These guys must be crazy!

As I was strolling along the lush green precincts of the Public Gardens on a misty morning, past the jogging roly-poly figures and the skipping hour-glasses, I spotted a gathering near the pond, staring at the greasy green waters adjacent to the Jubilee Hall. I joined them out of sheer curiosity. After a while, I could see some chelonians slowly moving upwards to the slimy surface and suddenly the poolside was abuzz with chants. They folded their hands in reverence and made their wish. Wish granted, and they dispersed, a fresh group taking the place.
It is believed that if they stand keeping their wish strongly in mind, the tortoises appear and if they catch your glimpse, your wish will be granted. How or when the belief originated, nobody knows. But recent times have witnessed an increasing number of people thronging the pond, with long wish lists to be granted.
Sounds a bit bizarre, but a fact is a fact. This is not a singular case. There is
Lord Balaji at Chilkur, who is believed to grant wishes of VISA aspirants and here behind the lane of Lad Bazaar, if you buy and free the caged crows and pigeons, you can recover from a nagging ailment. The dargah at Kowkur is full of chained people as it is believed that if a mentally imbalanced person is tied to the dargah walls, he or she will recover from the malady. If these weird beliefs existed in boondocks or small towns, we can attribute it to ignorance. But in a fast growing city, it sure sounds a little absurd, though.
I spoke to a few people about this.
“I have been a regular jogger in Public Gardens for so long. I noticed people gathering near the pond. When one day I enquired what was going on, they told me this. I too joined and believe it or not, two of my wishes have come true,” says Nisha Mohan, an executive with a garment store. “I was born and brought up here in Basheerbagh, but never knew such a thing was here till recently,” she says.
Arun Vohra, a software engineer, doesn’t take the weird belief. “This is absurd. The mindset of our people should change. One fine morning someone comes up with a cock and bull story and whole lot of people go by that. It’s high time we should be aware of the hard reality rather than nurturing stupid beliefs.”

“This is a phenomenon called magical thinking. Common people have no idea of science.  This way of thinking is intrinsic to humanity. Many articles in neuroscience have shown that the human brain excels at pattern matching, but that humans do not have a good filter for distinguishing between perceived patterns and actual patterns,” says Dr P Indira, professor in History, Koti Women’s College. “People tend to seek confirmation of their hypotheses, rather than seeking refutation as in the scientific method. People are also reluctant to change their beliefs, even when presented with evidence, and often prefer to believe contradictory things rather than change pre-existing beliefs,” she says.