Our Cramazing May, Episode XXXVIII: Special Ceremony

In October 2009, the same month that we first saw Tom's picture, a family traveled to Basundhara to meet their daughter, and I followed their photo blog obsessively.  Among the many special moments captured in those photos was a ceremony where the women at the orphanage painted the feet of the mother who was there meeting her child.  It was obvious from looking at the pictures that it was a sacred, almost solemn ceremony.  For awhile, I thought that every mom probably got her feet painted, but over time, I realized that it was an Indian right-of-passage ceremony most often used for the girls at the orphanage as they are preparing to leave to go to their new homes. 

(To be fair, I still don't totally understand the custom--sometimes the little girls who aren't going home also have their feet painted, and once, even Tom's feet were painted in some photos we received, so I'm not sure exactly when and why it happens always, but it does seem sacred.  More to come on this later...)



Whatever the reason, on this day, Celina's caregiver looked at Swati and, in Oriya, must have asked if they should paint my feet.  Swati in turn asked if I wanted it done, and I was overwhelmed.  Yes, of course!  What an honor to be asked to participate in such a special ceremony...Basundhara was so important to our family, and the women who took care of Tom for those two years held such a special place in my heart!  Being asked if they could paint my feet was such an honor that I could barely speak at first except to say yes.

At my word, Swati called the older girls and told them that they were going to get to paint my feet...the girls were so excited!

I simply adored Swati and wished I could have stayed and spent more time with her!  She was the most gracious hostess we could have asked for!

I was so thankful to Celina's caregiver for suggesting the whole thing!  And she wanted a picture with me.  :)

The ceremony consisted of two of the older girls painting.  One used nail polish to paint my finger and toenails as well as to paint designs on my hands.

And the other, P, used a magenta henna dye to paint, with her finger, around the outsides of my feet.  It was beautiful.

One of the girls had my camera and recorded a bit of the ceremony as well as took lots of pictures.  This beauty ended up on my camera multiple times...I think she likes getting her picture taken.  ;)

All the little girls gathered around, too, including nearly-blind Laxmi (in the background), who led another sight-impaired girl to the celebration!  Look at how they navigated the stone steps!  Basundhara has steps everywhere, and none of the kids--no matter the special need--are hindered by them at all!

Laxmi was so sweet!  She wanted to know what was going on, so she rubbed my hair and my back to "see" what she could figure out.

Not sure what I was saying at this point, but it made the caregivers laugh!

Many of the older girls will never be adopted.  This shy beauty seemed particularly close to Swati...perhaps Swati has taken her under her wing in lieu of a mama.  She didn't ask me to take her picture, but I was pretty sure she wanted me to!

Young to old, beautiful women, loved by God and made in His image.  What a special, special time...I will never forget it.

Here is a video taken by one of the girls during the painting...

DSCN3536 from Hoffbeauty on Vimeo.