MADURAI
It is a few minutes past noon and a group of young bull tamers is seen cautiously circling Kalaa, a black bull, at a farmland in Kottaimedu village near Alanganallur in Madurai district. Tense moments are witnessed as K. Karthikeyan (26) approaches Kalaa and successfully holds on to its hump for a brief period .
With less than a week left for jallikattu, the popular bull-taming sport held during Pongal, the bull tamers of ‘Jallikattu Training Centre’ have intensified their practice. The Centre, which was started in 2018 after the unprecedented protest against the ban on the rural sport across Tamil Nadu, is training bull tamers and preparing them to enter the arena.
Around 200 bull tamers from Madurai, Tiruchi, Sivaganga and Dindigul districts, who are currently members of this Centre, undergo training at different locations every week.
President of the Centre B. Manikandaprabu, who has been participating in jallikattu events since 1998 and has won several prizes, says the Centre was started to train bull tamers and reduce ‘accidents’ in the arena. “Through this Centre, experienced players teach techniques and share their expertise with young bull tamers. If players know how to approach a running bull and in what position they need to stand in the arena, it will reduce ‘accidents’,” he says.
Since the jallikattu protests of 2017, there is an increasing interest among youngsters to participate in the rural sport, says Mr. Karthikeyan. “Since my young age, I was fascinated by bulls. But, it was only after the protests that I decided that I should become a bull tamer,” he says.
Many educated youth are also showing interest in the sport, says K. Saravanan, a postgraduate in Commerce. “The myth that only uneducated play jallikattu is changing,” he says.
The Centre also wants to create a team of trained bull tamers for the future, says P. Ranjith, its State secretary. “This is a traditional sport of Tamil Nadu and by training youngsters, we can ensure that the legacy is taken forward,” he adds.
