Behta Bujurg
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Jagannath temple
As in 2024
Faiz Siddiqui, June 19, 2024: The Times of India
Kanpur : Relief for parched north lurks not only in the weatherman’s charts but also in Kanpur’s ancient Jagannath temple, where its priest points to a stone that began dripping water weeks ago, indicating it will pour this monsoon. A team from the meteorological department of Kanpur’s Chandra Shekhar Azad University of Agriculture and Technology visited the temple on Sunday and backed the prognosis.
At the Kanpur temple known for predicting the arrival and intensity of monsoon with surprising exactitude, it’s been an annual tradition. The shrine mirrors its more famous namesake in Puri and follows most of its traditions.
Situated in Behta Bujurg village, the 11th century temple is steeped in mystique and has baffled scholars over centuries. According to priest KP Shukla, a stone slab in the ceiling of the temple’s sanctum sanctorum starts dripping days before the onset of monsoon. “This year, big drops are falling from the temple’s ceiling frequently. Hence, it is believed the rain will be good,” said agri weather scientist SN Sunil Pandey. Pandey said that this time, the temple’s ceiling began to drip when the monsoon entered Kerala a few weeks ago.
Farmers living in the temple’s vicinity depend heavily on its predictions. “They have started flocking the temple to check the year’s rainfall and make crop preparations. As the droplets have started accumulating on the ceiling, they have been organising special prayers for good yields,” said Prakash Singh, a local villager.
Archaeologists and scientists have visited the temple to understand the phenomenon, but so far, the exact reason remains a mystery. According to villagers, once the monsoon sets in, the water droplets vanish, and the ceiling of the temple becomes dry.