My Tryst with Chennai

We moved to Chennai, in the sweltering summer month of May, and my initial instinct was to escape from this sub tropical humidity, unfamiliar city and people, but that was not to be ... and even before we could find our bearings, political chaos loomed large over this capital city due to the ill health and demise of its much loved CM (and all I could think of, was the impending unscheduled holidays and its effect on my children's education).  Thankfully, the people of this city came out with flying colours with regard to impeccable behaviour and averted the much feared riots that usually followed such happenings in a politically charged atmosphere.

Even before we had time to breathe easy, cyclone 'Vardha' descended in all its fury. Coupled with the govt's demonetization policy, it wrecked havoc as I had never seen before. The poor were left homeless and the city stripped bare of its green cover, vulnerable and helpless with no power and water for weeks in some places. Two days after the cyclone, my maid  rang the door bell, and when I opened the door, I found  her sans her talcum powdered face and string of flowers, both of which were an integral part of her personality.  Not to forget her relentless chatter and ever smiling countenance, sometimes to the point of annoyance.

She gave me updates as to the damages in their slum and how their houses were inundated with sewage water, and all this were delivered with her usual histrionics. These revelations made me cringe with guilt.  Slowly the water dried up, the fallen trees were cleared and Chennai leapt back to normalcy (Chennai, as I've seen it, always leaps back and never limps), as it just cannot afford to waste time as is the case with calamity prone areas.

Soon it was time for New Year, new hope and also the most important festival in the Tamil calendar.  Many parts of Tamil Nad were declared drought hit, due to a failed monsoon, but the celebratory mood was on the upsurge.  'Pongal' is a harvest festival.  It is celebrated in all its fervour in rural areas. Owing to roots in Tamil Nad, we celebrate it in a very modest manner, without much ado.  Little did I notice a bull hovering over the celebrations, but when it made its presence felt, it came in charging.

'Pongal', as I understand is celebrated for four days.  The first, third and fourth days have prominence of place in an agrarian setup and is all about purification rituals and offering prayers to cattle.  The second day is dedicated to the Sun god (this is the only day I'm familiar with, as since childhood I've seen my mom offering prayers and making the traditional 'sarkara pongal').  Many traditions are part of Pongal celebrations, some are centuries old ... one such is the 'Jallikattu', which is the most trending word in the country now and so there is no reason to go into the details.  Yet, for the sake of those, who have refused to take the bull by it's horns and have decided to stay at a safe distance, 'Jallikattu' is performed as part of 'Pongal' celebrations.

A bull (of specific breed which falls under the 'bos indicus' category) which is reared for this sole purpose is let out of an entrance, where the participants are waiting, and one of the participants jumps and clings to the hump of the bull.  He has to stay so for a specified time or distance, without being toppled to be declared a winner.  There are a couple of other variations, where the bull is left open in an arena, and its a one to one confrontation. There has never been an instance where a bull died, during an encounter, but many men have lost their lives.  Some villages in the district of Madurai, actually puts up full blown pictures of men who died the previous year.  They are the celebrated martyrs.  The tradition started centuries ago, when a bag of coins(salli) was tied (kattu) to a cloth on the horns of a bull and the athletes vied with each other for the prize.

Now come claims of animal cruelty, which was contested by PETA in the Supreme Court of India.  This brought about the ban of this simple sounding sport (nothing as dramatic or violent as the Spanish bull fights), which meant a lot to the rural populace.  PETA claimed that the bulls were brutalised, force fed liquor, their tails were bitten etc. to make them aggressive.  The farmers of Tamil Nad revere their cattle and any injury sustained by a bull, during the sport is considered a very bad omen and whenever a bull is injured (which is very rare, the celebrations come to a halt).  But, it is only natural that there would be anti-social elements at all levels in society, who do not strictly adhere to the rules laid down by the sport. But, this could be easily solved by stricter rules and supervision as in any other sport.  Ever since the 'Jallikattu' regulation act of 2009, all 'Jallikattu' is held under the supervision of the district collector, and the bull and the participants are allowed to participate only after being medically declared fit.

So what if it is banned?  "What's the big deal?", would be the chorus of the pseudo animal activists. The answer is simple, if 'Jallikattu' goes, with it goes the indigenous species on the road to extinction. In the poor rural setup, maintaining a bull is an expensive affair. There is around 1 bull for 8 cows and the ratio is still falling.  The 'Jallikattu' bulls are chosen for the purpose, the moment they are born. Well fed, well nurtured and never put under the plough. Those bulls which prove their mettle in the games are used for breeding.  The rest are used for farming purposes ... the bottom line is, no 'Jallikattu', no point in rearing these magnificent animals which is not economically viable.  Slowly, the bulls will start ending up in slaughter houses and artificial insemination would take centre stage, wiping out the whole species. Only five native species are left, as the Alambadi bulls have been declared extinct.  Artificial insemination would not only dilute the species but is also expensive and  would break the back of  small time farmers.

It is hard to negate the conspiracy theories of foreign or jersey cows used to eliminate native breeds, as there is a precedence in other states like Kerala.

Trying to initiate the ignorant, has completely veered me off my main topic, which is all about Chennai ... the thousands sitting in peaceful agitation for the past five days on the shores of the Marina beach is a sight to behold.  We Indians are not new to dharnas, strikes and agitations.  Politically motivated and funded there are dharnas and bandhs every other day, in some part of the country or the other.

But, what I'm witnessing in Chennai is the massive congregation of people with focus, ideals and clarity.  The people at marina are not the fringe elements of society, but people from the mainstream. Students, employees, professionals.  For the past five days, youngsters from Zoho corp. (which is within the community I stay), leave office at 5 in the evening and head towards Marina beach to sit in solidarity, only to return to work in the morning.  When our community volunteered to help, all that they asked was for bedspreads, and lo and behold bedspreads poured in from all quarters. Its the same story with the many employees of other  multi-national companies.  Evenings and nights are spent at the Marina beach.

Five days on and not a hint of violence, eve teasing or molestation.  There is barely any police force to match the volume of peaceful agitators.  Men & women surging ahead with single minded determination ... this for me, is the high point of civilization.  This proves that in a civilized society a leader is only symbolic, and can be done away with.

Many cities in India have found a place among the fastest developing cities of the world, but trust me, CHENNAI, YOU ARE A CLASS APART.  This is a city whose soul is still intact, with hope, always ready to take on ordeals and ready to bounce back ... May your spirit triumph.