Madurai: The Jallikattu at Alanganallur in Madurai is world famous as it used to attract tens and hundreds of spectators from all parts of the country and also from abroad.
This Panchayat town in Madurai district of Tamilnadu has been decked up to host the âJallikattuâ (bull taming) event with pomp and pageantry on Monday as part of the Pongal festivities.
The Alanganallur Jallikattu was the last of the events that bring an end to the Pongal festivities after Avuniyapuram and Palamedu, where the bull taming sport was held on 14 and 15 January.
From time immemorial, the third day (16 January) of the Tamil month âThaiâ was usually filled with enthusiasm in Alanganallur, about 20 kms from here as the traditional bravery sport of Tamils â the Jallikattu will be conducted with much fanfare.
The Alanganallur event will be held coinciding with Kaanum Pongal (sight seeing) marking the end of four-day Pongal festival. However, for the first time the event was rescheduled for the fourth day of Thai month (17 January), this year as the Tamilnadu government had imposed a complete lockdown today in an effort to contain the spread of Covid-19.
Though Jallikattu events are held in several rural parts of Tamilnadu every year on Pongal eve, Alanganallur is renowned for the event and it is a centre of attraction, as tens of thousands of people congregate to watch the event.
The Alanganallur Jallikattu also attracts a considerable number of foreign tourists every year. Senior Congress Leader Rahul Gandhi witnessed the Jalliakttu last year.
Interestingly, the alignment of the Jallikattu arena at Alanganallur makes the event more fabulous among other venues in the State.
Speaking on the uniqueness of the Jallikattu arena at Alanganallur, J Sundarrajan, president of the Jallikattu Organising Committee said in almost all the places, the âVaadivasalâ (a narrow entrance through which the bulls were unleashed one by one) was aligned to the arena in such a way that a bull coming out of the entry point has to run straight to the exit point.
But, it is different at Alanganallur, where the bulls have to immediately turn left after being unleashed from the Vaadivasal. This makes most of the bulls pause for a moment and improves the chances of an encounter with the agile youths waiting to tame them.
District Collector Dr S Aneesh Sekhar said the Alanganallur Jallikattu event will be conducted by adhering to the Covid-19 safety norms.
Around 700 bulls and 300 tamers will be permitted to take part in the event after proper scrutiny and medical tests. The bull tamers and owners will be permitted only after they produce a fully vaccinated certificate besides RT-PCR test negative report taken 48 hours before the commencement of the event.
The government also restricted the number of spectators to 150 or 50 per cent of the seating capacity, whichever is less, in view of the spike in Covid cases. The spectators would be allowed after undergoing thermal screening and wearing face masks.