Raja Andhayug was a proud man, and terribly pleased too. Over 4,000 protestors had gathered on Marina Beach in Chennai to protest the banning of Jallikattu by the Centre
Illustration/Uday Mohite
Raja Andhayug was a proud man, and terribly pleased too. Over 4,000 protestors had gathered on Marina Beach in Chennai to protest the banning of Jallikattu by the Centre. "Jallikattu is a core part of our Tamil identity and not open to negotiation," he roared. "Absolutely right," Guru Tamasoma agreed. "The Ministry of Hurt Sentiments has declared that we will not allow 2,000 years of Tamil culture to be wiped out by those agricultural Hindis from the north, just like that."
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But Vidhushak quietly observed, "Tamil people are protesting here, demanding their birthright to torture bulls for entertainment, simply because they have done it in the past. The same week, in the US and worldwide, there were marches, especially by women, to protest against President Donald Trump's stand on racism, communalism and persecution of minorities, and to stand up for women's rights. It's worth pondering."
Raja Andhayug and Guru Tamasoma were not going to take this lying down. "De, don't use big, big words, OK? You can't take away our history by comparing us to America," the Raja retorted. "In fact, I am pointing out that Tamil culture is rich and superior, and not merely four-legged," Vidhushak explained. "There are so many other things that also make up Tamil culture. Bharata Natyam. Margazhi season. Thyagaraja, Dikshitar, Syama Sastri. Periyar E V Ramasamy. MGR, Sivaji Ganesan, Jayalalithaa. Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan. Cho. Kalakshetra. AK Ramanujan. Chandralekha. Perumal Murugan. Cholamandal artists' village. The Brihadisvara temple. Chettinad architecture. TASMAC queues. Sri Krishna Sweets. Masala dosa. Filter kaapi. What about that? Doesn't Tamil identity come from all these as well?"
"Vidhushak, you're digressing. Can't you see this is just a ploy for those Dilliwallas to literally bulldoze us?" the Raja asked. "But the case is already sub judice in the Supreme Court, why don't we just wait for the final judgement? Why break a law to break a bull's back?" Vidhushak asked. "So many thousands turned up to protest; they set fire to a police station and burnt vehicles, and two people were even gored to death by bulls and 129 injured during the protests. I didn't see these thousands come out in the streets to protest against Dalit atrocities, violence against women, malnutrition or dowry." "Don't worry," said the Raja, "We will give a Kangayam bull each as compensation to the families of those who died. If they can't look after them properly, they will be jailed for besmirching Tamil culture."
After a moment's reflection, Vidhushak said, "Actually, I think jallikattu will survive only if it is banned. If it is allowed, it will probably peter out on its own, as these bulls are very expensive and difficult to maintain." Raja Andhayug replied, "If there's a problem with bull fighting, we will turn our attention to cock-fighting, or some other fighting, don't worry." "Are you suggesting we are more violent than the northern belt?" Vidhushak asked. "Not really. Just superior," the Raja replied. "Do you think the Tamil people can be superior by themselves, without any bullshit?" "Of course, we can," the Raja said. "Shall we ask the bull for a sound bite?" Vidhushak asked. "The Tamilians don't need either," the Raja replied. "Thank you, my Lord," Vidhushak said, smiling.
Meenakshi Shedde is South Asia Consultant to the Berlin Film Festival, award-winning critic, curator to festivals worldwide and journalist. Reach her at meenakshishedde@gmail.com.
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