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GAYA, INDIA, August 11, 2002: The drought situation prevailing in several parts of the country, particularly Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, has made the “Gayawal pandas,” the traditional priests of the temples here, jittery. Drought is likely to affect the inflow of pilgrims during the pitripaksha, the fortnight-long festival of souls scheduled to begin in the third week of September. More than a quarter-million Hindu pilgrims from different parts of the country and abroad visit Gaya during the pitripaksha to perform the rituals for their ancestors. More than 250 families of the Gayawal pandas, living in the religious center of the town, make out their livelihood from the offerings made by the visiting pilgrims during the fortnight-long rituals. The priests, till a few decades back known for their riches and interest in diverse activities ranging from Indian classical music to wrestling, are already passing through a bad phase on account of the declining religiosity and economic downslide of their main patrons, the landed aristocracy which has fast lost clout in the market economy. The drought has added to the problems of the Gayawal pandas.

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