For the past week or so, the Mahalakshmi temple in Puttenahalli, India, has become the scene of a most peculiar sight – a mongrel living near a bakery opposite the temple wakes up early in the morning and starts circling the holy building, sometimes well into the evening. Nobody can explain the canine’s bizarre behavior, but his story has been attracting a lot of attention,  and more and more people are showing up to watch him do his rounds, resulting in traffic jams on surrounding streets.
9News India reports that the dog starts circling the Mahalakshmi temple at about 4 a.m. every day, stopping at the south-eastern side of the building after each round. There, he barks a few times and then proceeds to circle the building once again. This goes on until about 10 a.m., when the dog returns to his home at the nearby bakery, but according to The Hindu, he sometimes circles the temple for much longer, even until evening. The dog never seems bothered by people visiting the temple or simply blocking his path, either. He simply walks around them and continues his round until he comes full circle.

Photo: 9News/YouTube screengrab

Priests at Mahalakshmi temple only noticed the mongrel’s routine little over a week ago, and when asked about the possible reasons behind it, they attributed it to the movement of the planet and explained it as the animal’s attempt to rid itself of an adverse spell cast by serpents. Whatever his reasons, the dog appears very determined, as one of the priests confirms. One day, people started throwing rocks at him while he was circling the temple, and although he stopped for the day, he was back at it early the next morning. TV news crews also reported that the dog stopped circling Mahalakshmi when they approached him with the camera, but resumed his routine as soon as they backed away.

Photo: 9News/YouTube screengrab

Circling a temple every day for over a week is already strange enough for a dog, but some people claim he has been at it for a lot longer than that. Rakshith, a young resident of Puttenahalli, told 9News that he and his friends have been playing cricket near the temple for a while, and they first noticed the dog’s behavior 2-3 months ago.

The number of people coming to Mahalakshmi temple just to see the dog circling it is increasing every day, and local media reports that the growing crowds are affecting traffic in the area.