In a bizarre incident that recently went viral on social media, a wedding was conducted between two frogs! Yes, you heard that right! We aren’t talking about the story of a princess kissing a frog. This is a real incident and in fact a custom in some villages of getting frogs married!
India is not for beginners! And, this was proven in a recent incident that happened in UP’s Varanasi, a video circulated on social media platforms capturing a wedding like no other! The video depicted a male and female frog ‘couple’ that were to be ceremoniously married. The entire wedding ceremony of the frogs was shared in the video gaining many views and comments from the curious audience.
Apparently, there is a whimsical tale about the belief in pleasing rain gods with this gesture. When the entire nation is dealing with heat waves and many parts of the country are facing acute water crises, this age-old tradition of frog marriages was recalled by some unknown village in Varanasi. The purpose of the ritual was to appease the God of rains to ‘bless’ the country with timely monsoon.
Deeply rooted in ancient folklore, this is the custom to ‘invite’ the arrival of rain by praying to the frogs. The croaking of frogs is symbolic of their sixth sense with which they can detect impending rains. Though the world believes otherwise, many parts of India believe that when frogs croak, it means the rains are about to arrive. And when people could not hear frogs croaking amidst this hot weather, they were concerned about the God of rains being ‘unhappy’ with them.
To support these beliefs, people were seen celebrating the frog marriage in the viral video clip. While the frog ‘couple’ was dressed in traditional attire, a priest was seen performing the wedding rituals and offering prayers. Not just that, gatherings of people were seen surrounding the ‘event’ wherein some women were even singing traditional music to add to the atmosphere. There is even assumed to be a grand feast not for the frogs but for the people to enjoy after the wedding!
There are no traces of when and why the custom of ‘frog marriages’ began. Perhaps, the bizarre idea became a common practice, and years later, it is still prevalent in certain parts of UP, Tamil Nadu, MP, Rajasthan, Assam, and even the Himalayas.
All we hope for after this incident is that the rain Gods really do bless the country and these heatwaves can be subdued after hitting the mercury levels sky high!
