Youth attempting to tame a bull during the `jallikattu' at Alanganallur in Madurai on Wednesday.

MADURAI

JAN.16.2002

The youth could not rise up to the agility of the bulls at the Alanganallur `jallikattu' and turned the event into a major disappointment, here today.

Though the number of participating bulls from villages in the neighbouring districts of Tiruchi, Pudukottai, Theni and Dindigul, put at over 400, was more than that of the previous years, the standard of the Alanganallur event, showcased as a major Pongal festivity in the district, deteriorated further this year.

Softening of the parameters adopted by the evaluators, for identifying the tamers and absence of a level playing field, left the ferocity of the bulls untested on the ground. Youths, hesitating to take the bulls by their horns, resorted to beating and throwing mud on the face of the hapless animals, making them flee the arena.

Barring about 200 injury cases, no casualty was reported. The injured were admitted to the Government Rajaji hospital and also to hospitals in Vadipatti and Alanganallur. However, there was less scope for grievous injuries since the victors were those who could cling themselves on to the hump of the bull, for about 20 yards from close to the `vadi vasal', the starting point.

Even the injuries were caused more due to jostling for space at the time when the harried bulls, attempting to free themselves, rummaged their way through the crowd, instead of running around the arena, as signified by the nomenclature of the event.

It was in stark contrast to the `jallikattu' at the nearby Palamedu and elsewhere in the district, where the youths had to face a `do or die' situation to tame the bulls.

Even the animals were not spared from the ambit of commercialisation. Numerous bulls had the emblem of a major soft drinks company, which also sponsored numerous prizes, stamped on their bodies. The prizes comprised articles of rural importance such as lamps, vessels, gold and silver coins.

A recurring feature of the event, organised by the Muniyandi Temple Trust, is the trouble faced by foreign tourists owing to limited capacity. The galleries were packed beyond their capacity, causing inconvenience.

Many tourists complained that the gallery specified for them, lacked basic facilities, besides being small.

Several injured

About 225 persons were injured, 14 of them seriously, in a `Jallikattu' (taming of the bulls) event organised in various villages in the district here today.

At the `Konar Jallikattu' at Iyyampalayam, near Batlagundu, 205 persons were injured. About 220 bulls from Dindigul, Usilampatti, Sedapatti, Madurai, Tirumangalam, Nilakottai and Pallapatti took part. About 20 persons received injuries at Periakaliambuthur near Neikarapatti in Palani Taluk.