Source: Abhiyaan Gujarati Weekly
RAJKOT, GUJARAT, INDIA, February 24, 2001: Bhanubhai Pandya, an Indo-Canadian Hindu Priest of Windsor, Ontario, Canada, inspired his son, Dr. Paresh Pandya, a professor of physics, to start a 2-month certificate course for training of priests at the Continuing Education Department of the Saurashtra University at Rajkot. Dr. Pandya worked for two decades as a “pujari” conducting ritual ceremonies and has conducted more than two-hundred marriages. He noticed that, with increasing numbers of Hindu temples worldwide, there is a great demand for competent priests. He felt that to meet this demand, a certificate of qualification can be useful. He prepared the project report with course contents and got the approval of the University. He had planned for twenty-five students but response was so great that he had to prepare a waiting list of sixty. Course is being attended by young and old, both men and women. They are from different professions, and have taken the course for a variety of reasons.