Teej celebrates love and affection.
Our lives revolve around love. It must be love that acted as a potent force driving our civilization forward. From conception to birth and until death, everyone needs love to exist, to thrive and to take the right path in life.
It is love that keeps a family intact. Without a family, the social structure simply collapses, leading to the brute force that ensures mutual destruction.
Hinduism is one of the oldest religions. It is a polytheist religion, which might look strange for people of other faiths. Yes, it is true that we worship lifeless idols, but we also worship animals, planets, stars living persons and relationships too.
Teej is a festival of love and celebration of relationships. Being a festival that has been around for thousands of years, we might not know exactly how this festival came into being, but there are several stories that are interwoven around Teej.
The story of Teej is linked to the determination of Parvati, who wanted to become the wife of Mahadev. Hence, it is also a festival of determination. This determination is reflected even today as celebrating Teej calls for fasting.
Even though the Hindu society may not be too open, but each year this festival reminds unmarried women to seek for their perfect life partner. On the other hand, this day reminds the married women to be faithful to their husbands and ultimately, the whole family. Teej makes couples a little more romantic, a little more excited and a little more dedicated to each other.
What is Teej?
Teej is also the name of an insect that comes out during rainy months. This insect is red in color, hence it is also the color of choice for celebrating Teej. The color red also means love, and it also makes women more noticeable.
A groundbreaking study at Rochester University has found that male nonhuman primates get attracted to females displaying red. For instance, female chimpanzees and baboons redden when they are “nearing ovulation” thus giving a signal to males for sex. So the color red may have deep biological reasons, which is why women in red are attractive to men.
How is Teej celebrated?
Teej is celebrated for a total of three days.
First day: The first day is called Dar Khane Din. On this day women, both married and unmarried gather together in their finest outfits and dance and sing the day away while in the night they have a great feast
Second Day: This day is the day of fasting. Hungry women, if they are married, throng at the Shiva’s Temples for worship and plead for the overall wellbeing of their husbands while unmarried girls plead for a perfect husband.
Third-Day: On this day early in the morning, women break their fast early in the dawn after worship. The third day of Teej is also called Ganesh Chaturthi.
Fourth Day: This is the last day of Teej. Teej is complete after women take a religious bath with Datiwan bush. This act is supposed to clear away the sins the women might have committed.
Conclusion:
Being a woman is not easy. Teej is a celebration time for women. While the women plead for the wellness of their soul mates and the family, as males, we can give them the space and opportunity to revel in the name of hedonist Shiva and determined Parbati.
Comment if you agree.
