The Vagabond

This is another fast similar to the much famed karva chauth. Fortunately, not much of propaganda for this day, because niether YashRaj or Karan johar films popularised it, and secondly females will be up in arms against husbands or in-laws but never against their children.

Quite similar to the famed cousin, this fast is kept 4 days after it, in this Kartik month ( Oct -Nov).

You wake up to eat a Sargi, before the fast begins, do not drink water or eat food the entire day. In the afternoon or late evening, prayers are made for the well-being of your child. The fast is broken, when the stars appear in sky.

I always saw my mother keeping it for us, me and my brother. We would also get a gift of our choice. So, when I became a mother, i too continued the tradition of fasting for my child, even though the tradition was not in my in-laws family. I guess that’s what marriages do. You adopt what is good on either side, and follow a new modified tradition.

Originally believed to be only kept for sons, I never saw or felt my mother doing it only for my brother. That’s when I feel slowly with every generation, a shift or acceptance for girl child made us the bold females we are today.

Happy Ahoi Ashtmi!!

May God bless all the children and help them make a better world for themselves and for everyone.