The pandemic had all of us locked up in our houses, and really made us value community celebrations where festivals are concerned. Ace designer Anjali Phougat, who stays with her family in Ohio, says that she is so glad she got to celebrate Karwachauth at the temple this year.
“Karvachauth is really special every year. It’s a special moment where you fast for your husband. I have been doing this for 15 years. This year, it was a little extra special because we got to celebrate after Covid in the temple with a lot of friends. Being a designer, I always look for opportunities to drape a saree which is my favourite Indian attire. I love wearing red and yellow and all the beautiful prosperous colours,” she says.
Talking about how her day went, she says, “I wake up at 4:30am and get ready and eat sargi. My husband always wakes up and makes me some tea and oats for breakfast. I put mehendi the day before. I have a friend who is a makeup artist and she really put amazing mehendi for me and my friends this time. We all did the Pooja together in the temple. Later, at the end of the day, we tried to look for the moon and break our fast. In Ohio, it is a bit gloomy and rainy during this time of the year and it’s a little difficult to see the moon. We did not see it but we opened our fast at 8:30 pm which according to the temple priest was the time for the moon.”
Ask her if her husband also fasted for her, and she says, “No, he did not fast. He took my daughter for horse riding classes and swimming. If both parents would not eat the entire day, then it would be very difficult to manage. Like every year, we had dinner together. We opened the fast together and later ordered some delicious Indian food.”
