Why this village in Odisha has no doors!
Sialia, a village situated on the outskirts of Rajkanika block, Kendrapara district, claims to be trendy in itself for its open doors. Considered to be one of the nominal villages in the Baradia Panchayat, Sialia, welcomes its every single visitor with open heart. With a populace of nearly 500 localities, there exist about 60 odd houses with no doors in them.
With time carrying out its due course and people being modernized, many changes did come their way in Sialia village. Changes like small huts and houses being transformed into big concrete ones, people from various classes and status residing together, but one thing that remained untouched was the placement of doors at the opening of the houses. Though the entry ways of concrete domiciles are contained within grill enclosures, but still they lack the wooden frames along with the bolts that supported the doorways.
If manifested carefully, one could observe the writings above the doorways in red that stated Maa Kharakhai Bharosa. When asked the villagers about the threat towards safety, they were of the view that, “When God looks after us, we have no reasons to look after ourselves. Therefore doors have been laid off here.”
Not only safety, the natives also believed that it’s because of Maa’s grace that ailments like cholera, small pox, happen to have gone astray when it comes to creating hazards in this village. Such belief, such divinity among these inhabitants will make any outsider stunned.
And when it comes to worship and thanksgiving, Maa Kharakhai Devi has been the idol goddess of worship at Sialia for ages. Devotees from far-off places usually come here to offer clay horses to the deity as a token of their obeisance once their wishes are fulfilled. With every devotee following this ritual for generations, one can find about 8000 clay horses placed around Maa Kharakhai Devi. Placed at the intense location in the village, Maa resides not within a temple but in the open under a banyan tree.
This long-lasting faith in the protecting powers of goddess Kharakhai remains to be the presiding divinity of Sialia. It might be a superstition for many of us, but as long as this belief keeps burglars away and creates no harm for the residents, it’s all good.