Madurai :

Skill, stamina and training may be enough to beat the bull. But if you have to beat R Karupanan, it may not be enough.

The 34-year-old stayed put in the arena for seven hours, living the dream of every bull tamer, at Palamedu Jallikattu on Thursday. The traditional sport was organised in Palamedu after a gap of two years, with the lifting of the ban.
Karupanan tamed nine bulls from 9 am to 4 pm and stole the show.
“Winning a Royal Enfield Bullet in Palamedu Jallikattu is the biggest prize that I have got so far,” Karupanan, a farmer and resident of Aritapatti near Melur in Madurai district, told Express.

“When I was very young, I was interested in Jallikattu and used to practice with a bull belonging to the Ellamanayagi Amman Temple in the village using Vadam Jallikattu technique. For 17 years, I have participated in several Jallikattu events across the State and have won prizes including bicycle and bureau,” said Karupanan, who keeps a Jallikattu bull in his house.
Thanking the organisers and the officials from the district administration for organising Palamedu Jallikattu in a proper manner, Karupanan said he was very happy to participate in the event. He claimed that five years back, he had tamed 10 bulls in a similar event in Theni district and that taming nine bulls in Palamedu was his second best achievement.

Thanking the students who staged a protest to lift the ban on Jallikattu, Karupanan said he dedicated his victory to the students who played a big role in the conduct of Jallikattu after two years. He further added that he had registered to participate in the Jallikattu to be conducted at Alanganallur on Friday and give a stunning performance there too.

During the Palamedu event, a team of officials were closely monitoring the bull tamers playing by the rules and the bulls that were performing well. Later,  District Collector K Veera Raghava Rao distributed shields and certificates to five best bull tamers – Karupanan, K Sivakumar of Mudalaikulam village (tamed seven bulls), P Senthil of Manampatti (tamed six bulls), V. Prabakaran of Melur (tamed six bulls) and K Silambarasan of Chinnaoorseri (tamed four bulls). He also distributed shields and certificates to five best bulls owned by Jallikattu Peravai president P Rajasekaran, bull owned by Anbu of Sikandar Savadi, bull owned by Ayyadurai of Boodakudi, bulls owned by Selvam of Karuppayurani and bull owned by Karuppasamy of Oothankudi for their performances.
Though the Jallikattu was scheduled to start by 8 am, the event commenced only at  9 am as the members of the Jallikattu organising committee delayed the bringing of temple bulls to the arena at Palamedu.
Before the start of Jallikattu, six temple bulls were brought to Vaadi Vasal after special poojas were conducted in a local temple in Palamedu.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Tamil Nadu / by Kaushik Kannan / Express News Service / February 10th, 2017