AP village defies ban, holds jallikattu

Ignoring police warnings, a bull race/jallikattu was held at Ramireddypalle village in Chandragiri mandal in Chittoor district on Sunday.

Though the event is usually held on the third day of the Sankranti festival known as Pasuvula Panduga (Cattle Festival), the residents of Ramireddypalle decided to hold it a fortnight after Sankranti to attract more people to their village and also to give it a separate identity and more publicity.

As expected, a large number of people from neighbouring villages and mandals made a beeline for the village. The race was flagged off by YSR Congress general secretary B. Karunakar Reddy, and Chandragiri MLA Chevireddy Bhaskar Reddy.

Farmers painted the horns of the cattle, including bulls and cows, and fixed trophies to the horns before making them run through the narrow streets of the village in the midst of hundreds of people.

The crowd grabbed the trophies tied to the horns of the galloping animal and some of them got minor injuries in the process. Locals carried the people who were able to seize the trophies on their shoulders, praising them for their valour.

One of the organisers, Chandrasekhar Reddy, said there is no money in the trophies and people take the risk because they are treated as heroes by their associates if they can snatch the trophies.

Pointing to the participation of all kinds of cattle in the event, he said it cannot be called jallikattu, which is confined to bulls.