A report (“Bull owner killed, over 50 hurt in 2 events”), and its accompanying picture (Page 1, January 17), were enough to capture what jallikattu, in Tamil Nadu, is all about.
Incidentally, many of the bull tamers are willing to risk life and limb for a pittance. What troubles and torments the common man is the million-dollar question: is this annual “sport” needed at all? Has anyone so far witnessed a bull caught and pinned to the ground?
On the contrary, the TV camera pans away when a raging bull is seen dragging the poor “catcher”. It is a mystery why the Tamil Nadu government is so stoically silent on the subject.
Mani Natraajan,
Chennai