A frog-couple, married 2 months ago to bring rain, was ‘divorced’ in Bhopal on Wednesday as their ‘happily hereafter’ brought incessant showers, making life miserable in most of MP.

The original frogs, who were united in croaky matrimony in mid-July when the state was desperate for rain, could not be found. So, the organizers who had arranged the match, made 2 clay models of the frogs & ‘divorced’ them in a temple in Bhopal in the hope that it will halt monsoon’s fury.

Large parts of the state are in the grip of floods, & around 200 people have died this monsoon. The latest spell of rain has been the heaviest of the season — unusual for Sept, & looking set to beat a 58-year record in Bhopal. It’s a stunning contrast to the mood in June-July when monsoon had been delayed & there were doomsday predictions for agriculture. It was in those desperate days that Om Shiv-Shakti Seva Mandal got 2 frogs married.

Rain expected today despite frog divorce
It was in those days of desperation that Om Shiv-Shakti Seva Mandal of Bhopal got 2 frogs married, following a myth that the ritual pleases the rain gods.

“It is believed that getting a male & female frog married brings rain as Indra Dev sends his blessings. Till mid-July, the state was facing a dry spell & people were suffering, so we decided to perform the ‘totka’. Bhopal had rain the very next day,” said Rinku Bateja, secretary of the Mandal.

And it just kept raining, turning dams into rivers & rivers into torrents. “Now, the heavy rain has started causing a lot of problems & there is flooding in many parts of the state. So, our priest suggested that we separate the 2,” said Bateja. There was no way to find the happily-married frogs. So, the Mandal had 2 clay models made, rather oversized, & symbolically divorced them to the chants of mantras at a temple in Bhopal’s Indrapuri. “As Madhya Pradesh has received more than enough rain, we decided to follow the priest’s advice & performed a ceremony to separate the frogs. We sent the female back to her ‘maternal home’ & then immersed the 2 clay-frogs in separate vessels filled with rainwater,” said Bateja. So, will it bring sunshine? The sun hasn’t been seen in most of the state for the past week, & there is a red alert for heavy rain in 14 districts on Friday, & orange alert for 19.

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