Teejri (Tijri) 2026: The Sindhi Festival of Fasting & Mehndi

Teejri (Tijri): One of the Most Important Sindhi Festivals

Teejri, also spelt **Tijri**, is one of the most important Sindhi festivals — the Sindhi counterpart of the Teej celebrated across North India. Teejri falls on the third day after the full moon of **Shravan**, the holiest month of the Hindu calendar, and generally occurs in August. Married Sindhi women keep a day-long fast praying for the long life and well-being of their husbands, while unmarried girls fast praying to be blessed with a good husband.

What is Teejri? (short answer)

Teejri (Tijri) is a Sindhi festival of fasting, mehndi and moon worship. It falls on the third day after the Shravan Purnima (full moon), usually in August, and is similar to the Teej festival of Northern India.

Women and girls fast for the whole day — many keep a **Nirjal Upwas**, without even a sip of water — visit a temple for pooja, listen to the **Teejri Katha**, and break the fast only after the Teejri moon is sighted and Argh (water) is offered to it.

Why Teejri is celebrated: monsoon, harvest and fertility

In the Hindu tradition great importance is given to agriculture and rain. Many believe Teejri celebrates the arrival of the monsoon, which ensures a good harvest and plenty of food for everyone. It is also considered a festival representing fertility.

Most Hindu festivals — Pongal, Baisakhi, Lohri, Onam — revolve around agriculture and are celebrated at the time of sowing seeds or harvesting the crop. Teejri belongs to the same family of seasonal festivals, tied to the rain that Shravan brings.

Who observes the Teejri fast?

Teejri is especially important for women and girls because it relates to their husbands and husbands-to-be. Married women observe a full-day Vrat and pray for a long and healthy life for their husbands. Young unmarried girls observe the fast and pray to be blessed with a good husband.

Some women do not drink water for the entire day. Sindhis often joke that Teejri is *insurance for Sindhi husbands* — their loving wives pray for and ensure a long life for them.

Mehndi night: Teejri begins a day earlier

Teejri effectively begins the previous evening. All the women and girls of the family get together to apply mehndi to each other. Today most families call professional mehndi artists home, and many shops arrange artists outside their premises — there is a long line of women waiting their turn, because everyone wants the best mehndi design.

Late at night, women eat heartily in anticipation of the next day's fast. **Rabdi** or sweet pudding is in great demand: it is delicious and gives the strength and energy that fasting ladies need to get through the day. Some women then begin a Nirjal Upwas, without water — extremely difficult, but nothing matters more to them than the well-being and long life of their husbands.

Teejri pooja, sprouted moong and the Teejri Katha

On Teejri day, women and girls get ready early in the morning and go to the nearest temple to perform pooja. Traditionally, Sindhi women sprouted **moong dal (green gram)** seeds in earthen pots; the sprouted grains were seen as symbols of fertility and prosperity and were used in the pooja. Some women made a sweet drink from the sprouts to be consumed after the fast.

Today the pooja thali usually holds flowers, sindoor, a lamp, agarbatti and prasad. Women then go to the nearest Maharaj or Brahmin who recites the **Teejri Katha** — a very important part of the day. Every woman or girl observing the fast attends this pooja along with the other women of the family.

Jhoolas, get-togethers and modern Teejri

After returning from the pooja, the real fun begins: family get-togethers, games and long conversations. Since all the women are fasting there is no food or drink; some families head to cinema halls to watch a movie together.

In the old days girls tied ropes on trees to make **jhoolas** (swings) and played on them almost the whole day. Times have changed — there are fewer trees, swings are available in most building complexes, and games have moved to mobile phones. Teejri is now also celebrated heavily on social media: girls share pictures of their mehndi designs in family and friends' groups, and an unannounced design competition runs every year on WhatsApp and Facebook.

Breaking the Teejri fast: moon sighting and Argh

As the day passes some women find it hard to continue the fast; a few break it after performing pooja of their favourite deity and asking for forgiveness. Most, however, break the fast only after sighting the Teejri moon — offering Argh (water) to the moon, performing pooja, and taking the first bite of food from their husband's hands.

Because August is the rainy season, the moon sometimes stays hidden behind clouds and fasting women cannot break the fast on time. Many years ago the moon did not show up at all; Swami Shanti Prakash Maharaj came to the community's rescue and told the women to pray to Lord Krishna in place of the moon and break their fast.

An evolving tradition: equality on Teejri

After the pooja of the moon, women traditionally perform a pooja of their husbands and touch their feet for blessings. Touching a husband's feet is a regressive practice that should have ended long ago — when we say men and women are equal, why should only a woman touch her husband's feet? This continues in families with older thinking, while modern, educated couples treat each other as equals and modern husbands do not allow it.

Many husbands now keep the Teejri fast for their wives too — fasting for their wives' well-being and long life, because they treat each other as equals. That only deepens the love and respect between them.

Why Teejri is growing while other Sindhi festivals fade

Teejri is unlike other Sindhi festivals that have lost their shine over time. Many are now celebrated by fewer people than before, but Teejri's popularity has only increased. The mehndi functions have become lavish, so has the pooja, and most importantly so has the dinner arranged once the moon is sighted and the Vrat ends.

Teejri has evolved with the times, which is exactly why it is celebrated every year with greater enthusiasm. It symbolises the love between husband and wife — a festival with no equivalent in Western culture, and one of the things that makes Sindhi and Hindu culture unique. SindhiJodi wishes every family a very **Happy Teejri**.

Teejri and the search for a life partner

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is Teejri (Tijri)?

Teejri, also spelt Tijri, is a Sindhi festival celebrated on the third day after the full moon of Shravan. Women and girls fast the entire day for the long life of their husbands or to be blessed with a good husband, and break the fast after sighting the Teejri moon.

When is Teejri celebrated?

Teejri falls on the third day after the Shravan Purnima (full moon) in the Hindu month of Shravan, which generally corresponds to August in the Gregorian calendar. The exact date changes each year with the lunar calendar.

Is Teejri the same as Teej?

Teejri is the Sindhi festival that is similar to the Teej celebrated in Northern India — both centre on fasting, mehndi and prayers for a husband's long life — but Teejri has its own Sindhi customs, such as the Teejri Katha, sprouted moong dal in earthen pots and the moon-sighting ritual.

What is Nirjal Upwas on Teejri?

Nirjal Upwas is a fast kept without water. Some Sindhi women observe Teejri without a single sip of water for the entire day, breaking the fast only after offering Argh to the moon.

What is the Teejri Katha?

The Teejri Katha is the story recited by a Maharaj or Brahmin on Teejri day. Every woman or girl observing the fast attends the recital along with the other women of the family; it is considered a central part of the festival.

What happens if the Teejri moon is not visible?

August is the rainy season, so the moon is often hidden behind clouds. Families traditionally wait for a glimpse, and when the moon does not appear at all, elders have guided women to pray to Lord Krishna in place of the moon and then break the fast.

Do men fast on Teejri?

Traditionally only women and girls fasted. Today many Sindhi husbands also keep the Teejri fast for the well-being and long life of their wives, as a mark of equality and mutual respect.

What is eaten before and after the Teejri fast?

The night before, women eat heartily — rabdi or sweet pudding is especially popular for the strength it provides. The fast is broken after the moon pooja, traditionally with the first bite taken from the husband's hands, followed by a festive dinner.