On a day when almost all married Hindu women are fasting on the occasion of 'Karva Chauth', women in Vijau village in Mathura resist observing the fast lest they endanger the lives of their husbands.
"Since the past 200 years, this village has been under a curse and anyone who observes a fast on Karva Chauth loses her husband. The curse was given by a Brahmin woman, whose husband was beaten to death by villagers here on Karva Chauth," said Kishori Lal Chaturvedi, a local resident.
According to the popular belief, a newly married Brahmin and his wife were passing through Vijau village on Karva Chauth day. Some local people accused the man of stealing their bulls and beat him to death in the presence of his bride.
The bride cursed the women and said that Karva Chauth would now bring death for their husbands. She later committed Sati on her husband's pyre.
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"Since then, women do not observe fast on Karva Chauth but offer prayers at the Sati temple here. Even the men pray at the Sati temple before getting married," said Chaturvedi.
The woman in this village does not even buy 'sindoor' from the village and use 'sindoor' brought from their parents' home. At times, when some women have defied tradition and fasted on Karva Chauth, their husbands have died under mysterious circumstances.