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NEW DELHI, INDIA, October 15, 2003: Hinduism Today correspondent Rajiv Malik reports from Delhi, “On Karva Chauth day, which was observed in North India on October 13 and 14, tens of millions of women keep a fast, taking neither food nor water, for the well being and long life of their husbands. The prominent government minister, Mrs. Sushma Swaraj, dressed in a red colored saree as a newly-wed married lady, which most of the women do on this day, was seen performing traditional Karva Chauth puja with over five hundred women in West Delhi. This was shown on the Aajtak Channel, a very popular news channel of India Today Group, and the channel also kept monitoring the appearance of the moon throughout the evening. Only after seeing the moon do the women break their day-long fast in the evening/night. Normally women go out of their houses and on their roof tops to see if the moon is up yet. But in this case, for the first time Aaajtak Channel kept monitoring whether moon can be sighted or not on a special television set which was kept behind the news anchor.” He also sent the report which appears at “source” above and reads: “The saas-bahu (mother-in-law vs. daughter-in-law) soaps have finally taken their toll on impressionable minds of GenNow (“Generation Now,” we think). The ‘I, Me, Myself’ generation now celebrates the ‘My Family’ spirit, with Karva Chauth having become a cool fad among teenagers. Ultra-hip 17-year-olds observed a Karva Chauth fast on Tuesday, so what if traditionally it’s a north Indian custom where married women keep off food and water for the long lives of their husbands. For some of these youngsters it’s a trend, for others it’s pure devotion, and there are still others like Akanksha Channan for whom it’s just fun giving company to her mother who observes the fast. ‘It’s more like curiosity for me, to find out what it’s like to observe a fast,’ says Akanksha, a first-year Sociology student at Sri Venkateshwara College. Anu Chib, a first-year B.A. (Pass) student at DCAC finds it thrilling to compete with friends, testing the will power to fast for an entire day. ‘It’s fun testing our endurance levels. Plus, it isn’t a bad practice at all — I’m fasting for my future husband after all,’ she says with a laugh. Prajwal Bhalla, first-year English student at Venky is more serious about the ritual: ‘I’m fasting for my boyfriend, my future hubby. I’ve been doing it for sometime now. I don’t think observing a Karva Chauth fast is a backward notion, and it’s not that I have to adorn an Indian dress for the occasion.’ In fact, we spotted Prajwal partying away with friends (sans food, drinks or water, of course) in the evening. As the GenNow believes, it’s the spirit that really counts.”

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