By TODD VENEZIA

Dropping Babies in India

Some says it’s more that just bizarre, but for devotees at a Muslim shrine in Western India say their babies are safe after building toss.

May 2, 2008 —

Muslim worshipers in an Indian village took part in a shocking ritual in which they dropped babies nearly two stories from a temple roof.

The disturbing tot toss has been going on for 500 years at the Baba Sheik Umar Sheb temple in the village of Solapur.

The crying infants are blessed before plummeting into a white cloth pulled taut by a dozen men. The seemingly dangerous stunt is supposed to ensure good health.

Although the children look visibly shaken after the drop, supporters of the ceremony say that no baby has ever been hurt.

“If you do this, it is good for the child,” said one mother, Jayashree, according to Sky News. “They become healthy. It is to get the blessing of God. The babies are between nine months and 11 months old, or sometimes are of even less age.”