Hyderabad:In Khammam district, every Wednesday is a festival day dedicated to the birth of female babies. Homes are adorned with balloons, leaves, vibrant rangolis and sweets. Parents of newborn girls and their mothers-in-law are honored with shawls, and the baby herself receives clothes and gifts.
This unique tradition, called “Aadapilla Janmothsava Vedukalu” (birthday celebrations of the girl child), describes the girl child as “Maa Paapa Maa Inti Manideepam” (our girl child is the lamp of the house). Over the last two weeks, district officials have visited 42 families to organise these celebrations. On March 9, the tradition will continue for the third consecutive time, with visits to 21 homes — one from each mandal and Khammam municipal town — where girls have been born. Collector Muzammil Khan will join the festivities at one of these locations.
Each family is presented with a certificate titled “Beti Bachao Beti Padhao“, signed by the collector. The reverse side of the certificate features names of inspirational women achievers, such as Sunitha Williams, Nikhat Zareen, Kalpana Chawla, Indira Gandhi, Mithali Raj, Kiran Bedi and Mother Teresa, among many others. These names serve as role models for the newborn girls as they grow up.
“The idea is to make the family feel that they should never feel that a girl child is unwanted. We give them examples of people around them who have made it big in life and encourage them to make the child wanted and provide everything needed for the baby,” District welfare officer (DWO) K Ramgopal Reddy explained.
From January to mid-March, officials recorded the births of 900 female babies in the district. Among these, families where the second or third child was also a girl were specifically selected for the celebrations to ensure that families traditionally hoping for a male baby embrace the joy of having a daughter. “When we hold the celebrations, we do feel that families are happy when many officials take part in the celebrations,” added the DWO.