THIRSSUR: Breaking the age-old convention as many as 12 women ‘tigresses’ took to the streets in Thrissur along with their male counterparts at the annual Pulikkali event held as a part of Onam celebrations here on Thursday. This was the first time in the history of ‘Pulikkali’ these many women were taking part in the show. In the ‘pulikkali’ event which has a history 200 years, women were introduced last year as six ‘tigresses’ led by Assistant Sub-Inspector of Police at the Police Training Academy N. A. Vinaya. They had created history as the female debutants in the Pulikkali gala. Viyur and Ayyanthole Pulikkali Sangam gave the women activists an opportunity last year. This year, the women’s organization ‘Wings’ expressed interest and spearheaded the move for the participation of women all over Kerala.
National award winner for the best teacher, 56-year-old Ramani, was the leader of the women brigade this time around. She retired from Brahmanur School in Palakkad last year and now works as the district president of ‘Wings’. Ramani said that her decision to take part in the event was to give out the message to society that women needed a space everywhere. This time, women representing Kottapuram sangam took part. “Several other women expressed interest in taking part in ‘Pulikkali’ and we selected 12 of them. The decision taken by us last year had sent the message to other women and this overwhelming response exemplifies it,” Ms Vinaya, who was actively involved in the training of the ‘tigresses’ for this year’s show, said.
Other than Ramani teacher from Palakkad, Geetha of Perinjanam, Sujatha Jananaithri, Rama of Chundal, Haimavathi Puthur, Ramani of Thrissur, Kamalam, Ajitha of Kozhikode, Surya Priya, Prasanna from Malappuram, Nidhi of Pathanamthitta and lawyer Sherly of Thiruvanathapuram were the women participants. The ‘tigresses’ came out on Thursday to take part in the ‘Pulikkali’ procession braving unexpected rains and were accompanied by a percussion played by a 30-strong women group. It was for the first time women percussionists were taking part in Pulikkali.
Pulikkali in progress at Swaraj Round in Thrissur on Thursday.
Agriculture Minister V. S. Sunil Kumar, who is the MLA from Thrissur, met the women participants on Thursday at their training camp in Kottappuram and said that their participation exemplified the empowerment of women and from next year the state government was planning to give financial aid to the sangams which were ready to give women a chance. Speaking to DC, activist and Thrissur-based writer Sarah Joseph said that the participation of women in a male dominated Pulikkali was a part of the struggle to get a space for women.
“This represents the fight to get space in different spheres. It also reflects a change in the outlook of society. Earlier women were barred from even coming in front of their homes by a patriarchal society which had laid down norms for her space and movements,” the writer said. She also said that it was also the breaking of female stereotypes. “The women are expected to enact body movements only in a certain way be it in certain art forms or in cinema. But, by taking part in Pulikkali, they are breaking such norms by dancing along with men in a manner hitherto unseen,” she added. Sarah congratulated the women for showing the spunk to take part in public in a male-dominated event.
Downpour a dampener
Braving the unexpected rains, ‘tigers,’ ‘tigresses’ and hundreds of percussionists hit the Swaraj Round in Thrissur for the annual Pulikkali show on Thursday afternoon. The organisers said that the one-and-a-half hour delay in commencing the event which was scheduled to start at 4 p.m. was mainly due to the objection raised by the percussionists as the rain falling on their drums would damage the music instruments. The artistes painted as tigers also expressed apprehension that the rains would dissolve the works done on their body.
However, by 5.30 p.m., all the six teams participating in Pulikkali set off from their camps to the venue Swaraj Round where tens of hundreds of spectators including several foreign tourists were waiting to witness the tiger dance. The percussionists played their special music for the show as the organisers held tarpaulin sheets over their heads to protect their instruments. All the six Pulikkali Sangams - Vizhur, Kottappuram, Kanattukara, Nayakkanal, Vadakke Angadi and Ayyanthole – had special tableaus also with their tigers for the show.
Each team had 50 tigers dancing to the music and they were painted as stripped tigers and spotted leopards. There were also men who took part in the show as black tigers. There was also a contingent of ‘tiger cubs’ with every sangam in which kids painted as tigers participated with ‘tiger masks’. The veteran among the tigers was the 77-year-old Chathunni representing Ayyanthole who was taking part in the annual event for the 61st time. All the tigers who were part of the event took part in the customary breaking of coconut before the idol of Lord Ganapathi at Nayakkanal Junction on Swaraj Round. It was in 1979 that the rain disrupted the event last.
