TV bahus on Karva Chauth: We don’t have time for the elaborate rituals shown on TV

Whether it's Karva Chauth or Diwali, daily soaps have always set high parameters for the Indian bahus to follow. Every celebration, right from the clothes and jewellery they wear to the rituals they perform, is shown in a grand manner on television. But ask them if they follow the same pattern in their real lives and the actresses say it's too time consuming, and that the Karva Chauth celebrations shown on TV are way more dramatic than in their real lives.Some of TV’s famous bahus tell us the difference between the two.
The picture she posted on Instagram from her first Karva Chauth with husband Vivek Dahiya

Divyanka Tripathi in reel Karva Chauth sequences in 'Ye Hai Mohabbatein'

Karwa Chauth in real life is never as dramatic as is shown on TV: Divyanka Tripathi Dahiya
The ideal bahu of small screen, Divyanka Tripathi Dahiya married her co-actor Vivek Dahiya in a grand wedding ceremony in July 2016. They celebrated their first Karva Chauth together last year and the actress says that she doesn’t find it even close to how they show it on TV. The actress says, "Karva Chauth sequences on TV are too dramatic for real life. I am yet to experience that kind of Karva Chauth in my real life, like the one that I have shot for in TV shows, where the entire family is around. I think that might happen if I am with my mother-in-law in Chandigarh. Last year, when I was fasting, we were not a group of 10-20 women doing puja with our husbands standing in a queue, as is shown typically in TV shows. It was just Vivek and me. He picked me up from my studio at around 7pm with the intention that we will do puja and he'll treat me to a lavish dinner, but being first timers we realized that the moon on Karva Chauth takes the longest to rise. He took me on a long drive searching for moon, which we finally spotted after driving around for 17 kms from our home. So we had to go to a five star hotel’s rooftop, just to see the moon. I got a beautiful gift from Vivek and it was actually he who made that experience romantic for me."
Hunar Hale and Mayank Gandhi
Hunar and Mayank broke their fast with a cold drink last year
Asli zindagi mein hum husbands bhi vrat rakhte hain. Why should only the wife fast?: Mayank Gandhi
Mayank Gandhi, who is married to actress Hunar Hale, says, "The reel and real Karva Chauths are worlds apart for us. On the sets, everything is extravagant and over the top, but in reality, we keep it simple. Even though, Hunar does get dressed up and applies mehendi since that is tradition, but it is not as big as what we show on TV. Then, asli zindagi mein hum husbands bhi vrat rakhte hain. Why should only the wife fast? There haven’t been a lot of TV tracks that have done this. But the real difference is the emotion. What happens on the screen is work and even if it is an exact replica of what we do in real life, it won’t be the same. Woh pyaar aur emotion toh fake nahin kar sakte na. It is work."
Kishwer Merchant
The celebrations might be low-key, but emotions are the same: Kishwer Merchant
Kishwer Merchant, who’ll be celebrating her first Karva Chauth this year after her wedding with Suyyash Rai last December, says, "There is a difference in the way we celebrate Karva Chauth in real life than what is shown on television. It is not a grand event in reality. Only a few close friends have a get-together if they get time from their busy schedules. This year, as both Suyyash and I are busy with our work commitments and I am travelling, we’ll not be able to celebrate it together. I had applied mehendi a day before because I am travelling. The way we celebrate the festival might be different in reel and real life, but the emotions that they show in television is the same as they are in real. Even before our wedding last year, Suyyash and I kept the fast and broke it together. So it is just about the feelings, not how you celebrate it."
Hiten and Gauri
It is not as grand as is shown on TV: Gauri Pradhan Tejwani
Gauri Pradhan Tejwani and Hiten Tejwani met on the sets of Kutumb and got married in 2004 after working in a couple of shows. They have shot for a few Karva Chauth scenes on TV and celebrated many together off screen after their wedding. They think that this is the only festival which is not at all as grand as is shown on TV. Gauri shares, "Our Karva Chauth is not at all like the TV one. We don’t believe in spending money extravagantly on festivals like these as they are more about emotions. Diwali is understood as we have to give gifts to friends and relatives, but as far as Karva Chauth is concerned, it is a simple festival. We call friends at home and chit-chat. This year, as Hiten is inside the Bigg Boss house, I am going to celebrate it with my kids."