Ghost fair or ‘bhooton ka mela’ is one of the most famous fair that is held every year in the village of Malajpur, Madhya Pradesh. Malajpur Ghost Fair has been in existence for the past 400 years and the fair attracts people from across the country.
This ghost fair goes on for nearly three weeks annually, and during this time, people ‘possessed’ by evil spirits and devils come to the village to get rid of negative spirits.
The history behind the story of Malajpur Ghost Fair dates back to the 18th century. A holy man named Deoji Maharaj, who possessed some magical powers, visited the village. According to locals, he had some amazing powers through which he used to feed his friends by turning soil into jaggery, stones into coconut and many more.
Later, Deoji started controlling the evil spirits and helped people who suffered amid such negativity. This became his legacy and villagers later built a temple-like structure in the village. The priests today call Deoji their ancestor and help people get rid of evil spirits.
Every year, thousands of possessed people come here and watch the violent spectacle of men and women being dragged by their hair and being brutally beaten by brooms in the name of exorcism. Meanwhile, you can hear the priest chant ‘Guru Maharaj Deoji Ki Jai’ the entire time.
During the practice, the priest may ask weird questions to the ‘possessed’ soul and would make violent gestures to the aggressor inside the being. A few minutes later, he would say the means through which it has been actually possessed by some djinn or witch, and that this is the right place to get rid of that otherworldly being.
Several human rights organizations and activists have been trying to put a stop to this practice; they also claimed that most of the time, the ‘possessed’ people are mental patients, but no concrete steps have been taken yet.
Well, whatever it is, it’s just strange to see people still have faith in such practices in the 21st century.
PNN
