You are the nayak (chief) of Chhattisha Nijog. Is the Chhattisha Nijog only a confederation of 36 nijogs or are there more nijogs engaged in the service (seva) of Lord Jagannath and his siblings?

Earlier, there were more than 250 nijogs. Now, there 120 nijogs attached to the Lord. Each Nijog is assigned a particular job. Each seva has its importance and all of them are intrinsically linked to each other.  Our job is to bring about co-ordination among all sevas and to ensure the rituals of the deities are performed properly and punctually.

Are all the 120 sevas going on at the Jagannath temple now? 

Time has taken its toll on the temple rituals. More than 20 sevas of the Lord have been discontinued over the years. Earlier, there was conch blowing seva as part of which a conch-blower would come to the temple every day and blow the conch. That seva is no more there. Similarly, the Devadasi seva (an unmarried woman singing and dancing before Lord Jagannath) and some other sevas have been stopped.

There are frequent allegations against servitors of misbehaving with devotees. Can’t this be stopped?

Before answering that question, let me tell you it is because of the servitors, who used to traverse long distances on foot, that the Jagannath culture gained global popularity. It’s because of these servitors that devotees have donated thousands of acres of land to Lord Jagannath. Their only aim is to serve the Lord. As far the issue of misbehaviour is concerned, sometimes people who do not belong to our community indulge in such activities and give us a bad name. But these stray incidents get highlighted. No one, however, talks about lakhs of pilgrims returning satisfied from Puri. Had the servitors not behaved well, they would not be coming to Puri. Even rath yatra is being organised successfully year after year because of them.

Nevertheless, the allegations persist. Now, the temple administration has come forward to take servitors to different parts of the country to familiarize them with the work culture of other shrines. 

Let me tell you that the Shree Jagannath Temple and its culture are different from others. Here, we have a living deity who, like human beings, is born and dies. The temple administration’s move is good but I don’t think it has any educative value. It's more about travelling to new places.

What is Chhattisha Nijog doing to educate the servitors? How many servitors are there in the temple?

We have been sensitising servitors on different issues but there is no need to highlight it. Any new servitor has to take an oath before the Lord. A sari is tied to his head to mark him out as a servitor. Whenever the temple administration seeks a report on the conduct of a servitor, we give it promptly.  At present, more than 10,000 servitors are attached to the shrine. Of them, 2,000 to 3,000 servitors directly depend on the temple for their livelihood.

There have been allegations that servitors force the devotees to give donations. Even the Supreme Court has expressed displeasure on the issue. 

We are shocked to hear this. There are hundreds of servitors who never ask for any dakshina from the devotees. They return home at night without getting a single pie from the devotees… Have you ever seen how they and their families survive? They live in single rooms but our servitors are not beggars. Sometimes, they prefer to go without a meal than asking for dakshina. But this has never been noticed by the media. There is nothing wrong in a servitor accepting dakshina from a devotee who offers this willingly after being satisfied with his service. But because of these controversies and the general plight of the servitors, our younger generations have started pursuing other professions. The need of the hour is to encourage younger men to become servitors. Otherwise there will be a crisis.

Many people are of the view that non-Hindus should be allowed into the temple and the Supreme Court making a suggestion in this regard. What is your take on this?

Lord Jagannath comes out from the temple once a year during rath yatra to meet all his devotees irrespective of caste or creed. 

Hence there is nothing wrong in the sanctity of the temple being maintained by putting a ban on the entry of non-Hindus. The Shree Jagannath Temple has been attacked and plundered several times. Even the chariots of the deities were set on fire. As far as the ban on non-Hindus is concerned, even the former Puri king Ramchandra Deb was not allowed to enter to the temple after he married a Muslim woman.

There is a demand that an inventory of the Lord’s jewellery being kept in the ratna bhandar be made…

The ratna bhandar has been opened on auspicious days in the presence of officials of the administration and servitors. But the inner chamber, which contains the bulk of the jewellery, has never been opened. And there is no need to open it. We are against it. The Jagananth culture is associated with so many myths and legends and they should remain intact. On the other hand, we are sure that no one would dare touch his jewellery.

We have been noticing servitors indulging in politics lately. How do you see this?

I agree that the temple is not free from politics. But it would be better if politics is kept away from the activities of the temple. At the same time, we stand united in the service of Lord Jagannath.

Which political party is seeking to politicise the temple affairs more than others?

It is always the party in power, but others are not far behind.