It has been nine years since Sunita Yadav started fasting on the occasion of Teej.Sunita, a Lahan resident, started celebrating the festival since the year she got married. When asked why she thought of accepting the festival that is mostly celebrated among hill community Sunita asked back, "Can't a Madhesi woman celebrate the festival when it makes religious significance?"
Sunita feel wrong in giving communal color to festivals. "Both Pahadi and Madhesi are Hindus and we have faith on the same god," she added while elaborating on the significance of the festival to her.
A gathering of Sunita's friends at her residence ate dar, a special feast taken by Hindu women a day before the Teej fast, on Tuesday night and the next day they fasted without drinking water and eating food, just like women from hill community do.
Teej coincides with another festival Ganesh Chaturthi or Chaurchan and on the day, the Madhesi women worship the moon in the evening. On the occasion of chaurchan, they offer puri, daal, rice pudding and curd to moon. And both festivals are given equal importance.
Such celebrations in the Tarai region has helped in building cross-community bonding between the hill and Tarai community members, say locals. Responding to embracing of cross cultural practices, Kabita Sah, another woman observing the Teej fast, said that the hill community members have also widely owned the Chhath festival, which otherwise is supposed to be celebrated by Tarai community members. She claims that such cultural exchanges help in overcoming cultural differences among both communities.
Bela Shrestha, Kunti Sah and Rupa Yadav are known as very closed and inseparable friends among locals of Gol Bajar of Sirha. All these friends celebrate Teej, Chaurchan and Chhath together and in doing so set example in strengthening social harmony between the Madhesi and hill community members.
"We realize that we are from separate communities, only when others tell us. We condemn the communal violence and attempts made at breaking social harmony," says the trio in one voice. They say that they believe in god and in that the god did not create them different from each other.
Surendra Shrestha, another Lahan resident says that he has equal enthusiasm about celebrating the Chhath, Dahsain or Holi festival. Areas surrounding the East-West Highway and areas surrounding the Chure range are inhabited by hill and Madhesi community members. And the understanding and mutual respect and adoption of each others cultural practices has helped in strengthening ties between the communities, says Durga Mahato, a social worker from Lahan.
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