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Rationalists declare war on witches in Orissa Sundergarh (Orissa): Orissa's Sundergarh District, it seems, is devoid of rationality, as a majority of its dominant tribal population continues to be superstitious and fearful about incidents, which they say are linked to sorcery and witchcraft. The police here claim that as many as 41 people have been killed by witchcraft or sorcery since the year 2000. The naked parading of Nuni Ekka in Tainsar village after being branded a witch (Dayan) in May this year and the macabre incident of a man sacrificing his own child to ward off evil spirits in Relhaposh village are just two of several such incidents. However, all hope hasn't been lost as yet. The Orissa Rationalist Association and the local police have embarked upon a campaign against superstition, with the aim of promoting a scientific temper among the tribals. "Taking
preventive measures too is the role of police. We are running awareness
campaigns for the same. We are going to various villages. We go the
village markets and our police officers spread the message through folk
songs in the local language. Besides this, we have associated some NGOs
with us to help us in our endeavour. We also have certain educated scientists
and professors with us," said Y K Jetwa, the area's superintendent of
police. Professor Nayak, an eminent scientist working with the Kasturba
Gandhi Medical College, Mangalore visited the remote corners of the
tribal dominated Sundergarh district to eradicate superstitions from
among the people. "I am trying to eradicate superstition from among
the masses by roaming around the villages. The society is harmed by
these superstitions to a great extent. Every type of loss, for example
loss of honour, loss of property and loss of life, all such losses are
incurred by superstitions. Therefore I want to eradicate them all,"
said Professor Nayak. Slowly but steadily, his work has caught up with
the tribals, who have flocked in large numbers to witness the scientific
demonstrations presented by him. "I realised that the witchcraft is
nothing but a farce. We children have understood this much, but the
elders haven't. This way people just waste their money," said Rahul,
a student. Varanasi's miracle pond blesses you with baby boy (Go to Top) Varanasi:
The demand for male offspring in Indian families is showing no signs
of change if one looks at the large number of couples arriving here
in the month of September to bathe in a holy pond in the hope of being
blessed with baby boys. Daughters are still unwelcome in India's largely
patriachal society because of fears of heavy marriage expenses and reports
of dowry-related violence. A son, on the other hand, is still seen as
the torchbearer of the family's gene pool, the inheritor of its wealth
and looked upon as a surety in one's old age. Couples, both childless
and those with only daughters, many from well-educated urban backgrounds,
take a dip in the "Surya Kund" (Sun Pond), also called the Lolark Pond,
in the hope of being blessed with sons. "This is Surya Kund. Couples
who desire a male child come here," says Babu Maharaj, the chief priest
of one temple. "Today there are special kind of sun rays which help
bless the couples. So we come here to have a dip in the Kund," Nitesh
Pathak, a doctor from Jaunpur, said. Couples have to perform long rituals
to purify themselves before bathing in the pond together. The devotees
also have to leave their clothes behind after taking a dip. Once the
wish is fulfilled, couples bring their child to the temple to perform
the Hindu ceremony of "Mundan" (tonsure). India's sex ratio currently
stands at 926 females per 1,000 males. According to reports, over two
million female foetuses are destroyed in India annually through abortion.
Stringent laws to check female foeticide have been in place for almost
a decade but the government has been unable to check the growth of this
malpractice. Bhavnagar's temple in the sea (Go to Top) Bhavnagar:
Temples are visited often to seek blessings from the presiding deities,
but have you ever heard of one that stands out in the middle of the
sea? If not, then a visit to the Lord Shiva Temple in Bhavnagar is a
must, as it is located 1.5 km from the beach in the Arabian Sea. People
in large numbers visit the temple annually reportedly to wash away their
sins. The temple is therefore also called the temple of "Nishkalank
Mahadev or the Temple of a Sinless Lord Shiva. "There is no building
here, but this particular thing is 1 to 1.5 kms in the middle of the
sea and attracts a large number of pilgrims. It is believed that after
the great Mahabharata war, the Pandavas visited this place to wash away
their Kalank or sins. So, this particular Shivling is named Nishkalank
Mahadev," said Ashish Kharor, a local. "We are very careful that no
stampede or casualty takes place and then the next thing is that we
have made arrangements of boats and life saving jackets. We expect always
three to four lakh pilgrims," said Anupam Singh Gehlot, the superintendant
of police of Bhavnagar. Nagpur idol makers hit by dampened spirits (Go to Top) Nagpur:
Artisans in Nagpur are busy making Hindu god Lord Ganesha's idols
as a nine-day-long festival "Ganesha Chaturthi" is round the corner.
