Source: sify.com
AGRA, INDIA, September 30, 2010: This city seems to be running short of priests during pitrapaksh, the fortnight when many Hindus offer prayers to ancestors. Pandits from other parts of Uttar Pradesh as well as Bihar are helping meet the demand for trained hands to conduct rituals. Migrant priests are gradually filling the vacuum created by local priests who, along with the younger generations, have switched to other vocations.
In the past few years, there has been a marked gap in the demand and supply of pandits well versed in Hindu rituals. It has even forced devotees to assemble on the banks of the Yamuna river and offer the annual prayers collectively.
During Pitrapaksh, Hindus offer worship and alms and feed pandits to appease their ancestors and seek their blessings, said Pandit Mahesh Chandra Sharma. The shortage of priests can cause some indigestion: “On some occasions, we have to eat at three different places within one hour,” said the priest Shukla, whose family specializes in performing the rituals.