OMG! Priests battle for survival in Covid pandemic

Kakinada: The second wave of Covid-19 has badly hit the livelihood of Purohits and Archakas as they are searching for alternative jobs in East Godavari district.

For the past one year, the Purohits and the Archakas have been financially unstable and they have been facing hardships to meet their daily needs. Last year, covid-19 lockdown affected their livelihood. After lifting the lockdown and situation came to normalcy, from January to May 1, there were no auspicious Muhurats. When the auspicious Muhurats began, the second wave hit them badly.

Now, the Purohits are not being invited for performing poojas, marriages and other auspicious occasions like Gruha Praveshams and Upanayanas. In recent times, the wedding parties are completing their tasks online with a limited number of people.

On the other hand, many purohits and priests are infected and some of the known personalities passed away.Their family members are in a very distressed mood due to the financial crisis.

The people are not inviting the purohits to auspicious or inauspicious situations. In fact, there is a tradition in society that when a person dies, the attendance of purohit, washerman and barber is compulsory. But due to Covid pandemic, the bodies are taken directly to crematoriums and cremated without performing traditional rituals. The family members are also not attending to the cremation due to the pandemic situation.

In these circumstances, some of the purohits are searching for alternative livelihood like catering, preparing sweets, selling mangoes and seasonal fruits and others.

The people are not inviting the purohits for even auspicious programmes. Though some of the people are inviting them to perform traditional pujas in a short time, they are giving a meagre amount as Dakshina. As devotees are not being allowed in temples, priests lost Dakshinas. If the temples are opened, the purohits would perform Abhishekams and others in the name of devotees. But there is no such situation.

The priests and also the purohits are afraid of attending the programmes due to Covid scare, though the people are inviting them. In these circumstances, their livelihood has been badly affected. Besides, the private school managements are exerting pressure on them to pay their yearly fees for their children's studies. They have been requesting the government to help them for their livelihood till the situation comes to normalcy.

"Many priests are engaged in other jobs as it is not possible to earn enough money only through rituals. Besides, we don't have fixed rates for our services. Those who are wholly dependent on this profession for their earnings are facing more problems," said purohit G Bala Venkata Subramanya Sharma. Another purohit A Srinivas said that many people are afraid to call them to their homes and "We are also afraid to go to their houses because of the threat of contracting Corona."

BJP senior leader Duvvuri Subramanyam demanded Malladi Vishnu, chairman of Brahmin Welfare Corporation to come to the rescue of the purohits in this hour of crisis. He said that last time also the Brahmin Welfare Corporation didn't come to help the purohits.