News
A dying breed
View(s):Ours is an age when most entertainment is limited to the screen… so it is natural to feel nostalgic at the sight of a gypsy with a monkey on a leash
The outcry raised by animal rights activists on the suffering caused to the racing bulls saw the end of the Thirikkal Race
or with a cobra in his basket.
These gypsies who have resisted the lure of modern careers, are frequently zapped by animal rights activists and this probably explains the rarity of these wandering entertainers today.
The same goes for thirikkal races -a one-time top ‘macho’ entertainment for village youth– connotative of much testosterone and gusto. Thirikkal races were earmarked for extinction in 2007 when
Story and pix by Indika Handuwala and Anurada Bandara.
there was speculation the sport would be banned following an outcry by animal rights activists about the bulls being made to suffer via beatings, tails being twisted and testicles squeezed.
Also on ‘thin ice’ today are the soothsayers, one of whom, as our photographer captured invading the bench of a couple of lovers.
The three of them seem to be temporarily engrossed in the future.
These pictures would probably serve as museum pieces in a score of years as they undoubtedly depict the last generation of practioners of these arts.
 "Sastharai" the numbers of these female soothsayers are fast-declining |  A dying breed.. a gypsy with his monkey on a leash |
 The snake charmer once a common sight on our streets is fast becoming a rarity | |