Girls’ day out | Feature

If you think young girls fast on Teej and Panchami so they'll catch good husbands, you have another think coming. Even according to Hindu beliefs, girls fast on Rishi Panchami not in the hope of landing handsome husbands but to purify whatever sins they might have committed. Some do specify it as sins committed during the menstrual period but most girls resent this idea.

Rishi Panchami follows Teej. The purification process on Panchami is long winded involving bathing with red mud and various other elements 365 times until you are dead tired and sore. It also includes chewing alstonia 365 times until your jaws ache and you've lost count of the tasteless stalks. Many girls cheat, it's almost a tradition to multiply the number of times you chew or bathe.

All the necessary rituals can be tedious but that's beside the point. "We don't mind because after it's all over, you emerge feeling squeaky clean and happy," says Radha Bhandari, 18, of Pokhara, "then you get to go be a part of this exclusive sorority."

"For us, it's not so much about traditional significance than the fun we have," says Rakchha Baral, 22, from Birgunj. "Everybody treats you like a princess."

Some young urban girls have even taken to reinventing the festival. "We exchange gifts and they need not be expensive. In the evening, it's girls' night out. It's a day for sisterhood," says Preeti Sigdyal, 21.

Even after years of having had to sit through the rites, some girls hardly question why they sit through it at all. "I never thought about why we had to fast. I just assumed it was for our future husband," laughs 19-year-old Anupa Gautam from Dang. "I partake in the celebrations because I like singing and dancing after the pooja. It's fun because the all women and girls in the family get
together and have one big party. And, you feel lucky about being a girl."