Kajarī Tīj 2017

Kajarī Tīj, also called Baḍī Tīj (the big Tīj), Satūḍī Tīj, or Bhojarī Tīj, falls on Kṛṣṇa Pakṣa Tṛtīyā (Śrāvaṇa Kṛṣṇa Tṛtīyā under the amānta month reckoning used across South and West India, Bhādrapada Kṛṣṇa Tṛtīyā under the pūrṇimānta reckoning used across North India) and is primarily celebrated in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and parts of Rajasthan. It is the third and last of the three monsoon Tīj festivals (after Hariyālī Tīj in Śrāvaṇa and Haritālikā Tīj in Bhādrapada Śukla).

The word kajarī refers to the songs sung during this festival: the Kajarī folk song genre of the Bundelkhand and Purvaanchal regions, known for their imagery of the monsoon sky, the koel (cuckoo), the rains, and separation. Kajarī songs are among the most ancient forms of Hindi folk music; Mīrābāī, Tulsīdās, and later Ameer Khusro all contributed to this genre.

Women fast for the day, pray to Pārvatī and Śiva for marital happiness, and in the evening perform a pūjā using items like neem twigs, fresh maize, barley, and soil. The fast is broken after moonrise, once the moon has been viewed and worshipped. In some areas, small earthen pots filled with soil and wheat seedlings (grown over 7 days beforehand) are carried in procession and immersed in a river or pond: symbolising the end of the sowing season and offering the first-fruits to the earth.