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Indian monkey god sent to Obama

(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-07-26 14:22

NEW DELHI  -- A group of Indians have sent a small statue of the revered Indian monkey god to Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama as a good luck charm ahead of the November polls.

Indian devotees gather around a statue of Lord Hanuman, the god monkey, at a temple in New Delhi in June 2008 during a special prayer and blessing of Hanuman for US Democratic election candidate Barack Obama ahead of the forthcoming US Presidential elections. [Agencies]

The group decided to despatch the idol after reading reports that Obama carried a good luck "monkey king charm with him all the time in his pocket," said Brij Mohan Bhama, an Indian fan of Obama.

The two-foot, 15-kilogramme (33-pound) brass idol "has been gifted to Obama because I believe he will be good for India if he becomes the next president," Bhama told AFP Friday.

The monkey god, Hanuman, is revered by Hindus who also regard monkeys as descendants of the deity.