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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