All the residents of Kallukuruki village,in Tamil nadu, including women and children, vacated their homes on Sunday morning for a day to perform pujas to appease the goddess in a temple outside the village limits. The families even took their cattle along with them.
Kallukuruki, which lies 15 kilometers from Krishnagiri on the Chittoor highway, is home to more than 1,500 people who live in about 300 houses, They are mostly dependent on agriculture and they need rain for their farming activity.
The villagers have been facing a drought like situation in recent times owing to the failure of the monsoon in Krishnagiri district.
According to custom, the village panchayat was held, which decided to vacate the village for a day and perform pooja in a temple on the outskirts, near Krishnagiri town.
Following the diktat of the village headman K.Chandrappa, villagers vacated their homes on Sunday and stayed in a mango grove with their families till evening.
Having spent the day in the grove, they performed pooja to the village goddess. They also sacrificed animals to please her and they then went back home hopeful their prayers would be answered soon.
During the day, visitors were prevented access to the village in the fear that their prayer may fail if outsiders are allowed to enter Kallukuruki. Youths stood guard in a ring around the village to prevent people from entering.
“This traditional custom has been practised for several centuries in Kallukuruki” said headman Chandrappa, adding that “Prayers performed after vacating the village brought rain in the past and we hope it happens again as an answer to today’s prayer.”