Women celebrate Sawan on an earlier occasion

Women deck up, adorn themselves with mehendi, sing and make merry, but only if the entire family is happy.

Taking the country as a family, many Ranchi women’s outfits are not celebrating Sawan Mela in the wake of the Uttarakhand cloudburst and flood disaster that left thousands dead, injured and homeless.

In Ranchi, from the times of Unified Bihar, many women’s organisations host Sawan Milan Samaroh, traditional get-togethers during the holy Shravan month.

Women sing songs, dance, deck up in their best green lehengas, cholis and glass bangles and put intricate mehendi designs on hands and feet to vie for the title of Sawan Queen.

But for women with a conscience, Sawan this year won’t be marked with jubilation.

Arpita Mahila Sabha, an umbrella outfit for wives of officers in CCL, CMPDI and IICM (Indian Institute of Coal Management) as well as women employees, won’t host Sawan Milan.

“We did not celebrate it in 1999 when our soldier brothers were fighting in Kargil. And now, after 14 years, we won’t celebrate it this year,” said Nilu Jha, secretary of Arpita Mahila Sabha, a 90-plus-member outfit formed in the early 1980s.

Jha said cash contributions, though necessary, weren’t enough.

“Not celebrating Sawan Milan is a gesture of solidarity for victims of Uttarakhand. We are also collecting clothes for winter so that it reaches them before it is biting cold in the Himalayan state,” she said.

Kasturi Mahila Sabha, an association of CMPDI officers’ wives, will also not organise Sawan this year.

Punjabi Mahila Manch, which normally celebrates Sawan with a talent hunt for women, is not organising it this year.

Poonam Anand of Punjabi Mahila Manch explained their decision.

“We hosted the glamorous programme for the past three years. This year, nearly 100 members of our outfit will take part in a special puja of Bholenath (Shiva) and pray for Uttarakhand survivors and those who lost their lives,” Anand said.

She added: “We are all women with families. Are you in a mood to celebrate when someone in your family is suffering?”

Marwari Mahila Manch, a pan-India outfit with branches in 12 states, meanwhile, has taken an unprecedented decision. This outfit will rehabilitate a village in Uttarakhand.

Roopa Agarwal, president of Jharkhand chapter of Marwari Mahila Manch, told The Telegraph: “All state branches are collecting funds. In Jharkhand, nearly Rs 1.75 lakh has been collected so far.”

She added the rehab plan would be chalked out under the guidance of Everester Bachendri Pal. “Our national president, Lata Agarwal, who stays in Jamshedpur, is in touch with her,” Agarwal said. “A team of mountaineers selected by Pal will survey Uttarakhand and select a village.”