Pola celebrated with religious fervor

On Monday, the festival of ‘Pola’ was celebrated with zeal and religious fervour across the region. Several programmes were organised at the villages situated in the outskirts of steel city. At Risali, thousands of people gathered to witness the bull race. Matki Phod, slow cycling and several other competitions were also organised. The viewers had a good time in watching different competitions. Member of Parliament Tamradhwaj Sahu, Women and Child Development Minister Ramsheela Sahu, Chhattisgarh State Handicrafts Development Board Chairman Deepak Sahu, former MLA Pratima Sahu, former MLA Balmukund Dewangan and other dignitaries attended the function. They participated in the religious ceremonies and enjoyed the ride on bullock cart.
Addressing the gathering, Tamradhwaj Sahu said that the festival of Pola teaches to love the animals. The objective behind the festive celebrations is to pay respect to the bullocks which help in carrying out agriculture processes. Animals hold significant position in the rural society. The villagers offer great respect to the animals and celebrate many festivals as a mark of tribute, he added.
In the rural areas farmers decorated their bulls, adorned their neck with garlands and finally offered them the special food. During evening hours, enthusiastic processions of all the bulls were taken out in most of the villages. The festival lays emphasis on treating the animals with due respect. It is celebrated mostly in the rural areas but denizens of Steel City who have roots in rural areas too celebrated this festival. They performed all the rituals associated to this festival at their house only. Pola falls on the new moon day of this month. As per the ritual, toy bulls prepared from clay were worshipped. A sweet dish ‘Khurmi’ and a salty dish ‘Tethri’ was offered during worship. Clay toys are the main attraction of this festival.