Rituals resume, relief for Pehowa priests
Caption: People wear gloves and mask while performing rituals at Pehowa.
Nitish Sharma
Tribune News Service
Kurukshetra, May 29
The Covid pandemic has affected the livelihood of tirtha purohits (priests) and of those who perform post-death rituals at Saraswati Tirtha at Pehowa.
After keeping work suspended for two months, they have resumed religious activities for the people who come here to offer prayers to their ancestors, but very few people have been reaching at present to get the rituals performed.
The priests claim that against an average of nearly 400 people, just 30-50 people are coming to Pehowa currently.
Hitesh Sharma, who performs rituals, said, “Like many other people, it was a tough time for me as well. I live here in a rented accommodation and I couldn’t pay the rent for the past three months. Similarly, the school fee of my son is pending. As there was no work, I used up all my savings. At this point, very few people are coming here. We are hopeful that the situation will become normal soon and we will be able to earn like earlier.”
Vikram Chakrapani, president, Brahmin Panchayat, Pehowa, said, “There are over 300 families of priests and other people who perform rituals here. The majority of them do not have any other source of income and depend on the ‘dakshina’ given by the ‘yajmans’. The administration also cancelled the three-day fair in March which was to be organised on the occasion of Chaitra Chaudas here. After the relaxation was given by the government, the work has resumed and things are getting better.”
Ashish Chakrapani, president, Tirtha Purohit Sabha Haryana, said, “The lockdown has badly affected our livelihood. There are many people who had no savings and they had a tough time. Thousands of people used to come on the occasion of ‘amavasya’ but a ban was imposed on performing religious activities on the ‘amavasya’ that was last week. We are grateful that we have been allowed to resume work.”
Akshay Nanda, spokesperson, Sri Dakshina Kali Peeth Samiti, said, “Lakhs of people reach Pehowa every year to perform post-death rituals of family members and also offer prayers to their ancestors. They also get their personal details entered in the ‘bahis’ or genealogy registers. A delegation met local MLA and minister Sandeep Singh who raised the matter with the Chief Minister following which the government has allowed priests to resume work. We are expecting that the situation will get normal soon.”
