The desideratum festival Pongal and Jallikattu

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.