Pola (festival)

Pola is a thanksgiving festival celebrated by farmers in Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh, to acknowledge the importance of bulls and oxen, who are a crucial part of agriculture and farming activities.

[1] During Pola, farmers don't work their bulls in the farmland and the day is a school holiday in the rural parts of Maharashtra.

The decorated bulls and oxen are walked in procession to the village field accompanied by music and dancing.

This bullock is made to break a toran, a rope of mango leaves stretched between two posts, and is followed by all the other cattle in the village.

[2] On this day in Chhattisgarh, Lodhi Rajputs bring home-made sweets and dishes like thethri, khurmi, chakli to the homes of their sisters and daughters.