India is full of different culture religion, sect and creed follow. And, all of them have their own customs and traditions. But, there is a bizarre ritual in Madurai where girls are sent to a temple bare chest, with no clothes, for annual ritual. A group of seven young girls are decked up like goddesses with no clothes on their upper body and only jewellery to cover their chest. The criteria of selection of girls is that they mustn’t have attained puberty.
Madurai collector K Veera Raghava said that this is a very old tradition and parents voluntarily sent the girls to be part of this ceremony. “It is an ancient custom. Parents send their girls voluntarily,” said Madurai collector K Veera Raghava Rao said to NDTV, who ordered clothes for the girls to ensure they were not harassed or abused.
“We informed the villages that the girls have to be properly clothed. They can wear jewellery over their clothes,” he added. Mr Rao asserted, however, that a team of officials investigated and found no abuse of children at the temple. “”They treat them as Goddesses,” he said.
More than 60 villagers participate in this ritual to worship these girls as Goddess and collector has ordered to cover these girls fully in clothes.
