It would not be an exaggeration if one says all roads in the city ended in L&T highway, Chettipalayam on Sunday. The galleries were packed to the rafters at the Jallikattu enviornment in the city as over 450 bulls and 350 tamers from 17 districts entertained thousands of Coimbatoreans via showing their bravery. Coimbatore skilled Jallikattu for the second one time in historical past as the first one was held 39 years back in 1979. But, It was a primary time for lots of the viewers in the enviornment.
R Suresh a bull proprietor from Dindigul says, "This is the first time for me in Coimbatore and the arena is amazing, I've never seen such a huge arena in my lifetime. I have brought three bulls, two are mine and one is my town's temple bull. Since I have brought my bull, I won't be taming other bulls, I'll just enjoy others taming it this time."
A 25-year-old P Raja from Madurai who had brought 5 bulls says, "This is just fantastic, I think this is better than Alanganallur and Palamedu, it is just incredible to see such a beautiful arena with all facilities. I will also be taming the bulls, if my bull comes when I'm in the middle I go aside so others get an opportunity to tame. They divide us into different batches and send us in batch by batch, the tamers who have tamed more than 2 bulls will be retained for the next batch and eventually a tamer who has done really well will be awarded big, it has been just two years since this batch rules have come. Initially we could stand the whole day and tame. They have framed a lot of rules and officials are extremely strict these days, so we are also careful while taming the bull, 21 to 40 is the age bar."
Another teenager Anbu A from Madurai stocks pronouncing, "I never expected it to be this good, given that they are organising it after such a long time. The safety precautions, bull collection point, emergency exits and the token system, the arrangements are incredible. There is token system in other places too, but I have not seen it being implemented this well. We'd all be confused and fighting to send our bulls first, here they have made the job easy for us. The quality of the event is good because so many amazing bulls have come from various districts like Trichy, Theni, Sivagangai, Pudukottai, Madurai, Tanjaore, Salem and Ramanathapuram."
Talking about how they care for the bull prior to the tournaments Dhaya T from Kumaramangalam says, "We feed the bull cotton seeds, Kuchi punnaku, milk and eggs, we'll mix the eggs in the milk or sometimes the bull eats it raw too. We make sure it walks a minimum of five kilometres a day so that it is completely fit. Swimming is vital, we make the bull swim for a few hours every day, it increases the stamina and it will grow broad and strong, this practise also doesn't tire the bull when it has to travel for long hours for tournaments and compete immediately after travelling. We don't feed the bull after it is decorated for taming, because it won't eat. Though there is a mandatory medical treatment before we take the bull to Jallikattu, there will be veterinary doctors standing before vaadi vaasal to check the condition of the bull. The bull's nose has to sweat nicely and the sweat should keep dripping down, only then you know it is fit. You can also find out by seeing the dung."
Explaining the variation between two varieties of bulls Prasath G (26) from Pudukottai says, "There are two kind of bulls, one which runs fast to reach the 15 metres mark and the other bull which is more ferocious (suthu maadu), this won't run but will look to attack the tamers as soon as it enters the arena, such bulls are difficult to tame. You can spot the difference in the bulls when they are young. There are a few bulls which are naturally ferocious, we pick and train such bulls. We train the bulls by taking it to local tournaments in our locality."
Geethu V, a spectator was ecstatic via the ambience in the enviornment, "This is the first time I am watching the bull-taming event and it is great to see the tamers and bulls entertaining the crowd. I am from Bengaluru and I have come here to my aunt's place, when I was in the city last year at the same time, there were huge protests going on in demand of Jallikattu, so I go to know about the sport. This time when I am here its up and running, it is great to see the sport, the effort of public has not been wasted."
S Balu who had brought his youngsters to watch Jallikattu says, "I am so happy to see the sport garnering so much support, Look at the crowd, it is huge and they are enjoying it, I think if it continues our culture will be preserved and that's why I brought my children to watch the sport. It has been organised really well and I can't spot any flaws, overall it's a fabulous experience."
Tamil Selvan R from Ichanari stocks, "I am proud that Coimbatore could host Jallikattu, it's a great experience. I think the transport facilities could have been better so people could have reached the venue without any trouble. The galleries are jam packed, if they build a bigger one next time, it would give an opportunity for others to witness the sport as well."
Peter Adams from England was observed playing the sport from the gallery, "I am here for a business trip and my colleague informed me about the event and explained the history and significance of the sport, so I wanted to watch it. It's great, quite a new experience to me. It's good entertainment for the crowd, going by the crowd and I think they are enjoying every bit of it. It is an adventurous sport and seems safe enough to me."
A unique bondage:
Coimbatore Jallikattu noticed an extremely unique dating between a bull and a male goat from Pudukottai. Nallathambi T (45) is a happy guy narrating the fascinating story about his bull and male goat. "I've never seen any goat having such a strong relationship with a bull, these both won't go apart at any given time. I have been raising the bull for three years and the goat was born two years ago. Since its birth they have been together. They go together to graze, they play together and literally do everything together. I've not seen them not eating together. The goat is so protective of the bull and never lets strangers even look at it for longer time. While entering the vaadi vaasal, I take the goat in front and place it on the floor, as soon as the bull enters the arena it runs to it and stays close by it. Tamers, public and officials, all have been taken by surprise by the act of the goat. Even if the bull gets caught by tamers in the arena, it stays close by it and has never been afraid of people or the atmosphere in the arena."
