Redrawing the sacred lines with Dr Nandini Bhowmik

"Namah ayur dehi, yaśo dehi, bhāgyam bhagavati dehi me putrān, dehi dhanam, dehi sarvān kāmāśca dehi me..." The sacred chants reverberated through the rooms, their resonance stirring both walls and hearts alike.

- NAYANIKA SAMANTA

Dr Nandini Bhowmik, the Sanskrit scholar and Indologist who has become one of Bengal’s most recognised female priestesses, sat down with The Statesman to reflect on her unconventional spiritual journey.

Tell us about your journey to the priesthood?

Oh, yes. It was not a very planned effort. Uh, my elder daughter's marriage was nearing and from a very young age, into the study of Sanskrit. I'm a Sanskrit scholar and Indologist. So I have a great passion and interest in ancient Indian literature, culture, and society. So, that was the beginning, but even then, it was not my vision that all our plans would lead me to carry this forward and become a priest later. But, you know, when the ball starts rolling, things come into the mind and plans begin to come in. This is not a revolution for denying the past. It is a remodeling, reinventing the beautiful past that Indian tradition has. During the Vedic age, society was much more open-minded. Girls married as adults, not as children. But later, education was denied to women, and child marriage became the norm. Women were confined indoors, and without education, naturally, they could not participate in anything beyond domestic life.

But why should we still follow rules set by a patriarchal society that deliberately kept women uneducated? Times have changed. Today, women are educated and capable. So, I felt it was my duty to remind girls in contemporary society that they must understand what they are doing in rituals when they take the services of a priest. This sense of responsibility became clear to me after I officiated at my elder daughter Ananya's wedding.

How is your style of puja different from others?

It's because we gradually found a way to implement the scriptures in a mode of equality. There should be no gender bias. So, I worked very hard on this. The mantras are there, but you know, the implementation of the mantras is what matters.