Saturday, January 12, 2008

The desideratum festival Pongal and Jallikattu

Jallikattu by Jeevan
A feel good beginning for my art again.

We are ahead with energy flowing to welcome the most wanted festival of Tamilan. It’s not particular for Tamils; it’s a festival center for all common people who interest to thanksgiving the nature. The Pongal follows the solar calendar as the sun changes its direction rays, where it starts riding from southern to northern. The Pongal is intends to boiling over of milk and rice from the pot that is considered a sign of happiness and property flows in our lives. The Pongal which celebrated in Tamil month of Thai for four days from the last day of Margali (mostly Jan 14). The farmers festival on this pongal, we clean and whitewash our homes, decorate our homes with mango leaves and festoon, drawing beautiful kolams and cook pongal to celebrate with family and friends around.

Generally Pongal is celebrated at its best only in villages, where in early decorated new clay pot, taking the newly harvested rice from paddy and adding with pure milk to make flowing pongal to thanking the earth and welcoming Sun. The first day before pongal is consist of Bhogi. It’s the day to said good bye to old and enters of new in our lives; it always celebrated as burning or throwing the old thing into fire. But in todays time its better stop burring the waste things or old clothes and best is to give for non-existence. On the third day of Mattu Pongal (Bull Pongal) is thanked giving for bulls those handworks throughout the year and which was farmers friend. Taking them to bathe, painting there horns and decorating with leaves and replacing with new cord, tying bells and with colorful balloons the bulls enjoy themselves, esp. seeing other bulls.

The Jallikattu (bull catching game) happen on this day and the last day of pongal that was known as Kaanum Pongal in Tamil Nadu is world famous. Kaanum Pongal is well known for its outing and picnic with family and friends for there favorite places, in many villages people interested in going to watch Jallikattu at near there place. The Chennai Marina beach is recorded yearly for more people visiting on Kaanum Pongal. According to Jallikattu, it anticipated for an important award by Supreme Court this year whether it would be banned or to allow conducting the Jallikattu, but without cared about anything the preparation for the festival was in full fledge. The Jallikattu always happens in Madurai’s Paalameadu on the 2nd day of Thai (Jan 16) and the world famous Alanganallur the next day and followed by other districts of Tamil Nadu. The bulls are carefully trained rest of the whole year for the yearly ones game.

Bulls are feed with grind raw rice and cotton seeds and left to drink 40 litters of water twice a day to avoid fatigue and 3km of walking every day. To strengthen, the bulls were daub to grinded tamarind seeds for full night and bathed next day, that continue for three months before to Jallikattu, where it develops the blood circulation and gives a shine skin. They even used to tell, bull should not visible others, so they won’t allow none near to the bull. The most looked bull is Kangeyam bull which is the most bravery bull in all and its look itself threaten everybody, but only sad is its species are in stage of perishable. In rural sides if one was to be praised for brave they use to indicate Kangeyam bull, so far it reaches to its name. There would be only countable Kangeyam bulls to exist in Tamil Nadu and I was not sure. To make bulls intoxicate, they fill hays into clothes and create like a man like doll and get them to batter the doll to increase its anger. Because of getting training like this, these bulls are not left so easily into the playing ground of Jallikattu and in addition to train or grow a bull to play for the game they spend minimum 40,000Rs (1000$). But all the hope of these people playing, as well as developing bulls are stopped by Friday’s award by Supreme court in banning for this traditional brave game of Tamil Nadu.

Though it was a good relief for bulls from humans and threat of bull battering humans to injure and sometimes to death in game. But it was a sorrow for Tamil Nadu and mostly for the people of southern districts and Madurai to give away our traditional brave game. It’s not planned, but it happens to relate this post to my recent painting of Jallikattu above, like a man trying to control the bull. It was one more happiness I got at this year beginning of returning to my drawing side that I wasn’t touched for over a year. I was in confuse could I able to draw something again like past, but I moved to the comfort of drawing. Let me know your comments… I wish you all for a Happier Pongal celebration.

23 comments:

Ponniyinselvan/karthikeyan(1981-2005 ) said...

நம் வீட்டில் உள்ள ரோஜா செடியில் தினமும் ரோஜா மலர்கள் மலரும். அதன் அழகை , நிறத்தை, மணத்தை ரசித்து மகிழ்வோம். அடுத்த நாளும் அதே போல் நிறமுள்ள, வாசமுள்ள, அழகான ரோஜா மலர் மலரும் என்று தெரியும். இருந்தாலும் அடுத்த நாள் மலரும் அந்தப் பூவும் தன் அழகாலும், மணத்தாலும் நம்மை ரசிக்கச் செய்து விடும்...அது போல்தான், ஜீவனின் பதிவுகளும்..ஒவ்வொரு பதிவிலும் , ஒரு புதுமை, அழகு, என்று நம்மை ரசிக்கச் செய்து விடுகிறார். ஆட்டை, மொக்கை என்றெல்லாம் இல்லாமல், யார் மனதையும் புண்படுத்தாமல், அதே சமயம் சிந்திக்க வைக்கக் கூடிய, தெரிந்து கொள்ளக் கூடிய, சில சமயங்களில் விகியோரம் கண்ணீர்த் துளிகள் எட்டிப் பார்க்க மனதை நெகிழ வைக்கக் கூடிய, புதுப் புது உத்திகள், beautiful photos என்று என்று பதிவிடும் ஜீவனுக்கு என் பாராட்டுகள.
sweetest karthikeyan
Jeevan,
are you confused to see the same comment for two posts. Here after i am going to do this only. Because where can i search new words to appreciate you.KEEP GOING..
PROUDLY,
sweetest karthikeyan

Unknown said...

