Students dancing on dhol beats to please Damdami Mai (BCCL)
Sudents performing Damdami Mai ki puja at Hindu College’s Virgin tree on Valentine’s Day (BCCL)
Dear Virgin tree, please take away my virginity: Students
As per rituals, hostel fresher Shaktipal Singh, a first-year student, was given the responsibility of conducting ‘puja’. Shaktipal, who dressed like a pandit and even wore a dhoti, told us, “This is the first time that I’m performing any kind of puja. Par Virgin Tree ke liye toh banta hai.” When asked if his girlfriend knows about this ritual, he said, “No, she doesn’t, as I don’t even have one. I feel lucky that I got an opportunity to do this puja. I prayed to the tree, and asked it take away my virginity. Now, I’m confident that since I’ve performed the rituals, I will find a girlfriend within the next six months.”
Students from other colleges also attended the puja and sang aarti to please Damdami Mai. The tree was decorated with condoms filled with water. The ‘pandit ji’ told us, “It’s holy water. After the puja is over, this water is sprayed over all the students present here.”
Shaktipal Singh, a college fresher dressed as a pandit was given the responsibility of conducting the ‘puja’ (BCCL)
Pyaar ke dushman not allowed at this puja
The students ensured that ‘pyaar ke dushman’ (the lecturers) were kept away from this side of the campus. Kalpita Kachroo, a third-year student of the college said, “This is like a hide-and-seek game. The puja is obviously not official, but the teachers know about it and they can’t allow it to happen, so the decorations are done late at night by the hostellers.”
Students clicking selfies with Damdami Mai’s poster (BCCL)
‘We look for ‘oomph factor’ in our Goddess’
In the past, the title of Damdami Mai has been conferred on actresses like Aishwarya Rai, Priyanka Chopra, Deepika Padukone, Lisa Haydon and Urvashi Rautela. Disha Patani was selected as Damdami Mai by the college hostellers. When asked about the criteria for selecting Damdami Mai, the hostellers were quick to respond, “Oomph factor!” Vaibhav Singh, a second-year student at Hindu College, who was part of the organising group, said, “Popular voting is another factor that decides the ‘goddess’. We vote in the hostel, and whoever gets the maximum number of votes becomes our goddess.”