R Suresh a bull proprietor from Dindigul says, "This is the first time for me in Coimbatore and the arena is amazing, I've never seen such a huge arena in my lifetime. I have brought three bulls, two are mine and one is my town's temple bull. Since I have brought my bull, I won't be taming other bulls, I'll just enjoy others taming it this time."
A 25-year-old P Raja from Madurai who had brought 5 bulls says, "This is just fantastic, I think this is better than Alanganallur and Palamedu, it is just incredible to see such a beautiful arena with all facilities. I will also be taming the bulls, if my bull comes when I'm in the middle I go aside so others get an opportunity to tame. They divide us into different batches and send us in batch by batch, the tamers who have tamed more than 2 bulls will be retained for the next batch and eventually a tamer who has done really well will be awarded big, it has been just two years since this batch rules have come. Initially we could stand the whole day and tame. They have framed a lot of rules and officials are extremely strict these days, so we are also careful while taming the bull, 21 to 40 is the age bar."
Another teenager Anbu A from Madurai stocks pronouncing, "I never expected it to be this good, given that they are organising it after such a long time. The safety precautions, bull collection point, emergency exits and the token system, the arrangements are incredible. There is token system in other places too, but I have not seen it being implemented this well. We'd all be confused and fighting to send our bulls first, here they have made the job easy for us. The quality of the event is good because so many amazing bulls have come from various districts like Trichy, Theni, Sivagangai, Pudukottai, Madurai, Tanjaore, Salem and Ramanathapuram."
Talking about how they care for the bull prior to the tournaments Dhaya T from Kumaramangalam says, "We feed the bull cotton seeds, Kuchi punnaku, milk and eggs, we'll mix the eggs in the milk or sometimes the bull eats it raw too. We make sure it walks a minimum of five kilometres a day so that it is completely fit. Swimming is vital, we make the bull swim for a few hours every day, it increases the stamina and it will grow broad and strong, this practise also doesn't tire the bull when it has to travel for long hours for tournaments and compete immediately after travelling. We don't feed the bull after it is decorated for taming, because it won't eat. Though there is a mandatory medical treatment before we take the bull to Jallikattu, there will be veterinary doctors standing before vaadi vaasal to check the condition of the bull. The bull's nose has to sweat nicely and the sweat should keep dripping down, only then you know it is fit. You can also find out by seeing the dung."
Explaining the variation between two varieties of bulls Prasath G (26) from Pudukottai says, "There are two kind of bulls, one which runs fast to reach the 15 metres mark and the other bull which is more ferocious (suthu maadu), this won't run but will look to attack the tamers as soon as it enters the arena, such bulls are difficult to tame. You can spot the difference in the bulls when they are young. There are a few bulls which are naturally ferocious, we pick and train such bulls. We train the bulls by taking it to local tournaments in our locality."
Geethu V, a spectator was ecstatic via the ambience in the enviornment, "This is the first time I am watching the bull-taming event and it is great to see the tamers and bulls entertaining the crowd. I am from Bengaluru and I have come here to my aunt's place, when I was in the city last year at the same time, there were huge protests going on in demand of Jallikattu, so I go to know about the sport. This time when I am here its up and running, it is great to see the sport, the effort of public has not been wasted."
S Balu who had brought his youngsters to watch Jallikattu says, "I am so happy to see the sport garnering so much support, Look at the crowd, it is huge and they are enjoying it, I think if it continues our culture will be preserved and that's why I brought my children to watch the sport. It has been organised really well and I can't spot any flaws, overall it's a fabulous experience."
Tamil Selvan R from Ichanari stocks, "I am proud that Coimbatore could host Jallikattu, it's a great experience. I think the transport facilities could have been better so people could have reached the venue without any trouble. The galleries are jam packed, if they build a bigger one next time, it would give an opportunity for others to witness the sport as well."
Peter Adams from England was observed playing the sport from the gallery, "I am here for a business trip and my colleague informed me about the event and explained the history and significance of the sport, so I wanted to watch it. It's great, quite a new experience to me. It's good entertainment for the crowd, going by the crowd and I think they are enjoying every bit of it. It is an adventurous sport and seems safe enough to me."
A unique bondage:
Coimbatore Jallikattu noticed an extremely unique dating between a bull and a male goat from Pudukottai. Nallathambi T (45) is a happy guy narrating the fascinating story about his bull and male goat. "I've never seen any goat having such a strong relationship with a bull, these both won't go apart at any given time. I have been raising the bull for three years and the goat was born two years ago. Since its birth they have been together. They go together to graze, they play together and literally do everything together. I've not seen them not eating together. The goat is so protective of the bull and never lets strangers even look at it for longer time. While entering the vaadi vaasal, I take the goat in front and place it on the floor, as soon as the bull enters the arena it runs to it and stays close by it. Tamers, public and officials, all have been taken by surprise by the act of the goat. Even if the bull gets caught by tamers in the arena, it stays close by it and has never been afraid of people or the atmosphere in the arena."
Welcome back, Jallikattu
![Welcome back, Jallikattu]()
Reviewed by Kailash
on
February 02, 2018
Rating:
