Volunteers ferry 15k coconuts every day to Indian temple

The temple of Maa Tarini in Orissa, India, receives the coconuts from faithful volunteers from distant parts of the nation. Bus drivers relay the coconuts from vehicle to vehicle, dumping them in collection points at state lines. The surfeit of coconuts around the Maa Tarini has spawned a local coconut candy industry.

Hold a coconut in your hand on a highway in Orissa and the next bus will surely stop to pick it up to take it to the temple in Ghatgaon in Keonjhar district.

The drivers' faith in the goddess Maa Tarini is complete - it is common to find the space behind their seats stacked with coconuts.

Even if the bus is on a different route, the driver will make sure to drop the coconuts in a collection box en route or pass them on to a bus headed for Ghatgaon.

"If I refuse to carry coconuts to the goddess, I may face various odds on my way," says Arun Sahoo, a bus driver.