Like Samjhana Gurung, every day dozens of people are seen hanging around the statue of Goddess Manakamana inside the Devi’s Falls in Chorepatan, Pokhara.
Each of them is seen with a few coins in their hands and all of them queue up for their turn. They are waiting to see how fortunate they turn out to be. They are there to throw those coins inside the pond where the statue of Goddess Manakamana is. It is widely believed that if the coins land on the plate of the statue, whatever one wishes for will come true, and if it does not, the wishes will go wasted.
Popular as Wish Pool, this small pond inside the premises of Devi’s Fall witnesses dozens of youngsters everyday who come there with a hope that they hit the bull’s eye and make their wish come true.
Samjhana Gurung, a student of Kaski Modern Academy, is one of the many who believe in this practice blindly.
“Had this just been myth, why do you think so many people come here everyday?” she questioned and added, “I don’t think anyone would ever dare do anything cheap as such in the name of God. We all believe that this practice does have supernatural realities.”
There are many like Gurung who visit the pool to check if their wishes will come true or not, says the administrator of the pool. Beside, there are only few who become fortunate to place the coins on the plate. Nonetheless, many don’t give up. They even don’t mind finishing all the coins they have to get one on the right place, inside the pool.
“I failed again,” said Sabitri Pandey from Gajuri looking disappointed. It was her seventh coin that got wasted. “I don’t understand why, but some like me are pretty unlucky. All my attempts have failed,” she explained.
Inside the Devi’s Fall, this is a regular practice seen everyday. While some who don’t believe in such supernatural powers keep themselves occupied with other activities like sightseeing, many are often seen queuing up before the Wish Pool. Most visitors are seen carrying one- and two-Rupee coins.
At times, people are seen vying to become the first ones to throw the coins while sometimes they are surprisingly disciplined. And in the end, only a few faces return happily on succeeding to place the coins in the right place.
Incepted by the administration of Devi’s Falls five years ago, the Wish Pool has become one of the major attractions of the locale in recent years. This has become more popular amongst the youths for they have many dreams to achieve in their lives.
Inspired by Japan, the Chorepatan Higher Secondary Education Administration Committee established the Wish Pool five years ago. Because tourists are equally attracted to the pool, this has been generating good income, said Bheshraj Baral, chairman of the committee.
“The Wish Pool alone generates Rs 25,000 every month,” he revealed.
Shila Sigdel is the helping hand to many for she is the woman who sits near the pool everyday from morning to dawn to help people exchange notes with coins. She is often seen extremely busy exchanging notes for coins.
“It’s Saturday when I turn extremely busy. I make good business on other days too,” shared Sigdel.
Sigdel has witnessed many cases when people have tried more than thirty times and still failed. “They keep on trying. Some don’t go away till they succeed on placing the coin. Many have shared with me that their wishes have come true,” she added.
Every Saturday, Sigdel exchanges more than a thousand Rupees for coins while on other weekdays she changes around Rs 500 every day. This however does not include the coins other visitors bring along with themselves.
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