History
The Baba Umer Dargah is around 700 years old and is known for a baby throwing ritual, in which infants are dropped from a 15-meter platform onto a cloth held by both Muslim and Hindu men.
The ritual, long popular in Maharashtra and Karnataka States, dates back almost 700 years, to a time when infant mortality was high, medical knowledge was scant and families had few places to turn for help.
Legend has it that a saint advised people whose babies were dying to build a shrine and drop the ailing infants from the roof to show their trust in the almighty. When they did so, the story goes, the babies were miraculously cradled to safety in a hammock-like sheet that appeared in midair.
From then on, prayers for the birth of a healthy baby in the region have included a promise to toss the baby as an offering to the god who granted the prayers. Villagers believe that the ritual brings the child long life and good luck, and maintain that it does no harm.
A similar custom can be seen at Sri Santeswar temple near Indi, in the state of Karnataka, to watch as infants were tossed from a concrete structure on the temple’s terrace onto a cloth held below.