Farmers celebrate Pola amidst showers

NASHIK: The harvest festival of Pola brought both cheers and showers for the farmers as they worshipped the bulls, their companions both in good and bad times, amid heavy showers in the suburbs of Nashik, which received 54 mm rain on Saturday.
“This year, the farmers were under pressure because of the drought-like situation in state. The usual enthusiasm was missing during preparations for Pola.But the rain in the fag end of monsoon brought cheers for the farmers,” said R N Jadhav, the assistant secretary of the Sinnar Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC), where a grand gathering was hosted for the farmers.
“From here, most of the bulls will be taken to their owner’s houses for worship. Afterwards, farm-labourers will take them to other houses and farms,” Jadhav added. Apart from Sinnar, villages in Nashik suburbs including Pimpalgaon, Chandshiv, Vani witnessed the similar celebrations on Saturday.
“We may use tractors and thresher machines, but the importance of bulls remains intact for us,” said Sachin Shinde, a young farmer from Sinnar. In an innovative gesture, Sachin and his elder brother Satish worshipped the tractor and the thresher machine along with bulls at their home in a village near Sinnar.
In Nashik, the festivities were dominated by the Kumbh Mela spirit. “Nashik also hosts big gatherings of farmers and bulls. However, due to Kumbh Mela, farmers must have avoided the city rush this year,” said Yashvant Fulkar, a senior citizen from Panchwati. The next day of Pola is celebrated as ‘Tanha Pola’, during which wooden bulls are worshipped by families.