Jallikattu (Bull-Fight Of Tamil Nadu, India) Poem by Madathil Rajendran Nair
Jallikattu (Bull-Fight Of Tamil Nadu, India)
This cruel sport
A show of physical prowess
Traditional wonder of great heritage
Don't dare ever touch it
You are playing with fire
This is the war-cry
Of Indian matadors
Deafening drumbeats encore
Multitudes of young and aged
Are on the streets
With students banishing their classes
In protest chanting
'We want this sportive entertainment
This is no cruelty
But a show of great animal love and respect'
The apex court of the land
On one side
Joined by vocal animal activists
Many of them unabashed cannibals
Who fry and enjoy
All that is small and big
In the great lord's making
Misplaced excitement on the other side
Chest-thumping
Call for endless struggle
Acclaimed rightly or wrongly
As great democratic valor
Not knowing what to say
Unasked what he has to say
With no one to lend hearing skills
Stands the epic bull
Lord Shiva's beloved
Nandikesha the much sung
In Mount Kailas's freezing cold
No one would ever hear
His tragic bellow and wail
Is there anyone to see
The panic and fear in the eyes
Of the poor creatures who can't speak
Lined up as though at the Republic Day parade
At countless abattoirs across the Gangetic plains?
Is there anyone here who can bend
To place a kiss of love
On the heads that smell of the life of milk
Of the dying countless ones?
Leave your samadhi Rishabhanath
Lord and protector of the bulls
The first one of the Jains
Who crossed the ocean of suffering
Your India is calling, nay, loud wailing
Torturing animals for sports is prevalent in many parts of the world.Cock fight, bull fight, goat fight and many such cruel sports people enjoy.It is certainly not humane to torture the dumb animals for the sake of entertainment.It is a wonder that there are demands and agitations for continuity of the cruel sports while people are silent over many crucial issues Please read my poem- Killing of a Pig by Handsome hands.This I wrote when I saw a photograph of ghastly killing of a pig in the newspaper.
Excellent poem thank you for share, how I'd love to place a loving kiss on the bull's head. Sad how crude can we people be. We should get rid of such sports that endanger the wellbeing or life of others.
The sport from ancient times in all parts of the world man's unanswered quest for entertainment at risk of life for others. Your poem brings up the realities of the show.
If you ask a bull about this sport of Jallikattu, I am sure no bull will ever be bullish about it! A beautiful poem on the on an issue that presently holds the center stage.
I'm really confused, weather is good or bad. Nice poem, nice observation.
You see, you have the ability to capture the moment, to make allowance for the ignorance of individuals and to see the creature laid bare at the center not just of the ring but of the controversy too. With hypocrisy highlighted with humor-unabashed cannibals. No preaching or sentimentality just the raw spectacle and the illustration of the parties involved. This shows respect for the reader, no easy answers and many viewpoints except, of course, the bulls. Aside from all of that I also found it educational, learning new things so early in my day!
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5/2/2024 3:25:22 PM # 1.0.0.1119
Without joining sides with the agitators or the verdict of the apex court, you try to see things from the angle of the dumb animals subject to extreme cruelty for man's enjoyment! I read both the English as well as Malayalam version. I can only say.... amazing write! Spot on and timely! Only you can do it.......!