Goddess: Chudel Mata

From The Times of India Witch temple is 'high court' 13 Aug 2008, 0256 hrs IST, Ashish Vashi,TNN KUNGHER (PATAN): Looks like people of this small village want justice from none other than the almighty. In Kungher village in Patan, high court is temple of Chudel Mata (witch goddess). Thousands flock to the temple on Sunday with their grievances. "People find that their problems get sorted out quickly when they come here. That's why the temple has been dubbed 'high court of Kungher'. Now, that's how it's commonly referred to," says Umedbhai Patel, temple trustee. Rush of devotees has risen in the last two to three years because of favourable word-of-mouth publicity. "The village has had a small shrine for the goddess for more than two decades. But, it was considered evil and people were frightened to come near it. Now, people are showing tremendous faith in Chudel Mata and her popularity is soaring by the day," says Jayantibhai Naik, another trustee. Interestingly, the temple has no idol of the goddess and people worship a flame representing her. The faithful stand in queues for hours to catch a glimpse of the flame. Kungher has also changed in character. It's now dominated by small shops selling photographs of the goddess, audio-cassettes, coconuts, chunadis, toys and sweets. Khakhi-clad villagers keep order among the crowd. Immense popularity of this temple has also been a boon to the entertainment industry. More than 50 audio-cassettes and music videos are in the market with bhajans and songs about Chudel Mata. Moreover, there are a couple of telefilms also available titled 'Chudel Mata, High Court of Kungher'. Two Gujarati films are also on the floor with legend of the goddess as central theme.