For 145 years, Nagpur has marked Tanha Pola by parading ‘evil’ through the old city before burning it. The Marbat procession, rooted in folk belief and surrounded by competing origin stories, has survived from the era of the Bhonsles and British rule to become one of the city’s most distinctive cultural traditions.

This year, however, the centuries-old ritual received an unprecedented civic push. The Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) allocated Rs 2 crore for the festival and sought to position it as part of Nagpur’s cultural heritage for an international audience.

Cricketer Umesh Yadav, actor Jackie Shroff, filmmaker Subhash Ghai and foreign consular representatives, along with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, attended Friday’s procession, according to NMC officials.

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On Friday, towering Kali and Pili Marbat effigies, accompanied by smaller male figures known as Badgyas, wound through the narrow lanes of the old city towards Nehru Putla Square. Crowds chanted, “Ida pida gheun jaa ge Marbat” (take away all evil) and “Rog rai gheun jaa ge Marbat” (take away all diseases).

The procession covers about 6.5 km, after which the effigies are burnt at different locations. Kali Marbat is taken to Harihar Mandir and Pili Marbat to Naik Talao, while other Marbats and Badgyas are burnt near their places of origin.

Rahul Jambhulkar, an IIT Bombay scholar who has completed a doctorate on Marbat, identifies three principal narratives about the festival’s origins. One traces the practice to farmers who, during Pola, burnt clay dolls and Palash branches to ward off insects and evil.

Another connects Kali Marbat to Baka Bai of the Bhonsle dynasty, with the effigy said to represent public anger over her surrender to the British. The figure is also associated with Putana, a demoness from Hindu mythology who attempted to kill Krishna with poisoned milk.

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The third narrative links the festival to resistance under British rule. According to local accounts, the Tarhane Teli community used religious activity to bring people together when the colonial administration restricted public gatherings. Marbat thus became a means of assembling people and building solidarity.

The two principal effigies have their own histories. Kali Marbat, reportedly introduced in 1881, is about 14 feet tall and is made near Nehru Putla Square by the Kali Marbat Utsav Committee. Pili Marbat, introduced in 1885, is about 18-20 feet tall and is made by the Tarhane Teli community in Jagnath Budhwari.

The festival has also retained its more intimate traditions. A small fair grows around Pili Marbat, while women make offerings to the effigy, believing it to be auspicious and capable of granting wishes, said Mandira Neware, who has conducted heritage walks in Nagpur for six years.