KAYOVARAHAN, GUJARAT, INDIA, July 1, 2026 (Hinduism Today): Khyati Desai-Seltzer recounts how her daughters, Sunaina and Sahani, became the first girls in generations of their family to undergo upanayana and receive the sacred thread. After the girls maintained their interest for more than a year, the family researched the tradition and found organizations including Gayatri Parivar, Arya Samaj and Art of Living who would conduct upanayana ceremonies for girls in India and America.
The three-hour ceremony was held in December 2024 at Gayatri Shakti Peeth in rural Gujarat and attended by more than 100 relatives and friends. Both girls had practiced the Gayatri Mantra beforehand, and two priestesses who themselves had received sacred threads conducted the rites. Desai-Seltzer says some relatives initially questioned the ceremony but ultimately attended and supported the girls, and she encourages other families to support daughters who seek this traditional rite of spiritual learning.
Source: https://www.hinduismtoday.com/my-daughters-upanayana/