The residents of Sammoo village in Himachal Pradesh's Hamirpur district do not celebrate Diwali.
This is an ancient custom that people have been following for ages due to the fear of a curse from a woman who committed Sati on Diwali, according to a PTI report.
Diwali is known as the festival of lights. However, this day is a usual day for Sammoo villagers, who don't light lamps or burst crackers.
The village is located about 25 km from Hamirpur district headquarters.
They refrain from celebrating this festival as they fear that something tragic will happen.
Therefore, no celebration or special food is prepared on Diwali. Even the elders have advised the younger generation to avoid celebrating this festival as it may lead to tragedies, misfortunes or even deaths.
According to the legend, ages ago, a woman had left for her parents' home to celebrate this festival. Suddenly she got the news of her husband's death, who was a soldier in the king's court, the report said. Shocked by the incident, the woman who was pregnant burnt herself on her husband's pyre. She even cursed the villagers that they would never be able to celebrate the festival of lights.
From that day onwards, the village has never celebrated Diwali, the report says.
Several women, including Bhorang panchayat pradhan Pooja Devi, said that they had never celebrated Diwali after they got married and shifted to this village.
"Even if the villagers settle outside, the curse of the woman won't leave them. Some years ago, a family from the village that settled far away were preparing some local dishes for Diwali when their house caught fire. The people of the village only worship Sati and light diyas in front of her," the report said quoting Pooja Devi.
The report also cited another village elder who said that whenever somebody tries to celebrate Diwali, tragedy happens in the village.
“For hundreds of years, people have refrained from celebrating Diwali. On the day of Diwali, if a family, even by mistake, bursts crackers and makes dishes at home, then disaster is sure to happen,” the report quoted another villager.
The people in the village have tried a lot of measures, such as havans and yagyas, to get rid of the curse. However, nothing has worked.
But the people in Sammoo village are still hopeful that they will be able to celebrate Diwali one day.
