Believe it or not, Shani Shingnapur village in India - about 300 Km east of metropolitan city Mumbai, is a village without doors ! Crime is just an alien concept here that villagers here stopped guarding their valuables, houses and properties.
Cars, bikes or vehicles are not locked here, shopkeepers even leave cash inside drawers overnight, villagers keep valuables, money inside unlocked cupboards or boxes inside houses where there are no doors but only wooden frame with curtains drawn across to protect privacy of residents. Such is the faith that villagers have on their heavenly guardian lord 'Shani' - the God of Saturn; who they believe will protect them from thieves. If anyone attempts theft from within the village their God will punish them.
Story behind the villagers belief goes like this
The tradition to not lock up their belongings or their homes goes back countless generations. The legend began during time of heavy rain and storm, when a stone and iron slab was said to have washed up upon the shores of a nearby river after a flood that runs through the village. When the shepherds found the strange slab, they poked it with a stick and it began to ooze blood.
That same evening, Shani appeared within the dream of the village head and revealed that the slab the shepherds had found was in fact his own idol. He told the villager that the idol was so powerful that it did not need to be placed under shelter and it needs to be kept open in the temple so that he can see entire village. He informed villagers that they will never have to install doors again, because he would always protect them from any kind of danger.
Because of the legend, the residents of Shani Shingnapur believe that their temple is a “jagrut devasthan” (an “alive temple”). The Shani God is seen as all powerful and this has kept the pious community relatively crime free.
However things are changing here now
Shani Shingnapur village gained so much popularity, even a bollywood film was shooted here and with so many visitors to the village, crime is on the up. Those that do not believe in the local deity, and wish to take advantage of the resident’s traditions, find themselves in a place with very little security.
And petty thefts are also on the increase with pickpocketing and vehicle thefts taking place from areas around the temple. Furthermore it is believed that many thefts go unreported. The economy of the village revolves around the temple, so the no-theft claim is important for continuing its popularity.
However Shani Shingnapur village is now changing, a local bank opened their branch here in 2011. They installed plexi front glass door with no pad locks to respect villagers tradition. Even now many houses, shops and restaurants are installing sliding transparent front doors, creating an illusion of doorless entry. Even in temple they have security guards and cctv cameras installed to monitor, donation box is kept locked. Temple trustees and villagers try hard to keep their reputation intact as their economy highly depends upon tourism. They say police force and security is for crowd management and not for crime patrol. Police station here is only one of its kind in entire country without doors.
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, He is the guardian of this place... ” most of the villagers still believe it so.. !
