A village without doors

You might wonder what sort of human beings live in this remote village in India’s Maharashtra state?

It is called Shani Shinganapur and can you believe the 300-odd buildings - homes, educational institutions and even banks in this village have no doors. It is said that money and valuable jewellery are stored in unlocked containers.

Although public toilets too don’t have doors, following requests by women folk curtains were put up to cover the entrances. The residents of Shani Shingnapur village do not feel the need for security measures because of their undying faith in the local deity Shani, the God of Saturn.

Legend has it that centuries ago, an iron and stone slab washed up on to the shore of a nearby river during a flood. When cattle herders poked the curious slab with a stick, it began oozing blood.

Later that night, Shani appeared in the dream of the village head and revealed that the slab was his own idol. He told the villager that the idol was so powerful that it did not need to be placed under shelter.

He also said that the villagers never needed to install doors again, because he would always protect them from any kind of danger.

“The power of Shani is such that if someone steals, he will keep walking all night and think he has left the village, but when the sun comes up he will still be there,” explained mill worker Balasaheb Borude.

It is also believed that anyone who commits sins in the village will have to face ‘Sade Saati’, which means seven-and-a-half years of bad luck. To this day, the five-foot naked slab continues to be worshipped at the local shrine, where it is placed out in the open.

A pamphlet handed out at the shrine claims that Shani Shingnapur is a ‘model village’, not only free from theft but also from all kinds of sinful behaviour.

“Professional robbers, thieves, dacoits, non-vegetarians, drunkards never come here,” the leaflet states. “If they come, they behave like gentlemen.”

Shani Shingnapur is home to about 5,000 residents. Its unique door-less practice rose to prominence in India in the 1990s, when the village was featured in a devotional film. “The whole world got to know that there is a place called Shani Shingnapur, where houses have no doors, there are trees but no shadows, there are gods but no temples,” said Sayaram Bankar, a trustee at the shrine. Although Shani Shingnapur has remained free from thefts for centuries, the village’s reputation has been somewhat dented by a few recent robberies. As a result some villagers are now choosing to ignore the legend and are having doors installed.

It appears that installing a door is considered blasphemous behavior in Shani Shingnapur. For this reason, the local state-owned UCO Bank only has a glass front door without a conventional lock. Instead, it has a remote controlled electromagnetic lock. And the money is held in strongrooms within the premises.

“We cannot blatantly break the traditions here, but we cannot compromise on security either,” a bank manager said.

But despite the arguments of debunkers and non-believers, most villagers continue to live with the hope that their tradition will continue for a long time ahead. “This is something special about this god,” said hotel manager Amit Sharma. “He is the guardian of this place.”

Good-looking, then have a free meal

If you think you are good-looking and happens to be in China’s Jeju island in Zhengzhou City you can have a free meal at this Korean eatery.

It is said that this hotel allows people to dine at no charge if they happen to be among the five most beautiful patrons of the day. Hanging outside the establishment was a bold sign that stated: “Free Meal for Good-looking”.

If you think the practice is bizarre, wait till you hear who the judges are - a panel of local plastic surgeons! All those hoping to earn a free meal are taken to a ‘beauty identification area’, where they are photographed. The doctors then evaluate the potential diners on the quality of their faces, eyes, noses, and mouths.

Reports state that protruding foreheads are given special preference. The top five good-looking people who achieve the highest score in 30 minutes are offered a meal for free.

The scoring standards are publicly displayed on the restaurant’s second floor.

Zhengzhou authorities, on the other hand, weren’t amused by the restaurant’s tactics. They accused the initiative of damaging the city’s image and said that the garish sign did was not officially granted permission. The offending sign was finally taken down after teams of security guards and demolition workers descended on the restaurant and demanded its removal.

Restaurant manager Xue Hexin, however, said that the removal of the sign did not imply that the ‘Pay by Face’ promotion would be stopped. “We will be more prudent with our advertising in future,” she said. “But the promotion will continue despite the demolition of our sign.”

Surgery cost 300 pounds to save life of constipated goldfish

What will you do if your pet goldfish is constipated and is struggling to eliminate waste?

Will you rush him to a vet and request to perform surgery on him?

This is what a devoted pet owner in England did recently. He had to spend nearly 300 pounds (460 dollars) on a complicated surgery to save the life of his lovable goldfish.

The unnamed man rushed his fish to the Toll Barn Veterinary Centre in Norfolk, when he noticed that it was struggling to eliminate waste. After a thorough examination, the staff at the center informed him that a delicate surgery costing £300 ($460) was required to save his pet.

The man declined at first, but he soon changed his mind and 10 minutes later, the goldfish was wheeled into surgery.

Twenty-nine-year-old vet Faye Bethell was given the task of performing the 50-minute procedure, which involved carefully administering anaesthetic and using tiny instruments to carefully remove lumps from the fish’s backside. She said that the three-inch fish made a full recovery after the operation, but it could have died if left untreated.

“The issue was the fish couldn’t poo and it would have eventually become toxic and it would have died,” she said. “I have never done a procedure like that on a goldfish, although I have done it before on more valuable fish like a carp.

The actual surgery is quite straightforward but administering the anaesthetic is quite complicated.”

The carefully-measured anaesthetic was introduced into the fish’s water, and then removed from its tank and placed on a waterproof drape. Anaesthetic water was then inserted into its mouth via a tube and bubbled over its gills. A miniature heart rate monitor was used to check that the fish was properly sedated before removing the ‘lumps’ with a tiny scalpel.

Once the procedure was complete, Bethell sewed each cut with three stitches and used a special glue to cover and waterproof the fish’s scales.

While goldfish can live up to 10 years, this ailing pet was only two years and 10 months old at the time of the operation.

Hopefully the little fella’s bowels will remain healthy and he’ll get to live to the ripe old age of 10!