Bull-taming festival Jallikattu has not been held over the last two years.
Members of the Naam Thamizhar Katchi, a pro-Tamil party organised a mini-Jallikattu in a forest area of Tamil Nadu's Cuddalore, defying the Supreme Court that has refused to lift the ban on the taming-of-the-bull festival. Enthusiasts are disappointed and say Pongal celebrations coming up this weekend will just not be the same without Jallikattu.
Raja Marthandan, a pro-Jallikattu activist, says "No Pongal this year too for us. How can we celebrate when an important element as Jallikattu isn't there."
Jallikattu has not been held over the last two years. In Madurai, the ground zero for Jallikattu, many bull owners are still busy preparing their bulls for the event hoping there could be a last minute ordinance. In several other places in Tamil Nadu, protests were held. From film stars to musicians, culture leaders to politicians of all hues, several well-known names in Tamil Nadu have publicly said they saw Jallikattu as a symbol of Tamil culture.
Cattle conservationists say they are worried the Jallikattu ban in the long run will decimate native Indian breeds like these bulls.
Himakiran Anugula, Secretary, Biodiversity Council of India, said "To raise a male cattle, Jallikattu incentivises farmers to rear native breeds. If this continues for another two years eighty percent of these bulls will go for slaughter. Which means you'd wipe out the gene pool and this is something you can't create again."
However, experts say there are many scientific methods available to preserve native breeds.
The centre has already ruled out an ordinance to overrule the court-imposed ban that saw Jallikattu as cruelty to bulls, at least till the Supreme Court decides either way.