City turns brisk; but villages gloomy over jallikattu ban

MADURAI: Markets, shopping complexes and others in various parts of the city buzzed with activity on the eve of Pongal as shoppers hustled and bustled for the last-minute shopping. Large number of crowds was seen in farmers markets in various parts of the city and the Central market on Wednesday as the festive spirit caught up with the public in the city.
Residents in the city said that this is the first time in three years, that they are having such fresh vegetables during Pongal season. "Last year, getting fresh turmeric plants to tie round the pots were difficult and they were also priced very high," said Shalini Kumar, a housewife. Banana leaves too had skyrocketed to about Rs 20 per bundle of five leaves last year while it had come down to Rs 10 this year. All the markets including the farmers markets in Anna Nagar, Chinnachokkikulam among others were flooded with people on Wednesday in the city.
However, the environment was gloomy on the outskirts as villagers were protesting the banning of jallikattu, the bull taming game that is an integrated part of the Pongal festivities. There were protests in Alanganallur where the game should have been conducted on January 16, if everything had gone off well. Black flags continued to fly outside houses and shops and people sat in silent protests in many places. Meanwhile, the price of flowers skyrocketed to an all time high with jasmine selling at Rs 2,000 per kg in the flower market in Madurai, which is the highest price for this fragrant flower in recent times. According to the secretary of Madurai flower merchants association Muthu, the price hike was due to the cold climate prevailing in the southern districts for the past few weeks. Usually, the markets get around 10 to 20 tonnes of flowers, but now it had gone down drastically to just three tonnes and that is why the price hike, according to him. Flower merchants say that frost is affecting the flowering process and leading to the price hike.