Navratri Fasting

Today is the last day of Navratri Fasting, 7th day of fasting to be precise. This time tithis overlapped so there is one less day of fasting, they say one tithi contracted TB......I mean in Gujarati it is known as 'kshay' and only equivalent of Kshay known to me is TB!!

I have been religiously keeping fasts for past so many days....I am sure there must be some change in my weight after so many days of fasting.....I am sure about it....I must have definitely ADDED a couple of kilos to my already heavy load.

While some people fast to appease Gods and Goddesses, I fast to appease my taste buds, so treated myself with all kinds of 'Faral' cookable at home and available outside. Sabudana khichdi, vadas, aalu tokri, paneer tikka, rajgira thepla, kuttu pakoda, singhoda halwa....the list is endless, and I have only today to taste all that I have missed out on!!!

And since I am fasting, people around me have become ultra sympathetic, so whenever anyone from home goes out, returns with juices, soft drinks and sweets, lassi and ice creams, and of course they understand that I must be feeling WEAK after fasting so I am expected to do no work either!

Sigh, sigh. All these will come to an end tomorrow after Naivedya is offered to the Goddess. I will return to being an ordinary member of the house, eating all the routine stuff like daal, bhaat, shaak and rotli! No excuse of weakness or fatigue will be entertained and will have to start cleaning and cooking for the festivals ahead.

Now I have to wait for another year to start feasting (sorry, fasting) again, unless I decide to fast in the month of Shravan - will think about it - because I am not sure whether I will get the same benefits if I decide on a month long fast.