Indian village offers magic cure for dental problems

Wednesday, January 15, 2003

Indian village offers magic cure for dental problems

Hundreds of people are flocking to an Indian village in the hope that magic will save a trip to the dentist.

Residents in Philai, near Kapurthala, are said to be "blessed" with the power to cure dental problems by chanting a mantra.

The Tribune newspaper reports a holy man called Baba Budha Ji, who lived more than 100 years ago, passed on the mantra to ancestors.

He told them to serve humanity without any greed for money. Villagers say the "magic cure" lasts up to 99 years.

Patients recite the mantra in front of a Sikh temple and are asked to say how many "dental disease free" years they desire.

The residents then throw seven pebbles over the heads of the patients while reciting the holy mantra themselves.

Patients then have to leave the village on foot, without looking back and without speaking to anybody en route or taking food from any of the residents.

Sadhu Singh, a 70-year-old farmer, said: "Thousands of patients have got treated here. This has been going on even before the times of my grandfather, who also used to treat people."