Participants Awarded Gold in a Bullock Cart or ‘Rekla’ Race

A recently held Rekla or bullock cart race awarded its participant a gram of gold just for participating.

Rekla race in Coimbatore

(Photo: The Quint)

Video Editor: Mohd Ibrahim

The tradition of using bulls for bullock cart race or Rekla has always been met with arguments about animal cruelty.

Recently in Coimbatore, a Rekla or bullock cart race was organised where the participating racers were given a gram of gold each and the winner was awarded a sovereign gold.

“After facing a lot of struggle, students are organising a Rekla this year. We are very happy to participate. Over 300 bullocks will be seen in the race this year. This is a victory for the students.”

Prakash, Rekla racer

The students of Sri Shakthi Institute of Engineering and Technology organised the event in which over 1,000 bulls from Tamil Nadu and Kerala participated.

The bulls are trained for many years before they are finally ready to participate. Most of these animals have been trained from the age of 4 years. They have been made to run, plough and swim to strengthen their muscles.

Although the Supreme Court had banned any practice that uses a “performing animal,” Rekla is still being practised in some places.