Pongal, the uniquely Tamil festival is around the corner. The day following it will be when cows are worshipped and then will come the bull race or Jallikattu. The Courts may have spoken as also the Government, but opinion will always be divided on the event. If there was a Madras Mooings maybe we could get the animals’ view on it as well. In the meanwhile, here is wishing everyone a happy Pongal. And while we are at it, we feature a bullock cart, captioned as a bullock bandy in this century old picture postcard published by Higginbothams. It must have been a curiosity in the lands to which the postcards were sent. In today’s Madras that is Chennai, the bullock cart would be as much a curiosity, an indication of how much times have changed within a hundred years.
Many were the bandy mandapams in old Madras. None survive today. As late as 1925, the flat rate for a bullock cart for plying within the city was 2 annas!
