The experiment being monitored at CERN. (Reuters)

Ranchi, Sept. 10: It wasn’t one of those frequent bandhs called by some disgruntled political party or Naxalite group. Yet the city saw half its residents staying indoors.

Schools witnessed thin attendance and offices wore a deserted look.

Most people remained glued to television sets while some went on ritualistic overdrive. And each one of them believed it to be doomsday.

The biggest scientific experiment in human history, carried out in an underground chamber along the French-Swiss border to unearth many a mystery miring the formation of our universe, spurred unscientific worries in the capital today. Superstitions reigning supreme for over a week reached the acme with both young and old fearing repercussions of the experiment worth billions.

Sony Kaur, a resident of PP Compound, seemed a harried mother. “My children said, ‘Aaj dharti hilegi, duniya khatam ho jayegi (there will be tremors, the world will come to an end)’. Though I assured them nothing would happen, I was not myself sure. So, we had to do a havan (a ritual to ward off evil),” she said.

Kaur was among the many mothers and wives who did not allow their children and husbands to venture out.

With parents keeping children indoors, city schools witnessed about 50 per cent attendance. Fewer people made it to offices. They weren’t spending a holiday either. Many were seen consulting astrologists, who perhaps made good money telling people whether they would live or die.

Women kept fasts while their harried spouses went on a donation spree “to get rid of the negative effects”. “I took a bath early in the morning and began my fast. Our astrologer said the experiment was a bad omen. We were also advised to donate foodgrain and perform rituals to ward off evil,” said Manju Shandilya of Bariatu Housing Colony.

Those children whose not-so-superstitious parents allowed them to go to school couldn’t help discussing planets and stars today. These handful of youngsters were certainly a tad wiser than their guardians. “This was the most commendable scientific experiment in human history. Let’s not be superstitious and deny these experts the credit they deserve,” said Ishita, a Class XII student of Delhi Public School.