Celebrate Teej in Rajasthani style

Nagara from Banchar and folk artists from Algoza, Rajasthan welcomed shoppers who turned up for fun and left with bags full of ghevar and jewellery during the recently concluded Teej Festival at Dilli Haat, INA.

Rajasthani ambience was created with huge swings set up at the venue, keeping in mind the spirit of Teej. Women, young and old in keeping with tradition got mehendi on their hands. While for the young, Teej was just another reason to decorate their hands, the married women took time in selecting the best mehendi designs. While waiting to get the mehendi done, Rachna Jain, a resident of Shahdara shared, “In our culture, it is a must to apply mehendi on Teej. I belong to UP and come to Dilli Haat every year during this festival because one gets everything that is required –from puja samagri to bangles and mehendi, to celebrate Teej.”

The next stop for women was the bangles and artificial jewellery stalls. One of the favourite spots with almost all the ladies was Girija Bangles House that offered colourful designer jewellery with stone work. Shruti Sharma, the jewellery designer there said, “The bangles, earrings, necklaces and bridal jewellery is made from lac and embellished with coloured stones in traditional Bikaneri style.” The prices ranged from Rs 80 -2500.

The intricately embroidered and rather fashionable mojris were another hot favourite with shoppers. Chauthi Devi, a traditional jutti weaver said, “There are different juttis for special occasions. For Teej, leheria design juttis are worn since they are colourful and go with the monsoon theme. Earlier juttis used to be stiched at the back which caused a shoe bite but now it is made in one piece with open back and we have begun adding a heel to the juttis we make, to cater to the modern demands of youth,” she added.

How can a festive mela on Teej be complete without traditional food? So just before the fast, women enjoyed lip-smacking Rajasthani cuisine that included pyaaz and mawa kachoris along with chatpati chaat and chilled Rajasthani Rangieli Chuski. There was also jaljeera to beat the heat and above all, the unforgettable, khoya ghevar from Udaipur. Many enjoyed Teej while the rest prepared for upcoming rakhi.

Namrata Tandon from Advik Concept (a stall that sold rakhis) said, “This year there is a rush for Chota Bheem, Ben Ten and Doraemon rakhis among kids. The older generation is opting for big stone embellished rakhis and the younger generation is mostly demanding simple threads.”

An incense stall was also revived after two years to enable shoppers to buy necessities such as agarbattis and dhoop battis for Teej puja. However, some stall owners were unhappy with the low footfalls. A tense bangle seller, Nazma said, “In the previous years even afternoons used to be a busy affair but due to less rainfall and extreme heat this year, there has been a low footfall of visitors which has affected sales.”

The salesmen might be unhappy but the shoppers had a gala time! If only the rain gods would oblige too.