My IInd Baby Shower !

Yesterday our group met for Diwali 'faraal'( sweets & goodies - that I have been making for a coupla days) pot-luck & celebration. It was also a planned send-off event for the Bapat family,as are returning 'home' soon - for good.
Each of us gals had carried a 'faraal' item & the host had made arrangements for lunch. Sometime after lunch & a grand photo-session, all the gals suddenly gathered in the 2nd floor bedroom & were calling each other "to take a look at a picture"(to me this was a big hint that something was indeed 'cooking'!) so I declined once to walk up the stairs to add to the frustration of a few!! But then there was a 'call' again, & this time I decided to let it go!
No sooner I entered the room, there was loud 'surprise' roar & everyone was waiting for my reaction! I was rather shocked by the high pitched sound & acted surprised! TD followed & he was also welcomed similarly!
One of the bedroom walls was decorated in Diwali theme & underneath it wear 2 chairs where TD & I were made to sit on. The elderly ladies performed the 'Dohal - jevan' ritual like applying a little of both Vermilion & Turmeric powders(called 'haldi kunku') on our foreheads & thrice circled a lighted lamp around us(called 'Ovalney'). Later, for the first time in these 7 months, a couple of the gals filled my 'oti' with fruits, a deshelled coconut & some rice grains. I would love to elaborate on the rituals & write pages on it, BUT I will spare you & my much-needed energy! But if you do need some 'dose', just read my first baby-shower posting!

After the rituals, we played a traditional Dohal - jevan game: underneath 2 upside-down covered bowls were a Ladu & a Jalebi respectively. Generally in Marashtrians, each food item is referred to as having a gender. For eg, ‘Ladu’ is masculine whereas ‘Jalebi’ is feminine. This game is played by the 2-be-parents, esp. the mother-2-be, to guess the gender of the Baby by picking up one of these bowls. The selected food is exposed and announced to all present for the occasion & depending on the item and its gender, people speculate on the gender of the unborn baby.
I picked a bowl & a out came a Ladu! Is Tweetu a Baby boy?!!(wink)

Later at the gift-giving, we/Tweety received Blankets, onesis, mobiles, boppy play mats & other infant toys & a handful of gift cards...our SUV was jam-packed on the way back home.

I was waiting on this baby-shower to finish off Tweetu's shopping...coz I didnt want redundant items. Now all it will take are good 3-4 hrs!
BabiesRUS, here I come!
Photo courtesy: buzzle.com