Bail Pola 2020: Here’s All You Need to Know About the Festival and How it is Celebrated

Oxen and bulls play an important part in the life of farmers. To thank these animals and to celebrate their hard work, the farmers across Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka celebrate the festival of Bail Pola. The festival of Bail Pola is usually marked after the monsoon sowing and field work, which falls between late August and early September. This year, the festival will be celebrated on Tuesday, August 18.

In some parts of MP and Chhattisgarh, the day is also celebrated as Pola Amavasya. It falls on the day of the Pithori Amavasya (the new moon day) in the month of Shravana/ Bhadrapada (usually in August).

To celebrate the day, people thank and acknowledge the importance of bulls and oxen in their agricultural and farming activities. They decorate these animals with beautiful designs and ornaments. The pampering starts a day or two in advance. The bulls are given a proper bath, their horns are colored, their ropes are changes and they are adorned with new bells.

On this day, farmers do not work and give rest to their bulls and oxen. Women carve out beautiful rangolis in front of their houses, tie toran (decorative thread) on top of doors, prepare puja thalis and worship the farm animals.

Members of the farmer family also take blessings of bulls and oxen by touching their feet. These animals are then served different kind of grains before performing their aarti.