Decoding rituals and busting myths with reels and hashtags, temple influencers are pulling followers back to darshan and the care of ancient sites
It began, as most online rabbit holes do, with a WhatsApp forward. The message claimed that sculptures of women using an iPad and a mobile phone had been “discovered” in an ancient Gujarat temple.
While most would have shrugged and scrolled on, Maharashtra-based businessman Dinesh Soni didn’t. He tracked down the image and found that the supposed iPad being read was actually a depiction of a ‘patralekha’ — literally, a letter writer — while the other figure was likely applying kajal.
While most would have shrugged and scrolled on, Maharashtra-based businessman Dinesh Soni didn’t. He tracked down the image and found that the supposed iPad being read was actually a depiction of a ‘patralekha’ — literally, a letter writer — while the other figure was likely applying kajal.