Trust Your Friend till the end ..by Ravinder Singh {BCA-III}

Once i had to walk on a rope bridge. It was very high, i was scared. i saw my friend on the other side and called him out for help but there was no reply . i somehow managed and crossed the bridge. there i was shocked to see my friend holding the end of the broken bridge...,sometimes we think why our friend is quite when we call for help . he may not help you in crossing the bridge but he might be holding the broken bridge for you ... just trust your friends in every situations

Karwa Chauth..(very imp festival to Married woman) by Entrepreneur.Ravinder Singh

Karwa Chauth Vrat Katha
"A long long time ago, there lived a beautiful princess by the name of Veeravati. When she was of the marriageable age, Veeravati was married to a king. On the occasion of the first Karva Chauth after her marriage, she went to her parents house."

"After sunrise, she observed a strict fast. However, the queen was too delicate and couldnt stand the rigours of fasting. By evening, Veeravati was too weak, and fainted. Now, the queen had seven brothers who loved her dearly. They couldnt stand the plight of their sister and decided to end her fast by deceiving her. They made a fire at the nearby hill and asked their sister to see the glow. They assured her that it was the moonlight and since the moon had risen, she could break her fast."

"However, the moment the gullible queen ate her dinner, she received the news that her husband, the king, was dead. The queen was heartbroken and rushed to her husbands palace. On the way, she met Lord Shiva and his consort, Goddess Parvati. Parvati informed her that the king had died because the queen had broken her fast by watching a false moon. However, when the queen asked her for forgiveness, the goddess granted her the boon that the king would be revived but would be ill."

"When the queen reached the palace, she found the king lying unconscious with hundreds of needles inserted in his body. Each day, the queen managed to remove one needle from the kings body. Next year, on the day of Karva Chauth, only one needle remained embedded in the body of the unconscious king."

"The queen observed a strict fast that day and when she went to the market to buy the karva for the puja , her maid removed the remaining needle from the kings body. The king regained consciousness, and mistook the maid for his queen. When the real queen returned to the palace, she was made to serve as a maid."

"However, Veeravati was true to her faith and religiously observed the Karva Chauth vrat . Once when the king was going to some other kingdom, he asked the real queen (now turned maid) if she wanted anything. The queen asked for a pair of identical dolls. The king obliged and the queen kept singing a song " Roli ki Goli ho gayi... Goli ki Roli ho gayi " (the queen has turned into a maid and the maid has turned into a queen)."

"On being asked by the king as to why did she keep repeating that song, Veeravati narrated the entire story. The king repented and restored the queen to her royal status. It was only the queens devotion and her faith that won her husbands affection and the blessings of Goddess Parvati."


Karwa Chauth Puja Process
The fast of Karwa Chauth is kept 9 days before Diwali. It falls on the fourth day of the Kartik month by the Hindu calendar (fourth day of the waning moon or the dark fortnight).
The Ritual
Karwa Chauth is considered one of the most important fasts observed by the married Hindu women. On this day the women pray for the welfare and long life of their husbands. The festival is followed mainly in the northern parts of the country.
Married women eat food early in the morning, before sunrise. They are not supposed to eat or even drink water during the day. In the evening the ladies listen to the Karwa Chauth Katha (the legend). The fast is over after the moonrise.

The Puja Process
The pooja preparations start a day in advance. Married women buy the shringar or the traditional adornments and the other pooja items like the karwa, matthi, heena etc.
Early in the morning they prepare food and have it before sunrise. The morning passes by in other festive activities like decorating hand and feet with heena, decorating the pooja thali and meeting friends and relatives.
In the late afternoon women gather at a common place like temple or a garden or someones' place who has arranged the pooja. An elderly lady or the pujarin narrates the legend of Karwa Chouth.
The essentials of this gathering and listening of the Karwa chauth story , a special mud pot, that is considered a symbol of lord Ganesha, a metal urn filled with water, flowers, idols of Ambika Gaur Mata, Goddess Parwati and some fruits, mathi and food grains. A part of this is offered to the deities and the storyteller.
Earlier an idol of Gaur Mata was made using earth and cowdung. Now just an idol of Goddess Parwati is kept. Every one lights an earthen lamp in their thalis while listening to the Karwa story. Sindoor, incense sticks and rice are also kept in the thali.
At this time the women wear heavy saris or chunries in red , pink or other bridal colors, and adorn themselves with all other symbols of a married women like, nose pin, tika, bindi, chonp, bangles, earrings etc.
Once the moon rises, the women see its reflection in a thali of water, or through a dupatta or a sieve. They offer water to the moon and seek blessings. They pray for the safety, prosperity and long life of their husbands. This marks the end of the day long fast.


Karwa Chauth Items
Items required for the festival
Karwa Chauth vrat is an ancient Indian tradition, which is still followed with full warmth and admiration by almost all married Indian women. Indeed, every women want to pray for the happiness and long life of her husband. Food items, beauty essential or makeup items, clothing items, and puja items constitute the significant items that are required for Karwa Chauth festival by the woman performing the Karwa Chauth Fast (vrat). The aforementioned items are listed below:

Karwa Chauth Food Items
Sargi, which includes pheni (a sweet made by using milk and semolina), parantha, and various types of fruits and sweets.
Ten matthis with an equal number of puas (a sweet made of jaggery)
Delicous halwa

Karwa Chauth Beauty Essential (Sringar) Items
Henna Mehndi for applying on palms and feet.
Fashionable and multicolored glass bangles.
Makeup items like bindi, kumkum or sindoor, lipstick, rouge, kajal, eye-liner, mascara, and so.
Beautiful and traditional jewelry items like mangalsutra, maangtika, rings, necklace, bangles, ear-rings, anklets (payal), toe-rings, nose-ring, etc.

Karwa Chauth Cloth Items
Baya or Bayana that includes gifts for the mother-in-law, which is ideally a sari.
A set of new clothes, which is usually a bridal-sari (suhag joda) for the lady performing the vrat.

Karwa Chauth Puja Items
A stable platform for performing the puja
Cow-dung to make the image of the goddess Gora or Parwati
Karwa Chauth story book
Matthi for bhog
Sindur or kumkum
A strand of red thread (called kalawa)
Karwa (a clay vessel containing water)
A plate for keeping puja samagri
Money for chadawa
Other miscellaneous puja items