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Wednesday, 23 April 2014

Teej Festival

Wow, we have celebrated twenty two festivals. Our 23rd festival is Teej, which is very popular among newly married girls.

Teej is a very popular festival celebrated in the Northern States of India. Newly married ladies anxiously wait for this festival. It is customary to celebrate the festival in their parents’ house.  There they spend some days with their parents. For old friends it is a very happy get together. They share their joys and secrets during this period.

This festival is dedicated to Goddess Parvati in commemoration of her marriage to Lord Shiva.  The marriage of Shiva and Parvati is seen as an ideal marriage. The girls observe a fast and pray that their marriage may become an ideal marriage. The celebrations last for three days. Boys are seen flying colorful kites.  

In the country side rows and rows of swings can be seen. These swings are make-shift swings, with thick ropes hung on the branches of the trees and groups of women singing merrily. They also sing and dance in groups.

The girls dance with friends, dressed in bright sarees.The  following video will give an idea the dance

Girls apply mehandi (henna) on their hands.It is one of main event of the festival. The designs are intricate. It takes hours to finish designing. These designs are a sign of their art and creativity. It is believed that that brighter the colour of the mehandi, the more the girl 's husband will love her.


Mehandi(Henna) design

Different varieties of presents are  given  to the girls. New clothes for the daughters and their families and special  sweets  prepared are also  given to the girls when they return to their in-laws house. A special sweet known as  Ghevar is  very popular. Girls wait  anxiously  for  this festival.

Pic courtesy Google
Video YouTube
Words 275 
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42 comments:

  1. Unknown23 April 2014 at 00:10

    wow! this is so colorful and vibrant! Indeed festivals in India are so beautiful :)

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    1. Unknown23 April 2014 at 14:46

      Dr. Gauri, thanks. All these constitute the rich Indian Culture.

      Delete
  2. Reshma23 April 2014 at 01:40

    Isnt it nice how festivals have customs that include visits to familial homes? It is nice to know the meaning behind the various festivals Ushaji :)

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    1. Unknown23 April 2014 at 14:48

      Thank you Reshma. All the festivals have some background.

      Delete
  3. Unknown23 April 2014 at 04:22

    Do colorful, and such beautiful designs on the hands! Do those designs come off?

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    1. Unknown23 April 2014 at 14:49

      Thanks Kathy. These colors last for few months.

      Delete
  4. Swathi Shenoy23 April 2014 at 06:34

    such a colorful festival :) again a new read for me! thanks ma'am for sharing :)

    http://swathishenoy.blogspot.in/2014/04/t-for-thankful.html?m=1a-z participant

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  5. Shilpa Garg23 April 2014 at 09:02

    Teej is a big festival here in Rajasthan and is celebrated with great fervour and zeal. Ghevar, a sweet is associated with Teej here.:)

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    1. Unknown23 April 2014 at 14:53

      Yes Shilpa, the festival is very popular in UP, and Bihar also. I love Ghevar. .

      Delete
  6. Beloo Mehra23 April 2014 at 09:17

    Colourful Teej! Have never attended/seen one celebration. But it was good to see the pictures/video here. Thank you!

    Beauty Interprets, Expresses, Manifests the Eternal

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  7. Sreeja Praveen23 April 2014 at 11:06

    I have heard about Teej, but never seen one :) This is so enlightening for me :)

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  8. Suzy23 April 2014 at 11:47

    Thanks for sharing this. I didn't know about this festival. The mehendi is divine and so perfectly done. Love the expression of the little girl in the first picture.

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    1. Unknown23 April 2014 at 14:56

      Thank you Suzy. Girls wait eagerly for this festival.

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  9. Nabanita23 April 2014 at 13:51

    I never knew about Teej till I married my husband who is from UP...I still dnt know much about it but I someone pass through it doing minimal things ... Loved reading about it

    T for Tired-Random Thoughts Naba

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    Replies
    1. Unknown23 April 2014 at 14:58

      You will know more about it with experience. Thanks for liking it.

      Delete
  10. Vishal Bheeroo23 April 2014 at 13:56

    Usha Ma'am, I am really enjoying your take on different festivals for the challenge where I am learning so much about events which I've never heard or read about. Thanks for sharing the colorful posts:)

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    1. Unknown23 April 2014 at 15:01

      Thank you Vishal. I am happy that you have appreciated my posts on different festivals.

      Delete
  11. Jayanta23 April 2014 at 13:59

    Thanks, Ushaji, for sharing colorful details of another festival on our festival tour of India...Thanks a lot.

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    1. Unknown23 April 2014 at 15:02

      Thank you Jayanta. Glad you liked the flavour of different festivals.

      Delete
  12. Afshan Shaik23 April 2014 at 18:05

    I love Ghevar . Thanks for reminding me that. We dont get it in south. I heard and saw teej celeb when I was in Gurgaon !
    A good revival post

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    1. Sunila23 April 2014 at 22:55

      We do get Ghevar in Bangalore Afshan :)

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    2. Unknown2 May 2014 at 08:33

      Thank you Sunila I like Ghevar.

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    3. Unknown2 May 2014 at 08:35

      Thanks Afsan for visiting. I also love Ghevar

      Delete
  13. the little princess23 April 2014 at 22:05

    we have a similar festival down south, where we pray to god shiva and parvati....very similar to teej...called as jyotirbheemeshwara vrata.... the journey with you has been incredible so far!!

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    1. Unknown2 May 2014 at 08:36

      Thank Titli for the beautiful comments.

      Delete
  14. Sunila23 April 2014 at 22:53

    Love your post on Teej and the colourful, expressive pics :)

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  15. Shailaja V23 April 2014 at 23:23

    That is a beautiful Mehendi design. I must tell the story of Teej to my daughter, who is a big mythology fan :)

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    1. Unknown2 May 2014 at 08:49

      Thanks Shailaja for thsweetbcomments Hugs to your daughter.

      Delete
  16. Rajlakshmi24 April 2014 at 14:57

    I too loved that Mehendi design :) very informative post :)

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  17. Unknown24 April 2014 at 17:34

    Lovely mehandi and teej festival well explained :)

    ~S(t)ri
    Participant|AtoZ Challenge 2014
    Smile, it makes (y)our day!

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  18. Unknown18 July 2014 at 14:33

    Nice post..
    but you can visit this link for more teej quotes an teej messages http://happydayimages.com/

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  19. Unknown28 July 2015 at 17:33

    Nice info about Teej. I love to wear saree on Teej.

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  20. Anushka Jain18 April 2019 at 19:12

    Teej festival is celebrated in a grand scale in the almost all major parts of our country.You have covered some beautiful aspects of this traditional festival. Really thanks dear!

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  21. Yoyofashion5 March 2021 at 16:38

    Wow! such a nice festival. Thank you for sharing this information. We have new collection for women's clothes please check it out : YOYO Fashion

    ReplyDelete

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