Man vs matador is bull, as Harnya & Manya slug it out

The event was preceded by a “warm-up ram fight”. Incidentally, both the rams, one of which was injured near his horn, were given off to the winner and the runner up as trophies. “A win like this has to be celebrated with ram meat,” explain Gangaram Patil, whose bull won the event, extending an invitation for dinner to this reporter.

The bulls in question, Harnya and Manya, couldn’t for the life of them figure why all around them were so excited. And when Manya was prodded with sticks and loud hustling, he charged, and soon shouts, war cries and whistles rent the air as the crowd went berserk at the sight of the bulls attacking each other head on. This led to uproarious scenes whenever the vanquished bull tried to flee the scene. The frightened animal would barge into the crowds even as they ran helter skelter for cover.

One of the rounds actually saw a reluctant bull from Dombivli who could barely figure out why the mob was running behind him run for cover into a nearby house. And adding to the general chaos were the frightened screams of the woman inside that house. Judges and volunteers kept moving around wielding lathis to keep the 1,200 crowd at bay. But as the hot sticky afternoon wore on, the lathis seemed more useful for the animals.

Enquiries with Dattatray Patil a farmer from Padgha, who had entered his bull in the fight, revealed that a lot of preparations had gone into readying the bulls. “The preparations begin immediately after harvest. A good non-neutered bull is selected and put on a special diet,” he explains and adds, “A massage with mustard oil and a regular regimen of swimming and running are essential. "After all, it is a question of family honour…”

Issues like animal cruelty are low priority here. Questions regarding these are dismissed with, “All that is for city folks. Nobody comes here to bother about animal suffering.”

“We don’t ill treat our animals. Their love for us makes them fight for us,” says Narendra Bhagat, who is the chairperson of Gramastha Mandal which is organising the event.

Interestingly, the local police station nearby was unaware of the organisation of this event, which has been banned by High Court. It may be recalled that animal rights activists had raised a furore over the inclusion of bull races at the Pune festival.

According to Suzie Weisinger of AHIMSA, the organisation of an event like this which involves animals is cognisable under Sec 424 of the IPC. “Both the Sec 11 (1) m (ii) and Maharashtra Cattle Preservation Act say that killing, maiming mutiliating or hurting animals for entertainment is an offence.”

Dr Jatin Dixit, a practising veterinarian who specialises in treating cattle, confirmed that the possibilities of serious trauma were very high. “It could be fatal if the animal is successful in attacking the flank of the other which it aims at while attacking,” he says.

Both the DCP of Kalyan Bhujangrao Shine and Thane Commissioner of Police O P Bali could not be contacted, as they were away at the state level police games organised at Dattaji Kondadeo stadium at Thane.