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Rituals to appease 'Rain God' in Allahabad

     Allahabad: Women ploughed fields and sang songs in a ritual to appease the rain gods in Allahabad. Fervently praying for the timely arrival of the monsoon, people across the country are performing various rituals to appease the rain God. "All of us together performed rituals with flowers and incense sticks. Together we ploughed the land on our own, the way men do. We prayed to Lord Indra (God of Rain) so that he could bless us with rain for healthy crop yields and greenery," said Ramkali, a village woman. In a country where nearly two-thirds of agriculture depends on the rains and two-thirds of the population is dependent on agriculture, the delay in the arrival of monsoon is a serious cause of concern for the people especially farmers. According to the officials of the Meteorological department, monsoon is likely to arrive in the state by the first week of July.
-June 25, 2009