Lucknow Railway Station Hires a Monkey-Man to Control Local Monkeys: Sometimes Truth Really is Stranger Than Fiction

When I was a child, my father was stationed at the US Embassy in New Delhi, India, where we lived for three years. I have always been fascinated with India, so after I graduated from college and spent several years working in sales, I went back to India for a three-week tour. India is home to many strange things: snake charmers, sword-swallowers, wandering holy men, maimed beggars, and other oddities that can be a little overwhelming to Westerners.

However, my scariest moment came when I was opening a package of film to put in my camera, and a monkey attacked me, thinking the rattling sound was food. I wasn't injured except for a few small scrapes, as the monkey climbed me all the way to the top of my head where he grabbed the film out of my hand and took off. Monkeys are a problem in many parts of India; they are no longer afraid of humans, because they have learned that where humans are, there is also food.

At the Lucknow railway station in Charbagh, the large monkey population had become such a nuisance that railway officials were forced to take drastic measures to protect their passengers and their property. Lucknow is the capital city of Uttar Pradesh, the most populous state of India, and the Lucknow railway station was reportedly home to thousands of pesky monkeys which roamed the large facility at will, damaging the facility, ripping train seats, and stealing food from the passengers.

In an effort to scare off the monkey marauders, desperate officials made the unlikeliest of decisions and hired -- a monkey-man. Among India's many strange things, the monkey-man of Lucknow rates high on my list. Dressed as a monkey, Acchan Miyan now prowls the railway station on all fours, tail high in the air, scaring the other simians away. Miyan is paid a regular salary by the railway of 300 to 400 rupees a day ($7 - $10 a day, depending on the exchange rate). The unusual move appears to be paying off as the monkeys are now are no longer attacking unsuspecting rail commuters.

"There used to be many monkeys here, who would cause all kinds of mischief. At times they would tear seat covers of trains and on others they would snatch away bananas from passengers. Poor passengers will certainly be protected from monkey menace by Acchans's act," Santosh Kumar, a passenger said in a taped interview.

Monkey-man Miyan is not to be confused with the mysterious monkey-man who terrorized Delhi in May and June of 2001, appearing at night and attacking people. That monkey-man left death and injury in its wake and was never identified, although many people believed it to be the avatar of the mythical Hindu monkey god, Hanuman. Miyan's monkey persona just scares monkeys, not people.

The 42-year-old Miyan previously earned a living by dressing up as an entertainer - presumably a street entertainer. A large portion of India's population begs for a living, including street performers whose antics may earn them a few rupees a day, if they are lucky. Miyan says he accepted his unusual new monkey-man profession because he lives in poverty and needs the income. However, he is convinced that his efforts are really helping the passengers and the railway station.

In an interview Miyan said: "There were many monkeys here. But all of them have run away. I can't see even a single monkey here. There were thousands of monkeys here. People warned me that I will be eaten up by the monkeys, but I scared them all away."

Miyan is a professing Muslim, but he has started worshipping Hanuman the monkey god since becoming the Lucknow monkey-man. He claims he has no reservations in offering prayers to the Hindu monkey deity. Hanuman's most famous feat, as described in the Hindu epic scripture the Ramayana, was leading a monkey army to fight the demon King Ravana. Let's just hope the Lucknow monkeys don't decide to form another monkey army and take on Miyan!

Source:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8Ofgy5btNY