Nagpur children carry wooden bulls door to door for Tanha Pola
In Nagpur, children decorate small wooden bulls and take them house to house on Tanha Pola, collecting money, chocolates and sweets in return.
Nagpur's Tanha Pola is not just a festival for children, it is a tradition in which wooden bulls, groups of children and money and chocolates given at every home come together to create a distinct picture of childhood. On the day of Pola, children decorate their wooden bull and carry it from house to house, where it is worshipped, and in return the children receive money, chocolate or sweets. Even today, this tradition keeps alive Nagpur's cultural identity.
On the day of Pola, if groups of children suddenly appear in any lane of Nagpur carrying colourful wooden bulls in their hands, with excitement on every face, it means Tanha Pola has arrived. On this day, a small wooden bull is no less than an expensive toy for children. From decorating it to carrying it from house to house, children carry out every ritual with great enthusiasm.
Preparations begin before Tanha Pola itself. The wooden bull is painted, its horns are decorated, and it is made attractive using flowers, cloth or coloured material. The more beautiful the bull looks, the greater the child's excitement. Then comes the moment the children eagerly wait for: stepping out of the house with the decorated bull.
The most special part of Tanha Pola is carrying the bull from house to house. Groups of children take their wooden bull to neighbouring homes, where it is worshipped. The elders of the house bless the children and happily give them money, chocolate or sweets.
A coin in hand becomes a reason for joy for one child, while for another, the sight of chocolate brings a smile. Often, the children's real happiness lies in how much praise their bull received.
In Maharashtra's Pola festival, farmers bathe and decorate their bullocks and worship them. This festival, which expresses respect for the contribution of bullocks in farming, is an important part of agricultural culture. Tanha Pola brings this same tradition into the world of children. In place of real bullocks, there are wooden bulls here, but the sentiment remains the same: decorating one's bull, having it worshipped and honouring it.
Today, children's world of entertainment has changed completely. Amid the crowd of mobiles, video games and digital toys, a simple wooden bull might seem like a very small toy, but on the day of Tanha Pola, its importance is different.
Children do not see it merely as a toy. Attached to it is the joy of stepping out of the house, the excitement of moving around with friends, and the expectation of the affection received at every home. This is why, even after modernisation, the tradition of Tanha Pola has retained its shine.
The beauty of Tanha Pola lies in the fact that this tradition is not taught in any book here. Children live it while playing. The wooden bull is in their hands, the lanes are their path, and the affection received at every home is this tradition's most beautiful gift.
Over time, farming has changed, modern machines have taken the place of bullocks, and children's toys too have changed. But Nagpur city's Tanha Pola still says, with the same innocence, that a tradition may be old, but it never grows old alongside the excitement of childhood.
