Amid political slugfest, Nepal village named 'Panauti​', also experienced it

The village has got its name from three rivers. Once a curse had come on the village when there was no rainfall for 12 years. The king with the help of a famous 'tantric' came up with a solution to overcome the crisis.

Hyderabad: Even as a political war of words has ensued over Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's "panuati" jibe, there exists a place in Nepal's east Katmandu named 'Panauti', which not only has a beautiful scenic beauty but a wonderful history.

Two days back, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in an apparent dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said that Team India was almost winning had it not been for a 'panuati'. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said the team had won all the matches except the one which was attended by "sinners".

While Opposition leaders are relating "panauti" to PM Modi, here is one village in Nepal that is not only named 'Panauti' but witnessed 'panauti'.

Before being declared a municipality, it was one of the most developed village that was surrounded by five villages namely Khopasi, Sunthan, Subba Goan and Taukhal. It derived its name from the first, middle and last letters of three rivers namely Padmawoti (Pa), Lilawoti (la) and Rudrawoti (li). Thus, it was called 'Palati' which eventually changed into 'Panauti', which was similar to another river, Punaywoti that flows in the north.

There are many stories about this village that have survived in the form of legends and fables. Once there was no rainfall in Panauti village for 12 consecutive years leaving people in great difficulty. The king called a meeting to figure out the reason. Banduduta, who was the most respected "tantric" in Kantipur was called in.

He said that it was only when snakes are removed from His Majesty Gorakhnath's throne that there will be rain. In order to do so, the king had to find Gorakhnath's teacher. The tantric said that if the teacher came here then Gorakhnath would visit him to pay his obeisance and in his absence, snakes would be freed leading to rainfall. Finally, the snakes were shifted with the help of many other people and finally there was rainfall in the village.

There are many such stories associated with this village, all of which have been compiled in a picture book 'Story of Panauti' prepared by READ Nepal under the "My Grandparents' Stories, My Pictures" programme in collaboration with Nepalese Society for Children's Literature. The programme is aimed at preserving the local histories, cultures, myths and oral heritage associated with the rural communities. The stories are shared by elders while the youth penned these down.