What she saw in Gaya was a revelation, as she witnessed thousands of Hindus conducting the ritual daily. 'I have captured the visuals in my camera; I will show them to others back in Japan,' Tomoko said.

Priest Murari Lal said: 'The soul keeps wandering till this ritual is performed by male descendants of the dead.'

Pitrapaksh, a fortnight-long festival, is considered to be an auspicious time for pind daan and is observed every year in September or October.

According to officials in the Gaya district administration, more than 200,000 Hindu devotees have already performed the ritual in the first six days of the fortnight.

'Till date, more than 200,000 devotees have performed the pinda daan. It was more than what we expected as many parts of India are suffering from drought,' Gaya District Magistrate Sanjay Kumar Singh said.

The district authorities expect the number of pilgrims to go up to 400,000. Special facilities have been provided to devotees to perform pinda daan.

(Imran Khan can be contacted at imran.k@ians.in)