Bull RUN

Bail Pola unites the villagers— divided on caste lines with people of different occupations like potters and barbers living separately from the predominantly Maratha farmer families— who celebrate as one during the three-day festival. It is that time of the year when caste divisions blur and all who live in the village in Ambegaon Taluk of Pune District join hands for Bail Pola.

As one enters the village,its history of struggle starts unfolding on its badly kept roads in the form of statues of people like that of Hutatma Babu Genu,who had laid down his life by coming under a truck carrying British goods during the country’s resistance against foreign rule.

For the village,the festival is also a time for thanksgiving. The drought this year was not so bad here as it in some other parts of the state. The rains did not completely miss it and canals in the village are flowing with water from the locally built Bimbha Dam to irrigate its vast expanse.

For the families like that of Awates,it is also the time to meet after a long gap. Two sons of BT Awate,a retired bank official,Badal Awate,who works with a private company in Pune and Sawan Awate,who runs a business in the nearby town of Manchar,have come to the village to greet their family members on the festival.

“People who are working outside the village make it a point to come. It is like Diwali for us,” Badal says.

Over the years,even as the village has grown in area,and has even shifted from the traditional cultivation of pearl millets twice a year to tomatoes,sugarcane,onions and maize,the practice of starting the festivities with beating of drums and playing of flute at the local Panchayat office has remained the same.

The drums made of animal skin are heated under a fire and then beaten and people who assemble walk in a procession to the main venue where the bullocks are worshiped. It is on the day of Shravan Amavas of the Hindu calendar that from early morning the village starts teeming with people for the festival. Bullocks with large humps,their horns painted golden and decorated with red ribbons are led by people to the main venue,which is next to the garden dedicated to Baba Genu in which the plaques on the walls trace the history of freedom struggle.

As people begin to dance,the market buzzes with life and small restaurants selling sweetmeats and vada pav,a local snack of bread and potatoes,make quick bucks. Children enjoy rides on the ferris wheel as balloon sellers line up on the roads. “Even as people have now turned to mechanised farming largely using tractors in their fields,bull worship has not stopped,’’ says B T Awate.

Bhalerao Balu,who sells miniature bulls made of clay,is a happy man. Almost everyone in the village buys them from him to be worshiped alongside Gods and Goddesses either at houses or in makeshift temples constructed.

Like any other festival,people visit each other to greet and share meals with their extended family members. Part of the festivities also includes a wrestling match watched by people with great zest outside the local Datta Guru temple.

Locals say that the festival also signifies how the village is dependent on farming for living.

“The enthusiasm here is unmatched as some 90 per cent of people depend on agriculture. I was working in a bank,but farming has stayed on with our family. One of my brothers owns a large piece of land and does farming here,” says B T Awate.

The dependence on agriculture has however also got to do with the lack of industries. Kisanrao S,a local villager says,the industries could not be set up here as the government does not want the area to get polluted.

“Industries could not be set up here as a satellite centre exists at Junnar and the government does not want any pollution in any of the nearby villages. But still this village has all major facilities. We have a junior college,a veterinary hospital and a large health centre,” says Krisanrao.

From Awates to Chaskars and Padwals,everyone joins the festival here and celebrations continue till late into the night. “The festival is celebrated for three days. It is celebrated across the state somewhere on the last day of Shravan month and somewhere on the last day of Badrapad,’’ said Awate.