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Caste has no place at jatra

Staff Reporter

Priests at Budhi Thakurani festival are traditionally barbers

BERHAMPUR: Proving to be a slap on the face of the inhuman caste system, the main priests of goddess Budhi Thakurani are from the `Bhandari' community, considered Scheduled Castes in the State.

Thousands throng the temporary temple of the deity during the ongoing jatra at Desibehera Street without any reservations to that fact that the priests performing `puja' and chanting mantras are not Brahmins. According to a senior citizen C.R. Das, this has been the tradition since many a century.

Bhandaris are traditionally barbers. But at the Budhi Thakurani temple, they are the main servitors.

Hereditary rights

As per hereditary rights, Bhandaris of three clans serve as servitors of the deity. During regular days at the original temple, a group, which is called `Pitha Pujari', performs the rituals. But during the jatra, another group, comprising members of the Bhandari caste, takes up the task. This group is called `Dammala Pujari'. Members of `Haridakhandi Pujari' clan assist them, says Tuna Patro, a Dammala Pujari.

"Everyone is equal in the eyes of the goddess. We are the main priests during the festival though our caste is considered low by archaic minds," Mr. Patro says.

For the devout, too, caste of the priests is no issue at all. Manisha Das, a visitor to the jatra, says: "It is the devotion that counts rather than the caste of priests."

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