She was only a teenager when she first got her periods. Although she was aware about this physical change owing to her mother and elder sisters, she was completely unprepared for the behavior she was suddenly subjected to. She was made to sit alone on the floor and a plate of food was slid towards her as if she were a pet dog. She felt so depressed and humiliated that she couldn’t even eat properly for the following few days.
“I hadn’t done anything to deserve such conduct. Menstruation, after all, is not a crime, a sin or a disease,” says Ramala Bhandari, program officer at an INGO.[break]
Menstruation is considered “impure” and “inauspicious” by a large chunk of Nepali society. In fact, there is an entire festival dedicated to redeeming oneself for committing the sin of being on periods.
Rishi Panchami, which falls on the Shrawan Shukla Panchami, is one of the major festivals observed by Hindu women across the nation.
On this day, women consume only those foodstuffs that are light, pure and prepared by themselves. Those women on their fertility cycle take a bath and worship the seven holy saints, the Saptarishi, namely, Kashyap, Atri, Bharadwaj, Vishwamitra, Gautam, Janadagni and Vashishtha, along with their source of power, Arundhati. Women, by conducting this puja, apologize profusely for intentionally or unintentionally touching food, flowers, water, auspicious objects or the male members of their family while on their periods. The festival is observed at temples, riverbanks or homes in groups or in solitude. It’s believed to be auspicious also because it’s associated with women’s health, fortune, family and fate.
Bharati Gautam, a retired teacher, considers this an immensely important part of Hindu culture. She has been celebrating this festival ever since she got her periods and continues to do so till today. Unlike those women who prefer to stop observing these rituals after menopause, she is in no mood to abandon something that was taught by her parents and grandparents.
“It’s been with us since the ancient ages. We must preserve it no matter how modern we become because our culture is our identity,” she claims.
Like most other festivals, Rishi Panchami too has its origins in the ancient mythology. Arun Nepal, a local priest, narrates a story from Bhawishya Puran about the commencement of this festival. Long ago, women were cursed by Lord Indra for “Brahmahatya,” that is, the burden of sin carried by those who kill Brahmins. Later in the Dwaapar Yug, when Yudhisthir, the eldest of the Pandavas, wanted to know how women could liberate themselves from this curse, Lord Krishna is believed to have suggested that they should perform the rituals of Rishi Panchami.
Furthermore, Arun says that the Rishi Panchami rites hold close proximity with scientific principles since they are both focused on cleansing and purification. As per the rules, women should brush their teeth with “datiwan” or “apaamaarga,” a kind of herb, and wash themselves with red mud or that soil which is stepped upon by elephants, also known as “sangraam,” for 360 times.
“Our religion has scientific basis. Menstruating women are kept separately so that they can get ample rest during this period and also maintain sanitation,” Arun insists.
Arun’s argument regarding the need for cleanliness and rest for menstruating women is strongly supported by Dr. Saraswati Padhye, a renowned gynecologist. However, she considers menstruation a natural bodily procedure like urinating, perspiring or defecating. It’s always advisable to take sufficient rest and pay special attention to personal hygiene while on periods but it has nothing to do with the purity quotient of a woman. Particularly during menarche, she emphasizes, teenage girls should be given love, support and psychological counseling about the changes in their body instead of segregating them.
“Menstruation is not filthy or disgraceful. It’s nothing to feel embarrassed or guilty about. As long as you can maintain sanitation, you are “pure,” she declares.
The notion of “impurity” that is often associated with menstruation is a highly debated one, especially in recent times. And since Rishi Panchami is all about those purity issues surrounding a menstruating woman, this festival too is facing a good deal of skepticism.
Writer and columnist Prabha Kaini, who also talks about Rishi Panchami and the menstruation taboo in her novel “Anaabrit,” is completely against the ideology behind the festival. She does not believe that a woman is “impure” for something that is ascribed by nature. Menstruation, she says, is an obvious sign of fertility, and is therefore a gift and a blessing rather than a felony or a sin. The “cultural burden” that women are made to shoulder by the means of these “purifying” rituals, in her perspective, is extremely demeaning.
“If there is a god who creates, it’s the same one that makes you menstruate. So why should you apologize for something that is not under your control?” she questions.
Apart from those who are strictly in opposition to the idea of menstrual impurity, there are also the others who neither have time nor faith to conduct the Rishi Panchami rites. Away from home, in a foreign soil, one’s roots and culture gain more warmth and significance. However, Rishi Panchami is one such festival that seems to have been facing belief-related problems in other parts of the globe as well.
A graduate student at Brandeis University, Pratistha Gyawali, regards the idea behind Rishi Panchami as an impractical and unscientific one. She feels that unlike other festivals, this one does not bear much importance for Nepalis living abroad. She used to fast and follow the rituals while she was in Nepal but she has stopped now. For an international student like her, it’s already hard to arrange a pundit and perform a puja. In addition to that, in the USA, it’s rather difficult to find “datiwan” or “apaamaarga” which is deemed an essential part of the ritual.
“Menstruation is taken as a natural process here and nobody cares about it even in Nepali families. Moreover, women just don’t get enough time to observe it as most of them are working,” she opines.
That being said, there are many people who usually go for the diplomatic approach of ‘live and let live.’ They may have their own set of ideas regarding something but they never ridicule or reprimand what other people around them have accepted as true.
Many girls claim to have initially observed this festival but later, with time and education, gradually lost faith.
One of them is Pallavi Koirala, a medical student at Kathmandu Medical College. She didn’t feel that it made much sense to celebrate it without actually believing in it. She also thought that the rituals were too demanding in terms of time, energy and ingredients and needed to be modified to best suit the women of today.
Her mother, on the other hand, is still happy to celebrate the festival, albeit with shorter and simpler rituals.
“Mother and I have a deal. She doesn’t force me to observe it and I respect her ideology although I don’t really agree with it,” she concludes.
With changing times, circumstances and perspectives, traditional values and ancient beliefs are obtaining a new color and flavor. While some are harmlessly swinging in between, the general mass appears to be divided in favor of and against this festival that is supposed to have Vedic origins.
Cultural roots are important but it’s also rather difficult to follow those rituals that one has no faith upon. Therefore, maintaining a balance between the two extremes by either choosing the way of tolerance or opting for the remodeled versions of the existing rites are apparently the best options available at the moment.
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