The Hindu festival Hariyali Teej celebrates the union of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati and falls in the holy month of Sawan – at a time when rain splashes across India, bringing relief from heat waves and a chance for farmers to rejoice over their harvest.
The festival is therefore a joyous occasion when women get together and apply mehndi (henna) and participate in joyous song and dance. Celebrated mainly across northern India, Teej holds special significance for married women who observe fasts and pray for their husbands' wellbeing and long lives. In some cases, unmarried women also join in with the hope of being united with a devoted life partner.
To mark this annual festival, the North India Chapter of Inspiring Indian Women (IIW) brings the vibrant festivities to the UK under the guidance of Sunita Chaubey. Now in its second year, the group celebrated the festival recently with colourful performances and much fun and frolic. The event is conceived as a means to connect British Indian children to their Hindu traditions and festivals.
The performers at this year’s grand celebrations included: Aneesha Saxena, Anusha Baranwal, Prachi Tawade, Amrita Dolly Pandey, Neetu Saxena, Ushma Gupta, Ekta Mishra, Avaani Mishra, Yashvita Pandey, Akansha Shukla, Surabhi Srivastava, Manju Shah, Swapna Mukherjee, Seema Shah, Akansha Shukla, Anchal Upadhyay, Shweta Jha, Arti Verma, Sunita Verma, Veena Mehra, Sakshi Chaubey, Ekta Mishra, Aditi Pandey, Bandana Choubey, Vrishti Mishra, Aparajita Chaubey, Siddhant Chaubey. Juhi Srivastava and Shalini Jaiswal Shah addressed the gathering to highlight the importance of Teej.
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This event also offered a platform for women entrepreneurs, who set up numerous stalls for sarees, accessories and much more.
IIW as a not-for-profit organisation geared towards UK-based Indian women inspiring each other with their success stories. It not only aims to help and promote Indian culture across the globe but also provide a healthy platform for these women to motivate and support others.
*Info: Inspiring Indian Women