I'm afraid I have some bad news...
Thousands attend monkey's funeral in southern India
September 2 2002
Thousands of people attended the funeral of a monkey revered as a
divine incarnation of a Hindu god in the southern Indian state of
Andhra Pradesh, police said yesterday.
But animal rights activists said the animal, which collapsed on
Saturday, died of starvation and exhaustion after it was trapped
inside a temple for a month by over-zealous worshippers.
According to local police officials, 3,000 to 4,000 people were
present when the monkey was cremated according to Hindu custom,
during a ceremony organised by the temple committee.
The animal had strayed into a temple dedicated to Hanuman - the Hindu
monkey god - in Timmaganipalli village, some 400 kilometres south of
the Andhra Pradesh capital Hyderabad.
When the villagers discovered the monkey sitting on the idol of
Hanuman they thought it was a reincarnation of the god and refused to
let it out of the temple.
Hundreds of pilgrims poured in to seek blessings, often garlanding
the monkey with flowers, besides making offerings of money and
coconuts.
"We tried to regulate the traffic of pilgrims to ensure proper rest
to the monkey but it had created quite a sensation that at least 300
to 400 people would come everyday to see it," N Kalidas, deputy
superintendent of police told AFP.
Even when the monkey stopped eating, animal rights groups were not
allowed to take it away.
"The monkey was quite old and both its hind legs were paralysed,"
Narendra Reddy secretary of animal rights group Karuna told AFP.
"It clearly needed help and we wanted to have it shifted to a
veterinary hospital but the villagers just refused to co-operate with
us," he said.
A team of vets examined the monkey after the courts intervened last
week.
Karuna had petitioned the Andhra Pradesh high court to rescue the
monkey, which they claimed was being exploited by the priests of the
temple to make money.
The court passed a directive on Wednesday ordering the local police
and administration to ensure the monkey was not harassed by pilgrims
and given proper medical attention, but it died a few days later.
(From http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/09/02/1030508180296.html)
Poor little guy |
