Believe it or not, the new custodian for the jewellery of Goddess Mahalaxmi in Kolhapur is now a teenager.
Seventeen-year-old Mahesh Khandekar took over the responsibility from his ailing father, Mahadev (64), the original custodian, six months ago.
As per the tradition of the Mahalaxmi temple, the Khandekar family has been the custodian for centuries now.
"The treasure of the goddess, that contains her jewelleries, is traditionally managed by the Khandekar family. Nobody is allowed to enter the treasure room in the temple except the members of the Khandekar family. Now the responsibility has been given to Mahesh and he is doing a good job," said member of the Western Maharashtra Devasthan Committee, Padmaja Tivale.
The Khandekar family resides in Kapiltirth Market area. Earlier, Mahesh's father was working as the hawaldar of the treasure for many years. His mother Madhavi (50) is a housewife.
"I accompanied father to the temple for two months. He showed me the location of the jewelleries and the rituals to follow. Initially, I found the job very difficult, but now I am enjoying it," the skinny lad said.
Mahesh is a student of standard XI (commerce) at SM Lohia High School and Junior College. One can see Mahesh sitting in the committee's office in the temple and helping the staff.
Mahesh brings out the jewelleries from the treasure and gives them to the priests every morning. The idol of the goddess is then adorned with the jewelleries before commencing the morning puja. Later, Mahesh collects the jewelleries from the priests at night and puts them back in the treasure room. He checks the jewelleries while giving and taking them back from the priests.
Many devotees offer sarees to the goddess. Mahesh is also responsible for counting the offered sarees and giving it to the committee.
Traditionally, the treasure room does not have electric lights and only oil lamp is used while entering the room. Besides Mahesh, no one is allowed to cross the threshold of the treasure room.
The task is difficult as the goddess has different sets of jewelleries for daily rituals and special pujas during festivals.
"I am the 18th member of the Khandekar family to shoulder this responsibility. It is our family duty. The treasure is not a big one like they show in Hindi films. It is in a small room. The light of the lamp is sufficient to locate the jewelleries. I can even locate them in the dark," he said proudly.
