CHITTOOR
From the start of New Year till Ugadi, Kuppam presents a frenzied picture, with thousands of villagers, mostly enthusiastic youth, taking part in the “Pasuvula Panduga” in over two dozen villages across the region.
The villagers and the police vehemently reject the “bad propaganda” against the bull races by wrongly terming the events as “Jallikattu”.
The police, organisers and the participants unanimously claim that while Tamil Nadu’s Jallikattu is a violent sport, Chittoor has two different harmless versions — Haddula Panduga and Mylara Panduga or Pasuvula Panduga.
Till the start of the new millennium, only A. Rangampeta and Pakala villages in Chandragiri mandal used to be notorious for organising the “Pasuvula Panduga”. Though the festivities were also in vogue in the Kuppam region, they hardly received any attention.
In the last two decades, this rural sport, still considered “illegal” in police parlance, has garnered immense significance and popularity; some call it notoriety, with the involvement of local politicians.
Manohar (70), a regular participant in these bull-races in Kuppam region for six decades, said: “Do not call the Mylara Panduga bad or evil. These annual festivities, history of which dates back to the British Raj, are responsible for the preservation of the native breeds of cattle and the continuing love for the bulls despite mechanised agriculture practices.”
Known as Mylara Panduga, this age-old village festival is predominantly organised in Gudupalle mandal headquarters, Animiganipalle panchayat of Kuppam mandal, Karlagatta in Shantipuram mandal, and Veernamala in Ramakuppam mandal. On a lesser scale, the event is held in V. Kota, Baireddipalle, and Palamaner mandals.
Similarly, the bull-races are annually organised on a grand scale in the neighboring Kolar district of Karnataka; and Krishnagiri in Tamil Nadu. Interestingly, several villages also organise the events on a rotation basis. Over years, several bulls had perished either on the spot or later due to injuries, coupled with some human casualties. Interestingly, they never get into police records.
The season witnesses the free movement of the participants from Kuppam, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka, crisscrossing the borders, transporting their bulls to the venues in goods vehicles. A major highlight is that some traditional families of Bengaluru rural areas, having strong family links with the Kuppam region, bring their well-groomed bulls all the way here, besides enjoying community luncheons and dinners.
The mobile-phones revolution from 2010 onwards has played a crucial role in giving a “commercial touch” to this previously “innocent” traditional village sport.
As per “Haddula Panduga”, the bulls brought to the race would be unleashed into a set track flanked by the curious crowds. The participants, mostly youth, would be encouraged to stop the raging bulls, fixing the parameters of distance and time. The bulls would be stopped by the youth, who pull and manage the long ropes tied to the animals. This is unlike Jallikattu of Tamil Nadu, where a frenzied bull would be released unfettered into an open ring, posing grave danger to youth who are set to tame it.
Another version, Mylara Panduga, is that the bull would be released into the set tracks in batches. It is similar to a running race, with their time calculated, and based on their performance, prizes would be given, from first prize to fiftieth and even consolation prizes. For a decade, the organisers of the festivals are collecting the entry fee for the participating bulls, at ₹2,000 to ₹3,000 per ticket.
For instance, the Karlagatta bull race near Kuppam was said to have fetched ₹18 lakh to the organisers with about 600 bulls participating. While the organizers hardly spend ₹3 lakh on the arrangements, the rest would be their profit.
Circle-Inspector (Kuppam Rural) Suryamohan Rao said that the local versions of bull-races were not violent.
“In most cases, casualties and injuries to animals and humans are only gossips and unconfirmed reports. At the request of the villagers and local leaders, we generally provide bandobast to control mobs at the events. We insist on undertakings from the organisers to hold the events peacefully with proper arrangements for public safety,” the police officer said.
