Author: Somdatta Basu
Publication: The Times of India
Date: August 30, 2009
URL: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/NEWS/India/GenNext-purohits-mix-puja-profession/articleshow/4949890.cms
Don't be surprised if the same guy who performs
Durga puja at your neighbourhood pandal prescribes pills when you have flu
as well. Or, you spot him in court sporting a lawyer's black robes. For, Kolkata's
new tribe of professionals turned Purohits are learning to spout slokas while
juggling high-flying careers.
Teaching them their mantras is Vaidik Pandit
O Purohit Mahamilan Kendra, a school for purohits in north Kolkata. From doctors
to lawyers, government employees to former scientists, they are all flocking
here.
Take Indrajit Chakraborty, a government employee
who has joined the Purohit school. "I joined as I believe it is important
to learn the rituals as a Hindu." If Chakraborty is a pious Brahmin,
there are others who are doctors and lawyers. And, what makes this new breed
of purohits different? "Their education and intelligence sets them apart,"
says Netai Chakraborty, head of the Purohit school.
