Jallikattu

Jallikattu, the ancient sport of bull embracing, pervasive across the hinterland of Tamil Nadu, southern India, enjoyed a resurgence in 2018 after a brief ban.

Jallikattu, the ancient sport of bull embracing, pervasive across the hinterland of Tamil Nadu, southern India, enjoyed a resurgence in 2018 when the government, after statewide protests, intervened and lifted the Supreme Court ban that had come into effect in 2014, the previous year. The ban was enforced on grounds of animal cruelty after People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) moved the apex court citing various instances of alleged barbarity inflicted upon the participating bulls.

The images below were captured at three jallikattu events that were held during the time of the harvest festival of Pongal last year. A friend and I embedded in a tight crew of bull handlers/tamers and travelled with them to a few jallikattu events around the city of Madurai. There's been so much negative coverage about this tradition in the press in light of the PETA allegations that I decided to "see" the subject matter through the lens of an objective insider to give the big picture.