Karwa Chauth Fact-checked

Karwa Chauth – or it’s equivalent Teej - gives Indian women a sense of power: they can lengthen their husband’s lifespans. Their fasting will keep their husband healthy. The 1997 release of Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (DDLJ) and Ekta Kapoor’s Saas-Bahu serials convinced a generation of women into following? a one-day hunger ritual in the name of their men living longer.

28 years after DDLJ has come and gone (actually, it refuses to go, just like Shah Rukh Khan and lower back pain) the Karwa (also spelled Karva) Chauth ritual is bigger than ever. It has gone from tradition to pop culture, and is now hard-baked into the psyche of a generation of women. Many Indian women willingly embrace it, while many others succumb to peer pressure. A few valorous, overweight men reciprocate, evoking “Awww”s and the occasional tear.

No tears for the women staying hungry, of course. It is now a part of the job description of “wife”.

Logic says that if for 28 years these women fasted so that their men live longer, then the men must be living longer. Indian men must be outliving their brethren elsewhere, given the decades of sacrifice undertaken by their dutiful, loving wives.

No-one has done research on women who fast on Karva Chauth/Teej, and whether their husbands live longer. There is no data on this topic.

In the absence of such data, we looked at general numbers. Overall, male life expectancy in India is 70 years – well below the global average of 73. Japanese men outlive Indian men by 11 years, although Karva Chauth and Teej have no Japanese equivalents. Hmm.

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Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_life_expectancy

As the chart above shows, India does quite badly in the male longevity derby. India is an 80% Hindu nation where a healthy chunk of women fast. Yet, the data seems to say that the womens’ fasting isn’t working.

But India is like 30 countries in one, and applying averages to such diversity is a grave mistake. Anyone with a scientific bent would have to take a closer look at the data on a state-by-state basis.

Delhi -a state of migrants reputed for smog and? top-class government medical facilities – comes in at #1 with a male life expectancy of 74.3 years. That is a surprise given that pollution is supposed to reduce lifespans. But Delhi has a strong Karva Chauth tradition, and maybe the fasting counters the impact of pollution, helping the men live longer. Or, maybe it is the hospitals.

But as India’s only city-state with an extraordinarily high GDP and no rural population, Delhi is not truly representative or directly comparable to other states.

Number 2 is a shock - the erstwhile J&K, where the Hindu population is just 29%, has a male life expectancy of 72.6. The majority are Muslims and Buddhists: definitely non Karva-chauthers.

#3 is even worse: Kerala with a male life expectancy of 72.3 years. Kerala is one of the few openly beef-eating states in India. Having escaped the snares of both Karan Johar and Ekta Kapoor, it has almost zero Karva Chauthers.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/where-in-india-will-you-live-the-longest-and-where-shortest/articleshow/92178313.cms

The final nail in the coffin is that the Hindi belt – what marketers would call “Karva-Chauth/Teej Heavy users” – seem to have the shortest life spans. MP, UP and Chattisgarh have the shortest male lifespans in the entire country. Chhatisgarh comes in at just 63.7 years - almost five years below the national average, and ten years below the world average.

The data seems to indicate that women fasting for their men – be it Teej or Karva Chauth - doesn’t work. These numbers are a death-blow to the Karva Chauth/Teej myth.

But Teej and Karva Chauth are cultural fixtures. The Economic times says “Karva Chauth has become a Valentines day of Married Couples” (source ). Questioning Karva Chauth is now akin to Blasphemy.

So maybe we can continue with the idea of Karva Chauth/teej, but change its content? What can one do to help men live longer? Mass sign-ups to Yoga and health clubs instead of jewellery shopping? A Better diet – where the whole family will eat just fruit for a week? Based on science, these should work.

Or maybe Karva Chauth is when you can donate time or money to a charity that works on hunger? That way you feed someone who is really hungry, instead of starving a well-fed person for a day.

Finally, if you look closer, you will notice that women seem to outlive men across the board – by many years in multiple states. And in every part of India there are fasts that women keep in some shape or form, that men rarely ever do.

Maybe a hint for our well-fed male population?

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Chetan Mahajan is a Penguin-published author who writes articles, short stories and many other forms. Chetan co-founded the?Himalayan Writing Retreat ?in 2016. He has survived seven dog bites and still loves dogs. He is equally patient with humans, especially his students.