There happens to be a very mysterious village in Ahmednagar city in Maharashtra , where you will find no doors and no locks …
Yes it might sound unreal but in the village named Shani Shingnapur there are actually no doors and hence no locks. What is even more surprising is that no one dares to steal in this village . Situated in Nevasa taluka in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra, Shani Shingnapur village is known for its popular temple of Shani, the Hindu God associated with the planet Saturn. Shingnapur is located 35km from Ahmednagar city.
As per an ancient faith of the villagers , no one steals in the village because if they do, they will suffer from ‘sade-sati’, a period of seven years of bad luck. It is said that the village is protected by Lord Shani, the God of Saturn.
According to a religious story which went on from generation to generation ,around 400 years ago , a black stone landed on the banks of t he Panasnala River which was found by a local shepherd . The local shepherd pushed the slab with a sharp rod when suddenly ‘blood’ started oozing from it. It is said that Lord Shani appeared in the dreams of the shepherd later that night , and told the shepherd that the stone was his idol. The shepherd then asked Lord Shani if he is allowed to dedicate a temple to him but the lord refused. Lord Shani instead revealed his wish to be worshipped in the heart of the village without any shelter, so that he could look over without any barriers. The lord also promised the shepherd to protect the village from any dangers.
And as the story goes on , Since that day to this day, the villagers hold a strong faith in the Lord which is why they don’t use any locks or doors . The shrine for lord Shani, a black rock over five feet tall, installed on a platform without a roof, sits at the heart of the village of Shani Shingnapur. According to reports the villagers even leave their homes for hours or even for longer period of time without any fear. It is believed that no one will dare to steal or rob because the thieves will be punished with mental illness, blindness or even bad luck for seven years. However to prevent stray dogs from entering their homes the locals just put wood panels but still no doors at all. According to the locals there is also an incident which says that once a man built a door outside his home but later the next day he met with an accident.
Interestingly even post offices and police stations also are built without doors . According to further reports , The United Commercial Bank opened its first “lockless” branch in Shani Shingnapur. The bank has a glass entrance and a remote-controlled electromagnetic lock that is hardly visible which is kept that way to respect the faith of the villagers.
Visitors in a massive number flock to this village each day to see the shrine which is now being turned into a big temple.
But according to a report The Indian Express. , many villagers with time now wants to get rid of this age old superstition. Because although there was no cases of theft history since 2010 in Shingnapur but the next year, gold ornaments around worth Rs70,000 went missing from a temple trustee home.
Well no matter what but this Shani Shingnapur village is certainly a mysterious village worth to visit.
