Pongal - Tamil Nadu Harvest Festival

Big holiday festival in Tamil Nadu, involving decorating all the cows around, and big bull wrestling events., as shown below.  These colorful neighbors are just hanging around in town.  Other even more done-up bovines seen in the villages.

Bull Wrestling - First

A bull in the arena, surrounded by wrestlers, trying to bring it to the ground.  The animals are provoked by the incredible noise, crowd and their owners as they enter the arena.  I saw one bull lie down in the chute before entering the arena, unwilling to go forward.  The owner bit his tail hard, making him jump up and forward into the wrestling ground.

Bull Wrestling - Second

Wrestlers going for a bull which has not passed the limit rope; if they take it down, they win prizes like bicycles or blenders.  If the bull passes the rope, the owner wins the prize.  How it's decided which prize goes for which fight is a mystery to me.

Pilgrims in Madurai

A common sight near the big temple in central Madurai, pilrimgs in varying outfits, with varying types of personal decoration; these are some impressive ones. 

My Students and My New Haircut

In Villapuram, a small group, all men, mostly enthusiastic as we rushed through a training that usually takes 6 hours but had to be completed in 3.5 hours.  The day before in a town called Vellore,  there were 50 people (3 women) and the proof they enjoyed it was that they all returned after lunch.