she is a gem to be treasured. she understands so much.
she turned 13 on 22nd Dec 2021 and a week later, on swathi natchathiram. her birth star, she came of age.
it really feels like a divine hand is guiding us in all things, especially regarding her. my divine child.
Once we knew it, there was a lot of prep.
as soon as we learnt of it we gave her some keerai vithai in milk. she sat on a thaduku in the hall facing East while her grandmother gave her the milk..
early next day we put kolam in the prayer room and in the hall. there was a thaduku put over the kolam.
her grandmothers and aunts gave her a herbal bath, from a bucket with neem leaves, flower petals and turmeric.
they also applied turmeric paste to her arms and cheeks before pouring buckets of water over her. they poured it over a sieve to catch most of the leaves and petals.
this ritual has a calming cleansing effect I think.
all the old clothes she wore are thrown away to symbolise her leaving girl hood and entering womanhood
she then dressed in new clothes, a simple saree . then her athai put a garland around her. and she got blessings from her uncles and aunts and grandparents and parents.
devi and athai took alathi for her. ( manjal sunambu and vethalai, with water)
then she sat down to eat on a banana leaf. until then she had not eaten anything.
with one sweet ( kaaju katli) , some salt, white rice with parrupu and ghee, enna kathirikai kulambu, vazhakai poriyal, 1 boiled egg, 1 appalam, 1 kootu ( snakegourd)
later she changed into my grandmother's saree. a way to remember her and have her attend her important life event.
did group suthi podurarathu.
Good words of blessings showered around her, filling our home with good vibes.
strengthening food:
3 Tablespoons nallennai, 1 egg and some kali, every morning for 2 weeks.
then on Sunday, day 5, we did sadangu kalikarathu.
we did the following
1. put up thoranam
prepared the special food for the ritual:
2. made paruppu masiyal
3. boiled 2 eggs
4. made white rice
5. made kali
6. made puttu
7. made breakfast
had fun dressing up akshaya. pattu saree. jewellery. costume diamond nethi chutti, ( from sala chithi), real diamond earrings from my parents, 1 real diamond necklace, new and presented to her on the day itself by my parents, 1 long real diamond chain( mine, lent to her) and 1 costume diamond ottiyanam.
in her hair, costume diamond hair accessories and a big bunch of mullai flowers.
the make up she did herself with help of cousin shruthi.
the things to kalikiran the sadangu
1. nerai kudam. overflowing silver pot with water filled to the brim. we used my grandmother's silver pot. so special!
2. slate vilaku with unlit candle from kavitha
3. nerai naali, silver rice cup with overflowing nellu.
4. kottan ( from kavitha) with vethalai pierced thru an iron coconut extractor ( from devil
5. kali
6. puttu
7.white rice with paruppu and ghee and 2 boiled eggs
8.tray with 21 marie biscuits and 21 sprigs of need leaves.
all these are discarded after the pooja. so all held in disposable containers, then alathi,
then blessings, photos and vegetarian meal on banana leaves for everyone!
she then had to hold onto something iron ..we have a hammer under her head and a nail she is supposed to carry with her to.school.
then my brother and sis in law came
then we all went to my parents house to close the ceremony. they gave us a ton of money for kachu uthikirathu.
we also had prepared goodie bags. Which my parents eiher bought or paid for everything little thing. it gives them joy. what can I say. ananda bhavan lunch also sponsored by my parents.
we packed
1. a set of 3 small glass containers with lids from IKEA.
2. a fancy saree blouse, with bangles and manjal kumkum, and an hongbao of 11 dollars each. 21 for devi and athai for having taken alathi
3. a tie bag with vethalai and paaku
4. a packet of hersheys chocolate
5. a packet of lotus biscuits
6. a packet of home made then kulal ( murukku)
7. 1 box of enna kali that kavitha made and which took hours!
to welcome our guests we had a tray with a mirror, manjal kumkum, a flower basket, and mittai thattu. a container with 5 compartments with kalkandu in the center, 2 biscuits (neapolitan wafers and strawberry loveletters) and 2 chocs ( rocher and kudumi chocs)
everyone who came gave money and blessings generously. our guests:
devi sath kaavya
kavitha sendhil shruthi and abi
my parents
my in laws
kanna and rajee
sethunarayanan mamaand meena athai
nalla, sendhil, athai
later this week:
meena hasini
later this month:
meena and sethu
ishu and sendhil
ishu's mother, sivakami akka
sendhil and nachu
I'm super blessed to have had this function with so many loved ones.
hope I can recall and replicate some of this for aishu!
feeling loved and blessed!
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