Blend of colour, tradition and music at Teej

Women of all ages came together over the weekend in Adelaide to join traditional Indian festivities to celebrate the festival of Teeyan, marking the onset of monsoon in India.

Women at the Teeyan festival in Adelaide on Saturday. Source: SBS Punjabi / Monica Sharma

Wearing Phulkari, traditional suits, and jhumkas (traditional Indian earrings), women all decked up descended at the Adelaide showground to be part of Mela Teeyan Daa in the city on Saturday. It was nothing less than a fair, as women dressed up in their best cultural attires, moved from stall to stall and enjoyed Indian delicacies. The festival of Teeyan , also known as Teej, is celebrated by women in different parts of India including Punjab and Haryana, dedicated to the onset of monsoon.

The tradition presented itself on the stage with Punjabi folk dances performed by girls and women of different ages. The event organised annually by the group Dheeyan Punjab Diyan saw women dressed up in Punjabi suits and maang tikkas, not leaving a chance to get the feeling of ‘Punjab away from Punjab’.

Source: SBS Punjabi/ Monica Sharma

The hall was buzzing with energy as women performed giddha on the dance floor, while  Punjabi Singer Kaur B crooned Punjabi numbers.

The organisers say the event, for the past six years, has been bringing together Punjab women of different ages to enjoy the traditional festivities.

"The aim is to keep the culture of Teej alive even though we are away from our roots and settled in the foreign land,” says Gurpreet Kaur Bhangu, one of the event organisers.

Navneet Kaur Dhillon and Rupinder Kaur Kahlon came together with Ms Bhangu in 2014 to hold the first Teej celebration in Adelaide and have broadened the canvass with every passing year since then.

Source: SBS Punjabi / Monica Sharma

Along with the other exhibits of jewellery, dresses, bookstall, awareness was also created among women about taking up free English classes under Adult Migration English program at TAFE SA. Women were also encouraged to take up swimming classes by MP Dana Wortley.  

In the previous years during the event, awareness was created among women on domestic violence and health issues.  

Last weekend another group had also organised Teej festivities in Adelaide city. Cultural items giddha and Haryanvi dances were enjoyed by the women during the celebrations. The Adelaide Nepali community is also organising an event to celebrate Teej festival next month.

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