A village in Madhya Pradesh's Rajgarh district has not seen any childbirth from the last 400 years! A belief strongly prominent among the residents of Sanka Shyam Ji village says the village is cursed. The women of the village thus cross the village periphery and go outside to give birth to children. If at all a woman gives birth in the village, the child will either be deformed or the mother or the child will die.

The elders in this village claim that somewhere around the 16th century, the Gods of the village were constructing a temple. A woman was grinding wheat nearby and the sound was distracting to the deities. This angered the Gods and they cursed the villagers that no woman would be able to give birth to the children. "90 percent of the deliveries take place in hospitals, and in case of an emergency, deliveries take place just outside the village. It is believed that the construction of a temple was disrupted by a woman and hence the curse was set upon this village," Narendra Gurjar, the village Sarpanch said to ANI.

The belief is quite prominent and no woman even attempts at delivering within the village premises. In fact, the villagers have constructed a separate room just outside so that in case of an emergency a woman can go there and deliver. India has a lot of superstitions imbibed among the people, more in the rural areas. This is an example of one being followed for centuries.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 11, 2018 03:06 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).