I am not sharing any rocket science. The Indian astrology is a known thing.
Indian astrologers offer fortune-telling services using various methods, including Vedic astrology, numerology, and parrot astrology.
Vedic Astrology ... uses birth charts (kundali) to analyze planetary positions and their influence on an individual's life.
Numerology - approach interprets numbers associated with a person's name and birth-date to reveal personality traits, potential, and life path.
Palmistry - Another system under which 'experts' tell about your career, love and your fortunes by 'reading' palm.
Kam ho jana chahiye : Parrot and Cards
Lime-green Bird Reading: -- The Parrot Astrology -- has a system under which trained parrots select cards from a deck representing astrological symbols, providing answers to specific questions.
But what probably may not be known is people's faith in these 'mysticism' is on rise. My recent visits to parts of West Bengal and northeastern states such as Tripura brought to light that joblessness and economic downturn have made more superstitious.
The young people are these days in large numbers turning to fortune tellers and palmists.
One reason, according to astrologer Vivekananda Kumar Roy in Coochbehar (West Bengal) is the young people are not sure of their "love partners' loyalties".
"Anxious about the future related to career and wedding matters, they come to us," he said adding "I can claim I have saved a few marriages from separation by giving some stones".
Welcome to the new era of 'spiritual-astrological guidance'. A few youths in Tripura capital Agartala said essentially the phenomenon is linked to economy.
"When the going is good ... a government job or a PSU bank; people do not have time for astrology or fortune gazing," says Nishi Das, 42.
These trends are found among people cutting across religious and other barriers.
In Meghalaya and Nagaland, most people "believing in astrology and palmistry" often keeping it secret among peers and family members are Christians.
Bengali Muslims also show immense faith in these trends across Assam and other places.
Many say at the national level too he traditional street-side fortune tellers (like parrot astrologers) are prevailing along with online platforms and mobile applications.
There are several Muslim business people in Silchar-Badarpur belt in Assam who have 'Hindu gurus' - who chiefly work as astrologers, say locals.
Some astrologers offering 'free initial consultations' on online mechanism are making good money. Many offer personalized reports and consultations for a fee.
The takeaway is simple - the people, especially the younger lot want to convince themselves that the future is not so uncertain.
Parrot astrology booth at Leela Palace Hotel, Jaipur
Of course the trend cannot be ignored at the global scale too.
Hence, fortune-telling and astrology are big business even in the United States.
"A lot of American adults — about 3 in 10 — make use of astrology, tarot cards or fortunetellers at least once a year. But only a small fraction of them rely on what they learn from these practices to make major decisions," says a recent media report.
According to Pew Research Center, encompassing 9,593 U.S. adults who were interviewed about 2 in 10 US adults say they engage in at least one of these activities mostly “just for fun”.
One in 10 say they engage mostly because they believe the practices give them helpful insights.
Only about 1% say they rely “a lot” on what they learn from these practices when making major life decisions.
“The most obvious sign of economic downturn is that, a few years ago, it felt like hardly anyone believed in metaphysics or fortune telling. But in the past two years, such beliefs have clearly become more common,” wrote one netizen on Weibo.
In West Bengal - that was once a communist bastion and people used to run down at astrology - people say the rise of BJP and Hindutva politics at the national level has also revived mass people's faith in God, mysticism and practices related to astrology.
"In my school days, our science teacher used to say Astronomy is science; Astrology is non-sense. Today that teacher's two children are into the profession of astrology ... one in Siliguri and the other one in Kolkata," says Sanjeev Purkayashta in Jalpaiguri in North Bengal.
One BJP leader in Agartala in Tripura (which was also a Left stronghold till 2018), argues that people's interest in religious rituals is growing and there is overall rise in 'Hindu cultural confidence'.
"It is not only astrology... people from Tripura made a huge beeline for Kumbh visit early this year. People also visit other well known temples in the north east like Ma Kamakhya temple on every solemn occasion," he says adding he knows people who have gone to temples in Udaipur (in Tripura) and to Kamakhya temple after they were blessed with grand child or their children got through some career oriented exams.
From small town Ambasa in Tripura; one youth recently got his hiring letter from Malaysia in a hotel industry.
"Before flying to Malaysia to join the job; my parents are taking me to Kamakhya temple ... It seems my father had prayed earlier, f I get the job we will offer pooja at the temple," says 20-something Dhruv Pal.
But the 'myth' is unable to make people more committed to spiritual values and basic principles of life, say sociologists.
"We find people are becoming more communal and superstitious," says Vivek Gurung in Siliguri.
Pilgrim at Ram Temple - Ayodhya
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| "God is omnipresent .. so is Luck" |
Born in Pokhra region in Nepal, Gurung shifted to India for a job with a travel company. "When I came here in 2010 or so.... people had a better sense of values and even scientific bent of mind. Today, half of my friends do not shave or go for hair cut on Tuesdays. People worship God Hanuman more than ever".
The astrology of Indian variety has gone global, says an astrologer in Guwahati adding "I get online customers from IT sectors in Florida and California".
But what goes without stating is that the joblessness, unhappy marriage and economic predicament will continue to create a 'greater space' for fortune telling.
But what's all these about?
It's all related to self-seeking ... being selfish ... being a 'seeker' .... let me and my family have everything. It's also a disease.
Delhi has a desi term 'Jugad'. It basically means quick-fix improvisation. Kam ho jana chahiye ... - as the quacks and fraudsters around National Capital Region would put it.
ends
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