Plough and oxen worship in Mithilanchal today

Jaleshwar, Jan 26  :  Farmers across the entire Mithilanchal region, including in Mahottari, are worshipping the plough and oxen on the occasion of Basanta Panchami festival today. 

   
The farmers consider this day as 'Pindhidar Pindhi'and the beginning of the agricultural works and observe the ritual of offering worship to the plough and the oxen early in the morning.    

On this day, the farmers daub the house yard with cow dung paste and place the plough at the centre of the courtyard. The plough is worshiped by offering garlands, grains of rice, red vermillion and sweets, said Ram Babu Chaudhary, a farmer of Jaleshwar Municipality-8.    

Similarly, the oxen are given a bath and colourful threads and garlands tied around its neck as part of the ritual. After the worship, the field is ploughed. Today is considered an auspicious occasion to employ the newly-initiated and bought oxen to plough the field, according to Ganesh Saha of Jaleshwar-6.    

Farmers also sharpen the shear of the plough, burnish the spade and other agricultural implements as sickle and rake as part of the Pindhidar Pindi.

They prepare a delicacy from the Arawa rice mixed with molasses and distribute it amongst the family members and community. They also smear red vermillion on each other's face in celebration.    

Farmers in the Mithilanchal consider cultivation started from today, the day of Shree Panchami and start ploughing their fallow fields.    

One can observe a line of farmers carrying plough on their shoulders and accompanied by scores of oxen going to the fields together in every village in the Mithilanchal today.   

 
Kisun Bichchha, a farmer of Jaleshwar-11, says although tractors and power tillers are making in-roads these days for ploughing the fields, in some cases ploughing the field using oxen and traditional plough is handy and practical, especially when the fields are narrow and irregular in shape. (RSS)