Thread Ceremony

     Last Saturday Angela, my American roommate, and I got a pleasant surprise. Additya, a seven year old neighbor celebrated his Thread Ceremony,  and Geeta, or Aaia, Angela and my host mother, told us we are invited!

     So, after a relaxing morning, we all got dressed up, and waited for the procession to begin. At around 5:30pm we left the house, and walked a short distance to the temple, from which the procession would begin. Upon some inquiry I discerned the meaning behind a Thread Ceremony. Originating in an Indian tradition, a boy's education did not begin until he turned seven years old. At this time he would seize living with his family of birth and would commence living with his teacher, or guru, until he has finished his studies and has become a scholar. At that point, he would be around eighteen years old or so, and would then go back to living with his family until marriage. Traditionally it is a ceremony only for boys, and predominantly for those in upper castes.

     Upon reaching the temple we met up with a sizable crowd of Additya's family and friends all looking their best. Additya was riding a horse, and had his head shaved except for a circular patch of hair on the crown of his head, as per Brahmin tradition. There was also a small marching band of six dressed in red uniforms, and a small, colorful, and decorated jeep with a drummer and a keyboardist. The procession slowly made it's way from the temple to Additya's house, with family and friends, mostly the men, dancing in from of the band, jeep, and Additya. Angela and I danced with the children we have grown to know and play with in the evenings.

     When we all reached the apartment building we were greeted with a colorful display of pathways of rangoli- colorful sand patterns, and a welcome bubble of rangoli. The procession ended in a party of ice cream and gifts for Additya. Additya's Thread ceremony was not a traditional one, I learned, but a "modernized" one. He has been in school for about two years, and will continue to go to school and live with his family.

     I went to bed that night, grateful to have experienced a wonderful celebration of life, full of color, and dancing, and fun, but was a bit saddened about the lack of dancing by the women, which could be accounted for because, as Geeta said, "They are too shy to dance in the street."

Photo taken by Angela Graciano