Chittoor hosts Pasuvula Panduga(Jallikattu)

CHITTOOR : With the collective support and encouragement from thousands of people and politicos in few villages of Chittoor, the Goppa Mylaru Panduga or Pasuvula Panduga (Jallikattu) was held amid fanfare on the occasion of Sankranti festival.

Usually, the pasuvula panduga is celebrated on Kanuma, the third day of Sankranti festival. However, this time it began a week before Sankranti  in Kuppam constituency. Kunepalli, Vepurimittapalle, Kondkindapalle and Nemiliguntapalle villages have already hosted bull-races, amid several people ending up with injuries in an attempt to tame the bull.    

Despite the ban, on one side the organisers with their social and political influence are still conducting the festival, while on the other side the police are taking strict measures to enforce the ban.

It may be noted that the Jallikattu is an age-old traditional sport where people show their strength and prowess by taming a bull. This sport is more popular in Tamil Nadu. Bordering Tamil Nadu, Chittor also adopted this challenging sport. However, there is a difference between the Jallikattu in Tamil Nadu and the Pasuvula Panduga in Chittoor district where it is in vogue since the past 150 years. But the Pasuvula Panduga is now being held on a par with Jallikattu at several villages in this district.

“All precautionary measures were taken for conducting the sport. Barricades arranged and volunteers were deployed as part of safety measures to control the crowd,” said the event organiser. Irrespective of ages-people from all walks of life are expected to catch hold of the rushing bulls and snatch the trophies tied to their horns even while sustaining injuries in the process.

Meanwhile, Anantapur range DIG M Ravi Prakash issued instructions to all police belonging to districts under Anantapur range to keep a strict vigil to prevent Jallikattu, cockfighting, and gambling from occurring. He asked all DSPs to remain vigilant and continue monitoring the situation in their respective jurisdictions and arrange pickets in areas where the blood sports take place. The cattle festival organised last year in villages in Chandragiri, Kuppam, Palamaner areas ended up with nearly 30 people injured.

Not so simple as it sounds
The rules are simple, an enormous bull is released into a group of contenders, where the contenders will attempt to tame the bull by grabbing hold of the large hump on it’s back. While holding the hump, the contenders should remove the flags tied to the horns of beast. The winner is decided based on maximum number of flags a team attains.