BANGALORE: A few yards from Bathery beach in Mangalore, on looking the waters is a picturesque “toddy shop”.
Some chairs strewn here and there and a couple of tables with an elusive waiter do not make for a great drinking place, but this place is not meant to be one too. Besides selling sea food in steel plates and toddy in plastic mugs, the shack acts as a rejuvenation centre for fighter cocks that are hurt during the popular blood sport known as “Korida Katta or Korda Katta (Cockfight)”.
Some of the gamecocks at this shop have severed chests which have been stitched together. They are also tied by the legs. Each one has a separate cage which is big enough for a dog.
In many cases, locals said, one of the cocks dies due to injuries during a fight and some which survive make it to rejuvenation centres like these.
Over a glass of toddy, Jose, a migrant who had settled in Mangalore about two decades back said that the deadly sport in which specially bred roosters (gamecocks) fight between each other is a very important event in the coastal region. Three or four inch long blades (Bal in Tulu) are attached to the rooster’s legs which are made to fight in a cockpit. The sport, according to him, also involves a considerable amount of gambling. High stake games are usually organized within minutes and conducted stealthily without the knowledge of the local authorities. Wagers are often made on the outcome of the match. The winner usually takes the dead cock home which is cooked and eaten.
The fights, according to a young enthusiast who was seizing up a gamecock, intensify during the fiveday event on the occasion of Maripuja of Amnoor Devi — a century old tradition, which is generally practised during summer . It is the custom for Hindus to offer rice, coconut and jaggery to Valavoor Jumma Masid and for Muslims to offer a rooster as a sacrifice to Mariyamma — “A tradition which may wither if the tension between the two communities persists,” he says. “Since there are a lot of protests and there is a ban on the fights, it is not so widespread these days,” he added.
A timely cackle, perhaps a dissent, from a rooster tied next to Jose’s table did not go unnoticed. As the occupants raised their eyebrows in question and geared up to ask more questions to the youth, he finished his mug hastily and left in search of the cashier. “Some other time,” said Jose pointing towards the setting sun which captured our attention.