Sharada's Baby Shower
Sharada and Chris had zero pressure. They were just bringing in the family’s first next generation-er. Furthering the bloodline - carrying forward the name. No big deal! Just two sets of grandparents and seven uncles and aunties (not to mention extended family) anxiously waiting for the arrival of a small person to spoil and dote on, in that way that Indians only know how.
Indians. Such a blanket, general word that fumbles and stutters in a sheer lack of eloquence when it comes to the many universes that colour the iridescent plumage of those simple seven letters. My cousins and I can give ourselves some credit for introducing some diversity (and controversy) in what hitherto has predominantly been Kerala-raised Anglo Indian stock. I’m all for cultural variety and I truly experienced the beauty of having a mixed family at this particular baby shower. Sharada is a Tamil Brahmin that married into our rowdy Anglo Indian family (for whom rituals of celebration don’t get more imaginative than eating and drinking) from Kerala. Her co-sister Joan is a Catholic from Karwar. And when the three came together, it made for some exquisite, extremely different memories.
To begin with, the baby shower was a couple of days right after Onam - so the entire family was dressed in elegant kasavu. For Sharada, Joan generously brought the very heirloom saree her mother wore more than a couple of decades ago at her baby shower to usher in not-yet-born Joan into the world. The beautifully preserved, auspicious purple silk fabric once again embraced a blessed womb.
Joan also shared with us her culture and oversaw the rituals where the women blessed the mother-to-be with haldi, sandalwood, flowers, rice, fruit and laughter - something my family would have administered in a penance-style (Say three Hail Marys) boring way. Definitely far more photogenic than eyeballs rolling up the head in prayer. A little Tamil Brahmin style Alaipayuthe singing would have been nice, but we missed doing that somehow. Sharada between having things put on her face and having things washed off from her face was a bit preoccupied for any singing. As for Chris, he had very little to do except to look Malayalee dapper in his mundu - which he successfully achieved.
You might think from the pictures that they somehow knew that they were going to have a baby girl. Most of the “it’s a boy” balloons had popped - persuading some of us to prophesies that a little girl was on her way. But I was like, “Knowing Chris, this baby is going to be the sneaky type - have us all believe the opposite and then show up all boy”. Since I’m publishing this after the baby was born, I can tell you that I was right.
