MADURAI: Gold coins were showered as rewards throughout the seven rounds of Palamedu Jallikattu (bull-taming sport) this year, signaling the changes the sport is undergoing, including attracting more sponsors from across the state.
Home appliances, cash prizes, mobile phones, and bicycles were some of the rewards the participants took home. Moreover, unlike any other jallikattu event held before, gold coins were distributed to the winners throughout the game.
S Prabakarn (21) from Podhumbu, bagged the Best Tamer award. He took home a motorcycle sponsored by DMK Youth Wing Secretary and MLA Udhyanidhi Stalin. Prabakaran took to the field in round 4 and endured till round 7 taming 21 bulls in all.
Notably, Prabakaran had won first place in 2020 and second place in 2021. M Karthik Raja, who won second place by taming 11 bulls, was given an LED TV. Sivaganga Puliyur Sooravali bull won the best bull award and a car from the Chief Minister MK Stalin was awarded to the bull owner. The bull of one, Prakash from Melamadai, bagged the second prize along with a native breed cow and a male calf.
M Karthik Raja, won second place by taming 11 bulls. He took home an LED TV. Sivaganga Puliyur Sooravali bull won the best bull award and a car from the Chief Minister MK Stalin was awarded to the bull owner. The bull of one, Prakash from Melamadai, bagged the second prize along with a native breed cow and a male calf.
While addressing the media persons, Prabakaran urged the State government to provide a government job for the best bull tamers. "I have been making this request for the past two years. Many people think that this is a sport played by jobless people. It is not so. I work as a driver now and I request the Chief Minister MK Stalin to consider giving government jobs as an acknowledgment to the winners and to encourage many youngsters to take part in the sport," said Prabakaran.
Being the first Pongal celebrations accompanied by jallikattu events held after DMK came to power, most of the gold coins distributed to the winners were sponsored by DMK functionaries, particularly, Minister for Commercial Taxes and Registration, P Moorthy.
The Palamedu event was flagged off by Moorthy and Finance Minister PTR Palanivel Thiagarajan in the presence of District Collector S Aneesh Sekhar. Administered by the collector, an oath was taken by the tamers to not hurt the bull or the fellow tamers. Madurai MP Su Venkatesan also attended the event during the later part of the day.
As many as 704 bulls and 300 tamers took part in the event after proper scrutiny and medical tests. Seven rounds, each lasting around one hour, were held between 7.50 am and 5 pm.
The tamers and bulls were selected through randomisation and were issued a slip containing a QR code. Around 40 tamers, who have taken double doses of vaccination and have COVID negative certificate, were permitted for each round. While the same rule applies for the bull owners, they were permitted to bring only one helper.
Tensions prevailed at the beginning of round one of the event, as there was no adherence to the guidelines. Things were brought under control following a warning from Moorthy. Even then, the police personnel and the officials faced a huge challenge in making the crowd comply with the Covid norms. Many spectators failed to wear masks or maintain physical distance, despite multiple warnings from the Collector. Adding to the woes, the locals also climbed in groups to the rooftops of the nearby houses and overhead tanks making it impossible for the officials to control them.
Following the flag off, the temple bulls were first released into the arena, which was followed by the competitive bulls. A tamer, named Moorthy, who tamed the first competitive bull, was rewarded with a four gram gold coin sponsored by Minister for School Education, Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi. The bulls of schoolgirls, Annalakshmi and Nilayur Nisha, which enthralled the crowd with a majestic entrance through the vadivasal, stole the heart of the spectators.
Two tamers, namely Ramachandran from Mooduvarpatti and Tamil Arasan from Chinnapatti, were in the second and third positions by the end of round 5 by taming eight and five bulls respectively, were disqualified as they were found to be involved in impersonation. While Ramachandran wore the t-shirt registered under the name of Chakravarthi, Tamil Arasan wore the t-shirt registered in the name of Karthi. When they were among the top three positions halfway through the event, the revenue officials verified their documents, during which the impersonation was revealed. Upon inquiry led by Minister Moorthy, revenue officials and the police personnel, the two tamers were declared disqualified. Minister Moorthy said that they were also banned from taking part in jallikattu events in the future.
Including two police personnel, 36 persons were injured during the event and are undergoing treatment. Speaking to reporters, Minister Moorthy said that all the registered bulls were unleashed within the given time and the digital token system introduced by the DMK government prevented malpractices.