By Pratibha Tuladhar, dpa =
Kathmandu (dpa) - Red was the dress code in Nepal Wednesday as Hindu women of all ages, castes and communities thronged the Shiva temples in the country to celebrate the festival of Teej.
Streets became seas of red, the colour of good fortune, as women in red saris, red bangles, red glass beads and with vermillion dotting their foreheads went in and out of the temples.
The Teej festival has its roots in Hindu mythology. Hindu scriptures say the goddess Parvati launched a hunger strike, demanding she be allowed to marry Shiva, the man she loved. Her friends soon joined her with similar demands, and the striking young women came to be known as "hadtalika," or protesting girls. Parvati's father, Himalaya, ultimately bowed to his daughter9s demands, and Parvati had a happy life with Shiva.
Every year, Hindu women mark the day by the Nepali calendar, going without food and water for 24 hours and praying for the long life and prosperity of their husbands. The unmarried observe the fast and wish for the best for the man they want as a husband.
Police officer Kamala Lama, who was also fasting Wednesday while being on duty since midnight, kept watch on the devotees, who started queuing up at the temple of Pashupatinath early in the morning.
"Just after midnight, women bathe and start queuing up outside the temple, hoping to be among the first to enter when the temple gates open in the morning," she said.
Pashupatinath, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is among the biggest temples in Nepal. It receives large numbers of Indian and Nepali devotees throughout the year and was packed with women devotees Wednesday.
Umesh Khikel of the Pashupati Area Development Trust said three thousand security personnel and 2,000 volunteers were mobilized for the management of the 400,000 visitors expected at the temple.
While the celebration of Teej was confined to Hindu women in the past, Nepal has seen the growing trend of non-Hindus joining in the celebration.
"Teej has become a time when women greet each other, dance, sing and spend time with their sisters, rather than just a religious occasion," devotee Kamala Thapa said.
Singing and dancing form a major part of the festivities. In the past, the songs were about women's suffering resulting from the mistreatment they faced from their mothers-in-law or songs against patriarchy. But as women have started to become more independent, the theme of the songs have also started to change to political topics or even those with sexual connotations.
Maiya Bhetwal, 68, sat down on the steps of the temple to catch her breath with a group of other women from her family. Married at 13, she has observed the fast every year since then.
"This is the festival we have inherited from our mothers, so you have to have faith," Bhetwal said. "I don't think I would miss this fasting unless I was very, very sick."
Inspired by the enthusiasm of her Nepali friends to go without food and water for 24 hours and spend the day dancing at the temple, Chalice Santorelli, 30, a US citizen also joined in the celebrations. Spotting a red sari, tika mark on her forehead and glass-bead necklaces, she said she was praying for her boyfriend.
"I don't identify with any religion," said Santorelli. "But Teej seems more like a time to celebrate the culture of womanhood, connect with family and pray for the man you love, and I think that's wonderful."
The Teej fasting is considered the toughest of the fasts observed by Nepalese women. Police run health camps in the temple during the festival to take in women who pass out because of exhaustion, hunger, heat and, sometimes, claustrophobia.
Nevertheless, women from little schoolgirls to octogenarians and from different religious and communal groups thronged the Pashupatinath temple.
Despite criticism from feminists, who said the festival reinforces patriarchal values, it has gained popularity in recent years.
"The growth of the media has contributed to the popularity of the festival," said Tirtha Koirala, chief of news and current affairs at Kantipur Television. "While the festival was strictly religious in the past, it has also become commercialized now and is seen as a social means for women to enjoy themselves."
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