Alot: In a rare show of empathy, a group of villagers at Talod village near Alot tehsil headquarters of Ratlam district performed the last rites of the monkey killed here.
A band played soulful music as the funeral procession of the monkey draped in red cloth marched in the villages. Shops in the village remained closed for the day and several people joined the procession showing flowers and chanting 'Ram Bolo Bhai Ram Bolo'.
According to local people, the monkey was killed after coming in contact with live electric wire on Tuesday at Talod village near Alot tehsil headquarters of Ratlam district.
After the incident, some of the villagers decided to give a proper cremation to the Monkey since villagers treat monkeys equal to Lord Hanuman. Villagers garlanded the monkey, paid their respects to the monkey, draped it in a red cloth, carried it in a procession and cremated it near Dariya Khedi ashram on the bank of Kshipra river on the outskirt of the village following all rituals generally done in the last rites of a human.
Earlier, rose water was also sprinkled on it. A video of the people's act also went viral. Talod village sarpanch Suresh Porwal said, “Since we treat monkeys as equal to Lord Hanuman, all of us decided to perform the final rites following the Hindu tradition. The elders in the village also said the final rights must be performed following the Hindu tradition,” he said.
Panchayat member said the villagers believe the death of a monkey is a bad omen and performing cremations following all the rituals will help them to get away all this bad omen from the village.
