‘It’s all about respect’: A transwoman’s journey to empowerment through Jallikattu

Over the years, these very words from the announcer have had an electrifying effect on the crowd as well as the participants at the renowned Alanganallur Jallikattu.

Soon after, just like in several other jallikattu events, the famed bull Agni Karuppu would approach the vadivasal – the entry point from where the raging beasts enter the ground where participants, hearts pounding, wait to subdue them in an ostentatious display of might and bravery.

Sindhamani herself is no ordinary bull owner at the much-anticipated event. Having braved a great deal of taunts and snide comments before she was able to make a name for herself in the sport, the 30-year-old transwoman’s voice brims with pride when she says the Alanganallur jallikattu is a world-famous bull-taming competition where, this year, she will let her bulls – 9-year-old Agni Karuppu and 4-year-old Pandi Muni – out in the arena on Monday.

Of the three Jallikattu events, the one at Alanganallur is the most well-known and boasts of participation by celebrated tamers and bulls belonging to VIPs (Courtesy: Karthik Selvam)

Spread over three days, the pageantry is currently taking place in the state’s cultural capital of Madurai as part of celebrations revolving around the harvest festival Mattu Pongal. While the jallikattu in Avaniyapuram and Palamedu took place on January 14 and 15, respectively, the one at Alanganallur, originally scheduled for January 16, was postponed by a day due to the total lockdown imposed in the state in the wake of the surge in Covid cases.

Of the three events, the one at Alanganallur is the most well-known and boasts of participation by celebrated tamers and bulls belonging to VIPs. Testifying to its popularity, there is also a foreigners’ gallery exclusively reserved for international visitors who arrive in the hopes of partaking in the adrenaline rush of it all.

“Over the last seven years, I have received most of the honours that a jallikattu bull owner can hope to win. My bulls Agni Karuppu, Ramu and Pandi Muni have accorded me the respect I deserve in this society. I’m not saying that the journey from being a homeless person to what I am today was easy. I was harassed and humiliated at the Palamedu jallikattu seven years ago when I entered the vadivasal with my bull for the first time. I was on the edge. People never know of the hurdles we face to earn a decent life and respect. But all my worries were washed away when my bull remained untamed in that jallikattu. It’s not all about the prize money or the gifts they provide. It’s all about respect,” Sindhamani asserts over the phone call.

Participants at the Alanganallur Jallikatu entering the area. (Courtesy: Karthik Selvam)

Madurai resident Karthik says every family in Alanganallur village is into the sport. “Each house in the village has one or two jallikattu bulls. At the Avaniyapuram and Palamedu events, the bulls are directly let out from the vadivasal to the ground. The game is very quick in terms of duration. At Alangallur, the bulls have to walk through a small corridor by themselves to enter the vadivasal. It gives more time to the bulls and tamers. The bulls stay on the ground and make the play longer. The prize amount is also high because bulls belonging to VIPs, including ministers, top politicians and officers, participate in the Alanganallur jallikattu,” he describes with enthusiasm.

The newfound respect she has earned has hardly made Sindhamani forget her past. “When I was forced to leave my house in Kallanai, I had no idea about my future or where I was going to live. I met other transwomen in Madurai and started to beg for a living. People often yelled at me, asking, “You are not handicapped, why are you begging for alms?”. I felt terrible and resolved to raise jallikattu bulls as I had grown up watching the immense social pride that a jallikattu bull can bring to its owner. I stopped begging, worked as a construction labourer for three years and saved enough money to buy my first calf. This is how my journey to empowerment began,” says the youth, an unmistakable tenacity in her voice.

Speaking to The Indian Express, she laments how the pandemic has changed the competition, cutting down on much of the excitement. “The loud whistles, zesty applause and deafening cheers from the spectators have been absent in the jallikattu events in 2021 and 2022. This applause is the acceptance we seek… It takes four persons to let out each bull into the vadivasal. But now, guidelines mandate that only two can be present there, which makes it an onerous task to manage the huge creature while letting it out,” she elaborates.

Preparing the bulls for the traditional sporting event is an arduous mission which begins months in advance. Starting with walking practice, the beasts undergo rigorous training, including earth goring and swimming in the wee hours of dawn. Much like that of professional athletes, their diet is also monitored strictly. Three months ahead of the competition, the bull raisers feed the animals a generous mix of cottonseed, raw rice and coconut for an extra boost of nourishment along with meals of broken black gram, wheat and toor dal bran for added stamina.

As if training the bulls wasn’t enough of a challenge, Sindhamani also had to ward off distasteful remarks and queries from anyone she crossed paths with. “Why are trans people here? What are you going to do in the vadivasal? You are not capable of such competitions, and several more filthy comments were directed at me at my first competition. Before me, many transwomen have raised bulls in regions across Tamil Nadu, but they were not ready to release the bulls at the vadivasal out of fear and wary of such comments. But things are changing. Today, at the Alanganallur jallikattu, a total of six transwomen will let the bulls out into the arena. In Madurai alone, 10 more transwomen have quit begging and have started to raise jallikattu bulls,” she said, adding in hope: “We need to change from within ourselves. I’m hoping my story will help bring about a paradigm shift in how ‘common people’ view transgenders.”