MADURAI: Injuries to bull tamers and onlookers at the 2012 edition of one of the most-awaited annual Jallikattu events held at Palamedu in Madurai on Maatu Pongal came down by nearly half, compared to the previous year, thanks to heavy supervision by the district administration. The event, where traditional valour and thrill envelops bodily risk and natural fear, saw 12 bull tamers and 27 onlookers sustaining injuries. Of them, seven persons including two tamers were critically injured.Last year, a ferocious bull had gored one person to death and 68 others were injured during Jallikattu held in Palamedu.Those who sustained severe injuries were admitted to the Government Rajaji Hospital in Madurai. The rest were treated as outpatients locally in Palamedu.“In view of the judicial monitoring and guidelines issued by the State Government, we did not want to leave anything to chance. In addition to the 1,500 police personnel deployed, we had also deployed 40 personnel of the Revenue Department across the arena to watch out for any violations and book the offenders,” Madurai Collector U Sagayam said.Madurai Rural Superintendent of Police Asra Garg had instructed policemen to keep a watch on tamers. “Each medically-fit participant was given a unique registration number and t-shirt. We kept a watch to ensure that ill-equipped persons did not jump into the bull ring wearing someone else’s t-shirt,” he said. As and when there was commotion due to straying of bulls into common areas, the police and district administration momentarily halted the event and allowed the event to continue after order was restored.Thousands of people including women, children and foreigners turned up at the Vadivaasal (entry point) to watch the daring young men take on the bulls.At 10 am, five temple bulls were released from Vadivaasal, which, as per the traditional rituals, were allowed to pass the arena while the tamers paid respect to them as they crossed the arena. Within the next few minutes, the audience became charged, as the young tamers attempted to display their valour. For the first half-an-hour, scores of bulls proved their might, charging into the arena without giving tamers a chance to get near them. As the event progressed, tamers slowly gained control over the bulls. BA graduate Sekar managed to tame ‘PR Kaalai,’ a ferocious bull owned by P Rajasekaran, and sprinted to the dais to collect his prize — two silver utilities. “I have brought glory to my village,” he declared as the onlookers cheered and whistled.An excited Eric Randlpia, a journalist from London said, “I don’t see the tamers causing any cruelty to bulls. It is real fun watching brave youngsters.”
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