Custody belongs to the priest
The panda families are the custodians of these registers. We work with them — never around them — and the priest remains the only person who writes into the book.
For families overseas
Record a birth, death or marriage in your family's Haridwar register.
When a life event happens at home, the traditional family register in Haridwar can be updated by your hereditary priest. We handle it end-to-end for families living abroad — from collecting the detail your priest will need, to confirming the new entry on the ground.
Researcher meets your family priest in person
Photograph of the new entry
Why it matters
The register is only as accurate as its most recent entry.
For generations, families travelling to Haridwar for final rites have shared their lineage, life-events, and signatures with the family priest — the panda — who recorded them in long handwritten registers. A register only continues to serve the family if births, marriages and deaths are added as they happen. Once written, the entry becomes part of a record your descendants will read for generations.
Paternal-line emphasis
The bahi tradition records the paternal lineage in particular — gotra, native village, and the deaths, births and marriages that carry the line forward.
Written in the original script
Entries are added in traditional Devanagari or the priest's family script. We provide the English translation and an updated family tree.
Step by step
From the life event at home to a written entry in Haridwar.
Each update follows the same five stages. You can add events to your case at any time before the case goes into the field.
- 1
Order the update package
Create your case from any country. You receive a case reference number immediately and can begin sharing what you know.
- 2
Add the life event in your case
Inside the questionnaire, record births, deaths and marriages as you remember them — subject, date, place, officiating priest, photographs and audio notes. Events are saved into the case alongside the rest of your answers.
- 3
Our researcher meets the family priest in Haridwar
Your assigned researcher requests the relevant register from your panda family and discusses the new entry in person — the priest is the only person who can write into the register.
- 4
The entry is written and photographed
Where the priest accepts the update, the new entry is added in the traditional script and photographed for your archive.
- 5
Your archive, tree and translation are updated
Your secure digital archive is refreshed with the new entry, an English translation, and an updated family tree and timeline.
What to gather
Three kinds of update, each with a short list of details to bring.
The clearer the detail in your case, the more accurate the entry the priest can add. Approximate dates and audio notes are welcome where memory is incomplete.
Recording a death
The bahi tradition pays particular attention to deaths in the paternal line — this is the entry the register was designed for.
- Date of death (an approximate year is fine)
- Place where they passed away
- Cremation place or ghat if relevant
- Name of any officiating priest
Recording a birth
A birth is added under the father's lineage, carrying the family gotra forward to the next generation.
- Child's full name
- Approximate date and place of birth
- Father (and mother) selected from your existing family tree
- Gotra — leave blank and we will complete it from the father's record
Recording a marriage
Marriage entries connect two families. We capture the detail needed for both lineages to be linked correctly.
- The person in your family who is getting married
- Spouse's full name and father's name
- Spouse's gotra
- Spouse's native village or town
Timing
Four to ten weeks
A typical Haridwar case takes between four and ten weeks, depending on what you can share with us and the condition of the relevant registers. Death entries are usually treated with priority when the date is recent.
If the priest declines
The order converts to a research package
If the register is located but the priest declines a remote update, the order converts to the family-history package and £100 is refunded — you still receive the full transcription, translation, family tree and archive.
If no register is found
A clear refund position
If no register is located after the agreed Haridwar search, £150 is retained for the search itself and £345 is refunded.
Find, Translate and Update My Family Register
£495
One-time · GBP base price
- Everything in Find and Translate My Family History
- Record births, marriages and deaths directly in your case at any time
- Updates entered into the register where the hereditary priest agrees in person
- Photographic record of the new entry
- Updated translation and family tree to reflect the new record
Frequently asked
Recording a birth, death, or marriage in your case
- When should I use the "Record a family event" form?
- If your case includes the register-update package, you can record births, deaths and marriages directly in your case as you remember them. They are saved into your case file alongside the rest of your questionnaire and reviewed by our team when you submit — there is no separate review step.
- What details should I gather before recording a death?
- Try to have the date (an approximate year is fine), the place where they passed away, the cremation place or ghat if relevant, and the name of any officiating priest. The bahi tradition pays particular attention to deaths in the paternal line, so this update helps the register stay accurate.
- What do I need for a birth?
- The child's full name, an approximate date and place of birth, and ideally the father (and mother) selected from your existing family tree. Gotra is usually inherited from the father — you can leave it blank and we will fill it in.
- What about a marriage?
- Pick the person in your family who is getting married, then add the spouse's full name, their father's name, their gotra, and their native village or town. This helps connect both families correctly.
- What happens after I save an event to my case?
- It is held in your case file alongside your questionnaire answers. When you submit the case for research, our team reviews the events together with the rest of your submission and carries the approved updates into your Haridwar register entry where the priest accepts them.
Looking for ancestry research only?
Just want to find records?
Our research-only package focuses entirely on locating, transcribing and translating what's already written.