Chennai: It was a day of rivetting action, as the World famous Alanganallur Jallikattu (bull taming sport) was flagged off by Tamil Nadu Youth Welfare and Sports Development Minisrter Udhayanidhi Stalin in Madurai district of Tamil Nadu on Wednesday.
Minister for Environment and Climate Change Siva V.Meyyanathan was also present and they were later joined by film actors Suri and Arun Vijay.
The event began at 8.00 A.M. Reports received here said, more than 150 bulls were released from Vaadivasal in the first two rounds and more than 100 bull tamers took part.
Abhi Siddhar of Sivaganga district, who had bagged the first prize last year, leads the pack by taming eight bulls in the first two rounds so far.
About ten people, including 3 bull tamers and a spectator were injured, while 19 bull tamers and five bulls were disqualified on medical grounds so far.
Mr Udhayanidhi Stalin presented gold rings and gold coins as prizes to the winners. He also presented a gold ring to the owner of a ferocious bull which could not be tamed.
Several other prizes, including bicycles, and other items were also lined up to be given to the winners.
Earlier, as the bulls were released from the vaadivasal into the open arena, enthusiastic tamers flexed their muscles to win over the animals after the Minister flagged off the events in the presence of the Madurai District Collector who administered the traditional
pledge for the fair conduct of the event.
The Alanganallur Jallikattu brought the curtains down on the four-day Pongal festivities in the State.
On Monday Jallikattu was held at Avuniyapuram. The event was held at Palamedu yesterday and at Alanganallur today. All the three were the traditional venues for holding the bull taming sport every year during the harvest festival.
From time immemorial, the traditional rural sport of Jallikattu (taming of bulls), which attracts thousands of people from different parts of the country and also from abroad, is synonymous with the four-day long Festival of harvest– Pongal in Tamil Nadu.
No Pongal Festivities are complete without Jallikattu, being held in southern districts of Tamil Nadu.
For this sport of bravery, a specific breed of cattle is reared and the youths display their courage by taming it.
Every year Alanganallur, Avinayapuram and Palamedu panchayat towns would be tastefully decked up for the annual sport, which symbolises the heroism, valour and courage of the youth. Jallikattu bulls are not used for any agricultural purposes. They are mostly kept as a family tradition or as a status symbol by the owners.
The Jallikattu event has considerable historical significance and is ingrained as part of the cultural tradition of Tamil Nadu as a sport which was popular among warriors since the “Sangam era”.
This tradition is followed till now. It is inextricably linked to rural, agrarian customs and has religious overtones, with families donating bulls to temples in fulfilment of vows.
