Golden Times

It is Hindu tradition here to have a celebration when a baby turns one month old.  We were honored to be invited to such a celebration for Hareesh's nephew a few weeks ago.  I will try to explain the event, although we really don't understand it.  We arrived in time for breakfast, which consisted of rice noodles with curry sauce and, of course, Chai.  After breakfast, the crowd (about 40 family members) gathered outside around the mother and naked baby.  There was some sort of food offering laid out in front an oil lamp and a fire with a pot of rice atop.  The mother sprinkled a liquid onto the offering with a branch.  Then she sat and held the baby while, one-by-one, all the women of the family came and placed gold jewelry on him.  Gold bracelets, gold anklets, gold necklaces, gold waste chains, gold rings, gold, gold, gold.  As you can imagine, the baby was not too fond of this.  It is my understanding that this is done regardless of a family's economic status.  When the last item had been bestowed, those gathered let out a loud whooping sound (think Native American war cry).  We returned to the house and gifts were given to Mommy and Baby.  Before leaving for home, we had a traditional Kerala Sadya for lunch, which is rice and various vegetarian sides served on a banana leaf.  Yummy!  You will notice in the pictures below that the baby has large, black smudges on his face.  They believe that it jinxes a child to call him/her beautiful, so they try to marr the appearance.  We had a wonderful time with Hareesh's family and are thankful for the experience.



We took this photo on a walk around Hareesh's village. 
Coconuts, bananas, and tapioca plants can all be seen here, staples of everyday meals.