Vat Savatri is a unique festival for the Hindu married women of India. On this day a married women invokes the blessing of Devi Savatri for the general well being of her husband and for the prolonging of her marital life.

The festival is more popularly celebrated in the northern states of India, such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat and Maharashtra, and in Delhi.

Married women fast on this day and carry on rituals seeking divine intervention from Savatri. The day begins with an early purification bath. Attired in a colorful sari with red vermillion smeared on her forehead, a married woman visits the nearby Devi temple. She carries in her hand a plate full of rice, pulses and fruits as an offering to Devi Savatri.

Women throng the sacred banyan tree situated near the Devi temple. While circling the banyan tree each women, holding on to a loop of white thread, ties a knot around the trunk. Then she offer prayers to Devi Savatri to protect her husband from bad omens and to seek a marital blessing.

The ceremony ends in taking a bow in front of her husband and the elders of the house.

There is an interesting story taken from Indian mythology on how the Vat Savatri originated. Princess Savatri was daughter of a king, Aswapati of Madra Desa. She chose Satyawaan as her life partner. When Prince Satyawaan was exiled to the forest along with his blind father Dyumaten, Savatri, being a dedicated wife, left behind a life of palace luxury to be with her beloved husband. There she devoted her life to taking care of her husband and her father in law.

One day while Satyawaan was cutting a tree branch in the forest his head reeled and he fell in the lap of Savatri and died.

The lord of death, Yamraj, appeared on the scene to take away the soul of Satyawaan. A heartbroken Savatri pleaded with Yamraj to spare her husband from being taken away from her and threatened to join her husband. Seeing Savatri's devotion and love toward her husband, Yamraj was moved and returned her husband back to life. Thereafter, the couple lived a happy married life.

Savatri is seen as a role model for Indian women. In another festival known as Karvaa Chaut, on a full moon night, married women pray to have the same husband for their next seven lives.

Housewives hailing from the traditional male-dominated society of the north still celebrate Vat Savatri, but the same cannot be said of the women dwelling in the cities and other parts of India. We live in the 21st century where women empowerment has made her equal partners in all spheres of life. Whether Vat Savatri will continue to inspire women who may not want to be seen as subordinate to the men is a matter of conjecture.

This week on the day of Vat Savatri, I visited Asia's largest slum area, the Dharavi, to find out how the women of Kumbharwada (well known as clay pot producing community) celebrate it. Some of the images I took are presented here.

 

                                                                                                                -  Rajen Nair

                                                                                                                                      (Published in Ohmynews)