Kangojar !

Clearing my garden are a group of women labourers and everytime they pulled the weeds they would exclaim "Kangojar Chhai ", in Bihari. And sure enough I could see worms move in the mud away to safety. But this is a huge problem in a state like Bihar which must be among the poorest states in India with high unemployment rates. Kangojar is a centipede which has its pair of legs on its sides almost like a miniature crocodile. But several legs along its body. But why is it called kangojar? The woman labourers explained, " Jab sutbai tab kaan mein ghus jaye hai "(When you sleep it enters your ears). Of course often leading to the victim becoming deaf. Hence the alarm. But I asked them how does the kangojar crawl into one's ears? And they explained, "Bhuiyaan mein sutbai tab uuu ta ghusbai kartai. " (If you sleep on the floor then its sure to enter.) So why do they sleep on the floor? "Gareeb chhiyeye tab bhuiyaan par nai sutbai tab kahan sutbai? " (We are poor so if we do not sleep on the floor then where else can we sleep?) Beds? I too sometimes like to sleep on the floor but because it's cool during summertime. Although now I am more careful. But there is still something worse than a kangojar entering one's ears. The voice of Narendra Modi on radio saying Sabka Saath Sabka Bikaas!