with fast
    3. DWs observing fast might reduce acrimonious debates and discussions between the couples and help overall silence/ peace prevails at home
    4. Money drains in the form of impulse purchase and a day of absence from shopping spree would help mop up savings atleast for a day.

    Yet

    Quantitative qualitative measurements of benefits of observing kc are welnigh impossible.

    Whether it helps longevity of her husband or not, but her mere observing the fast and keeping away from aged husband itself would provide great relief to their partner which in turn reduces tension depression and these causes no adverse impacts on DHs hearts.

    But with swiggy , Zomato and über online food service available at door steps, DHs Would hardly be concerned about whether spouse cooks or not but DWs would be obsessed with thoughts of husband eating unhygienic outside food which has potential to shorten life.

    Moon has connection to mind ( lunatic - lunar) but how it is connected to stomach and longevity- science still investigates! Moon is not selfluminous but reflect glory of Sun. So Instead moon, why women observing kc to look at sun and finish fast in the night itself so their hubby not day-starved!

    Fasting is not a joke. I tried and it turned out to be a feast in link
    A Date With Ekadasi Vradham(fast)

    And seeing the moon playing hide and seek in link

    Moon Boon Lord & Kozhukattai
    Thanks &regards.
     
  8. HariLakhera

    HariLakhera Platinum IL'ite

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    Was not aware of that. Yes, we learn from our old rituals. The system of Gowdaan (gift of calf or cow) has been replaced with money, gold with Chana Dal, and so on.
     
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  9. Balajee

    Balajee IL Hall of Fame

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    Dear Viswa Don't b surprised if the super rich Indian ladie take a space shuttle to observe the moon from space soon. Our ancestors did not prescribe 100% fasting but instead prescribed a light fruit-based diet or phala aaharam. This got twisted into palagaram or snacking and people have taken to this with a vengeance.
     
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  10. Balajee

    Balajee IL Hall of Fame

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    Tyagu sir, the only community that observes 100% fast is the jain . For others it either means gluttony before sunrise and after sunset (Or after moonwatching). or it could mean not eating some taboo foods during the fast period. For instance north Indians don't eat grains lie rice and wheat besides onion and garl,ic and lentils during fat period. Wheat is substituted with buckwheat or waterchesnut floor which are used to make ghee laden paranthas or puris. Lot of daairy product are demolished with gusto during the fast.For instance you can eat milk burfi or rasgulla, sandesh and rasmalai during fasts but rawa halwa is taboo, During Vaikuntha Ekadashi, my mom used to make ghee-laden parathas (Rice for a Tamil is food, but wheat is palagaram). Even riceused to be cooked after roasting it (I suppose then it ceases to b rice). Also Karwa Chauth does not stop impulse shopping. Au contraire it promotes it. As husbands are supposed to buy expensive gifts for their wives who are trying to ensure that they have a long life. But generally the E in feasting is verymuch there even if it is in hiding during f(e)asts.
     
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