Coconuts for the Goddess

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A Courier Service of Orissa that runs on faith

Kalinga Times

By Panchanan Sahu

Bhubaneswar

 

Holding a coconut wrapped in a piece of red cloth, a man

shows it to a fast running passenger bus on the outskirts of

the city. The vehicle stops at a distance and its helper comes

near the man in a hurry to collect the fruit. It is carrying

coconut to Ghatagaon Tarini, a free courier service which

runs on faith.

 

Thousands of Hindus involve themselves in a network that

collects coconuts from devotees from the devotees from

almost all parts of the country and deliver them to a

temple situated in a mineral hinterland of interior

Orissa, about 200 km from the state capital.

 

The network is spread almost all over the country. Make-

shift collection boxes and at a few places small temples

have been set up to collect the coconuts. Passenger buses

and other vehicles plying on the route to Ghatagaon in

Orissa's Keonjhar district carry the fruits and hand it over

there.

 

On an average, over 20,000 coconuts reach the temple for

offering before the presiding deity Maa Tarini Thakurani

every day through this amazing network.

 

" If anyone waves a coconut wrapped in a piece of red cloth

anywhere in the state to any vehicle, it's certain that the

vehicle stops to pick it up to take to the Tarini temple.

 

If the bus is heading for Keonjhar, it is well and good. And

if not, the driver hands over the coconuts to buses driving

towards Ghatagaon, " Niranjan Swain, a devotee says.

 

Terming it as a unique courier service, Swain says the

coconuts change hands like batons in relay race before

reaching the temple.

 

The deity's fame has spread far and wide in the past few

years drawing devotees in large number to the temple.

Those who cannot come themselves depend on this network

to send the hairy fruits to the temple. They are certain that

their offerings will reach the Goddess.

 

It is usually seen in passenger buses plying in different

routes, particularly in Orissa, that the cabin behind driver's

seat is stacked with coconuts collected from the way.

Drivers have tremendous faith in the Goddess and they

believe that ferrying coconuts to the deity will ensure a safe

journey.

 

" It's a service for the Goddess. We feel proud for being part

of the network, " Arjun Mahakud, a bus driver says.

 

Claiming that whoever says no to carry a coconut, bound to

face the wrath of Ma Tarini, the driver says not only the

Hindus but drivers belonging to other religions also carry

coconuts with all sincerity.

 

Stating that the deity rules the highway, Bidyadhar

Mohanty, an old timer at Anandpur claims that a driver met

with brake failure after he refused to carry coconuts a few

years ago while in another case a truck driver was

electrocuted for doing so.

 

It is a religious courier service without any parallel in India .

It is pure faith that drives the service, " says Guru Charan

Singh, secretary of the temple trust.

 

The buses usually dump the coconut in collection boxes

across the state, from where the other buses or devotees

headed to Ghatagaon pick them up on their final journey.

 

Devotees in neighboring state Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal

and Jharkhand, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and far off places in

Maharashtra , Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan

also send their offerings through this network.

 

But all the coconuts that reach the temple are not offered to

the deity. " It is humanely not possible to crack such huge

stock of coconuts near the deity everyday. Hence a few

hundreds are offered to the Goddess daily and the rest are

treated as offered, " a priest of the temple says. Later, they

are sold in the market.

 

While some people buy these fruits to make sweets and

extract oil, the biscuit firms in the neighboring states get

them as their raw material. " The temple earns around Rs 30

lakh annually by selling the coconuts, " Ajay Kumar Bej,

secretary of the temple managing committee says.

 

The deity has become so popular that around 100 Tarini

temples have come up in the state. All these temples serve

as collection points for the coconuts headed for the main

shrine.

 

The temple management committee has built a VIP guest

house and a rest room for the visitors. A market complex

has also come up near the temple, while a Kalyan Mandap

was constructed near the temple.

 

Out of the total funds, Rs five crore has been deposited in

different banks including State Bank of India, Bank of India

and Keonjhar Central Co-Operative bank.

 

Asked about the priorities of the temple authorities, Bej says

the main thrust is to strictly adhere to the rituals in the

shrine and then comes the amenities for the visitors,

infrastructure development and charity.

 

There is a proposal to set up an Ayurvedic Medical College

and efforts are on to locate a site nearby. A resolution has

been passed in this connection in the just concluded temple

managing committee. " It is in the very initial stage, " Arun

Kumar Panda, managing committee member says.

 

The coconut courier service has become a subject of

discussion for the students of a local management college.

 

" It is really amazing to see how the system runs effectively

without disruption. What makes it unique is that no

commercial interest is involved in the network, " says Gopal

Nayak, Professor in the Xavier Institute of Management,

Bhubaneswar.

 

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