Indian Village "Korauna" wants a name change
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Located about 90 kilometres from Lucknow, this tiny hamlet is in deep distress.
Almost overnight, the village and its residents have become the object of ridicule by outsiders and all because of its name - Korauna - that sounds similar to the deadly virus corona.
"Even our relatives joke about the similarity in the name and tell us that they will not visit Korauna. If we tell any stranger where we live in, we are greeted with amused glances. One person who called on my phone -- apparently a wrong number -- said 'How are you still alive?' - when I told him that I was from Korauna," said Raju Tripathi, a local resident.
Korauna, incidentally, is the first halt of the 84-Kosi Parikrama -- a pilgrimage that is undertaken by thousands, a fortnight after the Holi festival every year.
"The name of the village has been existing for decades, but suddenly, we are being treated as pariah," said Gokul, a local farmer.