Atal Bihari Vajpayee's granddaughter performs his 'pind-daan'

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Nandita Misra, the grand-daughter of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, was among dozens of women, who performed the 'pind-daan' (a ritual of making offerings to the souls of ancestors) in Kanpur on Sunday.

The offering is made during 'Pitra-Paksh' (the ongoing fortight dedicated in the Hindu calendar to remembering the forefathers) and was organised by the 'Yug Dadhichi Deh-Daan Sansthan' at the Sarsaiya Ghat on the banks of the Ganga here.

In a break from the past, a large number of women participated in the 'Pind Daan', which is traditionally performed by the male members of the family.

Chairman of the Sansthan, Manoj Sengar, said: "Such programmes gives us the strength and desire to do something different. This is the ninth year of this event and we are glad to see the increased participation of women this year."

Dozens of women, who are doctors, teachers and other professional, have been performing 'Pind Daan' to pray for the salvation of their ancestors and also unborn girl children who are killed in the womb.

Sengar said that the programme was organised under the 'Beti Bachao Abhiyan' for the unborn girl child.

"The special thing is that a few girls around the age of 20 years have also come forward to perform rituals for their fathers," he added.