INDIA'S REVERED MONKEYS ALSO RAMBUNCTIOUS.

Byline: Krishnan Guruswamy Associated Press 

Are monkeys gods or pests? Millions of Indians revere these heroes of Hindu folklore, but monkeys are crowding into cities, cramping humans' space.

Visitors delight in seeing brown rhesus monkeys scamper across India's fabled monuments, but the marauding primates are no fun for residents who must contend with their invasions into homes, offices and even hospital corridors.

``Avenging Monkey Terrorizes Noida Residents,'' screamed a recent newspaper headline. The story said a female monkey had taken to attacking youngsters after her infant was stoned to death by children in the upscale New Delhi suburb.

The monkeys even get on the government's back. Mischievous monkeys prowl the grounds of the sandstone presidential complex, the Parliament and the top ministerial offices, occasionally breaking into rooms and scattering files.

``The problem would not have started if they had not fed the monkeys in the first place,'' said Iqbal Malik, a primatologist asked each day to catch truant monkeys and relocate them to jungles.

``Once the creatures get used to it, they begin demanding food. And if people don't feed them, they get hostile,'' she said.

Malik says half of India's 500,000 monkeys now live in urban areas because their forests are shrinking.

Once they wander out of the jungle, they find city life easier than foraging in the wild. Usually, food is given willingly by devotees of the monkey-god Hanuman, at the thousands of temples built in his honor, or by ordinary people enthralled with their antics.

Although they are not ubiquitous like squirrels, families of monkeys roam in most cities, especially around temples.

Few Hindus would harm them, even if they are a nuisance. But even devout Hindus regard the monkeys that steal the laundry or rummage through the garbage as pests, and want them to be taken back to the forests.

For centuries, monkeys have been part of Asia's cultural heritage. The Chinese regarded them as both evil and good. The ancient Greeks and Egyptians venerated the monkey as the god of wisdom.

But monkeys command special respect in the Hindu societies of India, Nepal, and the Indonesian island of Bali, which worship the monkey-god Hanuman. Hero of the Ramayana epic, Hanuman is endowed with superhuman power, and is the companion of the warrior-god Rama.

``By worshiping Hanuman, you can get close to Lord Rama,'' said Swami Avaidhyanath, a priest at the popular Hanuman temple in New Delhi's city center.

Hindus regard Hanuman as a protector. His picture adorns the doors in many houses. He also is the patron deity of wrestlers and acrobats and is often a symbol of fertility.

On Tuesdays, which are auspicious days, dozens of people drive to the scrub lands around New Delhi to feed the monkeys.

``If I feed Hanuman, my sins will be reduced,'' said Arjun Das, handing out bunches of bananas to the monkeys.

As monkeys develop more human behavior, however, they also become more susceptible to human diseases, such as tuberculosis.

Fed a diet of fried food, chocolates and potato chips, monkeys can develop diarrhea and constipation, indigestion and heartburn.

Their human behavior has even forced some Indians to live like animals.

In Vrindavan, a town near the Taj Mahal city of Agra, residents have barricaded their windows with thick iron bars to keep the beasts out.

``The people live in cages and the monkeys roam free,'' Malik said.