A Froggie Wedding

Desperately praying for rains? Perhaps, you could just pick up two frogs from the well and solemnise their wedding. That’s exactly what the drought-hit villagers of Padapalli in Krishnagiri district did recently to invoke the rain gods. In the season of drought, superstition overflows in Tamil Nadu, which is ironically the famous birth place of rationalistic movement in the country.From performing the marriages of donkeys to cows and frogs, desperate villagers try just about every quaint ritual with perceived powers to open up the skies. The drought-hit Padapalli villagers in Uthangarai taluk, decided to appease the rain gods through a lavish wedding of frogs. “We read in newspapers that Udupi in Karnataka received heavy rains after a marriage ceremony for frogs and decided to hold a similar ritual in our village too,” grins Padapalli panchayat president BC Dharman, who is also a functionary of the ruling DMK, which is rooted in rationalistic ideology. Five hours before the ritual on last Friday evening, villagers caught a male and a female frog from the village well and kept them in brass pots before a local temple. Amid drum beat and bursting of firecrackers, the frogs were decked up with jasmine and marigold. Just like in Indian weddings, the bride’s side, presented a “seeru” (gifts) complete with laddus, jilebis, coconuts and two men from the local Yadava Naicker community played the masters of ceremony, firmly holding the slippery frogs in their hands. At an auspicious timeabout 8 pm- the male and female frogs were garlanded. Then, a mangalsutra was tied around the female frog to mark the wedding. And the two-hour ceremony came to an end with the feeding of frogs with bananas and milk. “The frogs ate the bananas and milk we offered,” says the panchayat chief excitedly. About 2,000 villagers of Padapalli and neighbouring Perumalkuppam and Ambedkar Colony, who took part in the ritual, were offered a wedding feast. Did the “frog wedding” bring rains? “We got some drizzles on Tuesday. Hope we will get a downpour soon,” say the villagers.
Hmmmmm........as long as it rains....baarish ke liye kuch bhi chalega......