For your eyes, and head, only

The Indian tradition of applying 'kajal' on the eyes of small children has been drastically brought down with doctors strictly advising mothers against it. But the practice can still be witnessed in some places where mothers believe that 'kajal' has a cooling effect and helps babies relax. The tradition passes from one generation to the other. 

Pandit Avadhesh Tiwari explains, "the babies are adorable and elders love to play with them. Sometimes this can have a negative impact on babies. In order to protect the baby from evil eye or any negative effect, the 'kajal' is applied. It nullifies the effect of the evil eye. That is why we have this practice of applying 'kajal' in Hinduism.” 

Another ritual of head shaving, commonly known as 'mundan', is also mandatory among Hindus. Some Muslims and native Americans follow it too. The ideal time to perform 'mundan' is between four months and 1.25 years of age, though it may be performed anytime before the child turns three.

Some communities tonsure boys only and no girls. The time and ritual of tonsuring vary from region to region and religion to religion. Some families prefer to perform the ritual in the presence of a priest while others do it at home in the presence of other family members. The ritual involves a big ceremony where relatives and friends are invited to give blessings to the baby. 

According to Hindu scriptures, a soul experiences 84 lakh 'yonis' (births) before coming to the human body, and every 'yoni' leaves some influence on human birth. Head shaving is a gesture that purifies and frees the soul from the past. Some ancient scriptures say that it helps in boosting the growth of nerves and brain.

"When a child is in mother’s womb, he is in an unclean condition with many germs in hair that go into head cells. They are required to be removed with an 'ustra' (razor) for better growth of the brain. Our scriptures say that there are impurities carried from past lives and shaving the head helps one free from the effect of those impurities", adds Pandit Avadhesh Tiwari.

Here we are reporting from Laxmi Narayan temple.