SSC
Which thanksgiving festival is celebrated by farmers in Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh by worshipping their bullocks?
Answer (Detailed Solution Below)View answer ▾Hide ▴
Answer: Option B — Pola
Detailed Solution
Pola is a thanksgiving festival celebrated by farmers in Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and parts of Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka. It is held on the new moon day (Amavasya) of the month of Shravana or Bhadrapada (August-September), and it honours bullocks and oxen, which play a vital role in farming.
For Indian farmers, bullocks are essential for ploughing fields, carrying loads and pulling carts, and Pola is a day to thank them for their hard work. On the day before Pola, the bullocks are given rest and are massaged with turmeric and oil. On the day of Pola, they are not made to work. They are bathed, and their horns are painted and decorated with brass caps, bells, flowers, coloured tassels and garlands. Their bodies are painted with colourful patterns and covered with decorated cloths. The farmers worship the bullocks and feed them special food, such as puran poli and khichdi. In the evening, the decorated bullocks are taken in processions around the village, to the music of drums and band, and gathered at a common place (the "Pola" ground) for worship. Farmers' families celebrate with feasts and festivities. In Chhattisgarh, children play with clay bulls and clay toys, and girls play with small clay kitchen utensils. The day after Pola, called Tanha Pola in the Vidarbha region, is celebrated by children with wooden bulls.
Similar festivals honouring cattle are celebrated in other parts of India, such as Mattu Pongal in Tamil Nadu, Kanuma in Andhra Pradesh, Sohrai among the tribes of Jharkhand, and Govardhan Puja in North India.
Why not the other options?
- ✗Nuakhai is a harvest festival of western Odisha, celebrating the new rice crop.
- ✗Bihu is the main festival of Assam.
- ✗Lohri is the winter harvest festival of Punjab.
Quick tip
Remember: Pola = Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh, bullocks and the new moon of Shravana or Bhadrapada. Mattu Pongal = cattle in Tamil Nadu.
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Festivals & Fairs of India — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Festivals & Fairs of India, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers the religious, harvest, tribal and cultural festivals of India, the fairs (melas) held across the country, and the states, communities and seasons linked to them. It also includes festivals listed by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage, such as Kumbh Mela and Durga Puja in Kolkata. Most questions ask which state celebrates a festival, which tribe it belongs to, or what event it marks. Harvest festivals are especially common: Pongal (Tamil Nadu), Onam (Kerala), Bihu (Assam), Lohri and Baisakhi (Punjab) and Nuakhai (Odisha). Fairs such as the Pushkar camel fair (Rajasthan) and the Sonepur cattle fair (Bihar) are also frequently tested. Revise festivals state by state. Practise the festivals and fairs questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.