BENGALURU: It’s not just in Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge that the hero (Shah Rukh Khan) fasts for his lady love (Kajol). Some Bengaluru men do it too.
While entrepreneur Prashanth Gantala’s wife Shalini Aggarwal might be fasting for him, he keeps her company. “Though it isn’t a ritual, I fast with her as an indication of the affection that I feel for her.”
Prashant will also participate in the puja in the evening.
Corporate employee Naveen Kumar (name changed) will fast for his girlfriend. “We have been together for two years now. I did not fast during the first year,” he says. “But last year, when she met with an accident, I wanted her to recover quickly. That is when I decided to fast for her.” This year, Naveen’s girlfriend will join the fast too.
Typically, married women observe a day-long fast for the safety and longevity of the husband, eating only after they sight the full moon. The couple, however, won’t be fasting the traditional way; they will only stay hungry till the evening, visit a temple and break their fast. “We will go out for dinner later,” he adds.
While Shalini is fasting for her husband, Vanitha Joshi, a student at Jain University, will follow the practice in the hope that she gets a ‘good husband’. “That’s a tradition followed by Marwadis. I have been fasting for the last 12 years,” she says.
The other women of her family keep the fast and perform the puja too, based on Punjabi customs.
(With inputs from Manjusha Naik)