bulls in fields and if there is no reason to rear these animals they may soon become extinct says karthikeya senapathy managing trustee of senapathy kangayem cattle research centre a sturdy kangeyam bull well trained for jallikattu would easily cost rs 1 lakh if the same bull gains notoriety as untameable its price would shoot up to rs 2 lakh bulls are of course prized possessions but training a bull for jallikattu is not easy says t ondiraj a bull owner from trichy the bull is trained to fight from the age of six months even before its horns sprout initially they are trained to run fast on land and then in twothree feet deep water next it is trained to tangle with dummies and by the time the training ends the bull can target a lemon rolled on the floor with great precision the calf is usually fed and nurtured by only one person so that everyone else becomes a stranger and a target to be attacked says ondiraj for months these bulls have absolutely no work but to feed on a healthy diet and get ready for the grand event in thayi the first month in the tamil calendar coinciding with harvest festival the men who grapple with the bulls also need to train hard a sakthivel of kallandhiri shows a long scar on his right thigh this happened two years ago when a bull ripped me he says and adds with a chuckle that next year he might get a scar on his left thigh too confident that the ban will be revoked many villages in south and central tamil nadu take pride in rearing bulls owners spend upto rs 15000 a month on them i wont mind spending even that to see my bull stand mighty in the field untamed by anyone says ondiraj jallikattu had over years evolved into a wellmarketed tourism event with a handful of companies sponsoring prizes and merchandise big venues like alanganallur and palamedu were particularly popular among tourists the events brought in a lot of revenue into the villages then in 2006 the madras high court bench imposed a ban on the event citing cruelty to bulls marking a long legal battle between awbi and jallikattu organisers after alternative bans and revokes the supreme court has finally delivered its verdict but villagers are undeterred palamedu a village known for jallikattu observed a bandh on friday the organisers have decided to appeal against the verdict in the supreme court