Married Punjabi Women Practicing the Sikh and Hindu Ritual of Karva Chauth (Newport Beach, CA)
Married Punjabi women in Newport Beach, California practicing the Hindu and Sikh ritual of Karva Chauth, an annual ritual in northern India, in which married women fast from sunrise to moonrise in honor of their devotion to their husband, who is considered divinity itself. In this photograph, the women participate in the female-only evening puja in which they perform the feris, or the passing of thalis (plates of fruits), diyas (candles), and incense around the circle. The women offer baayna, a basket of Indian foods and sweets to the Hindu idols and then hand over the basket to their mother-in-law, 2009
(Photo Credit: Sonya Soni)
