Creativity springs from near-desperation it is said. Ransacking the imagination in a near-desperate situation does throw up an inimitable Mickey Mouse every once in a while. But imagine the marriage ceremony of a couple of frogs solemnized by a huge group of people, who then reverently looked heavenwards for rain! That is precisely what the villagers in Padapalli, a drought-hit village in the southern state of TamilNadu did to invoke the rain gods.

Assam, Orissa, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Karnataka and TamilNadu are among the many states that have performed “froggy” weddings since the beginning of the year as a desperate resort to ward off the looming threat of drought and a season of failed food and cash crops. Villages in India abound in superstitious beliefs that rush to the forefront during a crisis. Getting a nude virgin to run around the village when it is pitch dark and getting a couple of donkeys or asses “married” are some weird customs raked from the hoary past by desperate villagers waiting for rain.

Encouraged by a report in the local newspaper of a downpour in Udipi, Karnataka (another south Indian state) after a marriage ceremony of frogs was performed, enthusiastic villagers in Padapalli, Tamil Nadu, decided to follow suit.

On an auspicious hour last Friday evening, the people caught a male and a female frog from the village well, placed them in a brass pot in the village temple, garlanded them and married them off amidst the chanting of mantras, drum beat and bursting of fire crackers. The frogs were then fed with banana and milk—a ritual feeding of the bride and the bridegroom soon after many Indian marriages. About 2000 people from neighboring villages joined in the fanfare.

Will the froggy couple live together happily ever after? Nobody knows. And did it rain in Padapalli after the froggy wedding? Well, there was a drizzle on Tuesday, said the villagers defensively. They are certainly praying for more!!

Thilaka Ravi

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