Threads of tradition: How Madurai breathes life into Pongal

With lone a fewer days near for Pongal and jallikattu, preparations are intensifying for this festival.

As the festival approaches, the portion is live with activity: markets are being stocked with caller produce, Jallikattu arenas are being prepared, and the metropolis is readying itself to invited a surge of home and planetary tourists. 

Deeply rooted successful past lit and archaeological history, Madurai is defined by its hospitality.  

It remains a unsocial taste sanctuary—a spot wherever divers religions, traditions, and governmental ideologies coexist and flourish, staying existent to its practice arsenic an abode of pluralism. 

As wide known, the play is not lone important for farmers and bull tamers but besides plays a important relation for artisans who marque ‘mookangayiru’ that would adorn the cows and bulls during jallikattu and Maatu Pongal.

Each year, the festival leads to a surge successful orders, providing a captious root of income for rope-makers who trust connected this seasonal demand.

T. Karthick, proprietor of a store astatine East Maasi Street, that supplies ropes and bells for cows and bulls, said the request peaks during the jallikattu season. “We merchantability ropes of antithetic sizes for assorted cattle-related purposes, and orders summation importantly during this period,” helium says.

He besides runs a rope-making portion astatine Panaiyur, adjacent Madurai, wherever a ample fig of villagers are progressive successful this process.

Sudha, an artisan who has been moving astatine the portion for 5 months, said, “We commencement preparing months successful advance, close aft the Deepavali festival, to conscionable the request during this season. For galore families here, the income generated during this play supports them for respective months.”

When asked astir the process, she explained that the main earthy worldly was thread, sourced from mills. “We usage instrumentality called rattai, besides known arsenic rattinam oregon rothai, to manually rotation and twist the threads. This is the lone instrumentality we use, and the twisted threads are past adjusted according to the required length,” she said.

Ms. Sudha, erstwhile asked astir the assortment of ropes utilized for bulls, said that determination were 3 types: neck, nose, and for tethering, each varying successful magnitude and size.

She added that astir 7 threads are archetypal twisted together, aft which six specified strands are again twisted to signifier the rope. “This is however tethering ropes and chemoreceptor ropes utilized for jallikattu are made. We usually measurement the magnitude successful cubits. A tethering enactment is typically astir 5 cubits (approximately 2.28 metres), though the magnitude varies depending connected the value of the bull,” she said.

Bhaskaran, a rope-maker with 30 years of experience, said this was his superior livelihood. Referring to the 2017 prohibition connected jallikattu, helium said galore of the workers present had participated successful the protests astatine the time. “Without jallikattu, this accepted rope-making accomplishment whitethorn slice away,” helium said.

On their earnings, Bhaskaran said rope-making was his superior concern and that wages depended connected the measurement of orders. “We are paid connected a regular basis, and net scope from ₹500 to ₹1,200 a day. This helps america conscionable our livelihood needs, particularly successful our aged age,” helium says.

Asked astir request this year, Mr. Karthick said it had been steadily rising. “Earlier, customers who owned a azygous bull oregon cattle would bargain 1 rope. Now, galore of them person expanded into farms with respective bulls and cows, resulting successful bulk orders,” helium says.

He added that for jallikattu, astir orders travel from 3 places successful Madurai — Avaniyapuram, Alanganallur and Palamedu. Apart from jallikattu, they besides person orders from different districts for manjuvirattu and akin events.

Mr. Karthick said rope-makers were besides facing contention from nylon ropes brought successful from bluish States. “These nylon ropes are colourful and attractive, and immoderate buyers similar them. However, our fabric ropes are much durable,” helium said.

Pongal savouries

As adjacent the show of a sugarcane instantly reminds 1 of the Pongal festival, the radical of Madurai clasp the play arsenic a profound homecoming, honouring a centuries-old bequest of cultivation richness.

However, connected ground, farmers acquisition hardships successful successfully bringing the sugarcane from farms to the shops.

N. Palanisamy, State President of the Tamil Nadu Sugarcane Farmers Association, noted that portion authorities procurement offers immoderate relief, persistent procedural inefficiencies remain a large load for farmers. 

Because authoritative terms announcements are often delayed until conscionable earlier the festival, galore farmers—fearing terms volatility—sell their crops to backstage traders up to 3 months successful advance. 

Mr. Palanisamy, highlighting a stark terms disparity, said, “Traders typically acquisition 300 canes for ₹4,500 to ₹5,000, oregon astir ₹20 per piece, lone to resell them for implicit ₹50 each. 

Regardless of fluctuating marketplace prices, the Pongal season remains a captious root of employment for section workplace laborers.  

Many who enactment successful neighbouring districts prioritise returning to their hometowns specifically for the sugarcane harvest, contempt the seasonal quality of the work. 

This year’s harvest faced important threats from unseasonal rains crossed the Southern districts, forcing farmers to scramble to support their crops. 

Addressing these concerns, an authoritative from the Agriculture Department noted that portion lone a tiny fig of farmers successful the territory were impacted, the authorities has ensured that each affected individuals received their compensation. 

The territory besides boasts a divers cultivation landscape, producing everything from its staple sugarcane and atom to turmeric and clay pots, portion besides being a hub for bull-rearing.  

The festive request is expected to thrust jaggery prices from the modular ₹60 per kg to arsenic precocious arsenic ₹90 per kg.  

A. Raja, a shaper based in Alanganallur, noted that his installation has prepared more than 750 kg specifically for the Pongal season.  

He explained that due to the fact that jaggery is made from yellowish cane—a assortment chiseled from the communal edible sugarcane—the earthy worldly is disposable year-round. 

Furthermore, since astir producers cultivate the cane connected their ain land, proscription costs bash not significantly impact the final price.  

Mr. Raja besides highlighted that prime is often judged by the colour of the jaggery, noting that integrated varieties require quick turnover.  

“Because integrated jaggery has a support beingness of lone astir a month, the full process from accumulation to merchantability indispensable beryllium completed wrong a azygous week,” helium added.