SRIKAKULAM: Continued ban on Diwali has left the villagers in darkness on the day of the festival of lights for the last 200 years. Village heads had imposed the ban on Diwali celebrations after an incident in the village. A baby died of snakebite on the day of Nagula Chaviti. Two oxen also lost their lives on the same day in the village called Ponnanapalem in Ranasthalam mandal almost 200 years ago.
Thinking that the celebration of Nagula Chaviti (worship of snakes) and Diwali caused the death of the baby and oxen, the village heads imposed a ban on Diwali celebrations and Nagula Chaviti too. Respecting the verdict given by the ancestors of the village, the generations following have stopped celebrating Diwali in the village. The daughters-in-law of the village must forgo the celebration of Diwali after stepping into the village. The daughters from the village would only get the right to celebrate Diwali after getting married with people of other villages.
Though the educated youth and younger generations made many attempts to break the tradition, the village heads opposed it. “I was just 12 years old when I stepped into this village as a daughter-in-law and I noticed that the villagers had been following the ban on Diwali and Nagula Chaviti,” said a 70-year-old Ponnana Narayanamma of Punnanapalem. “As I was young, I struggled a lot to come to terms with the strange tradition, initially,” she said.
“I motivated the villagers in various ways and even I celebrated Diwali with my family members almost 12 years ago in the village by violating the ban. Unfortunately, my son died due to ill-health after a few years. Rumors spread in the village that my son died because of violation of the ban on Diwali festivities,” said PN Naidu, a resident of the village and retired headmaster of a government school.
“I started celebrating Diwali by burning crackers after marriage at my in-laws house in Vizianagaram district and enjoyed the thrill of burning crackers,” said R Shravani, the daughter of RM Naidu of Ponnanapalem village. She also said that being daughters from Ponnanapalem village “we would celebrate Diwali after marriage while the girls who step into the village as daughters-in-law must forgo the celebrations for their entire life, which is a bitter experience.”
It was learnt that the incident occurred in the family with the surname of Ponnana. As more than 95 per cent of the families in the Ponnanapalem village belong to Ponnana branch (surname), they continue to observe the ban.
“I celebrated Diwali during my childhood in my village Kottapeta in Vizianagaram district. I stopped celebrating after stepping into the village as a daughter-in-law. We continue to observe the tradition of the village,” said A Rani, a daughter-in-law of Ponnanapalem. Despite persuasion by the police and revenue officials, the villagers still refuse to celebrate Diwali and Nagula Chaviti.