MADURAI: Avaniyapuram, Madurai’s one of the three famous venues for jallikattu, hosted the pastoral sport after a gap of two years on Sunday. With hundreds of bulls and players coming face to face for a game that tests their agility, the sporting arena bounced back bringing its past glory to the present.
As is the ritual, at about 7.30 am, four temple bulls were taken on a procession and brought through the vaadivasal after poojas were performed at the local temple. The players waiting with all enthusiasm to play the sport touched the temple bulls in all reverence and offered prayers. Of the 1,257 players registered for the event, 717 turned up to undergo medical examination. As regards bulls, 919 were registered of which 626 showed up. As many as 52 bulls were rejected on medical grounds.
For the first time ever, Collector K Veera Raghava Rao administered oath to the players who vowed to play the sport safe without harming themselves and the bulls. Then, State revenue minister R B Udayakumar flagged off the event in the presence of Commissioner of Police Shailesh Kumar Yadav and Corporation Commissioner Sandeep Nanduri at 8 am.
With the massive agitations held across State recently to lift the ban on jallikattu triggering the interest in common public to watch the sport, a large number of people from across the state gathered in Avaniyapuram amid tight police security.
As players, clad in uniform with registration number imprinted on the back of their yellow tee, rolled up their sleeves to embrace the hump of the first bull let through the vaadivasal, the crowd welcomed it with loud cheers. To give opportunity for all eligible players, they were let into the arena in batches. Every single batch comprising 150 men was given a duration of one and a half hours to stay in the field.
Among the many bulls, a large white bull was the cynosure of all eyes. It stayed on the ground for nearly 10 minutes as if asking the players to dare to touch it. The sport drew to a close at 4 pm, even as several bulls were waiting to enter vaadivasal.
Official sources put the number of people hurt at 74 of which 18 were grievously injured and are undergoing treatment at Government Rajaji Hospital and a private hospital. The condition of three men is said to be critical. One bull sustained minor injuries when it dashed against another while being released through the vaadivasal.