today we celebrated seemantham for durga, one of our cooks.
it's a function for first time mothers in the last trimester of pregnancy, to bless the mother & her child. it's basically an indian baby shower.
my friend amy is researching pregnancy & infant care for her project, so she decided to plan the event. amy is super rad & she did wonderfully.
(the correct way to eat grapes. thanks, bhavana.)
durga looked so beautiful! she got a pretty new sari for the occasion, & her hair was done up all crazy.
we all took a pinch of rice & sprinkled it on durga's head.
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durga was so smiley all morning.
it was really rad to be a part of it.
and our translators closed the function with an off the chain dance party.
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some of the notions regarding pregnancy in india are... different.
kinda humorous from a western perspective.
expecting mothers are warned against eating papaya & pineapple, or spicy foods, because they are believed to cause abortions.
looking at photos of cute babies ensures your own baby will be cute.
& it's recommended that you sweep the house 3 times a day to stay fit while pregnant.
maybe these suggestions have some truth in them. i've certainly never birthed a child so i can't say much.
all i know is, wherever you are in the world, babies are babies & mommies are mommies.
and childbirth is a miracle.
