Chhindwara: On Diwali, when every house is illuminated and the country is in a mood of celebrations, it is mourning for a village in Madhya Pradesh's Chhindwara district. The tribals here neither light diyas nor celebrate as they mourn for a month and a quarter after Dussehra.
Named after the demon-king of Lanka in Hindu mythology, the Ravanwada village in Chhindwara mourn the death of the 10-headed antagonist and so on Diwali, they keep themselves away from all kinds of celebration.
Mahesh Sarathi, district president of All India Tribal Development Council, said, "It is a mourning period for the tribals following Ravana's death. The tribals believe that Ravana and Meghnath protect them from disasters. They feel on Dussehra, Rama defeated Ravana after which, the latter attained martyrdom. So there is neither any lighting nor any kind of celebration on Diwali".
The Ravanwada village has a Ravana temple, situated on a hilltop. On the occasion of Dussehra, when Ravana effigy is burnt as a symbol of the victory of good over evil across the country, here the demon king is worshipped followed by a prolonged period of mourning.
A similar tradition exists in Ravana Gothul of Chargaon and Meghnath Khandera of Umareth.
Block vice president of Tribal Society Rahul Sarathi said, "The tribal society believes in Sanatan Dharma. As per tradition, houses are cleaned on Diwali and Goddess Lakshmi is worshipped. But houses are neither illuminated by lamps nor any celebration held."
It is believed that Ravana worshipped Lord Shiva here in Treta Yuga and eversince then this village was named Ravanwada. Earlier, there used to be a dense forest in this area. There are two villages near Ravanwada that are named Vishnupuri and Mahadevpuri.
Rajesh Dhurve, a resident of Ravanwada, said, "People here have been worshipping Ravana for many generations."
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