Women do penance for elephants� death
Saturday February 9 2008 09:44 ISTS Kaththasami
COIMBATORE: Ever since the death of three elephants in a train accident near Madukkarai recently, there has been a flurry of reports in the regional dailies about pregnant women in nearby villages doing penance on the advice of a local godman.
Believing the words of the godman that the death of the elephants is a bad omen, many women in Pannimadai village are still performing rituals like lighting �deepam� with ghee in the evenings and pouring water on Lord Vinayaka.
But godman Ponoothu Malai Amman Arulvaku Sithar P K Narayanasami has scoffed at the newspaper reports that he had advised the local people to do penance for the death of the elephants.
�It is irrational to believe that pregnant women will face the wrath of god because of this accident,� said Narayanasami, who is staying at Chinnathadagam.
�I was upset after seeing the reports. It was all a work of imagination,� he added. He accused his friend Rajendran, who is working as a post master in Pannimadi village, of having used his name and misguided the people for his own publicity.
�I am a fortune-teller and why should I create panic among the people?� he asked.
R Selvi, a resident of Pannimadai, said that on Feb 5, Rajendran approached them and said that to avoid any evil befalling pregnant women, Narayanasami had advised them to mix a variety of grass (�arugam pul�) in a pot of water and offer it to Lord Vinayaka. Rajendran also asked them to light �Panja muga deepam� in homes.
�We have strong belief in Ponoothu Malai Amman. So we followed what he told us,� she said.
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