Karnataka - Hubli-Dharwad   

This Lord does not fail his devotees

Special Correspondent

Chebbi, a hamlet, hogs the limelight

HUBLI: In these days of politically vitiated atmosphere of one-upmanship, which marks community celebrations of the Ganesha festival, Chebbi, an obscure village in Hubli taluk, has carved a niche for itself.

Chebbi, which is 20 km away from Hubli, attracts Ganesha devotees by the hordes. For three days starting from Wednesday, the village will receive thousands of people from far and wide. What attracts them is the reputation the village has acquired that the "Chebbi Ganapati" fulfils the desire of the devout unfailingly. People queue up to take away "betelnut" used in the puja of Lord Ganesha in select houses in the village as it is believed that performing puja to the betel nut helps fulfil one's desire.

Legend

Legend has it that the seer Swami Krishnendra Swami stayed at the house of Tammanna Kulkarni, who did not have children. Overcome with joy at the latter's hospitality, the seer asked him to worship Lord Ganesha for three days from Ganesha Chaturti. It is said that Kulkarni's wife conceived after they performed the puja.

While this tradition has continued for long, it was only since 1990 that Chebbi has caught the imagination of people. While the festival was celebrated in only one or two houses of the village to begin with, the number of houses where Lord Ganesha is worshipped along with the red betel nut has increased. The betel nut used for the puja is distributed among the devotees.

Some enterprising villagers now use the occasion to raise some money for meeting the development needs of the village. They charge a levy on vehicles, which are parked one km away from the village. Visitors disembark there and they have to walk to the village.

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