> temple in North India. They are after your money. :) > > > > > That makes me wonder...why is the payment called a "dakshina", which is the > word for "south" as well? No, I am not googling...just waiting to be > spoon-fed.
At weddings/functions where I come from, they give "dakshine" to attendees. This happens during lunch, when the father of the bride/"yajamana" of the function goes around giving 10/20/50/100 rupees per person. When I was a kid, I realized that this was given only to the "brahmin" attendees, who had to remove their shirts for lunch. After this, I made it a point never to remove my shirt during lunch at functions. These days, dakshine has become an ego/status symbol. ~ashwin
