Nitara's special day

This morning we woke up very early, showered, and got dressed. The girls wore beautiful traditional silk and gold dresses. Each was presented with a family heirloom necklace. Nitara’s was a round charm worn by her great-grandfather. Abi’s was a necklace worn by her grandmother when she was just a small child. The priest set up the space for the homa in the small courtyard, and then we were called to take part in it at times. Another priest, who serves at Tirupati, came to do a puja in the shrine room and bless our family. Each of us was given a gold-stained thread to tie around our wrist with blessings tied into the knot and they will be worn until they fall off on their own. Afterwards we had a catered lunch served on banana leaves. It was a very special day. I took lots of photos. These are the best ones. This is the same priest that performed our wedding ceremony and Abi’s first homa.

I would write more but it’s very hot and I feel like melting. There is a hot water heater available for the shower but it has been unused for several days. Cold showers feel much better. We have to pack for Kodai. My mother in law and father in law are leaving by car tomorrow with most of the luggage. We are flying part of the way on Tuesday morning. It will be easier for the kids. We still will have to drive three hours on winding mountain roads. I am going to bring the Zofran just in case.