On the day of Nagara Panchami, while people across the country offer prayers to the snake god, the people in Kandkur village in Yadgir taluk offer prayers and perform puja to scorpion goddess Kondammai.
Here Nagara Panchami is celebrated as a festival of scorpions. The scorpions here seem to have developed a special bond with people as they do not sting them even when people play with it on the day.
On Sunday, villagers including children and senior citizens, who gathered at Chelina Gudda (Hill of Scorpions), were seen fearlessly handling scorpions and posing for photos. Some kids were even seen balancing scorpions on their tongue.
Curiously, on the day of the feast, scorpions can be spotted under many stones in area. What is more intriguing is the fact that these scorpions mysteriously disappear the very next day.
No study has been able to prove why these creatures do not sting the villagers. Everyone in the village, irrespective of caste, creed and community, celebrate Nagara Panchami by preparing sweets and other delicacies in their houses.
Women pour milk on the statue of Kondammai and prayers and pujas are held. Even women who are married off to other places come to village to celebrate the festival.
A priest in the temple, Narasappa told Express that worshipping the scorpion goddess has been a practice in the village for many years. The devotees offer sarees, oil and coconut to the deity on the hill, he added.
Villagers say that the scorpions which appear only during the Naga Panchami at Chelina Gudda, do not sting. They said that they searching for scorpions and playing with them.