Pongal, the harvest festival of Tamil Nadu is also the time for Jallikattu – the traditional bull fight that takes place in Madurai, Tiruchirapalli and Tanjore. Of these the spectacle at Alanganallur, near Madurai, is the most talked about simply because it is the most ferocious.

Somehow, there’s so much raw energy in the air at the time of Jallikattu. Even a casual visitor can feel the vibes and horror. Whole villages come to a stand-still at the time of this traditional bull fight. It is considered ‘veera velayattu’, the game of the brave and indeed the game does take immense bravery – to tame a wild bull called the ‘Jallikatu Kalai’.

The game involves taming the bull, by locking its horns and getting it to stand still for a short while. The person, who does so, gets the purse or whatever gift the brave one is destined to receive.

Today, there is a huge hue and cry to ban this traditional sport that animal rights activists have branded a vile blood sport. True, not only do the bulls that enter the Jallikattu ring suffer a blood bath, some of the participants, often little children do end up in hospital and often in the morgue. So they say there’s no reason why the sport should be banned forthwith.

What is your opinion? Vote here to RUN or BAN – http://www.jallikatu.com

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