Many of us have wondered what to call our future children years before we plan to have them, sometimes having our children's names picked out before choosing someone to parent them with! Many cultures in India do things differently, a baby might remain nameless for the first month of their little life, waiting to be named in a special ceremony.
The name is chosen with a little help from a Vedic astrologer or a priest and after a small ritual and some chanting, the name is whispered into the baby's ear! A big celebration follows to welcome the new baby into the world and let everyone admire the baby's new name.My mother-in-law and I attended the naming ceremony of our Cook's first grandchild, an adorable little boy who is now called Chetan! The celebration was large and reminded me of a marriage function, lots of guests and lots of food!
The lovely woman who comes and cooks at my in-laws house is one of the sweetest women you would be able to find, she has been working for the family for over seven years. She always gets worried if I don't eat enough food and always offers to make something different, she even makes extra roti for Alfonso! I was really happy to have been invited to her family's special celebration!
Chetan's mother was beautiful and obviously very much in love with her gorgeous son. He was such a quiet baby, fast asleep as people passed him around for cuddles, that is until get got hungry and started to cry! When it was time for his dinner, we went and ate ours! The food was lovely and I ate six gulab jamun (a super sweet cake soaked in syrup!).
I think having a party like this is lovely way to welcome a new person into the world, don't you?
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How did you or how are you planning to name your children?About Lauren Mokasdar
Lauren moved to India from England after falling in love with an Indian man online, she now writes about her experiences as an English wife living in India.