Kendrapara: Cats live life kingsize here. In fact they are revered in this mutt after Lord Madan Mohan Jew, the presiding deity of the temple at Mathasahi, under Nikirai Panchayat in Kendrapara district of Odisha. They roam freely, stretch out in sunlit verandahs and corridors or curl up in the nooks of the temple at this mutt which has been named after the feline species as 'Bileikhia Mutt' (Belei in Odia means cat).
The Madan Mohan Jew Temple on the mutt premises has at least 10 more idols including Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Radharani and GopinathJew which are worshipped on a day-to-day basis. But along with the rituals the temple is believed to have uphold a centuries-old tradition of feeding and caring for cats. The temple priests ensure that after prasad is offered to the deities, the cats are fed, and then the remnant is distributed among devotees.
Apart from the usual offerings to the deities, the mahant of the mutt (head priest) feeds the cats with biscuits, milk, and rice exclusively fetched or prepared for them. Currently around 10 cats live in the monastery of which some were born here and some given away by their owners who were unable to look after them.
According to a popular belief, more than 500 years ago, when Aul King Brajsunder Dev, while traveling through the region, stopped at the monastery to rest, he saw that hundreds of cats were accompanying the temple priest. "The king was deeply moved to learn that the cats stay in the same temple and are fed by the priest. To make sure they never went hungry, the King donated a few acres of land, for the temple and the cats. Since then, the monastery has been taking care of the feline species and started to be known as 'Bileikhia Mutt' (Cat Monastery)," explained Mahant Abhaya Charan Das.
However, he expressed concern about the funding in the present day and lack of veterinary services for the species. "We manage with whatever resources are there. Donations from devotees and contributions from villagers are a big help to feed the cats, but the monastery receives no support from the district administration," he rued.
The temple priests acknowledged that 160 acres of land have been reserved for the smooth functioning and rituals of the temple and the monastery but a share of five acres land has been reserved for the cats. The temple’s main land supports the running of daily rituals. “But the cats are part of our family, and we ensure they are fed every day, just like the temple deity,” he adds.
When some cats fall sick or get injured, veterinary care is not always accessible. “We try to treat it. But we don’t always have the resources,” adds a devotee.
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