Inviting you to my Baby Shower…

Everyone eagerly waits for the seventh month. It’s time for a Baby Shower. Parents on both the sides – more so my in-laws – were very excited about it. My love life has been a 2 states story in itself,  I am a Hindu Punjabi married to a Kokanastha Brahmin. The story of these 2 states will be shared sometime later.

As per Marathi custom, the baby shower is called as “Dohale Jevan”. “Doh” means two and mother is called as “dohalkareen” meaning two heartbeats, it is believed that from the 7^th month onwards the baby starts suggesting his/her wish through the mother so this ritual is performed to fulfil all her cravings.

As per the ritual, the mother-to-be is adorned with flowers garlands and jewellery. She is given her favourite food and made to sit on a swing/ jhula again decorated with flowers. If possible, moon ornamentation is also done. 5 kind of sweets are made and offered to God as Naivedhya. Haldi Kumkum forms an integral part with some song and dance. After the ceremony, the mother-to-be leaves her mother home for delivery.

On my parents’ side, the ritual is called as Godh Bharai where a female is decked up as good as a new bride and family members come around to pray for the wellbeing of the mother and child. My maternal relatives do celebrate the ritual and they also pray to the departed souls “Pitrs” to take care of the mother and would-be-child. While on my paternal side there is no such ritual.

Post our marriage it’s been our endeavour i.e. me & my husband to bring the best of both traditions and we hope to continue to do the same throughout our journey. We decided to keep the function at home because it was more convenient for me.

I like to plan things in advance. Being in control gives me peace of mind and helps me to chalk out the things-to-do well in advance. However, we were struggling to finalize a date since we had to ensure maximum people could make it to the function. It ultimately went to the last week of the seventh month. Last minute preparations can get me most irritated but I was left with no choice. Personal invitations were sent as this was a family affair. As per the Maharashtrian tradition I needed to wear a green sari. Yayy, we did some saree shopping too. During the period of my pregnancy, I hardly focussed on dressing up myself. Skincare was to a bare minimum with specially picked up products and make-up was out of the question. In this sensitive state, I did not want to take any chance but I made all the exceptions for this function. I took my time in the store to select the best one I liked, although green had to be preferred, I could pick other colours too. My choice met the requirements.

Next in line was to finalize the flower jewellery. Food was being cooked by both the Moms. Most of the items were ticked off from the to-do list, now the outcome was to be awaited.

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