The festival is celebrated to commemorate the birth of Lord Ganesha.
But, the idol makers fear that their business might be hit this year
as Maharashtra elections coincide with the festival. "Around 1000 idols
are made here every year. This year too we made the same number of idols
but this year there is less of enthusiasm among people because of elections.
Some people who were in the mandal have left it but some are still working
for it," Sudhir Ingle, an idol maker said. The state goes to polls on
October 13. The sculptors say that the market is dull this year. "The
market is not good. We are not getting the same output as we used to
get earlier. Profit margin is low. Earlier what we could earn by 25
idols now we have to make 10-15 more number of idols to reach our target,"
said Nilesh, another idol maker. During the festival, Lord Ganesha idols
grace Hindu households all over the country. Sikh Diaspora gets a feel of its rich heritage (Go to Top) Amritsar:
The huge turnout by the ever expanding Sikh diaspora here for the
400th anniversary of the installation of Guru Granth Sahib at the Golden
Temple is an opportunity for them to get back to their roots. Sarabjit
Singh, a NRI visitor from California in USA said, "Oh this is wonderful
here. I cannot express my feelings. For me, it's like a dream come true.
For last ten years, I have had no reason to come to India. But when
I found there is big celebration going on the occasion of the 400th
anniversary of installation of Guru Granth Sahib in the Golden Temple,
I said it doesn't matter how much work and money I have to lose, I have
to be there". Another visitor from California Amlok Singh said, "Here,
we see a lot of spirit, people coming from different places. Our grass
roots are here. There (the US) people are very professional. They might
not take that much of pain in going to places for such occasions. People
over here are doing lot and we feel so good about it". The two million
strong Sikh community in countries like the United States, the UK and
Canada swears by its traditions. Gurbax Singh, a visitor from UK said,
"There is a need to educate the people, the governments about our traditions
and the dress- ups. The Sikh community settled all over can play a major
role". Sarabjeet Singh recalls, "The main thing is the turban, the identity,
this is the identity one has to keep because there are some people who
comes to States and they takes their turbans off and they shave their
beard, but they still go to gurudwaras and many of them are now keeping
turban." A delegation of some one thousand Sikhs and Hindus from Sindh
in Pakistan have also arrived here, and they say it has been a totally
different experience. Amrit Lal, a visitor from Pakistan said, "We are
visiting here for the first time and were a bit confused before arrival.
While coming here we find everything fine and as if sitting with our
near and dear ones. We find ourselves lucky visiting this fair, which
comes once in 100 years". Besides the teachings and messages of the
holy Guru Granth Sahib, radiating from here, the occasion reunites the
Sikh community from all over the world. Eco-sensitive Ganesha idols (Go to Top) Mumbai:
Mumbai sculptors are doing their bit to save the city's sea shore
by making idols of Lord Ganesha by using eco-sensitive sand and paper.
Usually made with plaster of paris and adorned with glittering clothes,
tonnes of artificial jewellery and harmful chemical paint, the idols
take extremely long to degrade and play havoc with the region's marine
life, killing large number of fish. This year, after much hue and cry
from environmental groups, some artisans are making the idols with sand
and papier machie, which easily dissolve in water and the use of edible
dyes make it harmless to fish. "It is due to pollution. We are preparing
these idols with papier mache, it gets easily dissolved in sea water
and does not harm the fishes either," Suchita, an idol maker said. The
idols look no different from any others made in the traditional way
and are gaining popularity with the locals. Ecology watch groups say
Mumbai dump 400 million and 365 million tonnes of raw sewage and other
municipal wastes, respectively, into the coastal waters every year.
"Ganesh Chaturthi" celebrates the birthday of Ganesh ji, and the festivities,
which include prayers, dances and revelry, end with the idols being
immersed in the sea and other water bodies. |
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