Indore: in a rather strange ritual, a Deputy Sarpanch at Madhya Pradesh’s Ratlam drove a donkey facing back on Friday with the hope that it would please the gods and end dry runs in the region.
In sunglasses and with a bouquet of flowers around his neck, Deputy Sarpana Desa Dharad Manoj Rathore took the ‘extra-constitutional’ task with a smile.
White donkeys wear a suitable bouquet.
From viral videos, it looks like the Deputy Sarpanch lifts the donkey facing forward.
The villagers unite it – face the wrong road – and the procession departs from outside the temple.
Drummer made a festive tempo and the mood was caught.
The villagers began dancing around Rathore and donkeys when the procession went around Dharad.
Some charms of singing to beg Lord Indra.
The ritual ends with a big party for villagers.
In the end, if there are clouds floating in the village, they are covid clouds.
Masks are not seen everywhere cheering and parties, and social distance are destroyed under the dancing feet.
The villagers said the ritual was perfect for ‘D’, and they truly believed it would rain in a few days.
“This tradition has been attended by generations to please the rain gods,” Rathore said.
And what about Covid guidelines? “People wear masks before but delete them,” Rathore told Toi.
Tell why the ritual was held, he said that it had not been raining in the last 10 days and the villagers were afraid of their plants to be destroyed.
“This tradition has been followed for several generations in the village and we are always blessed with rain after this.
We hope this time too, God will be happy with the procession and bath thanks on our plants,” Deputy Sarpence said.
“Educated people throughout the country can call it superstition, but we always reap the benefits of this ritual and will continue to do so.
Being a village head, it is my job to do this for better plants,” added Rathore.
Other villagers, Devendra Bairagi, said several villages in Ujjain also observed this ritual.
“We go to the forest, cook food and carry out the procession,” he said.