Three Generations on Technology

This the real story of my life that i'm blessed to live it. It's about my grandmother, mother and me and our relation with technology.

Good Girls (In Nepal)

I am a proud Nepali girl, but when you are one the girls in your family your elder female member start giving advice on how to be a good girl. The following advices not all given to me, some of them are what given to my elders by their elders.So some of the advice (not all of them) I have received are:

1.Speak with respect
No matter how bad people are talking about you or someone you love, if the person talking those kind of thing are elder than you or is elder in relation than you, don't talk back to them. It doesn't matter what they say, you don't talk back.

2.Never use swear word

Teej

Today is Teej, for overall Hindu female either married or unmarried women, a teenager or a girl it is their festival. In this day all the women fast for the long life of their husband and unmarried girls fast so they will get a good husband and have a good future with them.  The person taking this fast will neither eat nor drink, not even a drop of water. It is believed that fasting this way god will be pleased and grant the wish of the fasting person. Since it is very unhealthy not to eat and drink for a whole day straight, priests and Gurus encourage to eat fruits and water to the person who is fasting. Health conscious people, weak women, pregnant women, elder women and ill women can eat some foods which are rated as ‘ok to eat’ like rice pudding, milk product, yoghurt, Sabudana, fruits etc. Basically don’t eat salt, meat, garlic, tomato, onion. This day women would go to the Shiva Temple and if they can they will go to Pashupatinath temple.

some hindu women performing a teej ritual

It is believed that this tradition was started by our Goddess Parvathi when she fasted for days without eating or drinking anything so she will get married to Lord Shiva. And after this she did got married to the Lord Shiva and lived happily with her husband.

The fast starts with taking a shower in the morning and wearing a pure clothes which usually means clean, washed clothes. Since it is Teej, the choice of color is Red for clothes. Married women get ready in Red Sari, beads, golds, bangles, anklet, tika, wear makeups and etc. And goes to the Temple. Then they gather around sing folk songs about Teej and dance.

At the evening, the fasting women will have to lit a diyo and pray to god again. Then they end their fast by drinking water washed from their husband’s foot, and eat only fruits as dinner.  The fast ends properly when they take bath the next day.

Teej:Dar khane Din

Tomorrow is Teej. So today is ‘Dar khane din’ where every younger female relatives of a family are invited and served with delicious foods (‘dar’) and deserts and presented with gifts like tika(bindi in Hindi), bangles, pote (necklace of beads) etc. The food basically involves proteins, carbohydrate, and hydrating fruits like mutton, fish, rice/pulao, rice pudding, spinach, cucumber pickle and some Indian sweets. The reason to include all those things to eat today so that it will be easier to take fast tomorrow because you cannot eat or drink a thing tomorrow.

Normally, people don’t eat meat product day before their fast but for Teej, it’s ok to eat meat product. In Kathmandu, and other city area new tradition has been introduced to arrange this ‘Dar’ program from like months beforehand by many women clubs and women related organization. And women

More on how we celebrate Teej tomorrow. Stay tuned!