Jallikattu uncertain, but youth still undergo regular training

MADURAI: It is still uncertain if the ban on jallikattu will go this year and the much-awaited game be held for Pongal next year, but that is not stopping the youth from flexing their muscles and going for regular training sessions under the guidance of a veteran bull tamer in Madurai.
Thirty-year-old Mudakathan Mani is a passionate trainer who has been voluntarily training youth who come forward to learn the art of bull taming."I am thirty years old and have spent more than 15 years playing jallikattu. It is disheartening to see the so-called animal rights activists speaking ill of this game of valour,'' he said. Mani has been in the jallikattu field since 1995, in his school days, even before the court brought in rules and regulations. His training sessions are free with only passion for the game being the sole criterion to join them.
However, Mani is also grateful to the "anti-jallikattu'' activists. According to him, the sport has moved from being known as a game for illiterate village youth to one being pursued by the educated youth in Tamil Nadu. "The ban has in fact led to the creation of much-needed awareness to protect and save this game,'' he said.
Kasi from SRM University, a state-level badminton player, is a regular trainee at the sessions conducted by Mani. Due to the ban, they do not conduct the session at specific places, but many jallikattu enthusiasts lend them their farms for the session. Some of the places have readily constructed "Vadivasal'' which is the narrow entrance that opens into the jallikattu playing field when the game is conducted. Many of the bull owners also give their bulls, which are also being trained for the games, for the training sessions.
Many of those coming forward for these training sessions are college students who come here during the weekends even though they study elsewhere.
K Karthik, Man .Com student at Madurai Kamaraj University, says that he had first been a mere spectator of the game, but after the ban, he had decided to protect the tradition by learning this. ``It is a game that keeps us fit and has lot of fun and fulfillment,'' he said. Arivu, a student of American College, is another graduate who is showing a lot of passion towards the game. ``We have trained well since 2014 and are ready to enter the arena as soon as the ban is lifted,'' he said.
Mani says that many school students are also showing interest in the game, but they do not train them as they are too small. ``However, they are allowed to come and witness the training session in order to keep their passion high and they are made to do physical exercises like running early in the morning,'' he said.