Tara’s Haate Khori | Beginning of Education | Saraswati Pujo 2024

It has been over 6 months since I am writing for TicTalkToe. Call it sheer laziness or the fact that “in the age of Insta Reels, who has the patience to read a blog?“

I started TicTalkToe in 2017 because I wanted to explore a meaningful connection with like-minded people. I kept on writing posts, travelogues, recipes, and of late, baby related posts after I became a mom. I made a lot of new connections and there was a set of audience who loved reading my blog and related to the posts. Cut to 2023, and suddenly I started developing what is popularly known as “writer’s block“. I even went through a series of transformations in my personal and professional life. Now that I look back, I am proud of where I am standing right now.

I had promised myself atleast one blog post every month for 2024, but well, that too did not happen. Nevertheless, better late than never! The opening post for 2024 will also be something close to my heart – Tara’s haathe khori, also known as an auspicious beginning of a child’s journey of learning. Haathe khori literally translates into making a child hold a piece of chalk (khori) in his or her hand (haath) and making the child write the first alphabet of Bangla for the first time infront of Goddess Saraswati. This is said to be the formal beginning of a child’s education. 

As Hindu mythology has put it in, Goddess Saraswati is the Hindu God of knowledge, wisdom, art, music, and learning. It is also believed Goddess Saraswati invented Sanskrit, the lingual of scriptures. It is said that performing Saraswati Puja can help to enhance one’s intellectual abilities, boost concentration and memory power, and also acquire victory in academic and creative hobbies. Bengali’s celebrate Saraswati Pujo with great grandeur. Saraswati Puja holds a special place for Bengalis and is celebrated in most of the educational institutions and home. In other parts of India, it is known as Vasant Panchami.

Haathe khori is a traditional ceremony among Bengalis in which a child is introduced into the world of learning by writing the first alphabet of the Bangla script. This is a ceremonial initiation of a child into the formal learning process and is an integral part of the worship of Goddess Saraswati, the Goddess of learning. This ceremony is also called the Vidya Arambh or Akshara Arambh samskara in many other parts of India.  

Little kids are made to sit on the lap of the pandit or some elder member of the family who holds their hands and makes them write the first letters. Mainly, OM or A, B, C, and or some Bengali alphabets like “K-a”, and “Kha”. Kids learn to write the alphabet in front of Goddess Saraswati and seek the deity’s blessing for the future. Parents prefer to introduce young children to formal education on this special day by performing the Hathe Khori ceremony. Children are given new chalk and slate to write their first alphabet in the ritual.

Since Tara is close to three years now and has been going to a pre-school for almost a year, I wanted to introduce her to this ritual this Saraswati Pujo itself. I got a customised slate for her with her name in both English and Bengali on both the sides of the slate. The borders were painted in yellow to give it a traditional touch and Tara was excited to write on it. She wore a traditional attire of comprising of a yellow kurta and red pants. I wanted to deck her up in a saree but it would have been difficult for her to manage. After the ceremony she offered pushpanjali and even had some aamshotto as her prasad. Her pre-school books were offered before Goddess Saraswati ceremonially.

Haathe Khori is just like another Bengali tradition that is performed for children, like Annaprashan (first rice eating ceremony ). As a parent, it was heartening witnessing tiny little Tara that I gave birth to, write on the slate with a chalk. I believe this is one of her major milestones and I seek blessings for her. In case you would want to see a short video on the ceremony, please click HERE

What is haathe khori called in your language? Do you also have memories associated with it? Would love to read your comments below. Do also show some love on the reel linked here!

With that, I promise that the next blog post will be up sooner! And yes, the photo that you see below is just one of the meltdowns that we go through every now and then. Reminder for all parents out there – “keep smiling through it!“