Summary:
Over the past 18-odd years, more than 150 non-Brahmin, semi-literate women have got Sanskrit degrees to become trained and certified priestesses. They have solemnised marriages, conducted thread ceremonies and even performed the Shani Shanti puja, which is usually done by men, in a Dahisar home. At the end of a puja, family members touch the pandit’s feet and accept prasad from his hands. I would make excuses of house work or helping my children with their homework to miss our 2-5pm classes. Someone even told me it’s not a good thing for women to be out of the house every day..