The anticipation towards this year’s jallikattu in Alanganallur and Palamedu has been like never before, especially after the mass protests by youngsters across the state to lift the ban on the cultural sport turned out to be a success of sorts.
The above mentioned panchayat towns in Madurai district are buzzing with festive spirit and the bull-tamers and bull-raisers, in particular, are gearing up to showcase their talents in on going events.
We give you an insight on what we can expect from this year’s jallikattu in these two towns, how the bulls have been trained and about the preparations of the participants.
Veeraram, a bull-raiser, says the whole village is finally relieved and that the celebrations have already started. Speaking about his bull and its participation, he says, “Our bulls are generally famous in the whole locality. In fact, we’ve a great reputation as a few bulls of us even featured in Kamal Haasan’s Virumaandi back then. For this particular event, one bull of ours will be participating. We’re sure it will do its best and will make us proud!” Sharing with us about how well his bull has been trained he says, “It is perfectly ready to participate — we’ve trained it for years. I make it a point to take it to vaadi vasal on a daily basis to give it a sense of familiarity. And frequently, I play the sport myself with my bull. It has special attributes — while on the run, it can easily turn and run either side quite seamlessly. Many people wanted to buy it for huge sum, but I wasn’t interested.”
Apart from featuring his bull, Veeraram will also participate as a bull-tamer in the event — “I am a good bull-tamer myself. Fingers crossed, I hope I’ll be able to do well in the event.” The youngster, who also started a Facebook page, ‘Jallikattu-Veeravilaiyaatu’, four years back to create awareness about the sport, feels that one has to dedicate a lot of time to master the act the of the sport. “My father used to teach me techniques as early as I was in class five! But it took me at least ten more years to get the confidence needed. Most of the participants have gurus to know the nuances. Over the years the bull-taming techniques have modified and with the new restrictions, we have devised new modes of taming to be safe and also effective.”
A. Perumal, a participant in jallikattu since late 90s, is set to take part in Palamedu and Alanganallur events. Considered to be a veteran, he sheds light on how one tries to tame a charging bull — “Different breeds have different attributes — we mostly classify them predominantly in three main categories — kuthura maadu (the bull which tries to attack), speed maadu (the bull which has high sprint speed), thavvura maadu (the bull which jumps a lot). There are different techniques, and the decision making has to be inch-perfect, and timing is also very important. Further, we, as participants, form a set of three — one guy stays in front of the bull, the guy who’s in the left, fakes like he is going to catch it and the third one, who is on the right, tries to hold it.”
A resident of Valaiyankulam, Perumal also adds that a participant goes through a fasting of sorts, for a few days before the main event — ranging from praying to god for keeping themselves as clean as possible.
On the other hand, Madhan, who is also a resident of Valaiyankulam, is considered as one of the upcoming stars in this cultural sport. He claims that the protest paved way for many youngsters to take jallikattu seriously. “First, I would like to thank students from all parts of Tamil Nadu — I’ll now be able to step on the track again, only because of them. People are now not only excited to witness the event but many are actually willing to learn the sport and participate. These last two years, I’ve practiced a lot and I’ve also made some modifications in my technique due to the new restrictions. I can’t wait for the event to start,” he says and signs off.
