Residents of Indore in Madhya Pradesh recently organised a wedding of two dogs in the belief that it bring the monsoon to the region.
Tiger and Lucy were wed with full ceremony and rituals. Guests danced to Bollywood wedding songs. A priest formalised the wedding as per Hindu traditions.
"Our ancestors used to say that when rains do not occur, get dogs married to please the gods. This belief exists in our region, that's why we have applied it here," said an organizer, Ramesh Singh Tomar.
Rains were said to gain momentum across the country early this month, but the agriculture minister said on July 1 that a "drought-like situation might prevail in some pockets" of the country's west.
A prolonged dry spell could reduce crop yields and cut returns for farmers, many of whom take on debt to buy seeds and fertilisers. This could force some farmers to skip either a summer-sown or winter-sown crop.
Usually, the monsoon covers half of India by mid-June, and engulfs its entire landmass by mid-July.
