Pongal, Jallikattu and a few ramblings!
I returned to my phone from my Pongal ritual. Trying to get up early, dressed up, walking across "Kappu Kattu and punched Mango leaves" adorning all the curtains and doors to reach the grandeur place with early sunrise that sheds a bit of light to the place where mom sets up the Pongal - this is special and been with me all the growing up ages. After Pongalo Pongal happened, the once super-busy Dad gets to his TV room, Mom to her kitchen- and me left with what exactly to do (very much always!). Next day "The Maatu Pongal" would be celebrated in farms- life in outdoors with cat and herds! That’s all it!
 I have never been exposed to anything beyond (nor someone who's at late 20s who lived a partly-urban life) and I'm happy with it. A few edition as a visitor to Sevakattu near Koyiloor in Karur, a chicken version of Bullfight was quite daunting. Honestly Jallikattu is something that's always on the news for all reasons. But this year, unlike ever, there's a wave. A pop music director composes a song for it, WhatsApp Profile Pictures, Masculine machos mushed up and updating their Instagram feeds, Twitter rages between pros and antis... the list goes on! I even had a personal invite from a good friend who setup a rally at Coimbatore with those cool and bullied Tees that were hashtaged SaveJallikattu. Not to mention Politicians, they always master at show business.
 So what’s my stand... or perhaps, the right stand? Well, let's take a step back and decide.
Today
The wave is true, honest. Last time I remember seeing it was during Chennai floods. People came forward themselves, campaigned to their messages, articulated well that it reaches the hard core end audience. Something that deservedly needs a pat for their participation in having this happen. On other side, AWBI (or PETA and other NGOs for that matter) take a different perspective which sounds bit similar to "This is an absolute bulls**t". And of course a few good gentlemen who knows to capitalize the wave- sell their native breed cows and bulls at a pumped up price, sell the milk with *new* vigor and price tag- no harm though, after all we live in a Capitalist society.
 And the numbers endorse the pros view- with monumental Dairy industry now, Cow to Bull ratio is hardly 8:1. Gone are those bullock carts and they ploughing fields when the industrial wheel is soaring up. So the point is, we cannot keep bulls at farms and homes just to inseminate the cows. Eventually, the bulls would lose its potential (Remember Darwin's line!) to remain themselves. So let them on streets, may guys do the bullies- and allow the festival mood prevail. Look at Bullfight in Spain, Stockyard shows in Texas.
 30 years back
 Like Rekhla race in Western Tamilnadu, popular events were run across the state. Jallikattu is quite significant in southern Tamilnadu. People in the farms kept the promise of their ancestors to live a life with cattle and crops. Little did they know the advancements in industrialization would disrupt this setting and usage of Bull would be redundant over the course.
 2000 years back
The Sangam period, that really sensed the economics of having cattle along with us. Merchants, Artisans, Farmers with the imperialist kings drafted the verses that put Cows as Gods and insisted a cultural connect around it. Equally enough- the Sanskrit literature did the same to the civilization that sprawled across Indus and Ganga.
 10000 years back.      Â
There was no such thing called domesticating an animal. In the wild, cattle roamed like any other life. Viola, the great Agricultural Revolution was born! Followed is the castrated oxen wasted their life under yoke with lash. Cows were made to lead a life for laboring alone- natural instincts were broken, aggression and sexuality contained, freedom of movement curtailed. The most celebrated Agricultural revolution just made the breed- Fatter, submissive, and lesser curious albeit honestly without it happened, Mankind wouldn’t have been led to progress, prosperity and power.
So a local sport played by some 10s of 100 men in the place, watched by another 1000s on ground and few more in this WhatsApp and Facebook live age, is argued to hurt both men and the bull, and hence it needs to be let go! There's a longer story to be told than we think. What's your call? I’m anyway participating for “The Maatu Pongal” at mom’s village tomorrow.
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