Madhya Pradesh: Backward ride on donkey for rain in Ratlam

INDORE: In a rather bizarre ritual, a deputy sarpanch in Madhya Pradesh’s Ratlam rode a donkey facing backwards on Friday in the hope it will please the rain gods and end the dry run in the region.
In sunglasses and with a garland around his neck, deputy sarpanch of Dharad village Manoj Rathore took the ‘extra-constitutional’ duty with a smile. The white donkey wore a matching garland.
From viral videos, it seems the deputy sarpanch got up the donkey facing forward.The villagers sat him right – facing the wrong way – and the procession set off from outside a temple.
Drummers struck up a festive tempo and the mood caught on. Villagers began dancing around Rathore and the donkey as the procession went around Dharad. Some chanted mantras to invoke Lord Indra. The ritual ended with a big feast for villagers.
At the end of the day, if there were any clouds hovering on the village, they were Covid clouds. Masks were nowhere to be seen during all the cheering and feasting, and social distancing was crushed under dancing feet.
The villagers said the ritual was perfect to a ‘d’, and they truly believe it will rain in a few days. “This tradition has been followed by generations to please the rain gods,” said Rathore.
And what about Covid guidelines? “People were wearing masks earlier but removed them,” Rathore told TOI.
Asked why the ritual was held, he said that it hasn’t rained in the past 10 days and villagers were afraid their crops would be ruined. “This tradition has been followed for generations in the village and we have always been blessed with rains after this. We hope this time, too, the Lord will be pleased by the procession and shower His blessings on our crop,” said the deputy sarpanch.
“Educated people across the country may call it a superstition, but we have always reaped benefits from this ritual and will continue to do so. Being the head of the village, it was my duty to do this for a better crop,” Rathore added.
Another villager, Devendra Bairagi, said some villages in Ujjain also observe this ritual. “We go to the jungles, cook food and carry out the procession,” he said.