The 16-day festival of ‘Gangaur’ concluded on Friday and
female folks especially from Rajasthani community celebrated the fest while
taking requisite precautions like sanitisation and wearing masks to avoid
COVID-19.
Unlike every year, no colourful processions were taken out
the city to bid farewell to goddess Gauri on Friday.
Expressing gratitude for spring, harvest and marital
fidelity, women concluded their fast with traditional sweets.
“The festival is
about devotion, prayers for longevity of our spouse, togetherness and
recognises the time when Gauri had stayed in her mother’s house,” homemaker
Saroj Sharma said. She explained that special sweets are prepared to celebrate
departure of Gauri to her husband’s house.
Talking about the fest, homemaker Aishwarya Garg said, “Gana
is a synonym for Lord Shiva and Gaur which stands for Gauri or Parvati who
symbolises Saubhagya (marital bliss), therefore we celebrate the festival for
marital bliss.” She explained that unmarried women also fast for 18 days in
hopes of finding their perfect partner.
“I remember fasting for finding my better half and I found
him!” Aishwarya said. She elaborated that this is the most important festival
for people of Rajasthan.