NE NEWS SERVICE
MADURAI, JAN 16
Injuries did not seem to deter the dauntless tamers at the popular bull taming sport, Jallikattu at Alanganallur here on Saturday.
The young men, unmindful of their injuries, rushed back with renewed vigour into the arena to hold on to the hump of the ferocious bulls to prove their valour.
Besides being conducted at Alanganallur, the bull sport was held in other districts, including Sivaganga in southern Tamil Nadu today, which were witnessed cumulatively by thousands of people.
In such bull taming events, nearly 100 people were injured and at least two spectators were feared dead (in Sivaganga district) after sustaining injuries, local bull sport enthusiasts said.
Not only jallikattu, but ”Manju Virattu”, another popular variant of the sport, was also held in places including Kuilapalayam near Auroville in Villupuram district.
Auroville is noted for the presence of foreigners in the universal township and many from abroad watched the rural sport with excitement. Rural sport like bullock cart races was also held in districts including Pudukottai.
Today is the third day of Jallikattu in Tamil Nadu and the opening event of the current Pongal season was held at Avaniapuram on January 14 and at Palamedu (both in Madurai district) the subsequent day. At Alanganallur, some bulls released into the arena, raced past the bunch of tamers, most of whom were youngsters, with all their ferocity leaving the men dazed and some men even stepped back hastily to evade being gored.
Every time a bull was released, multiple participants attempted to grab the hump on the bull’s back with both hands and hang on and the crowd cheered lustily.
Jallikkattu was flagged off by Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, here which saw more than 400 tamers and 800 bulls participating in the annual event held in connection with the Pongal festival.
Both the CM and his deputy, who were accorded a warm welcome, paid their respects to the Alanganallur temple bull before kick-starting the event.
The tamers and organisers, as well, took an oath not to harm the bulls and be fair in the game. Madurai district collector T Anbalagan was also present. The Chief Minister and the deputy chief minister watched the event nearly for one hour.
Kannan of Viralipatti, who managed to tame about 12 bulls in the Jallikattu, was adjudged the best among tamers and was rewarded with a car.
Breeder Kuruvithurai Santosh’s bull, which displayed impressive strength and agility in evading the tamers, won the first prize – a car for its owner. Karupannan who tamed 9 bulls and Sakthi who tamed 8 bulls emerged as second and third, respectively, and were given 2 cows and a motorcycle, respectively.
Several other prices, including gold coins, motorcycles, bicycles, home appliances and mobile phones, were given away to the tamers and bull owners.
Palaniswami said his government is committed to protecting Jallikattu, the sport of Tamil culture and tradition.
Panneerselvam lauded the Alanganallur Jallikattu and said that jallikattu is a “sign of our tradition.” More than 2,000 policemen under IG Murugan were deployed in Alanganallur. Police used mild force on some bull owners near the bull release point – Vadivasal, when they brought their bulls which were not registered to participate in the event. During the commotion, five bull owners and two policemen sustained injuries.
