IDUKKI: Even as Jallikattu, a traditional festival in Tamil Nadu, made headlines after several were injured while attempting to hold on to a raging bull, a variant of the event organised in Vattavada, Idukki passed off without incidents. Vattavada is the only grama panchayat in the state where the event, which has been embroiled in controversies, is held.
But unlike the Tamil Nadu version, where the bull is released into a crowd and people are encouraged to grab its large hump for awards, the Vattavada version only sees people remain as mere spectators to bulls running amok in a field.
This year, the event was held in three villages of the panchayat - Koviloor, Kottakamboor and Vattavada.
The festival, celebrated as part of Pongal celebrations, falls on Makaram 2 of the Malayalam calendar. While Tamil Nadu holds the event for nearly 3 months (i.e. until Chithirai, the Tamil New Year), Vattavada panchayat organises just two - one on Makaram 2 and another on a date that is mutually decided by the village chiefs.
“This is to allow those bulls who were not part of the Makaram 2 event to participate,” said a resident.
Having a bull or two is part and parcel of the village life here. Earlier, villagers used to travel to Sabarimala temple and back on bullock carts.
Bulls also play an instrumental role in the cultivation of paddy, which forms the bulk of the crops cultivated here. Pongal marks the end of paddy harvesting. In lead up to this, villagers bathe and decorate their bulls to prepare them for the Jallikattu festival.
In yesteryears, Vattavada villagers, like their Tamil Nadu counterparts, too attempted to grab the bull as it ran amok in the field. This was stopped to avoid any legal complications. The second Jallikattu event in Vattavada is slated for next week.