Surat hospital Ward boy welcomes newborn daughter with grand homecoming

SURAT: Rakesh alias Girish Patel was ecstatic when his wife gave birth to a baby girl 45 days ago. His joy knew no bounds and he celebrated by distributing sweets.

But the celebration did not end there. On Friday, Rakesh, a ward boy in

Surat Municipal Corporation

(SMC) hospital, organized the traditional home coming of his daughter Hiya in a grand fashion. The entire street outside his house in Dihen village, 35 km from Surat, was decked up with 200 feet long rangoli, asopalav torans were put up all over the mohalla and a group of dholis (local band playing

dhol

) was specially invited to play for the occasion.

As Rakesh’s wife Dharmishtha entered to the village in a car from her parents house in Rander, she was given a red-carpet welcome and flower petals were showered on the mother and daughter. Amidst drum beats and women performing garba, an emotional Rakesh carried his little in the arms and welcomed Hiya into their house. Rakesh saw to it that his wife and daughter come in a specially hired car of friend, which was a part of celebrations. The car was also beautifully decorated with flowers.

Talking to TOI, 31-year-old Rakesh said, “Hiya is my first child and that too a girl. Daughters are given the status of Goddess Laxmi and her home coming deserved a grand celebration. I wanted to express my happiness on getting a daughter to the entire society.”

Rakesh, a Koli Patel, said he also wanted to give out a message to all those who still lament the birth of daughters and consider them to be a liability.

“ All I want to prove by doing all this is to tell people that when a daughter comes to your life, accept her and ensure that she gets all the happiness in life,” he said.