Shani Shingnapur: a Village without Doors in India


Believe it or not, a village with about 300 buildings in the neighborhood, none of which has a door. Educational institutions and banks that are in the area it was also not have a door.

Not only buildings such as a home or office, even most of the public toilets in the area Shani Shingnapur has no door. "For privacy reasons and following the demand of most women, their recently agreed to add a thin curtain to cover the existing public toilets, but the door still does not exist, because it is contrary to our belief," said Parmeshwar Mane, who is a shopkeeper in the village.

Indeed, there are now several houses were put up makeshift door panel in the door frame of their homes, but it was their post only at night, with a reason to prevent the entry of animals or wild dogs into their homes while residents asleep. The only problem with the absence of doors in every home residents are just difficult to knock on the door so that residents know the arrival of guests at his home. But it was apparently already found the solution. "Just a shout, then the residents will soon come out to meet," said a resident named Rani explained.

Shani Shingnapur village located in the state of Maharashtra was no need for security measures, because of the strong local beliefs against Shani, the God of Saturn. Of the legends that have existed since centuries ago, originally stems from a piece of iron and stone slabs that washed the shores of the river when the flood. Livestock herders who tried gouged strange slab with his staff, even find the odd slab bleed.

Night, the god Shani was present in a dream and said that the village head odd slab is strange slab is his idol. He also said that the idol is so strong that it does not need to be placed in the shade. Furthermore, Shani said that the villagers no longer need to install the door of the house, because he who would protect them from any kind of danger.


"The power of Shani it feels so strong, so if there is someone caught stealing, he will be walking around in the village continuously by thinking has left the village, but when the sun rises, he will find himself still in the village," said a factory worker named Balasaheb Borude. Local residents also believe that anyone who commits sin in the village, it will face a 'Sade Saati', which means bad luck for seven and a half years. Until now, a strange slab measuring about five feet still worshiped in the local porters, and placed in an open area.

A pamphlet distributed by the porters claim that Shani Shingnapur is 'model village', which is not only free from theft but also from all other kinds of sinful behavior. "
Professional robbers, thieves, dacoits, non-vegetarians, drunkards never come here," wrote in the pamphlet. "If they come, they behave like gentlemen."

For those who first came to the village, to adjust to the strange habits prevailing in the village may be daunting at first. As Rupali Shah, who was surprised to learn that her fiancé home no door. "A few years ago when I was told that I had to stay here after getting married, I was nervous," he said. "Previously I have never lived in a house that does not have a door .. When I came here last-in-law and her husband said that did not need to put anything valuable in a locked place, initially I was worried. Now I never again worry about to leave the house even though open like it when visiting friends in the neighborhood, "he said.


Shani Shingnapur is a village with about 5000 residents. Practice this house without doors as previously known in the 1990s, when the condition of the village was featured in a movie about religion. "The whole world should know that there is a place called Shani Shingnapur, where the houses do not have doors, there are trees but do not have a shadow, and there is no god but the temple," said Sayaram Bankar, a guardian at the temple.

Not only from all over India, but also from all over the world, people came to see firsthand this unusual village. And indeed until about 15 years ago people only depend on sugar cane as their source of income. But now tourism is becoming a major source of their income, with about 40,000 tourists everyday.

But although Shani Shingnapur still free of burglaries over the centuries, the reputation of this village is already somewhat 'dented' as a result of theft that occurred recently. A tourist in 2010 and never reported the loss of cash and other valuables worth about 35,000 rupees ($ 567) is missing from the vehicle. But Sayaram Bankar circumvent the allegations against his village, he insisted that the incident occurred outside the village.


Then in 2011, the other tourists claim that gold jewelry worth 70,000 rupees ($ 1,135) disappeared stolen from a locked cabinet in the home of a guardian in the temple. Besides theft 'small' other also have been reported in recent years. "Although there has been no significant increase in crime rates in recent years, but the action of vehicle theft, pickpocketing and mugging is still happening around the temple," said Anil Behrani, a local police officer.

Most people now have started to 'ignore' the legend and set up the doors in their homes. "I go to the temple regularly," said Ajay, a 30-year-old farmer. "I just wanted to take preventive measures and ensure the safety of my family. I also know for sure will get a rejection from other people, but I do not want to take the risk."

It seems fitting door is considered blasphemy in Shani Shingnapur behavior. To overcome this reason, UCO Bank which is the only state-owned install windshield without a conventional key. Instead, mounted remote controlled electromagnetic locks. While the money is placed in a vault which is located inside the bank. "We can not openly violate the prevailing tradition here, but we did not want to compromise the security of the bank," said a bank manager.


Skeptical opinion that the low crime rate in this area is not the power of the gods, but because the location is far from anywhere. "If you reside in an area in the middle of nowhere, and no one has ever come and go, and then you pick the legends that looks like this, surely will be many tourists who come to visit," said Narendra Nayak, a prominent rationalist. "It's just a mental exercise to build first residents know that many tourists who come to bring a lot of money."

While a senior official at the local police said, "The economy actually revolves around the village temple, so that no theft claim is very important to continue the popularity of this village. Many small thefts are never reported because of pressure from the villagers. We try not to interfere during this belief does not lead to security issues."

And although many reasons including the pros and cons of tourists are not going to believe the unique thing that happens in this village, the local villagers just hope this belief continues to live on until whenever. "There's something special about this god," said Amit Sharma who is a hotel manager." He is a trustee for this place."

Source: Times of India, Indian Express, Friday Magazine, Odditycentral




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Article "Shani Shingnapur: a Village without Doors in India", translated or rewrite by Idle Channel blog from several sites. Hopefully this article can add insight and knowledge. And if you are interested in the posts above, please do not forget to include also the name of the blog Idle Channel as the source. Thank You.
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