In the coastal village of Kulasekarapattinam in Tamil Nadu , faith takes on an earthly form during Kulasai Dussera . Here, gods and goddesses descend to dwell among men—not through idols, but through devotees who embody the divine in a spectacle of trance, transformation, and devotion unlike any other festival in India. As India celebrates Dussehra with fireworks and effigies of Ravana, over eight lakh devotees converge at the 300-year-old Arulmigu Mutharamman Temple , where the air hums with chants, drums, and the sound of transformation itself. A Festival of Transformation The Kulasai Dussera, observed during Navaratri , spans ten days and culminates in the dramatic Soorasamharam , the slaying of the demon Mahishasura by Goddess Lalithambigai—an incarnation of Mutharamman , the fierce guardian deity of the town. Unlike Dussehra elsewhere, where the focus is on the Ramayana, the myth here centers on female divinity and creation’s power to restore mo...
Photo: A Kaitkar holding rooster before starting the fighting (All rights are reserved ©Swattik Jana)
Cock fighting is one of the oldest sports in India. Due to various reasons, this game is on the way to disappear today.
Recently Purulia, West Bengal and India's biggest "cock fighting" competition took place. This arena is at least 63 years old. Like every time this time also thousands of rooster owners and village people from Belpahari, Dhanbad, Odisha, Jhilimili are participated in this event. Sometimes one rooster is responsible for village's fame. Rarh bhum region cock fighting means organizing a big village fair. Pan, Bidi, Gutkar Shop, Chop, Panpar, Televaza Shop, Jilipi, Goja, Sandesh etc sweet shops are there. At the same time, it is seen that the women of the neighboring village come with "Haria" (the traditional alcohol from made from fermented rice) loaded on their heads in the early morning. Early in the morning, the preparation of dishes from chicken, pork and other meats begins, and the preparation of "Chakna"(Traditional name of dishes served with traditional wine) is also carried out.
Some on bicycles, some on rented cars bring thousands of roosters next to the arena. The sales of roosters also started, needless to say many people bought roosters from the vendors and joined this game. Itcan be seen that fighter roosters are being obstructed by inverted bicycles, brick-chopped market bag bottoms, rocks, or narrow tree trunks. It should be noted that the owners of roosters are called "Haushi" and those who take the roosters to fight in the middle of the arena are called "Kaitkar" or "Kaitki". The sharp weapons used on the legs of the rooster are called "kait". The size of this kait varies from rooster to rooster, and it takes years of skill to tie it. Even if it is tied too tightly, the chicken will not be able to fly with its legs, and if it is a little loose, there is a possibility of the kait moving around.
Conventional nomenclature also varies between different roosters due to color and structural variations. Such as "Sweti" (completely white in colour), "Jhirra" (various colored feathers scattered), "Khairya" (red-black or white-black mixed). Also based on the variation of head flower, "Sim - Phulya", "Kadam - Phulya", "Karat- Phulya" etc.
Before the start of the game, the rooster start searching for their opponents, which is called "Jod - khoja". Before the starting face to face fighting with different roosters, they will tell that it will fight with its opponent. After that, if the owners of both parties agree, the Kaitkar has been called. The Kait is worn like an uppercase "L" or an inverted "T" on the rooster's leg, and the owner holds the rooster.
After the "kait" is fastened, the rooster enter the arena with the "Kaitkar". One more face-off is shown before the fight begins. After that "Kaitaka" start fight by tapping them on the tail. Roosters pounce on their adversaries with their saffron-like feathers on their necks erect. Thus the collision occurs in stages and each stage is known as a "shund". A couple of roosters fight while another rooster is injured by the kite, which loses. He was immediately taken to the local hen hospital shop located in the fair next to the arena.
The defeated rooster is called a "pahur", and the winning owner takes this pahur. The Kaitkar of the defeated owner does not take any gratuity, on the other hand, the Kaitkar of the winning owner takes some money as gratuity. If the winning owner could not pay the gratuity, the kaitkar cut off one leg of the pahur. Its common name is "Farya".
This ancient game is under administrative ban and today is almost extinct due to the catalyst of excessive gambling, excessive drinking etc.
(All rights are reserved ©Swattik Jana)
All images are subject to copyright ©Swattik Jana
Comments
Post a Comment