In India, Even Gods are Going Hungry

[Guest guest]

In India, Even Gods are Going Hungry

By Emily Wax

Washington Post [u.S.]

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

 

NEW DELHI

 

Every morning, Hindu devotees haul buckets of fresh,

creamy milk into this neighborhood temple, then close their

eyes and bow in prayer as the milk is used to bathe a Hindu

deity. At the foot of the statue, they leave small baskets of

bananas, coconuts, incense sticks and marigolds.

 

But recently, Ram Gopal Atrey, the head priest at Prachin

Hanuman Mandir, noticed donations thinning for the

morning prayers. He knew exactly why: inflation.

 

With prices soaring for staples such as cooking oils, wheat,

lentils, milk and rice across the globe, priests like Atrey say

they are seeing the consequences in their neighborhood

temples, where even the poorest of the poor have long made

donations to honor their faith.

 

" But today the common man is tortured by the increases in

prices, " Atrey lamented during one early morning prayer, or

puja, adding that donations of milk were down by as much

as 50 percent. He had recently met with colleagues from

other temples, along with imams from local mosques, who

reported similar experiences. " If poor people don't even

have enough for bread, how will they donate milk to the

gods? " he said. " This is very serious. "

 

From Haiti to Senegal to Thailand, prices for basic food

supplies have skyrocketed in recent months. The increases

have been attributed to a confluence of factors including

sharply rising fuel prices, droughts in food-producing

countries and the diversion of some crops to produce

biofuels. In India, milk prices rose because of increases in

gasoline prices, which made it more expensive to transport

the product from dairy farms to cities. [....]

 

In New Delhi, the price of rice rose by 20 percent and the

price of lentils by 18 percent in the past year. Cooking oil

prices have climbed by 40 percent over the same period.

The price of milk, which is essential in both diets and

religious rituals, rose more than 11 percent in the past year.

 

Milk is literally the nectar of gods in India. Most temples in

the south use it at least twice a day to bathe Hindu statues,

since it symbolizes the eternal goodness of human beings

and is seen as a generous offering to the faith.

 

Across the country, milk also symbolizes life and death.

Bodies are anointed with purified butter before cremation.

Milk is a main ingredient in paneer -- a cheese-cube dish

known here as the king of all foods -- as well as yogurt,

curries, tea and sweets. And milk is often the main meal for

children younger than 5. [....]

 

Munapar, a father of eight who lives in a makeshift camp of

migrant workers, said he came to New Delhi in hopes of a

better life. Instead, he has found hardship.

 

" We had to stop eating lunch. And we had to completely

stop drinking milk, " said Munapar, who is from India's

northern state of Uttar Pradesh, one of the country's poorest

and most lawless.

 

Munapar's wife, Rukshana, pointed to their youngest,

Mavis, a weak and gaunt-looking 5-year-old. " He wants

milk and biscuits, but we don't have enough, " she said. " If a

child is feeling distress, the mother also feels the pain. "

" In the village, we had food, " Munapar said, picking the

flies off his children, who sat barefoot and listless in the

heat. " But here, we can't plant. We can only buy. We know

that others in India live comfortably. Meanwhile, we are

suffering. " [...]

 

Indian newspapers have been filled with headlines about the

increases, especially for milk, since many Indians are

vegetarians who depend on milk and its byproducts. At a

roadside tea shop in the capital, Raju Kumar, 33, said his

sales for milky chai have dropped by half in the past month,

while the price of milk keeps rising.

 

" I feel sad because I can't give my children the bread and

vegetables they dream of, " sighed Kumar, a father of three,

as he scooped cups of boiling milk into a pot filled with

black tea.

 

At a hilltop temple in New Delhi, visitors headed inside for

a 6:30 p.m. puja, during which the statue of a Hindu deity

would be bathed in milk, sandalwood paste, water and

honey. S. Shanti, 27, said she came to pray for a job in

India's railway service.

 

With prices rising and a lack of work, she said, she had less

to offer to the temple.

 

" How can we manage? " Shanti said, as she looked over at

other worshipers bearing small baskets of bananas and

coconuts. " God please grant my wishes. Things are so costly

now. We need help. "

 

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