LONDA, BELAGAVI: Far from the crowds of the cities and towns, Londa village in Belagavi district lies nestled in the forests of Western Ghats. And this proximity to nature and animals is said to have given the village its most revered deity - tiger - at the Vyagreshwar or Wagoba temple.
Tigers are generally revered as the ‘vahana’ or vehicle of goddesses. But here in Londa, the tiger deity is the deeply revered deity by several families, especially those from the Kunabi community who have lived in the surrounding forests for decades.
A century ago, when the British were yet to lay a railway track through these jungles to connect Goa and Karnataka, the tiger population in the forest was high. Fearing attacks on cattle and villagers, a temple was built and dedicated to the big cat. Local legend has it that the tiger attacks went down after the temple was built. Elders in the village say that it has become customary for a tiger to show up whenever a procession was taken out from Londa to nearby villages during the temple festival.
Even today, the area where the temple is located abuts a wildlife sanctuary that has a decent tiger population.
“The temple has many devotees. Villagers from surrounding areas come to offer prayers at the Wagoba temple. There is another temple dedicated to tiger called ‘Wagoba Mandir’ near Pune as well. During the 1950s, villagers in Londa renovated the temple and recently some more structures were added to the temple. Elders in my family have recalled that the tiger deity has been in Londa for many years,” says Nitin Mirashi, a priest at the temple.
“Once in three years, the temple authorities conduct a ‘gondal’ or a fair. Thousands of devotees from Maharashtra, Goa and from across Karnataka travel to this hamlet to participate in the fair. The entire village takes part in the carnival,” says a villager in Londa.
