Teej festivities take centrestage at Shahzadanand College

Teej in Punjab is a seasonal festival, which is dedicated to the onset of the monsoon. The festival is celebrated by all Punjabi women of all faiths.

In tune with the festive mood, students and faculty at Shahzadanand College, Green Avenue, Amritsar, enjoyed the revelry on Friday. Sushma Mehra, chairperson of the college management committee and Principal Reena Talwar said that Teej held significance in north India as a festival of monsoon celebrations, of reunion and new beginnings.

Student presentation of Punjabi folk songs and dances like giddha and sammi entertained the onlookers and also shared the meaning and emotion involved in the folk songs. Talwar said that Teej celebrated female bonding like no other festival. “While more common in rural Punjab, Teeyan or Teej celebrations are now being taken up in urban centres and even in the diaspora in a big way.

“Teej is festival of sisterhood, of joy and womanhood. There is a reason that women dress up and sing and dance as they celebrate themselves. The festival assumes new meaning with current generation as they connect with their traditions through Teej,” she said.

Baljeet Randhawa from the Punjabi Department of the college said songs and dances were considered the most significant and central part of Teej celebrations. “Women liberally convey their feelings to their husband or lovers while dancing and playing on traditionally rich Teej songs,” she said. Teej is generally celebrated in the lunar month of ‘sawan’, considered a holy month when Lord Shiva is worshipped. Historically, Teej was celebrated by young, newly wedded women, who used to go to their maternal home during ‘sawan’ to celebrate Teej. While the festivities used to stretch into weeks, current times restrict the festivities to a single day.

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