(The original post was published on 31/10/2015)
Karva Chauth is all about tradition and has also been the target of
women who consider it a sign of men's tyranny. With education and
awareness of a more liberated outlook spreading, one would expect this
festival to receede in the background. Yet, exactly the opposite has
happened.
Seeing it from a small town perspective, think the festival actually explains the digital phenomena. It's just that digital age has resulted in a more amplified view and celebration. It's the perception that has been amplified. And that has resulted in people being more aggressive in demonstrating that they follow/observe it. I saw two karva chauth apps which explain each ritual, what to wear, what to use and also have alarms which remind the women about what to do when. Even the ritual of fasting seems to have been made easy. Women were thronging multiplexes in groups to see the new releases in the morning....divert attention, busy posting updates on FB.....whats app group were busy with women exchanging jokes, videos....
Even employers, specially in small towns where it's not the MNCs or big private companies, but besides the govt and public sector, it's small time traders, businessmen, retailers who were willingly allowing the female employees to take leave with pay, being seen as compassionate....in fact some businesses shut shop early to allow husbands to reach home on time. By not doing so they were fearing a backlash on social media. And local pop ads highlighting local jewellery stores or food outlets were also quite visible
.
Social media had galvanised local media too. I counted 12 ads which were directly karva chauth related offers two days prior to karva chauth. These were from local beauty salons, food stores, jewellery and even restaurants offering takeaways and karva chauth meals. But the best were classified ads with couples wishing each other and one vernacular newspaper even had a full page dedicated with couples photos, wishing each other!
To me it was reflecting the arrival of the digital age in all it's glory and pomp. The festival is riding a new digital age. The question is how long will the ride last? Will the novelty wear off? Because finally it is about the belief....and at night that had the last laugh....the cloud cover defeated the apps which using GPS were exactly pointing towards the moon and yet as it was still not visible, the fasting had to wait those few minutes more.
Seeing it from a small town perspective, think the festival actually explains the digital phenomena. It's just that digital age has resulted in a more amplified view and celebration. It's the perception that has been amplified. And that has resulted in people being more aggressive in demonstrating that they follow/observe it. I saw two karva chauth apps which explain each ritual, what to wear, what to use and also have alarms which remind the women about what to do when. Even the ritual of fasting seems to have been made easy. Women were thronging multiplexes in groups to see the new releases in the morning....divert attention, busy posting updates on FB.....whats app group were busy with women exchanging jokes, videos....
Even employers, specially in small towns where it's not the MNCs or big private companies, but besides the govt and public sector, it's small time traders, businessmen, retailers who were willingly allowing the female employees to take leave with pay, being seen as compassionate....in fact some businesses shut shop early to allow husbands to reach home on time. By not doing so they were fearing a backlash on social media. And local pop ads highlighting local jewellery stores or food outlets were also quite visible
.
Social media had galvanised local media too. I counted 12 ads which were directly karva chauth related offers two days prior to karva chauth. These were from local beauty salons, food stores, jewellery and even restaurants offering takeaways and karva chauth meals. But the best were classified ads with couples wishing each other and one vernacular newspaper even had a full page dedicated with couples photos, wishing each other!
To me it was reflecting the arrival of the digital age in all it's glory and pomp. The festival is riding a new digital age. The question is how long will the ride last? Will the novelty wear off? Because finally it is about the belief....and at night that had the last laugh....the cloud cover defeated the apps which using GPS were exactly pointing towards the moon and yet as it was still not visible, the fasting had to wait those few minutes more.
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