Kendrapara: Though it seems unbelievable, but there is a village in Kendrapara district of Odisha where there are no doors in the houses. And still, thefts do not occur here. Prime deity of the village is Goddess Kharakhai. People believe it is the blessing of the Goddess which makes them safe from theft and hence no doors are required in houses.
Sialia village under Rajkanika Tehsil of Kendrapara district do not have doors in the house. The temple of the village deity Goddess Kharakhai is at the north end of the village. The temple is surrounded by large trees. There is no roof in this temple as people believe the Goddess loves to remain under open sky so that sunlight falls on her. In Odia, meaning of Kharakhai means the one, who enjoys sunlight. Perhaps that is the reason Goddess Kharakhai temple does not have roof.
According to the priest the Goddess incarnated there about 600 years ago. She was seen sitting on a door, for which the villagers believed that doors are not required in the houses of the village. Miraculously, despite absence of doors, no theft take place in this village, locals said.
About 40 families live in Sialia. They have either put screen or a sheet made off bamboo at the place of entrance to check stray animals to enter into the houses.
It is said the villagers don’t need to visit even the Court as most cases get solved in the village only. As per the locals, even brides don’t need to lock their jewelry boxes.
Many devotees assemble on Tuesday and Saturday at Goddess Kharakhai temple to offer special puja. It is believed that people recover from diseases after drinking the water offering (paduka) of the Goddess.
Also, devotees keep ‘manasika’ and once the same gets fulfilled, they offer earthen horses at the temple. The priest said that one can find large number of such horses kept in the temple premises, which proves that wish of many devotees have been fulfilled by the grace of the Goddess.
Kalinga AI
This post has got a good content but unfortunately there is not a single relevant photograph of a house without doors. There is no meaning writing thousand words without a single relevant picture. In Oriya meaning of Kharakhai doesn’t mean the one who enjoys sunlight, but one who eats sunlight.
There is no such photographs for the same to get confidence.