Coimbatore: Tamizhar Tiruvilla, a three-day event that got under way at Codissia on Tuesday, offered the city residents an entirely different experience this Pongal.The event made thousands of families, who otherwise stay glued to television watching recently-released hit movies or star interviews, head to Codissia and take bullock cart rides, sight native breeds of bulls like Kangeyam and Alanganallur, and enjoy traditional dance forms.“Our farm is hardly a few kilometres from the city and is almost becoming urbanized. With the children visiting us hardly once a year, they do not know how Pongal was celebrated in the villages. They seemed excited about this event, so I brought them here,” said J Ravi, father to two teenage girls.The festival also features traditional games like vazhukku maram, tug of war, pambaram, kabaddi and wrestling, besides dance performances like silambam, oyilattam, poi kaal attam, parai and tharai thappattai, among others.“When my daughters saw the traditional bull breeds, they were awed by the size and the majestic way they stood,” Ravi said.The event is being organized by three women - Vijayalakshmi, Ganga Devarajan and Margaret Clara - who were inspired by the jallikatu protests. “After the jallikattu protests, we realized that so many people are not aware of our traditions and how much fun traditional celebrations can be,” said Vipin, kin of one of the organizers. “We specifically chose Pongal holidays instead of a weekend, because we want people to have fun instead of watching celebrities celebrate the festival.”The event will conclude on Thursday.

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