Patna, June 27 (IANS) In a small village in Bihar's Darbhanga district a wedding was solemnized Saturday in the presence of nearly 100 people in a temple. But it was no ordinary ceremony - for it was between two frogs - and was carried out to appease the rain gods.

In a bid to please the Hindu rain god Indra, a marriage of frogs was solemnized at Fhefhra village under Bahadurpur police station in Darbhanga district, some 200 km from Patna, villagers said.    

    
"A Hindu priest conducted the marriage of frogs. Nearly 100 villagers, mostly women attended the marriage that took place in a temple," a villager Mukesh Singh said.        

It is a folk belief in India that a wedding between frogs will bring rains.        

Two healthy frogs were caught from separate places around the village by local residents for the ceremony.   

      
"The frogs were washed with clean water and decorated with flowers," another villager Sahdeo Paswan said.  

      
"After the marriage, the newly wed amphibians were blessed by the residents of the village and released in to a nearby pond with the hope that their marriage would make the rain god happy," Singh said.        

"The marriage was organised because the region was facing scarcity of water," Singh added.   

    
Major part of the Bihar is witnessing a drought like situation following delay in the  arrival of monsoon and this has become a cause of concern for the people, particularly farmers in the state.        

"Usually it used to rain heavily by June 20 and the farmers used to get the paddy saplings ready for planting. But this time there is no rain till now," Santosh Kumar, another villager said.        

Frogs get married in Bangladesh ritual for rain

MORE than 250 people in northern Bangladesh have attended a wedding ceremony between two frogs as part of a ritual to bring rain to the parched region.

The "bride'' and "groom'' came from two neighbouring villages 110km north of the capital Dhaka, according to the Bengali paper Jugantor.

Villagers organised the wedding ceremony because the region was suffering a water shortage as it waited for monsoon rains to arrive, according to school teacher Noor Mohammad Kalon, who was a guest on behalf of the "groom''.

"More than 250 men, women and children came to the wedding. We all danced and sang,'' the teacher, 42, said by telephone, adding that the guests were served a traditional wedding feast of rice, lentils, fish, beef and sweets.

"The bride and groom were in special wedding dress. We blessed them in the ceremony and released them in a nearby pond afterwards.

"Last night there was rain. I believe it was because of the wedding.''

Courtesy: Couriermail.com.au