"Pola" is a Unique festival of Farmers of Maharashtra. It celebrates Farm Animals. મહારાષ્ટ્રમાંઉજવાતો પશુ-પ્રેમને દર્શાવતો, અતી વિશિષ્ટ ઉત્સવ - “પોળા” (बैल-पोळा)

Just a few days back on the last New-Moon-Day, we celebrated "Pola". The festival is celebrated on the day of Amavasya of the month of Shravan/BhadraPada* in the Maharashtra State in India. We thank and show our gratitude and love for the farm animals represented by the Oxen who ploughs the fields and pulls the bullock-Carts. This festival is known as "Bail-Pola" (बैल-पोळा) or simply "Pola" or "पोळा", alluding to the feast dish being served to the Farm-Bullock. 

The Chapter 9 of a Gujarati "Umodi" ("ઊમોદી"), contains an interesting description of how this festival was actually celebrated since ancient times. It is an excerpt from the diary of Urmila, who had witnessed many Polas in her lifetime in the early twentieth century i.e. around 1940s in the area around Nagpur city, a city of India in a province then known as the "Central Province"**. Following is translated from her amateur narrative.

Excerpt:

Quote from the Diary....."Pola Utsav is a special festival celebrated by all but mainly by Farmers of the village. It is celebrated on the new-moon-day of the month of Shravan/Bhadra Pada This day is dedicated to the farm animals like oxen. To celebrate, the bulls are decorated and worshipped with red kumkum tilak, and garlands of freshly picked flowers. Their Horns are painted in bold colours. Some paint only the tip of the horn but more often than not, the entire horn is painted. The back of the Bullock is adorned with multi-colour thick-cotton rug. Their necks are covered with beautiful necklaces made from colourful beads and tiny tinkling bells.............On the day of "Pola", no farmer would yoke or shackle their oxen. It is like Bulls' "Double-Pay-Official-Fun-Holiday". In addition to no-work, Bullock is fed a special celebratory dish, namely "Puran-Poli". Most herbivorous animals such as Cows, Horses, Mules etc, are known to relish lentils and jaggery. Therefore huge sized Roties or "Polas"*** are prepared on this day and these Polas are filled with cooked stuffing made from split lentils in Ghee and Jaggery......... 

... This prized dish is lovingly served to the bulls working hard throughout the year, rain or shine. These farm bulls are farmer's reliable and constant companions. It is not unusual even to hear the farmer lovingly talking and singing to the bull while they are working with them on the farm as if they are talking to a friend. They have a special bond. Even the poorest farmer too gives these treats to Bulls on this day.''...   

.................On the morning of this day, the festivities begin with bringing the Bullock and their carts in a huge open field on the outskirts of the village. Village Headman (Patel) and other big and small chiefs too are present on the field. They sit on the chairs, whereas others are busy in their activities while onlookers either stand or squat and await the unfolding of events, usually a Bullock-Cart Race, or just a bullock Race. Children, curious and full of awe and excitement look at the arrangements and decoration of the make-shift decorated shelter and the decorated bullock carts with farmers in their newly stitched dresses and Safas (head dress).......

......The Bullock-Carts are lined up and on the cue from the Headman, the race begins. The crowd that was simply chatting or singing or playing some music, suddenly gets into a frenzy with cheering, clapping, shouting and running with the carts. The children too join their friends and dads into the same frenzy and the whole atmosphere is filled with joy, excitement and of course a lot of dust from the stomping feet of bulls and people on the field. If it is a rainy day, the shower and liberal spray of mud  can also add to the fun. No one minds shouting, cheering, dust or mud. People just enjoy the fun and games, have some sweets, feed the Bullock and go home cheerful with a well spent day. .....

Nowadays, such races have more or less disappeared and can only be seen in movies......However, these days, in some films, I see that the farmers taking part in such cart races are shown to be dishonest and cheating. But those farmers, I have seen, were honest, loving and as innocent as a small child.......

......After returning home for lunch and some rest, Bulls are taken to meet and greet. They are led to neighbouring farmers' homes, to relatives and friends. At every home the bulls are again given the treats of "Puran-Poli". The occasion is as gracefully celebrated as what we do on Diwali day when we, with our family, visit our friends, relatives and elders. So do these farmers; they take bulls, as their own family members and go to greet the friends, family and elders on "Pola" day....

.....On the next day, it is the turn of Children to celebrate their own "Small-Pola" or "लहान पोळा" also called "तान्हा-पोळा". This day is for little boys. With joy and passion, farmer dads play "Pola" with their children. Before the festival, either they make a bull from wood or mud and place it on wheels. This toy bull is for real as far as the boys go. Is up to about a foot or two in height and can be towed by hand using a rope tied to the toy. Some farmers buy it from the market if unable to make it at home. The toy is fully decorated as if it is a real bull. Children pull the bull and bring them out on a playground for Bull-Race.....It is a great fun to watch these children excitedly pulling the bull. At the cue of their local elder, children would start running with a hand holding the rope pulling the bull behind them, some do it fast, some slow, some stall some toys fall flat, some being dragged, some broken on the way, with ongoing cheering shouting and screaming, even by the onlookers, the race comes to end. Some contestants win and some lose and after a joyful chaos, everyone goes home cheerfully.......Either before or after the toy-bull race, they take their toy-bull, just as what their dads did on the previous day with real bull, to the homes of their friends and neighbours. At every home, the host would treat children with sweets, toffees and other goodies......Thus the children too would have fun and inadvertently begin the journey of love and gratefulness for the farm animals. These are quintessential Hindu way of life that see divinity everywhere........" End of  Quote

Trivia:

1-*Amavasya of Shravan month in Vikram Samvant is the same day as BhadraPada month of Saka Samvant and is same as 2nd September of Gregorian Calendar this 2024. Indeed while the Gregorian date of the Pola festival may vary with the year, the Indian Dates do not change.

2-**After 1947 Indian independence, the states in India were reorganised for better administration on the basis of language. Thereby the province of Central India was subsumed into three newly reorganized states of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

3-***Pola is masculine for Poli-Typical celebratory dish for humans is called "Puran-Poli" (feminine gender) and consider what you need for a huge bull ten times as heavy as a human? - Not a dainty "Poli" the big "Pola" i.e. "Puran-Pola" a masculine gender word!!

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