Karwa Chauth 2024: From puja items to mehendi, market abuzz with preparations for festivity
Oct 19, 2024
Jodhpur (Rajasthan) [India], October 19 : Karwa Chauth is one of the most important festivals celebrated mainly by Hindu married women in India. It is the celebration of marriage, wherein the wife fasts the entire day for a long and healthy life for her husband.
The married women follow the 'nirjala' fast without food and water, and the moon plays extremely important in fasting. Women can break their fast after the sighting of the chandrama.
As the festival of Karwa Chauth is going to be celebrated all over the nation on Sunday, women have started preparations and markets are all decked up for the festivity.
There are a lot of rituals and special elements that are attached to the festival that make it even more special.
One of them, of course, is Henna or Mehendi, as many call it. Women love to dress up for the occasion and Henna is an important part of their look.
Women in Jodhpur, Rajasthan are getting henna applied on their hands ahead of the Karwa Chauth celebration. 
Markets in Jodhpur are decked up a day before the festivity.
Speaking about the festival to ANI, one of the residents in Jodhpur said, "We keep this fast for the long life of our husbands. During the fast, we include fruits in Sargi. We eat nothing the entire day and break the fast after the moon rises and sip water from the hands of our husband."
Another resident shared that she has also kept the fast and came in the market for applying henna. "We started the preparation for the fast tomorrow. I have come to apply mehndi on my hand and my daughter also first time applied henna on her hand. Tomorrow I will be keeping the nirjala vrat(fasting without drinking water)."
In Prayagraj, also preparations are in full swing and women are purchasing shringaar items in the market. Markets in Lucknow are also decked up a day before the Karwa Chauth celebrations.
In the visuals, women can be seen purchasing the items and applying mehendi.
Similar excitement for the festivity can be seen in Chhatarpur, Madhya Pradesh, where residents thronged the markets for shopping. 
The national capital is also prepared for Karwa Chauth and markets are all decked up for the celebration of the festivity.
Women in Noida also gathered in large numbers to get mehendi applied.
One of them said, "It is my first Karwa Chauth and I am excited about tomorrow. I have come today to get mehendi applied. I will observe the fast tomorrow."
Similarly, women in Chandigarh also reached the local market for shopping and apply heena on their hands.
On Karwa Chauth, married women follow the 'nirjala' fast without food and water, and the Moon plays an extremely important role in fasting. Women can break their fast after the sighting of the 'Moon'.
After watching the Moon from a sieve, fasting women offer Arghaya to the Moon and break the fast by eating a morsel of food and a sip of water from their husband's hands.
