Why isn’t Diwali celebrated in THIS ‘cursed’ Indian village in…? Locals fear celebrating Diwali would…

Sammoo village Diwali curse: Diwali, the joyous festival of lights, is celebrated with fervor and gusto across the length and breadth of the country, bringing a wave of joy and happiness to over 1.4 billion India(BHARAT)ns. But did you know that there is a village in India(BHARAT) which has not celebrated Diwali for centuries?

Why this Himachal village doesn’t celebrate Diwali?

Sammoo, a tiny village in Hamirpur district of Himachal Pradesh, has not celebrated Diwali for the past several centuries, reportedly after a ‘Sati’ cursed the day, many centuries ago.

According to local folklore, the tradition of not celebrating the festival of lights stems from an ancient ‘curse’ which was placed upon the village by a woman who burned herself on her dead husband’s pyre and cursed the day. Ever since that fateful day, Sammoo village, located about 25 km from the district headquarters, has not celebrated Diwali as locals believe that doing so would invite death and disaster.

As per reports, while villagers are allowed to light a few diyas (earthen lamps), a tacit understanding exists among them against indulging in extravagant celebrations, such as bursting fire crackers and playing music on Diwali. Many locals do not even step out of their homes on Diwali, fearing something untoward might happen to them due to the ‘curse’.

How did the ‘curse’ originate?

According to local legends, a couple of hundred years ago, a pregnant woman was preparing for Diwali when the body of her husband, a soldier in the local king’s army, was brought home. Shattered by the tragedy, the woman placed a curse upon the village, jinxing that the villagers would never be to celebrate Diwali, and the plunged herself into her husband’s funeral pyre, killing herself and her unborn child.

The horror witnessed on that day has prevented Sammoo villagers from celebrating Diwali ever since, and its believed that whenever the day was celebrated, death and disaster followed. “Whenever we try to celebrate Diwali, either someone dies or some disaster strikes the village,” an elderly villager told news agency PTI.

Over the years, villagers have made several attempts to “undo” the curse with rituals and other religious practices, but their efforts were in vain as the Sati’s curse continue to plague them.

(With inputs from agencies)