Every year, we see Ladies dawn the most beautiful shades of reds and pinks and rush to the Carlton Lawns to celebrate the festival of Karwa Chauth. Now we all know it’s a fasting day for the women who offer prayers to the Almighty to keep their better halves healthy, hearty and bestow them with a long life.
This year however, CECA team sent the invites out to every resident via social media to join in a two-day ceremony. First one comprising of Mehendi day- 3 mehndi artists adorned the hands of many ladies with beautiful styles- some hand with Arabian, some with the fine lines depicting typical Indian designs and some a little modern. The most memorable sight was seeing children get excited for their mothers and volunteering to also get mehndi put on their own hands. Whilst some kids made sure they called their dads to play with them and also provide their mothers with the yummy Kolkata ke golgappas who for obvious reasons could not eat them with their own hands.
The next day whilst I was busy admiring the color of my mehndi, I glanced upon the Carlton Lawns which were now occupied with ladies dressed in beautiful sarees and lehengas performing the Karwa Chauth ritual and ceremony. Their songs and prayers encapsulated the Carlton grounds whilst the murmurs of their laughter echoed through the windows. Its festivals like this which turn the term living in a society to living with family. The bond of togetherness was obvious but the bonhomie shared by the women with something which can’t be explained. As the night approached, the phone started pinging with WhatsApp messages enquiring if the Moon is out and once it was, the Carlton terrace witnessed the meaning of true love and companionship under the moonlight.
