Kalaburagi: Farmers in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka have adopted an unusual method to ward off the “evil eye” from their flourishing crops — displaying banners featuring Bollywood actor Sunny Leone.In Banda Kindi Palle village of Andhra Pradesh, 45-year-old farmer Chenchu Reddy recently put up a massive flex banner of Sunny Leone beside his cauliflower and cabbage fields. “This year, I got a good harvest on 10 acres. To keep it safe from the evil eye of villagers and passersby, I decided to install a big poster of Sunny Leone,” he explained.A similar practice was reported in Mudanur village of Karnataka’s Yadgir district, where a farmer placed a banner of Sunny Leone dressed in red next to his cotton crop. He said, “The crop has yielded very well this time. I don’t want it to fall under the evil eye. When people pass by, their attention goes to the poster instead of the field.”Traditionally, farmers relied on scarecrows or black clothes to protect their fields from negative attention. Even in urban Bengaluru, shopkeepers in areas like Peenya and Koramangala often display images of Lord Ganesha or a woman with large eyes above shops, pubs, and vegetable stalls to deflect unwanted glances.
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