KATHMANDU, August 4, 2013: In Nepal, every month has its own specialty and importance. Shrawan (July/August), which is a holy month for all the Hindu women, is a month of green colour. This month, married women fast for the long lives of their husband whereas unmarried woman fasts in order to have a husband like Lord Shiva. It is believed that wearing green bangles makes the Lord happy and would shower his blessings upon them.

Celebrating Shrawan with green attires and accessories is a new trend which is not even a decade long. But still every year has been a hype. With the onset of this month, usually, the stores are filled with green attires, bangles, bead necklaces et cetera for the women. Women browse through the stores to find a green coloured kurti or a sari also. Not only that, the cosmetic stores are packed with women to buy green bangles, bindi and glass beads necklaces. 

Anju Neupane, a housewife and a resident of Gongabu believes it to be a tradition and follows it whole-heartedly. “Wearing green in the month of Shrawan and fasting makes Shiva ji happy. So I bought two dozens of green bangles and a green kurtha with a tinge of yellow and red.” She combines red, green and yellow bangles and wears it throughout the month. 

During this month, the sale goes up at the cosmetic stores and other clothing stores because women look out for either green sari or kurtha. Numerous cosmetic stores are filled with women to buy the accessories for the month. 

Talking about Shrawan and shopping, Pramod Kumar Thakuri, who owns a big cosmetic store, Shree Kalanki Mai Shringaar Mahal in Kalanki said, “With the advent of Shrawan, I fill my stores with green accessories. Hair clips, rubber bands, beads necklaces, bindi and especially bangles. By the end of the month there’s not even a single green accessory left.”

He said in this month 90 per cent of green and 10 per cent red accessories are sold. Every year the demand of green accessories is increasing as per Thakuri.

Whereas, the clothing store for women is still full of green kurtha and saris. Suman Kedia, the store owner of Big Jos Store, Khichapokhari complained that there were very few customer who bought green attires this time. “Every year there used to be great demand of green clothing but this year I have sold only a few of them. Last year we ran out of green kurthas in the middle of the month and lots of people came looking for it. So, this year I bought plenty of them.”

The women are adorned in red and green attires, with bangles and mehendi on their hands. Married and unmarried women load their hands with green bangles and fast every Mondays of this month. Sharing the importance of wearing green this month Sunayana Vaidya Shrestha from Sitapaila said, “In the month of Shrawan, the main focus is green and red. I bought green bangles, decorated my hands with mehendi and bought one green sari too.” She believes that Shrawan is a green month as we can see greenery everywhere, the new leaves are grown and wearing green and fasting for Lord Shiva gives long life to the husband.

Women need no reason to shop no matter which month, but Shrawan is a month when they are supposed to buy green accessories. Comparatively, this month is greener in every way. The environment is green and above all, the green attires and accessories complements the greenery around. It won’t be wrong to call it a fashionable month of the year.

Source: The Himalayan, DT. August 4, 2013.