New York, Jan 26 : A Hindu temple in California has held the ancient Kavadi ritual to pray for deliverance from the Covid-19 pandemic. "This is the greatest health crisis in a generation," and "we decided to pray for the rest of humanity" through the ritual, Hari Pothulu, an organiser of the event, told the VC Star newspaper. The ritual was held at the Sri Venkata Krishna Hindu Temple in Thousand Oaks, California, over the weekend. Kavadi means "burden" in Tamil and devotees carry a decorated arched frame on their shoulders or pots on their heads in a procession as a tribute to Murugan, as Karthikeya is known in Tamil. The ritual is usually held in the month of Thai in the Tamil calendar that occurs between January and February in the western calendar. The VC Star said that because of the pandemic the members of a book club at the temple proposed making the ritual "an offering for the welfare of all" this year. /IANS