Brings home closer: Indian American women celebrate Karwa Chauth in Atlanta
Atlanta
Far from their families in India, women celebrating Karwa Chauth at a temple in Atlanta have found another circle to share the occasion with: friends who gather for the prayers, follow familiar rituals and help make the distance from home feel smaller. Dozens of Indian American women joined the celebrations, dressed in colourful traditional clothes and carrying decorated prayer plates. For some, the gathering continued a practice followed in the United States for decades. For others, it marked the beginning of married life.
“I think we try to do very much the same way,” Neha said when asked how the celebration compared with India. “But we do miss the family.” Jaya, who said she was from Delhi, explained how friendships helped fill that absence. “Yeah. We have friends. So we come together.” Inside the temple, women sat facing one another on the floor, holding plates with small burning lamps. Fruit, flowers and decorated vessels lay before them. Several covered their heads with embroidered dupattas. Bangles lined their wrists, and henna patterns decorated their hands. The colours ranged from deep red and purple to pink and bright green. Behind the gathering stood an altar with richly dressed deities. Women held their prayer plates before them as they took part in the observance together. One woman, who said she had lived in the United States for 30 years, described returning annually to the Sadhana temple for the festival. Speaking in Hindi, she said the items needed for the celebrations were now available locally and that she remained connected to India through its festivals. Her account reflected a continuity also described by other participants, including women who had observed Karwa Chauth in America without ever having celebrated it in India. “I think we’re able to come together as a community and still perform all the rituals and traditions,” one participant said. Another spoke about the temple’s arrangements and her long association with the gathering.
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“The puja was very well done, as always,” she said. “I’ve come here for 15, 20 years now, and they’ve done always an amazing job.” Alongside the prayers came candid admissions about fasting — and laughter about what might follow. “All of us are always looking forward to getting good gifts from our husbands,” another said, drawing an affirmative response from the group. The gathering also included women who said they were from Pakistan. Their accounts brought another perspective to observing a familiar tradition away from relatives. “This is my first time celebrating. I’m a newlywed,” said Kiran. Her companion, Ashwini, said it was her second celebration. She described the observance as a prayer for a husband’s long life and spoke of the love and patience associated with Shiva and Parvati. Both women discussed the absence of their mothers-in-law from the occasion. Their conversation returned to the place of family in a festival they were now celebrating overseas. Karwa Chauth is observed principally by married Hindu women, particularly in northern India, who traditionally fast for their husbands’ long lives and well-being. Preparations often include henna, festive clothing and decorated prayer plates. The evening rituals may include viewing the moon through a sieve before breaking the fast, linking the day’s observance to practices passed down within families.
