Kathmandu, September 6:

The Teej festival was today observed in the capital without reports of any kind of unsocial activities, according to the Valley Police Office. Considering the safety and security of the devotees, Pashupati Area Development Trust (PADT) had on Sunday requested thousands of hindu women visiting Pashupatinath to follow the standards fixed by the trust. The visitors were requested not to wear expensive jewelleries, prohibited to take mobile phones, glass and plastic objects on the premises of the temple for security reasons. Thousands of women visited Pashupatinath temple today. Streets at and around Tilganga, Gaushala, Boudha, Chabahil and Maharajgunj remained crowded with groups of women dancing and singing on their way to temples, and the street vendors occupied the pavements offering ritual packages.

Other Shiva temples in the capital also witnessed the whirling dances and Teej songs from women dressed in different shades of red.

Anita Sapkota, an advocate by profession, said the festival means more as a reunion of family members and sisters who had been so busy throughout the year. “This festival strengthens our bonding with the husband and the other members of the family.” Married women took out a fast to please God Shiva to bestow his blessings upon their husbands for their prosperity and longevity while unwed girls observed the day for virtuous husbands. The Teej, which is celebrated for three days, started yesterday as the day of feast (dar khane) with women taking sweets and other foods till late at night as a preparation for the fast today. Today was the second day of Teej in which women took a fast replicating the day when Parvati observed a fast to obtain Shiva as her husband. For women, this is the day of reunion with their sisters and friends married far off. Their get-together turns out into spontaneous singing and dancing to express the joy of reunion and to shoo away their hunger and tiredness. They will break the fast by performing rituals tomorrow.