Amravati: Until only a few years ago, people were afraid to go to the deserted cemetery area outside the village as the area was believed to be “haunted”. But overcoming superstition, the villagers have been celebrating Mahashivratri festival in the cemetery at Kurha village in Tiosa taluka of Amravati district of Maharashtra for the last three years now.
On Friday March 8 too on the occasion of Mahashivratri this year, men, women and children thronged the cemetery and took 'prasad' after the puja of Lord Mahadev. The huge idol of Lord Mahadev was installed in the cemetery at Kurha by the local Kurha Welfare Foundation three years ago.
The Foundation transformed the cemetery and installed a grand idol of Lord Mahadev in it. Since then, on the occasion of Mahashivratri, the festival started to be celebrated in the cemetery. The Idol of Lord Mahadev was consecrated at 4 O' Clock in the morning on Friday and a crowd of devotees thronged the crematorium since early morning.
Many devotees from nearby villages along with residents of Kurha visited the cemetery with great faith to see Lord Mahadev. A Prasad was also distributed to the devotees who came to have Darshan of Mahadev.
The Kurha Welfare Foundation, which installed the Lord Mahadev idol inside the cemetery, was formed in 2019. Besides the idol, the foundation undertook a cleanliness campaign inside the cemetery. Equipment for the recreation of children, provided by local MLA of Tiosa Constituency Yashomati Thakur has also been installed inside the cemetery.
For the last three years now, the cemetery has evolved as a multi-utility facility serving a multi-pronged purpose. Besides a place of eternal rest for the dead, the park is being used by the locals for almost all occasions. On Kojagiri Poornima, the villagers of Kurha also enjoy sipping milk at the crematorium at night. Village meetings have also been held in this cemetery for some time now.
“Everyone in the village has learned that the cemetery is not a place of fear. Our efforts to focus on eradicating superstitions have been successful to a large extent,” said Balasaheb Ingle, joint secretary of Kurha Welfare Association, while talking to ETV Bharat.
