'We never torture bulls': Krishna and Karna debate Jallikattu ban in a scene from the Mahabharata
With Pongal around the corner, a new video tries to make a point.
The atmosphere is tense with the Supreme Court and animal activists on one side, and the Centre and people of Tamil Nadu on the other. After all, the festival that celebrates Jallikattu, a bull-taming tradition, is approaching yet again.
But who would have imagined that the same debate could take place between Krishna and Karna from the Mahabharata, in the form of local Tamil theatre?
Culture Machine’s digital channel Put Chutney’s video Jallikattum Kelikoothum does just that, presenting the pros and cons of the ban on the 5,000-year-old tradition in Tamil Nadu.
The issue of legalising Jallikattu is split between activists citing animal torture and force-feeding liquor among other things, and practitioners defending it as it supports cattle breeding and rural livelihoods in Tamil Nadu.
Presenting a local troupe on stage, the video makes the case for Jallikattu by showing the actor who plays Karna struggling to overcome financial constraints. When he comes back on stage, he assumes the role of the warrior hitting out at the Supreme Court-imposed ban.
