Plotting one's family tree is always a fascinating experience and it becomes even more interesting if the lineage goes beyond a couple of generations.
What if there is a slight chance that you can actually find your family tree? Well, there is!
A group of pundits (priests) do this ancestral book-keeping and the details could go back up to seven generations or even more. It may sound eerie and unbelievable but it is for real!
Upon the death of a family member as per Hindu tradition, a next of kin is required to perform a rite to thank and appreciate their forefathers and it is during this ceremony that must possess this genealogy chart at hand for the priest to call out their individual names to acknowledge gratitude.
A pundit (priest) in Haridwar, designated of maintaining handwritten genealogy of a specific Punjabi community.
Haridwar, in Uttrakhand in India, is a holy place for Hindus, hosting important religious events during birth, marriage or death. Here, a group of pundits adheres to this ancient custom, keeping detailed family information for several generations.
I went to Haridwar for the last rites of my father in 2017. As the Hindu tradition beckons there were a series of important rituals to be performed at different places. It starts with the immersion of ashes at the river Ganga followed by numerous prayers and offerings and long drawn chanting of Sanskrit shlokas. After a few hours, this process finally culminates in what is called "the last entry".
The handwritten register with genealogical records of a family’s last 7 generations or even more.
Accompanied by the seniors in the family, we started walking through the narrow lanes near the iconic location of “Har ki Pauri“ looking for this man who will add my father’s name as the last one to have passed away to their genealogical registers.
They are famous in the area and a trusted. Their entries sacrosanct - so much so that even the Indian judiciary often relies on their information in case of legal disputes involving a deceased. All we had to share was our family's last name and the name of our native village and within minutes we were directed to this person know as “Choti wale pundit Ji” (Priest from a mountain peak).
A 55-year old (the one in the picture below) sitting in a small room with wall to wall mattress and a couple of big fat registers. As he went through reams of paper that had turned yellow with exposure to air, light and time, I could sneak a peek at handwritten names - entries of men and women, my forefathers, whose names I had only heard on through family grapevine. Clearly this has been going on for centuries.
It’s amazing how it takes a couple of minutes to find the last entry made by the visitor of the family.
What was more fascinating was that it just takes a couple of minutes for the pundit to find the page where the last entry was made during the last visit of our family.
Each entry contains the following information:
Date of entry
Name and relationship of the people, with deceased, who visited to get that entry done
Name, date and time, place and reason for the death of the deceased
Names of the deceased’s wife and children and father
Once our entry was done, the priest went on to read the details he has of the last entries and his records are more exhaustive than we thought. At first, to know the names of your late relatives, grandfather, grandmother, great-great-grandfather and beyond is amazing and makes you ponder about what might have been.
Entry for the deceased along with visitors being made.
New and old pages, of handwritten genealogical records.
Maintaining these records is part of their livelihood and these priests charge a fee for their services. Post this somber and enlightening process, the negotiation about their honorarium could mar it all. I was initially asked to pay five thousand rupees. But one art that every Indian is familiar with is bargaining and my elders proved to be masters of it. They mediated and after a prolonged negotiation, we settled for a fair price.
I hope this story creates curiosity and if you visit Haridwar even for travel just try reaching your priest in charge and get to know your family tree!
