Overcoming fear holds key to success: Jallikattu winners

MADURAI: More bull tamers, jallikattu is a source of pride and repute among peers, villagers and the jallikattu circuit. It was a victorious moment not only for this 24-year-old car mechanic but also his entire village of Othaveedu, near Alanganallur, when S Prabhakaran was adjudged the Best Bull Tamer during the Palamedu jallikattu on January 16. 

He is the first person from the village to win the Best Tamer award, having tamed the maximum of 10 bulls. Upon his triumph, his village, burst into celebration. He was garlanded and welcomed with much fanfare, leaving him feeling like a superstar.     

Prabhakaran, who grew up with jallikattu bulls, has participated in about 20 jallikattu events in Madurai, Sivaganga, Dindigul and Theni districts over the past three years. At Palamedu, he tamed a total of 10 bulls in both the qualifying and final rounds and emerged as the Best Tamer. He won a motorbike worth `90,000, four gold coins, three cycles, a gas stove and a pesticide sprayer. 

“Raising jallikattu bulls at home, I naturally developed an interest in bulls and bull taming. By living in the constant presence of jallikattu bulls, learning the character and understanding the traits of these bulls became easy,” he said. He has personally reared three bulls so far, including a 14-year-old Pulikulam jallikattu bull named ‘Veerannan’. 

Sharing his insights into bull taming, Prabhakaran said getting rid of fear was the foremost quality needed and that his lifelong exposure to bulls made him fearless. “A bull can easily sense a man’s fear and has the ability to take advantage of it in a matter of seconds,” he said. 

“Another technique to successfully tame the bulls is the position of the tamers. While standing around the vaadivasal, the player has to stand in a place convenient for him to grab the bull’s hump — be it from the right or left. Also, to tame a bull that springs into the arena at the speed of about 60-70 kilometres per hour, the tamer has to use one hand first to clasp the hump and then the other hand, for better grip,” he explained. 

A diploma holder in mechanical engineering, he trained at a local jallikattu bull training group run by his uncle. “During the weekly training sessions, that last about two hours each, we are taught in theory and practice some strategies for bull taming,” he divulged. 

If Prabhakaran won a bike, 22-year-old K Ranjith Kumar, who bagged the Best Tamer award at the Alanganallur jallikattu on January 17, walked away with a car. Ranjith had tamed 15 bulls in the event to win the vehicle car sponsored by Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami. The next day, the Chief Minister, along with Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, gave him the car keys in Chennai. 
The Alanganallur native has studied up to Class 10 and works as a driver. He is the third generation of bull tamers and has reared about 10 jallikattu bulls himself. 

He started participating in events in 2015. Last year, he came second in bull taming at the Palanganatham jallikattu by taming 19 bulls and second in the Sivakasi jallikattu by taming six bulls. He said that hailing from a village which is globally known for bull taming, he needed no external push to get interested in the sport. 

He said he was trained by his cousin, a bull tamer who has won many prizes and had never affiliated himself with any other bull taming groups. He has participated in about 25 jallikattu bulls and agrees with Prabhakaran that fearlessness is the key to becoming a bull tamer.