When the going gets tough . . .

. . . people start beckoning to their imaginary friends in all cultures.

Hundreds in India pray for global economic recovery

BHUBANESWAR, India (Reuters) – Hundreds of people gathered for a Hindu religious rite in a town in eastern India on Friday, seeking divine intervention into the global economic crisis as stocks plummeted worldwide, organisers said.

The rite was performed on the same day as the Indian rupee hit a record low of 50.15 per dollar, and the Indian share market dropped 11 percent to three-year lows.

More than three hundred people watched the rite being performed by 131 priests in a temple in the beach city of Puri in Orissa state.

The priests poured water into pots from a nearby pond and carried them out in a procession to the temple, shouting praises of Laxmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth.

The priests burnt sandalwood and clarified butter, and offered flowers to the goddess while chanting hymns.

“The entire world is witnessing a financial crisis and Goddess Laxmi can only help us in this crucial situation,” Kumuda Ranjan Samantray, one of the organisers told Reuters.

The financial crisis was set off by a U.S. housing market collapse nearly 15 months ago.