Festival Special
Hariyali Teej is not just a festival of makeup, swings, and fasting, but it is a symbol of the Indian woman’s self-confidence, love, and connection with nature. In the race of modernity, this festival may be becoming a medium of display, but its soul is still alive in the minds of women, the environment, and folk culture. This festival gives the message of stability in relationships, harmony in society, and brings greenery into life. There is a need to live it again with simplicity, collectivism, and sensitivity, so that tradition moves forward with modernity.
As soon as we hear the name of Hariyali Teej, a picture emerges in front of our eyes-fields draped in green dupatta, earth drenched in raindrops, swinging girls, hands decorated with mehendi, and the melodious echo of folk songs. But this picture now remains only in our memory, because the fast pace of modernity has diluted the colours of traditions. Yet Hariyali Teej is still deeply embedded in the hearts of Indian women. This festival today is not only important in religious or traditional terms, but also holds special importance in social, mental, and cultural contexts.
Hariyali Teej is a major festival celebrated in the rainy season, which is celebrated by married women in memory of the reunion of Shiva and Parvati. It comes on the third day of Shukla Paksha of Shravan month, when the sky is filled with clouds and greenery spreads on the earth. The basic spirit of Hariyali Teej is love, dedication, beauty, and oneness with nature. While earlier this festival was celebrated collectively in the open environment in villages and towns, today its soul is getting lost somewhere in the glare of urban apartments, air-conditioned halls, and social media.
The question is not whether the festival is being celebrated or not; the question is with what spirit we are celebrating it. Earlier this festival used to be a natural opportunity to provide women a little relief from the busyness and hard work of the whole year, and to preserve their emotional world. Women used to meet each other in the natural environment without any pretense, share their joys and sorrows, and weave their experiences into folk songs. But now this festival has turned into events like ‘Best Shringar Pratiyogita’, ‘Teej Queen’, and ‘Selfie with Swing’, where competition has taken the place of empathy.
Hariyali Teej highlights that side of a woman’s mind which is associated with love, waiting, and family dedication. In today’s era, when relationships are changing into quick communication and momentary emotions, this festival gives the message of stability, faith, and patience. This festival also teaches that relationships are not maintained only by rights but by duty and emotion. Whether it is fasting for the long life of the husband or the imagination of marital relations like Shiva-Parvati, there is a feeling hidden in all these that makes a woman a symbol of self-confidence and not of sacrifice.
If seen in the modern context, this festival gives birth to many new meanings. While earlier, Teej was limited to married women only, now in many places, unmarried girls have also started celebrating it as a spiritual experience and collective culture. For working women, this festival is becoming a medium to connect with their existence and cultural identity. The same women, who sit in front of computer screens in offices all day, connect with nature for a few moments by swinging on the occasion of Teej. This connection is like an emotional treatment in today’s era of mental fatigue and stress.
But this journey of modernity does not bring only positive changes. Teej has now become a ‘social media event’, where every woman has to dress up, thinking that her photo should look the most beautiful. Trends like #TeejLook, #GreenDressChallenge, and #TeejVibes on Facebook and Instagram fill the festival with glamour, but also hollow its soul. The festival has now become more of a competition of show-off than a celebration of the mind. This is the reason that even after the festival is over, the mind is not satisfied, because that connection, that togetherness, that intimacy is now limited only to the pictures.
The most beautiful thing about Hariyali Teej was that this festival brought us closer to nature. Swings in the fields, paper flowers hanging on trees, idols of Shiva and Parvati made of clay – all these reminded us that we are a part of nature. Today, when we are struggling with crises like climate change, global warming, deforestation, and pollution, festivals like Teej can give us the consciousness of environmental protection. If the tradition of planting a tree on every Teej is started, if children are taught to love trees along with swinging, then this festival can become an environmental movement, not just a religious one.
Women used to sing folk songs on Teej, which contained the pain of women, their hopes, their laughter, and their dialogue with society. Today, those folk songs have become mobile ringtones or are limited to YouTube views. We have to bring these songs back to life. Women’s voices have to be re-woven into their language, their tunes, and their folk music. If we really talk about women’s empowerment, then it is important to revive these cultural platforms, because these give women the most natural ground for self-expression.
Today, when women are participating in every field of education, service, politics, and science, it is necessary that festivals should also be accepted in their new forms. Teej should not be limited to traditional makeup and fasting; it should be linked to self-introspection, cultural dialogue, and social consciousness. Teej should not be a festival celebrated only within the four walls of the house; rather, it can become an opportunity for women’s awareness, environmental protection, folk culture protection, and social dialogue. If a woman plants a tree on Teej, distributes food to malnourished children, and conducts a dialogue against domestic violence, then she can give new consciousness to this festival.
Urbanisation and consumerism have turned our festivals into gifts, expensive lehengas, and Instagram-worthy decorations. Teej has now become the hub of readymade garments, beauty parlours, and ‘fashion shows with swing theme’. We are forgetting that the beauty of this festival was in its simplicity-the green dupatta knitted by mother’s hands, the swing decorated by sister, the mehendi given by neighbour. This simplicity made the festival a celebration; this intimacy made it alive. If we do not give up simplicity and intimacy while adopting modernity, then this festival can become more prosperous.
Hariyali Teej is the poem of a woman’s mind, which she writes on the pages of nature every year. This festival tells us that a woman is not just a symbol of sacrifice, but is also the power of creation. When she swings, she does not just enjoy, she communicates with time-with the past moments, with the coming tomorrow. When she worships Shiva-Parvati, she does not just perform religious acts; she recognizes the energy, dedication, and power within herself. And when she wears green clothes, she does not just adorn herself; she embraces the greenery of life.
Therefore, there is a need to reconnect Hariyali Teej with its soul. Tradition and modernity should be made companions, not opposing poles. While preserving traditions, explain to the new generation that festivals are not just an occasion to wear clothes and get photographed, but are a way of living the basic values of life. If we understand this spirit of Teej, then this festival can make our society even more beautiful, inclusive, and sensitive.
