'Have mercy on us, Lord Indra'

KANPUR: Oh! ye Gods have mercy! Is thesupplication of all and sundry as the fear of drought is taking a vice-likegrip, particularly on the farming community. Understandably so with no rainwhatsoever. The situation is alarming and the last time, people recall, similarconditions were witnessed about a decade ago.While prayers and rituals ofall kinds are being held everywhere, the womenfolk of the villages in theregions around this city have subscribed to a practise of a bygone age. Theyhave decided to till the fields at night with not a stitch of cloth on theirbodies. They believe it will appease Lord Indra, the God of Rain.Prayerssuch as these have been heard in the past. The villagers believe it will happenthis time too. Chipping in are also the eunuchs. They also have come out topropitiate the Gods in this manner. It is an age-old practice. The Hindilitterateur, Dr Bhadauria depicts it in his poem. There is also a mention of itin Ramayana. Queen Sunaina along with her husband Janak had also ploughed thefield to please Lord Indra during a severe drought in Mithila. However, there isno reference of women being naked in the Hindu mythology.Dr Bhadauria,talking to Times News Network from Rae Bareli on phone, said he was inspired tocompose this folk song for the rural people of Baiswara region where naked womenused to plough the field at night during drought. The septuagenarian litterateursaid this is purely a matter of faith. "But, I have noticed rains after suchrituals in my village. So I penned down my feelings and experiences. "It holdsgood even today," he added. He also said there was nothing wrong with thistradition. And reasoned: "Why, some Hindu saints remain naked. It is their faithand nobody can force them to wear clothes." Dr Bhadauria has written about ninebooks so far and one of his poem ''Phaguni sabere'' is in the Hindi syllabus ofhigh school in Chandigarh.But the women''s activists here have reacteddifferently to this way of praying for rains. Former parliamentarian and CPI (M)leader Subhasini Ali does not agree. "There should be a total check on suchrituals," she said. But, UP Mahila Manch leader Neelam Chaturvedi has anotheropinion altogether. She did not see anything wrong with it. And interpreted itthus: "If the women are forced to plough the field naked, then it is a crime.Otherwise, it is a matter of faith," she said.As for the drought itself,the director of Chandra Shekhar Azad Agriculture University Dr K B Singh toldTNN that Kanpur region had faced about seven droughts during the last 30 years.However, this year is different from the previous ones, as this is the firsttime monsoon has not arrived yet.