This could really happen anywhere, but it has been reported as occurring particularly at temples, religious festivals, or other sacred spots in India.

People offer to perform a ritual for you and then ask for a donation, which is fine. What you don’t want to do is to ask “How much?” and then feel bad when they aggressively ask for a sizeable amount. This is being pulled usually at cremation sites where the hosts strongly pressure the tourists to make a donation for the poor families who need to buy wood to cremate the deceased.

How to avoid: they are very good at bullying people. Make sure you have some change with you. However, you should be the one to choose the amount, not them.