On Tuesday morning, preparations were in full swing at Alanganallur in the district with people erecting stages, lights and decorations for the annual Kali Amman Temple festival. They were hopeful that ‘jallikattu’ would be permitted this year also, despite the Supreme Court ban.
“ ‘Jallikattu’ is considered sacred as we pray for the health and prosperity of our families and a good year in agriculture during the festival. The collective belief is that our temple festival will not be complete without the ‘jallikattu,’” says D. Balaji, a resident of Alanganallur.
“Preparations for ‘jallikattu’ usually begin after the temple festival and this year we are ready to host the event since we have been planning for it from December on the hope that the ban will be lifted,” he adds.
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K. Selvan, who has been an active participant in ‘jallikattu’ and owns two bulls, says that the event has been taking place every year for over 400 years at Alanganallur.
“ It is believed that postponing or cancelling it will result in outbreak of cholera or other diseases in the village,” he explains. Mr. Balaji further says that the Alanganallur ‘jallikattu’ used to attract the highest number of over 600 bulls in the State and an audience of 20,000 people.
“There is a footfall of more than 60,000 in the village and more than 100 foreign tourists witness the event.”
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The villagers continue to train the bulls in the hope that the ‘jallikattu’ will take place this year as usual. The Jallikattu Peravai planned a protest in Madurai on Wednesday and the Madurai district Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is organising a protest in Alanganallur on January 11, seeking lifting of the ban on the sport.
“Without ‘jallikattu,’ there is no harvest festival or the joy of ‘Pongal’ for us,” concludes R. Govindaraj, who rears two bulls.