On the festive fall afternoon of October 29th, a group of over 90 ladies, enthusiastically  came to celebrate the traditional Karwa Chauth Puja,  that is held every year at the Satsang Center, Woburn. The great diversity of Hindu Dharmic traditions is revealed through its traditional festivals, which help in symbolizing, reflecting and enriching social life in a specific cultural context. The Satsang Center and Gayatri Parivar have jointly  hosted this event for the last four years. Sangeeta Saxena created contacts with lots of interested ladies in the surrounding  community for over a month and invited them to jointly celebrate the festival. All the participants came elegantly dressed in festive bridal colors. Several ladies had beautiful henna designs also on their hands. As such, Karwa Chauth is a traditional fasting day kept by married Hindu women seeking the long-life, well-being and prosperity of their husbands. Some keep a strict fast and do not take even a drop of water. At night when the moon appears, women break their fast after offering water to the moon. In Hindu Dharma, the goal of life is Self-realization or the realization of the Supreme Consciousness (Parmatman), and fasting has been a much sought after technique among many others, in pursuit of this goal.

The festival of Karwa Chauth has emerged as a day to celebrate the festive  season of autumn and enjoy the company of close  friends and relatives. As the name suggests, Karwa meaning a clay pot and Chauth meaning fourth, that is this festival is observed on the fourth day after the Full Moon in Kartik month of the Hindu calendar (nine days before Diwali). Apart from the fast, kept by married lady for the long life of their husbands, people like to remember and meet their relatives and friends, and exchange gifts with them. Thus, Karva Chauth is very much a social and seasonable festival as it is a religious affair. In the extremely rich tapestry of India's cultural diversity, the festival of Karwa Chauth, shows the utmost  value of family and the significant role of women in Hindu Dharma. Indeed, in most Hindu households, the lady serves as a significant link between the family and society. Thus, apart from religious reasons, this festival of Karwa Chauth holds more of a social significance.

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