With 8,000 to 10,000 animals and birds being offered by thousands of devotees to appease the god, the premises of this benevolent temple used to be anything but divine.

For Gangwal, it was a determined mission, since last year, to convince the villagers to cease this cruel practice and remove the superstitious belief that ``Lord Bhairavnath needed animal slaughter to ensure peace and prosperity to the village.''

His weekend visits to this small village, which is about four kms from Parner, seemed to bring about a quiet social revolution, though Gangwal was not totally optimistic about the outcome. States Gangwal, ``A couple of months ago, I was surprised when the youngsters of the village visited me in Pune and offered to banthe practice of animal slauughter, this year.'' However, the elders of the village vehemently protested since generations and generations of devotees have been religiously offering animals to this deity and curse would befall them if this practise is terminated.

The issue was embroiled in controversy and the village was literally set on fire. The panchayat held a special meeting with the villagers in the first week of April and the final decision was left to Lord Bhairavnath. And how! Explains Gangwal, ``It is a general belief that when a flower is placed on the diety's head, your wish comes true if it falls on the right side. In this case, it was unanimously agreed upon, that if the flower fell on the right side, then the lord desires slaughter. But, if it fell on the left side, then the slaughter would be discontinued.''

Apparently, the entire village waited with bated breath, as the village priest placed the flower on Lord Bhairavnath's head. And lo and behold! this ritual was performed thrice and eachtime, the flower fell on the left side. That changed the hearts of the elders of Punewadi, and became a plus point for us, says Gangwal and the decision was final - that animal slaughter would be prohibited ever after!

On April 10, the day of the prestigious Bhairavnath yatra, Gangwal states that he was accompanied by noted social reformer Anna Hazare, whose village, Ralegaon Siddhi is in the vicinity of Punewadi and who is also keen in banning this kind of animal slaughter. About 5,000 villagers had congregated near the village. And says Gangwal, ``while the word had spread to word-of-mouth and posters that animal slaughter has been banned in Punewadi, the people from nearby districts were unaware and so about 500 animals and birds were brought here, ready for slaughter.''

Not only were they stunned at this new turn of events, but patiently heard the speeches of Gangwal and Hazare on why animal slaughter for appeasement of god, is a superstition. For Gangwal, everything seemed so unreal. Says he, ``Whenthe sarpanch of Punewadi visited me at my consulting room in Pune, a few days before the yatra, to invite me to Punewadi and to see for myself the revolutionary change, it sounded incredible. I thought that it is only for the sake of respect and good manners that I have been invited but the slaughter is sure to continue.''