Religious Fasts
The halwais do brisk business on this day since mothers send the baya for their daughters. This baya normally consists often big mathris, ten puas (sugar mixed with atta and kneaded with water and made into medium size pakoras), halwa, some cash and clothes, if one desires. The cash amount need not be too much; it can be anything from Rs. 5 to Rs. 50. A karva is a must -- a karva is a lota (small pitcher) made out of matti (round earthen pot with an outlet on the side, and open from the top with a lid). It should not be too big, but should be the size of an ordinary bath Iota. If a karva is not easily available, then any utensil resembling a lota can be used by making a little round spout (taunti) with a piece of kneaded atta. A sari (in the baya) is a must for the first Karva Chouth of a girl. One thing to be taken care of is that the baya reaches the girl's in-laws' home, where the girl has gone during the course of the day, before the evening. The baya is given to the mother-in-law after the manasna. If the mother-in-law is not present, then the eldest lady in the house is presented with the baya. Sometimes, the elder one chooses to take only the perishable items, and leaves cash and clothes for the mother-in-law. The baya can be accepted by widows also.
The preparation for the puja should be started at about 4 or 5 p.m. Someone older, who is willing, or the housewife herself as the situation demands, prepares a suitable place in the puja room, in case it is a big room which can accommodate all the women who have been invited for the baya; otherwise the best place is a verandah or the open courtyard, since generally the weather is not cold during this season. The puja place is decorated with kharia matti, which has been soaked in water two to three hours earlier, and takes a semi liquid form. A chowk - like in any other puja is decorated on the floor (chowk is described in the glossary). On top of the chowk, the seep chowk is decorated with aipun. This whole chowk should be placed against a wall on one side, where a similarly decorated patta is kept, on which the Gaur Mata is seated. Since the drawing of the chowk takes some time, it should be done much earlier. The Gaur Mata used to be made with cow dung in the shape of a human figure, just about two inches tall. Nowadays a picture or an idol of Parvati is placed on the patta.
Just about an hour or so before moonrise, those who have observed the vrat, dress up again in their chunris or in red or pink clothes with chonp and bindi on their foreheads. Everyone now gathers around the puja place, where a carpet or durrie is spread over the chowk, leaving space for the puja items. The baya for each individual is kept on a thaali, over the karva, which has a little water and seven pieces of pua in it (seven pieces broken from one big pua). The karva itself is decorated with kharia, aipun and a little roli. A strand of kalava (red thread) of any thickness is tied around the narrow part of the karva. The top cover is also decorated and the thaali is placed on the cover, but if the cover comes in its way, it should be set aside. The thaali should be small so as to balance on the karva where the ten mathris or puris with ten puas, halwa, and cash are placed. If a set of clothes is to be given, they need not be placed on top of the karva but near it. The women sit facing the gods, and one elder member (there is no taboo on widows) of the family narrates the story and does the chanting for each woman doing the puja. This is known as manasna, which means to give away and never take back. First of all, roli teeka is applied on the forehead of Gaur Mata before the start of the puja. All the women doing the puja also apply roli teeka on their foreheads and hair parting (known as maang). Everyone does pujan by first dipping the third finger of the right hand in water and sprinkling it with the help of the thumb three times on the deity; the same procedure has to be repeated with aipun and roli and, lastly, the rice is showered. This depicts the bathing of the deity, decoration with aipun, putting of the teeka with roli and, lastly, worshipping the deity with rice. Then taking a little rice in the hand everyone sits down to listen to the story, which is as follows:
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