It is great portrait, thanks for posting it. Have a great Pongal!

Alok said...

Have a gr8 Pongal ... even I get the high for these festivities reading ur enthusiasm


Alok

Gnana Kirukan said...

Arumaiyana drawing nanba - Great stuff - Keep it going - Wish u and ur family a very happy pongal :)

P.S: I keep on checking ur blogs regularly ;)

starry said...

Happy Pongal Jeevan and thanks for the write up.I enjoyed reading it.

tulipspeaks said...

Ponggal Vazhtukkal



ammu.

Keshi said...

beautiful!

Happy Pongal Jeevan HUGGGGGGGGZ!

Keshi.

Visithra said...

havent been here for a very long time - ponggal is definetly nice - one of my fav festivals - ponggal vazhtukal jeevan

geeth said...

Happy ponggal to you and your family :)

ashok said...

happy pongal jeevan...
Start giving shadows to ur paintings...they will make a big difference :)

Balaji S Rajan said...

Jeevan,

My heartiest greeting for a happy new year, Pongal to you. You are rocking man. Keep it up. The Pongal write up is really nice. Could you please do something with the alignment of the lines. They could be corrected to give us a better feeling while reading. I am always confused whether I have missed some words. Please try to do it. You have alignment when you create the post itself.

krystyna said...

Hi Jeevan!
Your painting is great. I see they both: bull and man are moving. How can you do that? Love your art!
Thanks for sharing about Pongal.

Happy Pongal to you and your family!

Ash said...

Hope you had a great Pongal!
Belated festival wishes :)

Priya said...

Thought I left my comment here..

Vinesh said...

wow - superb drawing, buddy jeevan! :-)
hope to see more and more of your drawings this year :-)

gP said...

im late again nanba. u draw really fine, why dont you start a blog for your paintings?

ViJaY said...

hi.. HAppy pongal to u too mate... Had been to Veerapandi village in Theni this week for Pongal. So, will post on detail all the pongal celebrations that we had, by tomorrow in my blog. Do visit and comment.. Btw, thats a beautiful portrait that u hav drawn. Can u send me some of the fotos that u ve drawn to ma mail id?? its asinian2006@gmail.com..

Jeevan said...

Ponniyinselvan - that a best encouragement and also indicating this rose for me, thank u so much ma :) I hope u get words more to share your thoughts with me... as you wish.

Attavane – Thanks for sharing and too welcome :) hope u had an great pongal.

Alok – Thank you buddy. Happy pongal to you and your family also.

Arjuna – Thank you so much dear friend, its glad to receive your comment. Happy pongal to you and your family:), keep checking.

Starry – Thanks so much dear, hope you are doing fine there, Happy Pongals :)

Ammu – Thank you.

Keshi – Thanks dear, huggsss.

Visithra – glad to have u here after very long time dear. Of course pongal is a beautiful festival, hope u have nice times :)

Jeevan said...

Geetha – Thank you dear.

Ashok – sure I do continue the painting works and update here. Thank you ashok, hope u had a wonderful pongal in Madurai.

Balaji – Thank you friend, happy pongals to you all. Sure I will check with the sentence in next posts, thanks for giving you feed on it.

Krystyna – Thanks so much dear krish, and also for your wishes. :)

Ash – Thank you, yes I had ash :)

Priya – now u left.

Vinesh – Thank you buddy. Sure sure I do (try) more… :)

GP – good idea nanba, will consider it;) how was your pongal celebration at home? Hope u enjoy.

Vijay – would be looking for you post on Pongal celebrations buddy, glad you have some very beautiful times at Theni. This is was a place I wanted to be at pongal season, its heaven on earth.

Jo said...

That's a lot of new info to me about Pongal! Thanks for this Jeevan and I hope you had a good time.

Anonymous said...

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kovai sathish said...

Nanba ungal padam miga nandraaga irunthathu..ungal padatthai en kavithaikkaga ubayogitthukolla anumathi tharavum tholaa...

Rahul said...

This is played in our country for thousands of years - why suddenly we make issue out of it.

The aim of the game is just to tame the bull, they are not killing the bull like the one in Spain, the government have made many restriction now to protect the bulls from abuse, such as only healthy bull can take part in the game checked by a vet, also one to one taming of the bull - not hundred men jumping on one bull, bull's tail can't be pulled or touched while taming and the person who does that act taken out of the ring same moment, also no one is allowed to take part in the game with alcohol influence...come on guys if you feel the animal is ill-treated by participation in this game where it is not harmed in any way like the one in Spain, if we still feel the bulls are harmed then we can't use the Bulls for farming or any other work where they have to work even harder...By the way this villagers don't have any other form of entertainment or any games to participate, they raise this bulls like their children and it's kept in that manner till their death, at-least the youths don't go in to any unlawful acts when they are kept active by such sports...