The Frog Prince Departs

Somehow I can't help thinking that this is what Bush has done to the American people...

Two minor girls married off to frogs
17 Jan 2009

PUDUCHERRY: In a bizarre ritual, two minor girls, both seven, from the remote Pallipudupet village in Tamil Nadu's Villupuram district were married off to frogs on Friday night. The ceremony, an annual feature during the Pongal (harvest) festival, is conducted "to prevent the outbreak of mysterious diseases in the village''.

The girls, Vigneswari and Masiakanni, dressed up in traditional bridal finery -- gilded sarees and gold jewellery -- married the frog 'princes' in separate, elaborate ceremonies at two different temples in the presence of hundreds of villagers.

The picture in my mind of Bush standing on the rubble of the World Trade Center on 9/11 with his arm around the fire chief has the same sense of irreality as the above picture of two little girls being dolled up and married off to frogs as an incantation to deal with "evil spirits".

In my mind, the following is comingled with pictures of Bush announcing the invasion of Iraq:

Amidst chanting of vedic hymns, the temple priests garlanded the brides and tied the magalsutras on behalf of the frogs pronouncing the two as wives of the amphibians before the sacred fire at the auspicious hour.

The villagers threw themselves into the ceremonies with gusto. While residents living in the western part of the village acted as relatives of the brides and those from the eastern part play-acted as relatives of the grooms. The ceremonies had all the usual elements of a traditional marriage including a sumptuous feast.

In two days the long national nightmare for the US will hopefully be over. The frogs will go back to being frogs. The little girls will be handed back their future. The people will stop their celebrations of Washington-concocted myths and illusions. ... well, at least let me dream!