Baby Shower – The Desi Way

      

A baby shower can be so many things to people from different parts of the world, yet the underlying theme is always the same – showering the Parents-to-be with love and gifts. The history of celebrating and welcoming a new family member goes back a long way.

    

The ancient Egyptians and Greeks celebrated the birth of a child after it is born. During the Middle-Ages, silver spoons were presented to the newborns from his/her godparents. The Renaissance era emphasized the family; expectant mothers were celebrated and presented with gifts and food on painted trays adorned with messages. In the Victorian Era, pregnancies were kept secretive, and other women would host Tea Parties postpartum. It wasn’t until the early 20^th century that modern version baby showers came about.  

     

For Desis, the baby shower is often referred to as a “Godh Barahee” ritual (which literally translates into filling the lap). The families and friends of the parents-to-be celebrate by bestowing blessings on the baby and the mother.

      

This past weekend, I went to my best friend’s baby shower. Everything about the event was simply fabulous. The theme of the baby shower was Paris. In its entirety, the baby shower, from the décor to the food, and the added desi ritual up to the games were simply amazing.

       

 Since my best friend’s husband had a flight to catch, the baby shower started with a quick and entertaining game timing the couple as they each changed a baby’s diaper and swaddled it. Surely, the mommy-to-be won by a whopping 8 seconds!

        

As the guests continued to arrive, everyone was mingling. Then the ceremony began. The lap of the mother-to-be was filled with 7 different fruits and vegetables. Back home since the gender of the baby is normally not revealed, a game is played whereby the expectant mother pulls out 1 of the fruits and/or vegetables that her lap is filled with, without seeing it. The gender of the fruit/vegetable pulled determines the gender of the upcoming baby. Although it isn’t accurate, it’s a fun game that everyone enjoys. Another reason behind filling the lap is imply that the mother’s lap remain “filled” with children. Yet some believe it is a way of blessing the child, that may he or she live a long fruitful life.

After the lap filling, the expectant mother is fed sweets. Further everyone raises their hands in praying that may god bless the mother and child and pray for their wellbeing.  

Shortly thereafter everyone was invited to help themselves to the wonderful buffet that was set up. There were lots of things to choose from. Although there are no real specifics about what should be served at a baby shower/godh barahi.  My friends mom’s made Haleem which is a meal in itself! It’s a unique stew – combination of lentils, wheat, barley and meat. Generally however, because this event is held in the late afternoons, desi snacks (veggie dips, samosas, rolls, sandwiches, chat, and fresh fruit type of things) along with cake and drinks could also be served.

Speaking of drinks, the girls involved in hosting the baby shower made this amazing drink that I simply could not get enough of. I had to resist though because it was made using soda, and juices. Not only did it taste good, it went beautifully with the theme. 

The games were played next. The first game had all the guests place a paper plate on their head and draw a picture of baby, the person with the best drawn picture won a prize! The next game, was by far my favorite game! Guests were given white onesies and fabric markers, and the task was a decorate it for the baby to be. There were several awesome designs made. My favorite was designed by the daddy-to-be’s sister, where wrote in blocky letters, “My Phupo (Dad’s Sister) is the BEST.” However the winner was my friend’s mother-in-law who drew the digestive system with a cute, funny, and personalized message.

In the next game we were tasked with making diapers using toilet paper. Ours didn’t hold out too well. The last game that was played consisted of us guessing the diameter of the mommy-to-be’s belly. Somehow, my sister ends up winning this game wherever we go. The very last thing on the agenda was the cutting of the cake. The cake was simply superb! It was made by Sweet Moments Inc, in Sunrise, Florida; you can find more information on them through facebook or their website http://www.sweetmomentsinc.com/. 

        

As times have changed, and the way things are celebrated might have changed as, but the baby shower is still centralized around the idea of celebrating the upcoming birth and the soon to be parents, while showering them with presents and blessings.

      

That’s all for now, but in the coming months, once the ceremonies and rituals are performed for post birth, be rest assured, this Desi Girl will keep you entertained and informed. For now, I need to plan my Daughter’s birthday party, so be on the lookout for that throughout this month as I start the planning, and implementing process. Pinterest and other blogs have such wonderful ideas for me go off of, it seems as though NOTHING is impossible now!