Motihari hosts its own version of Peepli Live MOTIHARI: George Orwell would be turning in his grave. For the past four days, this north-west Bihar town, well known as the birthplace of the author of Animal Farm and 1984, has been buzzing with a fiction of its own making. Call it superstition or plain mishandling of situation by the administration, Balua Chowk here in the heart of the town has become a pilgrimage, giving the townsfolk a harrowing time after word spread that Puja organizers were unable to move the idol of Goddess Durga for immersion. On a day Unnao played out its Peepli Live, Motihari observed its own version of mass suspension of disbelief. According to administration sources, all puja organizers were directed to immerse the Durga idols the day after Dussehra, on Tuesday, as the next day was Bakrid. Bhola Gupta, president of Balua Puja Pandal Samiti, said cops reached the puja pandal on Tuesday to ensure compliance and tried to remove the idols. But Durgas idol wouldnt budge - at least that was the urban legend hereabouts. On a day Unnao played out its Peepli Live, Motihari observed its own version of mass suspension of disbelief. According to administration sources, all puja organizers were directed to immerse the Durga idols the day after Dussehra, on Tuesday, as the next day was Bakrid. Bhola Gupta, president of Balua Puja Pandal Samiti, said cops reached the puja pandal on Tuesday to ensure compliance and tried to remove the idols. But Durgas idol wouldnt budge - at least that was the urban legend hereabouts. Not long after, rumours spread that a middle-aged woman, claiming to be possessed by Goddess Durga, upbraided the police for daring to lift her on such an inauspicious day - Hindu custom discourages sending women away on Tuesdays. Word also went around that the idol of had started giving electric shocks to anybody who dared to touch it. This information was also circulated through SMSs. As a result, thousands of men, women and children, began reaching the place for darshan of the living Durga who had warned the police. On Wednesday and Thursday, nearly one lakh people visited the venue, bringing traffic to a virtual halt. People from places as far as Nepal started arriving. Two men were crushed to death in a road accident, said police sources. The crowds kept surging until Friday evening, when the idol was finally lifted by the puja samiti workers for immersion. A huge procession was taken out, much larger than Durga immersions usually command, under police protection after the Goddess finally yielded to be moved! timesofindia.indiatimes/city/patna/Motihari-hosts-its-own-version-of-Peepli-Live/articleshow/24357592.cms
Posted on: Sun, 20 Oct 2013 06:56:52 +0000
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