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Ragas and rituals for the annoyed Rain Gods in Madhya Pradesh by
Narender Singh Parmar Chhattarpur
(Madhya Pradesh): The delayed monsoon has motivated people in Madhya Pradesh's
Chattarpur area to perform prayers and also sing 'Ragas' or, traditional songs
to appease Rain Gods. Women on Thursday carried water pots on their heads as part
of a religious procession 'Kalash Yatra' to appease the rain gods. Draped in red
and yellow coloured traditional saris, women sang and carried the pitchers on
their heads and walked to the local temple to seek blessings of God for rain in
their region. "Due to the lack of rains, farming cannot be done. People are facing
a lot of problems. If there is no rain, we will be left wanting for drops of water.
We pray to gods through this 'Kalash Yatra' that it may rain and people may be
happy," said Prem Kumari, one of the women. Meanwhile, with the belief that singing
the Raga Malhar, the legendary and powerful rain song, can bring the rains, some
people have been making attempts there too. People have been singing the ragas
to beckon the rain gods. "Our ancestors and music scholars have composed various
ragas. They believed that the singing of these ragas, especially the 'Megh malhar'
and the 'Miyan Malhar' (songs of torrential rainfall) beckon the rains. So we
sing them in hope of rains," said Upasana Tomar, a classical singer 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 becoming a serious cause of concern for the people especially farmers. The
monsoon is crucial for summer-sown crops such as rice, soybean, sugarcane and
cotton. With only 40 percent of farmland irrigated, most of India's small farmers
rely on the monsoon to water their crops. -June
25, 2009 |
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