Rationalists take on Dharmapuri village vampires

DHARMAPURI: Residents of villages in Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri districts are experiencing sleepless nights, thanks to rumours doing the rounds that ghosts have been haunting their localities over the past few days. Determined to prove these rumours as nothing but that, a team from the Rationalists’ Forum of the Dravida Kazhagam (DK) on Monday announced a reward of `1 lakh to anyone who comes up with solid proof of the existence of these ghosts.It all started on the night of March 28, when a ‘ghost’ attacked two cows and a goat belonging to a farmer, Chinnasamy, a resident of Kalvehalli in Kaveripattanam block, Krishnagiri. The news spread fast, creating panic in many nearby villages in Dharmapuri district as well. The villagers are now taking no chances with the ghost. To ward it off, they are painting the ‘Naamam’, the symbol of Lord Venkateswara, on their houses. Some have even added a message to the ghost, “Go away today, come tomorrow”. As panic spread across the area, the villagers, especially women, began painting rangoli designs on their courtyards during the night hours, after cleaning up the place well.  Special pujas are being offered to the ‘Naamam’ to avert unwanted incidents. However, many villagers claim that they have been hearing some “unusual noise” during the night hours over the pst four days. Meanwhile, the Rationalists’ Forum has launched a campaign in the district against beliefs in ghosts. “There are no ghosts in the universe,” they tell the fearful villagers. Thagadur Tamilselvi, the state vice-president of the Rationalists’ Forum, who camped at Noolahalli village near Dharmapuri on Sunday, said the mood of the villagers was one of panic.  “The rationalists’ team found that the cattle had died due to water contamination. They have been educating the women about it,” said Tamilselvi.A Rationalists’ Forum team led by district president U Jayaraman has been visiting villages where the public have panicked in view of the “ghost moving about.” Some people however, had even ‘texted’ the ghost story, and it has now gone viral. “Both the public and the rationalists are sailing on the same boat,” said some village elders. “They are exorcising the ghost in different ways.”