I’m a female Pandit, and I’ve officiated over 75 weddings! Yes, you heard that right! But I know what you’re thinking. Whenever we hear the term ‘pandit’ we think of men conducting poojas and hawans. And honestly, I don’t blame you - that’s what we have seen around, in the reel and in real life. In fact, at the beginning of my career as a Pandit, I’d get a lot of ‘Ab auratien pooja karwayengi?’ But Papa had raised me with the school of thought that jo kaam ek aadmi kar sakta hai, woh ek aurat bhi kar sakti hai. And it was his and my husband’s encouragement that pushed me to become a Pandit.
What started with performing Griha Pravesh Poojas and Shanti Havans eventually led to officiating weddings. I remember the first wedding I conducted, it was for someone I knew. The wedding was after 2 months and so I spent those 2 months practicing my mantras. After all, do logo ki 7 janmo ki rishta pakki kar rahi thi! The ceremony went well, I saw even the youngsters pay attention and then someone came up to me and said, ‘I’ve never seen a wedding being conducted so beautifully!’ Mera toh din bann gaya!
That was 3 years ago, ab toh bahut shaadiyan karwayi hai. In all these years, I’ve learned more than 20,000 mantras! Still, there are days when I enter the mandap and hear people whispering about a woman conducting a ceremony. Once, someone looked straight up at me and asked, ‘PanditJi kahan hai?’ But then there are also days when I hear comments like, ‘Aaj khud devi aayi hai phere karwane.’ They make up for everything. Today, there is still more awareness. Even actresses like Dia Mirza are smashing patriarchy and choosing a female pandit. But I’m just waiting for the day when this doesn’t have to be a ‘unique choice’ anymore. When the vedas don’t differentiate between a man and a woman, then neither should we!
