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Art Culture And Entertainment News Singles
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| Award of Excellence | | Pongal | | Palani Mohan (Australia) Getty Images |
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Alanganallur,South India. 16 January 2008.A bull decorated
in pink powder jumps out of the gates, into the crowd of men who will try to
attempt to catch and ride the animals
, elbowing each other aside so they can be
the sole rider and claim the prize. Prizes for this dangerous sport include
plastic chairs, pots and pans, goats and bicycles Jallikattu is an ancient and
bizarre bull-wrestling sport that takes place in villages throughout the
southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu every January to celebrate Pongal, a New
Year festival. Similar to SpainĄ¯s running of the bulls, itĄ¯s older ¨C and
bloodier. Instead of bulls getting killed, itĄ¯s the people who usually come off
worst. In 2008 the Jallikattu was banned but after huge protests including
hunger strikes the decision was overturned by the Supreme Court.
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