Village where houses have no doors, windows

Sialia village has no doors and windows as residents of the village believe in the power of Goddess Kharakhai Thakurani to protect them from harm.

The village has also not recorded any theft or burglary for a long time, according to the local police.

No theft or burglary had been reported from the village for years together, Sub-divisional police officer, Pattamundai, Rama Chandra Goud said.

"However other criminal offences did take place," he said.

Many in adjacent villages, however, dismiss the unconventional practise as a superstition.

"We have faith in the Goddess. She is protecting us from all kinds of evils. Paying respect to her commands, we have constructed houses without doors and windows," Abhiram Rout, a villager, said.

Block Development Officer, Rajkanika, Basudev Mahari said that a few years ago a government agency bowing to the villagers' wishes had built a community hall that did not have a single door and window.

"When the carpenters tried to fix doors and windows to the asbestos-roofed structure, the local people objected. And we had to beat a retreat," Mahari said.

So deep-seated is their belief that the villagers find a link between the destruction of normal house and the death of its owner in flood and a divine curse, which occurred a long time back.

Though there are no doors in the houses, the villagers hang curtains on the doorways to keep the privacy intact, a villager Ramakanta Nayak said.