Thursday Night Chhathi

Was privy to my first chhathi ceremony last night.

Yeah, I know what you're thinking: Only your first? Where have YOU been?

For the non-chhathi-ceremony-veterans out there, a chhathi takes place on the sixth day after a child is born ('chah' is the number 6 in Hindi). I won't embarrass myself by elaborating on its significance, as my Western upbringing has a built-in mysticism filter. In short, the goddess of fate is said to visit a child on the sixth day, and it's therefore important to show her the child is surrounded by a loving family, supportive friends and, well, cash.

Singing, chanting, drinking of grog, prayers for Neha (the baby's name for now, until a priest gives his astrologically determined blessing) and her parents, Radhika and Vippin. Aradhna and Radhika grew up in the same village in Fiji. Aradhna's family moved to Australia in 1989, Radhika's about 10 years later. Many Indians fleeing Fiji's racist policies landed in Western Sydney and established close ties in their adopted homeland. Still, it's amazing to scan a room full of Hindi-speaking people in a house in the suburbs of Sydney who all hail from the same half-dozen streets in Fiji.

Of course, they must look at me with equal amazement, the tall, American 'gora' sitting quietly on the side, watching them conduct an Eastern ceremony stretching back thousands of years.