Incantations to inspire rebound

Bhubaneswar: Hundreds of people gathered for a Hindu religious rite in a town in eastern India on Friday, seeking divine intervention into the global economic crisis as stocks plummeted worldwide, organisers said.

The rite was performed on the same day as the Indian rupee hit a record low of 50.15 to the dollar, and the Indian share markets dropped 11 per cent to three-year lows.

Invoking deity of wealth

More than three hundred people watched the rite being performed by 131 priests in a temple in the beach city of Puri in Orissa state.

The priests poured water into pots from a nearby pond and carried them out in a procession to the temple, shouting praises of Laxmi, the Hindu deity of wealth.

The priests burned sandalwood and clarified butter, and offered flowers to the deity while chanting hymns.

"The entire world is witnessing a financial crisis and Laxmi can only help us in this crucial situation", said Kumuda Ranjan Samantray, one of the organisers of the special religious ceremony.

The financial crisis was set off by a US housing market collapse nearly 15 months ago.