Festive season to kick in with the thread of love

With Rakshabandhan next week, Hindus will celebrate the first major festival of the four-month-long holy period Chaturmas. A week after Rakshabandhan, they will observe Janmashtami, followed by the Ganesh festival and Durga Puja. Before Chaturmas ends on November 6, the last major festival will be Diwali.

Chaturmas begins in the month of Ashad (June-July) and ends in Kartik (October-November). MV Ganesh Shastri, chief priest at Matunga’s Bhajana Samaj temple said that the period has special religious significance because monks and other holy men do not travel during this time.

“They do this to avoid killing insects and small creatures that come out during the rains,” he said.
Many temples organise discourses and other religious programmes during this period.

While festivals like Diwali are also occasions to indulge, the period is largely a time of abstinence. The Mondays of Shravan are dedicated to worshipping Lord Shiva, and devotees mark the day with fasts. “People take different vows during Chaturmas — some avoid non-veg food, others read holy books,” said KA Vishwanathan, a Matunga resident.

The orthodox follow strict rules during this period. For instance, curd or yoghurt is avoided in Bhadrapad, as is milk in Ashwin. People avoid leafy vegetables in Shravan. Legumes are avoided in Kartik.

Keshav Chandra Das of International Society for Krishna Consciousness said that some practices have practical reasons. “It is believed that in the absence of the sun during Shravan, our digestive system becomes weak. Leafy vegetables are harder to digest and are avoided in this period,” he said.