Bundelkhand: Farmers perform rituals to please rain god

As drought takes roots in Gopalpur village situated in Kanpur, farmers performed rituals in order to please the rain god and get sufficient rainfall this year.

Farmers in Bundelkhand are eagerly waiting for monsoon, to sow paddy for 'Kharif' crops in their fields.

Performing an age-old ritual, women farmers recited folk songs, offered special prayers to their dry fields and ploughed the land in order to please Indradev (rain god) and receive monsoon showers.

"I believe that after performing this ritual, rain god will shower sufficient rain this year and we will be able to cultivate our fields without any difficulty," a women farmer Bittan told ANI.

"We have been suffering due to acute drought conditions because monsoon hasn't arrived yet, I hope after performing this ritual rain god will bless us with sufficient rainfall this year, just like every year," another farmer Nanaki told ANI.

These women farmers have been performing this ritual since ages and they sincerely believe that rain god blesses them with sufficient rains after offering prayers and ploughing their dry fields. "We are ploughing the land for rain, this custom exists since the time of Raja Janak." a farmer told ANI.

Scorching heat, severe drought conditions and water paucity have added up to the hardships of farmers across the nation. Several states are reeling under acute water shortage like Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh.

People across the nation are performing several rituals in order to receive sufficient rains this year.

Resorting to prayers in the face of acute water scarcity, Tamil Nadu government recently conducted special 'Yajna' at Patteeswarar temple in Perur. A holy fire was lit up surrounding which priests conducted the 'Yajna', Prayers in the form of 'mantras' were chanted throughout.

A similar event was reported from Madurai earlier in June, where unique prayers were offered to rain gods in the form of processions.

In Karnataka, several devotees recited verses from the Bhagavad Gita at the Prasanna Ganpati temple earlier this month, to end the long spell of severe drought.