Madurai (Tamil Nadu): 'Jallikattu,' the annual bull-taming event slated to be held in several parts of Tamil Nadu got off to a colourful start here on Wednesday, the Pongal day, in which 641 bulls and 607 tamers took part.
As the feisty bulls, one after the other started racing towards the lengthy sporting arena from the entrance, known as 'vadivasal,' young men waiting with bated breath strained every nerve to latch on to the hump of the animals.
Interestingly, as many as 397 bulls of the total 641 that entered the arena could not be dominated by tamers and these animals emerged successful, an official said.
"Don't touch the horns," "many men don't chase one animal," "allow the bull to go; it has won," were among the instructions that reverberated in the arena for participants.
The Jallikattu at Avaniapuram held here today marks the start of the once a year bull taming sport in many rural and semi-urban regions of Tamil Nadu.
Similar events will be held at Palamedu tomorrow and in Alanganallur on January 17 and these are among the hugely popular bull taming contests in the state.
If the participant hangs on to the hump of the bull for a determined distance, he is declared a winner and if not, the animal emerges the victor.
In each of the nine rounds, about 60 to 70 participants with colour coded T-shirts and shorts took part.
Festivity marked the event and scores of spectators from the gallery craned their necks to have a glimpse of determined men trying to get the better of the animals in a matter of seconds as soon as they were released into the arena.
A huge number of spectators, including many foreign tourists with cameras, were glued to the event.
Keenly watching the game, organisers quickly declared -over the public address system- if the animal or the man was the winner and the prize.