Now, Mumbai outsources holiness from UP

It's Ganesh Chaturthi and Mumbai is running out of Maharashtrian priests as more youngsters opt for better-paying jobs. Neeta Kolhatkar reports

5 lakh Ganapatis. 15 lakh pujas. 10-day festivity. That's Ganesh Chaturthi for you. But Mumbai has only 1,500 priests to manage the show and all the rituals that go with it. The divine deficit: 5,000 priests.

So Mumbai is turning to Uttar Pradesh - not for electricity, but for pujaris. "The priests will be coming to Mumbai a few days before Ganesh Chaturthi. There is a shortage of brahmin priests and brahmins from both these states are very familiar with the practices and rituals of Maharashtra," says Atul Mahajan, a 27-year-old priest from the Mukteshwar Devalay Mandir.

Priests here are overbooked. "The demand for priests has increased; many go to over a dozen mandals and households on one day. I think no brahmin should offer to do more than 10 pujas in total," says Vasudeo Purohit, a priest residing in Dadar.

"They don't spend more than 10 minutes on each ritual, whereas the Ganpati sthapana puja itself should take no less than an hour," he says.

Residents aren't happy either. "It is so difficult to find a good priest. Our old priest is in such demand that he can barely make it to our house till 2.30-3pm. Till then, everyone has to go hungry," says Seema Pai, a Malad resident.

Many Brahmin residents, however, say they would rather perform the pujas themselves.

"In 1972, my neighbours warned me that there was no guarantee the priests I had contacted would turn up. Since then, I have been performing the puja myself and in times of emergency, I conduct the puja for the neighbours as well," says Subhash Dixit.

The problem, most say, is that GenX isn't sold on priesthood. "Our Gen-next refuses to get caught in this profession. None of my nephews want to become priests," says Purohit.