Sankranthi not only adds a dash of colours to our lives. The harvest festival brings a wide spread of native delicacies, the adrenaline rush for an indulgence in cattle games and above all, the irresistible gambling that is best known as ‘cock-fighting’.

Please don’t be annoyed for the mention of cock-fighting, since we see it illegal as much as you do. But a vast part of coastal Andhra doesn’t, and this year was no different. You can even go crazy, knowing that as much as Rs 200 crores changed hands in betting over cock-fights during the three days of Sankranti this year!

Despite the ban on organizing it, and the police watch, the fun for these ‘punters’ goes on every year with great enthusiasm, minimum fuss and little ‘fowl’play! This year, it was relished even more in the districts of Krishna, East and West Godavari as it provided an added relief from the separatist cock-fighting on the political turf.

In East and West Godavari districts, even MLAs and MPs were seen gracing the venues with their families as thoroughbred male birds fought like ‘gladiators’ giving mixed feelings to the gamblers.

The games, cruel though, started as early as 7 am on Bhogi day (Jan 13) and went on till the early hours of Kanuma day (Jan 15). The betting, we were told, started at as low as Rs 100, but soon went up by the minute into thousands and even lakhs as specially groomed cocks ‘locked’ their knives.

The efforts by the police, campaigning against the outlawed fun once again went in vain as thousands flocked to the hundreds of venues. Such was in the intensity, at one of the venues in West Godavari district, a small team of policemen were even locked up inside a room when they went to stop the fights.

A few MLAs from the TDP and Congress were also seen actively taking part in the events. Amalapuram MP Harsha Kumar, who turned up at a venue with his family, was robbed of the ‘entertainment’ by the presence of TV cameras. He reportedly made a scurried retreat as soon as he realised he was being filmed.

The cock-fight enthusiasts feel it is a traditional native sport that is being inherited for generations together and thus it is not illegal for them. They argue cock-fights represent a great sense of pride and history shows that the fate of several empires was determined by them.

Grooming the fighter cocks is no easy task as they need to be fed on special and costly diet. It takes roughly Rs 85 per day to feed each one of them. Categorized into three ferocious groups of fighters, ‘Kaadi’, ‘Dega’ and ‘Nemali’, they are bought at a premium, each ranging anywhere between Rs 20,000 and Rs 1.2 lakhs. For the organisers making astronomical amounts during this time, it hardly matters.

But the ‘fighter’ who makes them all richer, is made to bear the insult for a loss of face. While the winner goes on to survive another season, the loser – wounded and bleeding – ‘chickens out’ as a special delicacy for its masters