COIMBATORE: People have, in recent times, flocked to Chettipalayam to take a look at cars tearing across the Kari Motor Speedway. The sound of engines screaming with all their might drowns anything and everything in the vicinity.
However, it was not engines which screamed on Sunday, people were and they were doing it on the sight of trained bulls ripping the ground after being let loose from vadivasal. The live commentary that is famous for its ardour did not help in drowning the deafening sound either.
For the third time
The suburb in Coimbatore saw jallikattu taking place for the third year in a row. The event was organised by the district administration in association with Coimbatore Jallikatti Sangam. In all, nearly 940 bulls and around 754 tamers from different districts of the State took part in the event.
The event commenced on Sunday morning with Municipal Administration Minister SP Velumani flagging off the first bull from vadivasal in the presence of MLAs, and revenue officials. Isha Foundation Founder Sadhguru was also present during the inaugural ceremony.
"Jallikattu belongs to Tamil people. We should also make the sport safe and adventurous," Sadhguru said while speaking with media persons.
Sources said this was the first time over 400 bulls from western districts took part in the event. The remaining bulls were from southern districts.
Among them were the bulls owned by Health Minister C Vijayabaskar, Revenue Minister R B Udhaya Kumar and Minister of Co-operation Sellur K Raju, apart from that of SP Velumani, which caught the attention of the spectators.
In turns
Around 20,000 spectators were made to watch the sport from the gallery. People were made to watch the spectacle in turns by evacuating the existing audience so that everyone would get a fair chance.
The area was jostling with people who came only to see the bulls getting tamed and the performance of the bulls that were untamable. Mobile eateries and juice shops mushroomed in the vicinity and they were making hay while the event happened.
The untamable
V Dharmaraj from Tiruchy district had come with his bull named 'Tiruchy Bullet'. As the name suggests, he said his bull cannot be tamed by anyone and had participated at more than 20 Jallikattu events.
Whereas, S Sathya (23) from Natham in Madurai said her bull 'Dhuruvan' won the Palamedu jallikattu event held in Madurai recently. "My bull would stay in the arena without moving for some time. It is as if he is teasing the tamers. But, it has not be tamed by anyone," she said.
R Kaviarasu, a grade-I constable from Perambalur said swimming is considered to be the best training that could be offered to the bulls.
On the other hand was P Raja (25) from Palamedu, who said he has tamed over 13 bulls in jallikattu events so far.
"I play kabaddi to be swift. It helps me during jallikattu. We also get trained with the bulls in our town to get the hang of the taming process."
All bull tamers and bulls who won in the event were given two grams of gold coin.
Marina protests to thank for
V Karthikeyan who had come from Karaikudi to witness the event said, "The momentum for conducting jallikattu gained pace in Coimbatore only after the pro-jallikattu protests that happened in Chennai in January 2017. In southern Tamil Nadu, manjuvirattu sport is very famous."
The victors
* Ajay from Alanganallur who tamed 20 bulls came first. He was awarded a car. Similarly, Karthi from Natham who tamed 19 bulls and another Karthik from Madurai who tamed 10 bulls came second and third, respectively. They were given a bike and a moped.
* The bull owned by Rajasekar, the President of Jallikattu Sangam Peravai, won first place in the event. A car was presented to Rajasekar. Meanwhile, the second and third prizes were distributed for the bulls owned by Health Minister C Vijayabaskar, Ayyampati Aandichami Koil and Ayyanarkulam Rakammal Koil.
Apathy
A 26-year-old youth identified as P Subash from Pudukkotai was gored to death after he suffered a stab on his chest while playing in the arena. According to sources, a 28-year-old man from Madurai sustained injuries on his throat and another man in his abdomen. They are being provided with treatment. Sources said that around 30 bull tamers were injured in the event.