The word Annaprashana also known as Annaprashana vidhi,
Annaprasan or Anna-prasanam or Anna Prashashan, is a Hindu ritual that marks an
infant's first intake of food other than milk. The term annaprashan literally
means "food feeding" or "eating of food".
The ceremony is usually arranged in consultation with a
priest, who arranges an auspicious date on which to conduct the ceremony.
It is usually carried out when the child is six to eight
months old — odd months for girls and even months for boys — when the teeth
have begun to appear, though the child may be weaned at a later time. It is an
occasion for celebration, and extended family, friends and neighbors are
invited to attend.
Rice as the food used has become more common in modern times
and symbolizes food in general. The ceremony is referred to in English as first
feeding with rice.
Annaprashana is followed by Mamabhat, which takes place in
the maternal uncle's or grandparents' house. In this second ceremony the
child's maternal uncle feeds it rice. It is celebrated within that week because
in Vedic Hindu culture the child cannot eat rice until Annaprashana and
Mamabhat have both occurred. However, nowadays parents consult doctors and
start rice accordingly.
We too celebrated our daughter’s Annaprashan on 5th August
after consultation with the local priest. Since she doesn’t have a maternal
uncle and it’s a small family we took her to the nearest Kalibari (Beldih Kalibari) and there her dadu (Grandpa)
feed her with the bhog which included khichdi and payesh (sweetened rice
kheer).
Thereon we hosted a party on 15th September based on the
availability of the family members, friends and neighbors. We had booked the
banquet hall of our society to host the programme. A colourful shamiyana was
setup in the interior to make it more attractive. The banquet hall was also
decorated with balloons of different colors and there was small stage setup for
her as well wherein there were couple of mannequins of angels had been setup on
either side of the stage.
The programme was planned throughout the day with guests
invited for both lunch and dinner. As mentioned earlier since my daughter doesn’t
have a maternal uncle her dadu performed all the rituals on that day. My
daughter Eenakshi was dressed in a nice dhoti saree bought by her mashi and she
sat in her dadu’s lap. She was presented with the Annaprashan feast which
included special fish dish (fish head and tail) specially made for the occasion
along with other dishes. Dadu then feed her with rice mixed with fish and curry
and then she was fed with a spoon of payesh.
The elders in the family then blessed her to have a healthy and happy
life.
In the evening party she was dressed up in a lovely cloudy
shade midi dress. The guests started arriving by 8pm in the evening and there
were some lovely photo shoots carried out as well. We had given to the caterer
who had some lovely dishes prepared for both afternoon and night. It included
starters (veg & non-veg) and also the main course had both veg and non-veg
items in the menu. To conclude the menu there was ice-cream since it was pretty
hot and humid.
Being parents it’s a wonderful experience. As we have tried
to convey through each of our earlier blogs it’s a blessing to be a parent and
thereon every phase the kid goes through is memorable and something to cherish
for entire lifetime.
We would continue to bring out more blogs with our experience
of upbringing the little one which we believe would help you in one way or the
other during your phase of your parental life.
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