Breaking Stereotypes: 16-Year-Old Girl To Release Her Bull At Jallikkattu

16-year-old female Jallikkattu bull tamer is breaking stereotypes, she is ready to release her bull this year at the traditional Tamil event. Jallikkattu is a rigorous and popular event of Tamil Nadu where a bull is released into the crowd of people and the people try to hang on to it to tame it.

Jallikkattu is organised as a part of Pongal celebrations. According to a report by India Today, this year in the Jallikkattu celebrations, Sneha, a 16-year-old female Jallikkattu bull tamer from Madurai, will be releasing her bull with many others. She has a full-grown bull, Ariyamalai, and she takes care of it all by herself and is respected in her village for this.

Sneha, 16-Year-Old Female Jallikkattu Bull Tamer: Her Inspiration And Training

Sneha got reportedly inspired by the Marina beach protest against the ban on Jallikkattu in 2017. The protest revealed the emotions and sentiments that the Tamilians had with the traditional sport. Seeing how important Jallikkattu was for her tradition, Sneha asked her brother to get her a bull calf. Her brother told her father and he bought her one. Hence began Sneha's journey as a bull tamer.

The task of training and taming a bull is really difficult and the 16-year-old female Jallikkattu bull tamer, Sneha does all of that single-handedly, as per India Today report. Her bull, Ariyamalai, listens only to her. The bull's training takes place twice in a week. Describing her relation with Ariyamalai, Sneha said, "My bull loves groundnut candy. It shows equal affection towards me and my brother. At home it is so silent, but when taken to the farm it becomes very mischievous,”.

Jallikkattu is a sport for displaying strength and valour and women play a very crucial part in this play. Rural women in Tamil Nadu are given the responsibility of raising calves since a very young age. These little girls consider these calves their first brother and nurture them. From initial training, exercising to food, everything is managed by women.

However, these female trainers often don't come into the limelight. Sneha, at such a young age, is definitely an inspiration for women bull tamers and trainers out there as she participates with her bull this year. The 16-year-old female Jallikkattu bull tamer will take part in Vadivasal, a category of the sport in which bulls are released from a closed space.

Suggested Readings: As Anushka Sharma Stars as Jhulan Goswami, Here's A Look at Female Led Sport Biopics