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June 14, 2006

Mottai.

My poor baby went through a "hair-rising" experience today and lost all her hair to the Vaidhyanatha Swamy at the Vaidheeswaran Kovil. It was really bad. Poor thing screamed her lungs out. My dad who 27 years earlier had grabbed me half way between my mottai and ran for cover had to hold Ashu straight and put up with her screaming. He would have done the same to Ashu also but the baby he thought he was saving years earlier was giving him "I-will-kill-you-if you-even-think-about-it-look"! I mean, even I did nt want this thing done in the first place but half mottai? HD missed the whole thing. Good for him as it was really bad. Pretty barbaric! 15 minutes of pure heart break to any parent. Anyway, Ashu was her happy self as soon as the last hair fell from her head so that was a relief. She touched her head with both her hands and had a quizzical look in her face which made all of us smile! I thought probably all the man-handling by my dad would have some effect and she would stop clinging to my dad like a creeper but no such luck. Lets see if that happens after the 3 months separation when my dad goes to US. One can only hope!

By the way, heres the before and after snap. Not as bad as I thought it would be. Just like I was paranoid about how I would look in a Madisaar for the first time and then everyone told me "Unakku romba baandhamaa irukku"(You look good!), Ashu looks more cuddly now if that is possible only a little like a sand paper at one end!


13 comments:

neha vish said...

Accho! Mottai kutti looks like a million bucks!

Did she have sandal paste all over her head afterwards?

B o o said...

Neha - Welcome to Boo's. Lemme tell you here that I am a big fan! :) Take a look here - http://boosphotozone.blogspot.com for some "sandhana" mottai looks! Our ancestors have tried their best to make babies as uncool as possible I suppose! ;)

The ramblings of a shoe fiend said...

I second Neha - the mottai rocks!

kuttichuvaru said...

mottai with pattu paavaadai is awesome!! sooper pic!!

Anonymous said...

Dear Boo,

I always read your bog, and I immensely enjoy it too!

Ashu is really cute!

Alpha said...

Poor lil baby. pierced her ears and now this..

Dadoji said...

That sandpaper feels funny on the pillow when one tries to sleep but maybe she is too young to notice that.

Questions, if I may. If you didn't want this done in the first place then why did you? Does it actually improve the hair characteristics or something? Is it done a number of times in childhood?

Lovely photos. You must have looked gooooood with your half-mottai, no?

anantha said...

:)

Ashu is finally the "mottai boss" of the family :D

B o o said...

Dadoji - I did nt have the guts to say NO and did nt realize it will be this bad for Ashu. I think shaving a babys head will make the hair grow more evenly as they have lots of bald spots in their first year. Thats what I think at least. Also its a religious thing. The elders at home will pray to every God promising a mottai and my dad and uncles/aunts have had at least 10 mottais it seems. Sis and I had 3. With Ashu this will be the only one. Probably I will have the guts to say no at least for my grandchild! :)

AS far as my half-mottai, thankfully my mom saved(!) me having the full mottai done.

Unknown said...

LOL @ anantha's comment. Boo don't worry too much it will grow back quick enough. In my case not only did the young man have his head shaven but also had his ears pierced. After having refused adamantly for weeks I eventually gave in when he was still a baby, it broke my heart and now he thinks its cool! And to think that I fought against the half the world to stop it!

Dadoji said...

Boo: Thanks for the reply. I see. I never had the mottai but my ears were pierced. My parents told me that I had taken out and thrown away the rings within seconds. I have spared the Little Devil the hassle though I threaten him once in a while if he is too naughty. ;-)

neha vish said...

Madam - Been reading the blog for quite a while now actually. I just am not a very boisterous comment leaver! :)

Anonymous said...

Hi Guys I was just browsing the internet ...looking for suggestions for a Salon to put Mottai for our baby...Stumbled on this blog. Your girl looks very cute!!!

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