Pitru Paksha or Shraddha is a 16 days long period in which Hindus pray for the soul of their ancestors. They are bound to pay obeisance to their dead ancestors and they do it with great respect in their heart for them.  During the Pitru Paksha people offer all the things that they do every year to the dead and will request Almighty to grant peace to their souls.  The period of Shraddha always occur during the month of September and October if seen from Gregorian dates and in the month of Bhadrapada as per the Hindu lunar calendar. Pitra Paksha is start with the full Moon night and the ending night will be the new Moon night like all the years. Shraddha is an important religious event. It is believed that it is very necessary to honor the dead ancestor as they are the foundations of our life today. They spend their life working for the betterment of upcoming generation and it is duty of the present generation to pray for their peace.  Shraddha must be performed on the day on which the ancestor died. There are various specific dates on which the Shraadh must be performed in accordance to the death of the person. The rituals of the Pitru Paksha might differ from family to family. But, the basic ritual include offering food and worshipping.

A Shraddha is mostly performed by the son of the ancestor. All the people are required to take bath and then continue with the prayers. The food offerings mainly include Kheer (Sweet dish) and many other things like Puri, Dal, rice and some vegetables as well. After these offerings are made, a ritual called Pind Daan is carried forward. Pind Daan is the most important ritual which is performed during Pitru Paksha. People have faith that while all these things are done the souls of their ancestors remain with them and witness everything. Even a prayer is done to invoke the ancestor so that they could be present during Shraddha.Some people offering food to Brahmin , cow and crows during Pitra paksha.

Most of the people invite a priest to their home to follow the rituals of Shraddha to reduce even a single chance of any mistake. It is said that ancestor holds the power of destroying everything or blessing the people with happiness. Therefore, people do their best to avoid the anger of their ancestors that might cause harm to them badly. As it has been said different families have different rituals. Some people also believe in donating food and clothes to the people in need and some gifts to the same priest they invited to worship. The life of the present generation is a gift given by their ancestors and through Shraddha, homage is paid in respect for this gift. The dead ancestors only demand respect and honor for all that they did and completion of Shraddha with perfect rituals make them feel valued. The ancestors bless their family with enormous happiness and a peaceful life once the Shraddha is performed.