Today (October 11, 2014), we greet women - both single and married - from the states of North India (Gujarat, Madya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand) as they celebrate Karva Chauth. You all look so lovely when you are dressed up for the said feast (see photo).
It is a one-day festival observed on the fourth day of the waning moon fortnight (Krishna paksa) in the month of Kartik. Karva Chauth is celebrated by married women who fast from sunrise to moonrise for health and long life of their husbands. Single ladies also observe the fast for their desired husbands or boyfriends.
After completing the day-long abstinence from food, wives look through a sieve - or through a dupatta cloth - first at the rising moon and then at her husband, where she says a prayer for his longevity.
Karva Chauth is a romantic festival. Even Bollywood celebrated it through movies like 1995 Hindi romantic comedy musical "Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge", which stars Shahrukh Khan and the hot and sexy Kajol (see photo).
More photos of the said celebration this year (2014), which proves that Indian women - even those who are not celebrities and are married - radiates with beauty and elegance!
This multi-awarded and critically-acclaimed film by Ajay Bahl has been described by many as an "erotic drama". Yet "BA Pass" is not pornography. It does not does not rely on explicit displays of sexual intercourse to stimulate carnal desires. While tackling the very grave topic of prostitution in India, it managed to stir deep aesthetic and emotional feelings to its audience.
But that is not to say that the said Hindi film is not erotic. Surely, its passionate sex scenes - featuring the Indian film, TV and movie actress Shilpa Shukla (see photo) could really spike one's hormone levels!
The movie is based on a 2009 short story by Mohan Sikka titled "The Railway Aunty", and has Shilpa Shukla, Shadab Kamal, Rajesh Sharma, and Dibyendu Bhattacharya for its main cast.
The appreciation of foreign movie critics to the said erotic drama is overwhelming. At the January 2013 first South Asian film festival in Paris, it won the "Prix Du Public" - from votes by the French audience. It also attained the "Best Film Award" in the Indian section of the Osian's Cinefan Festival of Asian and Arab Cinema. It was accepted as a contender at the 2012 Montreal World Film Festival in Canada, where it was nominated for the Golden Zenith for Best First Fiction Feature Film.
Back at home, Shilpa (see photo) swept the 2014 screen awards, winning Best Actress (critics) award at the Filmfare and Best Actor in a Negative Role (both for the said Hindi film).
Born on February 22, 1982, our featured Bollywood actress was born in Vaishali. She grew up in Gujarat, New Delhi and Kolkata. Aside from "BA Pass", she is also most recognized for her role in the sports drama, "Chak De! India". She started her career in the Indian film industry through Pakistani film "Khamosh Pani" in 2003.
More photos of the passionate Miss Shukla (click to enlarge):
