World Scene: India

Shaming the weather gods

Farmers in an eastern Indian state have asked their unmarried daughters to plough parched fields naked in a bid to embarrass the weather gods to bring some badly needed monsoon rain, officials said yesterday. Witnesses said naked girls in Bihar state ploughed the fields and chanted ancient hymns after sunset to invoke the gods. "They (villagers) believe their acts would get the weather gods badly embarrassed, who in turn would ensure bumper crops by sending rain," said Upendra Kumar, a council official from Banke Bazaar town. "This is the most trusted social custom." India has suffered the worst monsoon start in eight decades this year.