After intense heatwave, water crisis and delay in the onset of monsoon, a special wedding between two frogs was organized to appease the rain gods in Udipi, Karnataka on Saturday
Members of the Udupi Zilla Nagarika Samithi conducted a "manduka kalyanotsava" or wedding of frogs in the coastal town of Udupi, situated about 400 km from Bengaluru, the IT capital of India.
The wedding invite said the ‘manduka kalyanotsava’ or frog wedding had been organised to solve the massive water scarcity in Udupi district by offering prayers to the rain gods.
The group held a formal wedding ceremony with a band, music and food in a local 5-star hotel.
In a video that has gone viral in social media, the two frogs - Varsha and Varuna are seen with small garlands around them, and a woman tying a mangalsutra around Varsha's neck amid a lot of fanfare and celebration.
Both were married at an auspicious time of Simha Lagna, as per Hindu traditions, and were returned to their cage post-wedding.
Monsoons finally arrived on the south coast of India on Saturday.
Several parts of Kerala were lashed with heavy rainfall on Saturday after a delay of a week, marking the official commencement of the four-month rainfall season in India.
Due to lack of adequate resources and irrigation arrangement, most of rural India depends on the monsoon season for their water supply.
