Kerala follow this beautiful tradition of naming ceremony of the new born according to a Hindu ritual.
When a child completes 28 days from birth , this day highlights some auspicious events followed by naming of the new born.
A proper traditional set up is organized by the family .
The day he/she completes 28 days , the child’s parents , grandparents adorn her with gold jewellery . A tiny pair of earrings and necklace purchased by her loved ones are first displayed on the banana leaf .
The first ritual that takes place is the naming ceremony .
I had never witnessed a single naming ceremony before and happened to be the most cherished moment as a mother taking part in my daughter’s naming ceremony.
The father of the baby goes first . With a betal leaf , he is required to close the left ear of the baby and whisper the pre decided name of the baby 3 times near the child’s right ear audible enough to the audience.
And then betal leaf is held to the child’s right ear and whisper again the name 3 times through the left ear.
Followed by the child’s uncle , mother and grandparents , the baby’s name is hence decided.
My daughter was donned with some gold jewellery and new clothes . A black thread is tied across her waist and a black dot is put on her face to ward off an evil eye.
And then came the most emotional and soul wrenching part of the day .
Ear boring ceremony!
As a mom it was difficult to see my child crying in pain during ear piercing.
I could’nt control my tears for long and I cried .
It took just minutes to finish though and was done beautifully and very neatly with expert care by the goldsmilth who pierced with his traditional tools and it was not a gunshot ( a modern technique nowadays)
Soon after this , I immediately calmed her down and she dozed off to sleep for some hours.
All this went very well and organized .
Meals known as Sandhya was organized by our family .
With many blessings and gift showered on our baby , many of our relatives left one by one. And that ended with good and positive vibes .
Coming to the name of my baby , we named her Kalyani.
Sharing my humble abode of happiness. 