It was an intense face-off at the Avaniyapuram arena in Madurai on Monday morning as more than 800 charging bulls and 400 spirited youngsters went head-to-head in the start of jallikattu season, a highlight of Pongal celebrations.
At the Palamedu arena, also in Madurai, the game of taming began at 7.30am on Tuesday when the bulls were let out of the ‘vaadivasal’.About 840 bulls were released in 10 rounds with 485 bull tamers in the fray. The bulls released by ‘veeramangai’ (brave women) owners caught the eye of the audience. The bull ‘Rocket Chinna Karuppu’, owned by Maruthupandi of Pudukottai won top honours including a car sponsored by TN CM M K Stalin. In Trichy, the bull-taming kicked off at Periya Sooriyur on Tuesday morning with 358 tamers attempting to tame 678 bulls.
At the Palamedu arena, also in Madurai, the game of taming began at 7.30am on Tuesday when the bulls were let out of the ‘vaadivasal’.About 840 bulls were released in 10 rounds with 485 bull tamers in the fray. The bulls released by ‘veeramangai’ (brave women) owners caught the eye of the audience. The bull ‘Rocket Chinna Karuppu’, owned by Maruthupandi of Pudukottai won top honours including a car sponsored by TN CM M K Stalin. In Trichy, the bull-taming kicked off at Periya Sooriyur on Tuesday morning with 358 tamers attempting to tame 678 bulls.
The competition everywhere was fierce, with bull owners and tamers vying for prizes that ranged from gold coins and clothing to bicycles and furniture. At Avaniyapuram, after 10 rounds, Karthik won the season’s top prize for taming 17 bulls. He and bull owner G R Karthik were given cars sponsored by TN sports minister Udhayanidhi Stalin. The grand spectacle, witnessed by more than 3,000 people at each venue, had its share of challenges.
A bull in Madurai and another in Trichy suffered fractures. About 156 people including tamers and spectators were injured in Madurai, four reported as severe.
In Trichy, the event left 25 bull tamers, 23 spectators, 24 bull owners and a police sub-inspector injured.