Here is wishing everyone who makes an effort to read my rantings, a very happy POLA!
Also known as Bail Pola, this is a majorly agrarian festival of Maharashtra, which falls on the Pithroti Amavasya of the Shravan month every year. For 2011, this was August 28. It is a day to worship and show gratitude to the Bullock and the Ox, for working hard in the fields everyday, and so, they are decorated with colorful drapes and beads, with their horns painted bright, and taken to the temple, in pairs. Women of the house, do arati, and families thank them for toiling so hard in the fields for their sustenance, and for bringing 'Khushali' and 'Samriddhi' to them!
There are also celebrations in each village where the bullocks and oxen are gathered together at a common place and also frequently compete with each other for various prizes.
Pola, for me is another colorful and unique piece of the vibrant mosaic that our country is, and even though the entire celebration was exhilarating, the high point for my first Pola remained the yummy eats prepared by my landlady which made this festival truly memorable for me.
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