Indians turn to astrology to ease coronavirus fears
"When will my father be released from the ICU?"
That's not a question that Indian astrologer Ajai Bhambi is used to fielding.
Unflustered, he studied the patient's constellation and other configurations. "The next few days are going to be critical," the star-gazer told his client. "But he will stabilise and be moved out of ICU after about 10 days."
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Bhambi, a popular astrologer whose past clients include celebrities and tycoons, has been hearing more of such questions lately, as demand for astrological advice skyrockets in India, which is expected to have the world's worst number of coronavirus cases in weeks.
A health care worker tests a woman for Covid-19 in Ahmedabad, India. Photo: Reuters
The country's coronavirus tally was inching towards the 6-million mark on Sunday, with more than 94,000 deaths. It may soon surpass worst-hit United States, which has recorded more than 7 million infections. There was no sign of the virus plateauing.
Whether it's a phone or video call, visits to an online platform or an app, Indians have been turning to astrologers to ease their health and economic anxieties, leading to a surge in demand of about 20-30 per cent, according to several websites.
Bhambi, based in New Delhi, has been working overtime for months, giving advice to clients late into the night.
Asked if his income has doubled, he chuckled. "Trebled," he said.
"Listen, what do I know about coronavirus? I'm not a doctor or a scientist," Bhambi said. "The only thing I can do is offer reassurance and hope. When doctors and their own relatives can't comfort them, people turn to me."
Astrology platforms such as AstroBuddy, AstroYogi, AstroTalk and AstroSage offer an array of instant sessions that range from 100 rupees (US$1.50) for a five-minute live chat session, to several thousand rupees for a longer session with an experienced and popular astrologer.
AstroBuddy says it has seen a 40-50 per cent increase in downloads and calls over the past few months. AstroYogi has 400 astrologers on board to cater to demand.
"Most questions are about their health, whether they will hang on to their jobs and whether their businesses will survive," said an astrologer in the northern city of Chandigarh, who did not wish to be named.
While demand has risen, astrology has long been a part of life for millions of people in India. Its popularity cuts across age, class, and education, encompassing a person with a PhD in quantum economics from Harvard, along with the roadside vegetable vendor.
Politicians, prime ministers, film stars, businesspeople, celebrities and ordinary middle-class families turn to astrologers for everything from deciding the date of a general election to naming a pet.
Indians tend to ask very specific questions to stargazers. Will my company succeed if we start exporting? When is it an auspicious date to move house? Should the kitchen in my new home be northeast facing? What kind of bonus can I expect from my employer?
Some wealthier families even have their own private astrologer on a retainer who can be summoned to the house at any moment. Few decisions are taken without prior consultation with an astrologer or spiritual guide.
Pratik Pandey, co-founder of AstroSage, says the firm's revenue has risen by more than 40 per cent since India's coronavirus lockdown. Photo: Handout
Rajiv Mukherjee, a director of finance with a multinational firm in New Delhi, said he turned to an astrologer for advice on how to live during the pandemic because unlike busy doctors and relatives preoccupied with their own problems, the astrologer could give him "mental peace".
"Of course, I'm not stupid. On medical matters I consult doctors. On legal matters, I consult lawyers," Mukherjee said. "But with so much uncertainty and fear in our lives right now, an astrologer offers another layer of support and balm. You feel soothed. He gives you hope."
Pratik Pandey, co-founder of AstroSage, said revenue had increased by over 40 per cent since India's lockdown in March.
"We expected the opposite, that with the lockdown, people with less money wouldn't want to spend on this service," he said.
"But that didn't happen. Then we expected demand to fall when the lockdown was lifted, but that hasn't happened either," Pandey said.
The surge in demand has left rationalist groups, which try to spread the message that astrology and godmen are fake, clutching their heads in despair.
"Why didn't astrologers predict such a huge event as a global pandemic?" asked Manish Ray Chaudhary, general secretary of the Science and Rationalists Association in Kolkata. "They have no answer to that. And if they failed on that, can they at least tell us when it will end?"
Chaudhary said the government was to blame for not educating Indians or encouraging people to adopt a rational and scientific approach to life.
"It's better for the government if Indians continue believing that illness and disease are the result of extra-celestial or planetary movements," Chaudhary said. "It lets the government off the hook."
Meanwhile, Bhambi has had to improvise as the pandemic has thrown up unprecedented situations for him, such as fielding a shocking number of calls from women suffering domestic violence at the hands of drunken husbands.
"Where possible, I ask her to get the husband on the line," the astrologer said.
"I tell him the coronavirus is more contagious for those who drink," he said. "It's a bluff - but if it works, what's the problem?"
This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).
Copyright (c) 2020. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
