The female of any species is not the more beautiful gender in nature. The peacock sports the colourful feathers while the peahen is nondescript. This holds true for all animals and birds and insects, even the marine life. Human females resort to make-up and colourful clothes, to attract the male, which is a contradiction in nature. But now, another female species has won a special status, in spite of being the female counterpart, a luxury reserved for the males.
The Indian cow! This female has no need for any make up etc., as religious Hindus touch it reverently as they pass by, and then they kiss their fingers. Near Hindu temples, the cow enjoys a special status of reverence. It is the duty of Hindu worshippers to pay the cow's caretaker and feed a little grass to the cow. Rich devotees pay more and treat the cow to special 'ladoos' that the care taker prepares, with wheat husk, flour, jaggery, and water. It is a profitable business for these illiterate women, because as the care taker of the 'holy' cow, their status is automatically elevated substantially, and they to are offered new sarees and cash tributes. They also profit by collecting the cow's urine, which is bought by the devotees, for its medicinal value. Quite a few people will vouch for the medicinal qualities of the urine having healed some or the other persistant rash that they though was uncurable.
All Gujarati and Jain shopkeepers have started to display a money box in the shape of a white cow, on their counters. My sincere advice to all shopkeepers of other faiths is to do the same. It is an effective ploy to confuse fanatics, who attack randomly, accusing the victims of cow slaughter or beef consumption.
Baba Ramdev has floated a floor cleaner made from cow's urine, and it is advertised as a natural disinfectant, and bio-friendly too. The advertisement also counsels the public to buy this product and save the cow from the slaughter house.
My personal experiences with the cow are both bitter and sweet. I am very cautious whenever I walk in the vicinity of the temples near my house. It is not a pleasant experience to have one's sandle right in the middle of fresh cowdung. If I have to cross the road at an unmanned signal and a cow comes sauntering along, then it is very safe to cross the road as all traffic comes to a standstill for 'her majesty' the cow to walk on safely. If ever I desperately jay walk, then angry vehicle drivers honk incessantly and almost run me down. But the cow can walk along any road with immunity.
In our Zorastrian religion, the cow's consecrated urine is used for religious cleansing of the human before a navjote, a wedding and even at the funeral. Legend says that our prophet, Zarathustra, was saved from being trampled by a herd of cattle as a new born baby, when evil men had placed him in their path. So, technically and religiously, Zorastrians too must refrain from eating beef, as a reminder of past favours of the cow.
As a teacher of eight year olds, it is not so easy to let the students realize that the bullock cart is manned by the males and that the 'cow' is not allowed to be made to do 'work'. That makes it very important to educate the students about the different parts of a cow and bull. So I start with the dewlap, the brisket, the nostril and the muzzle, the horns, the hoof, the rump and the switch. Then the udder and the teats. Then we discuss how the cow and bull ruminate and chew cud, and how their stomach has four special compartments. We discuss the colours of its skin, and tongue. I also inform them about the cholestrol that people eat as a delicacy and which is sold in handcarts on the road, and is known as 'baall-lee'. Then the awkward explanation about how a cow produces milk for its new born, but humans steal the milk.
Very often, one sees old and skinny cows, roaming on the road, their rump covered with dried dung, flies hovering all over their body, as they seem too weak to swing their tails and shoo them away. I have even seen crows pecking away at the exposed wound on a cow, and the public would still touch its 'good' parts reverently and pass on. I have seen cows sitting in the hot sunlight outside a temple with their mouth lathering with thirst, and the caretaker only keen on asking devotees to pay for some grass and feed it.
Recent news reports have highlighted the fanatic behaviour of certain Hindus who have suddenly earned the post of 'gaurakshaks' or 'cow-protectors'. They take it into their hands to lynch any person who they suspect is out to slaughter a cow, or anyone who they assume is consuming beef. I prefer vegetarianism, but I have numerous friends who enjoy beef. I prefer acrylic bags, shoes and belts, but I admire the well made leather products that I see in the market. But then, I am not a Hindu and so I suppose it is easy for me to be passive about the situation.
The most recent change that I have observed is that if a temple cow and its caretaker are approaching me from the opposite direction, on the footpath, I am the one who has to cower into a safe distance, because the cow care taker now walks with her head held high and an almost defiant demeanour, as opposed to the previous diffidence that she used to sport. I suppose that in Uttar Pradesh, the cows now enjoy a very secure life, almost like the z-security given to important government officials. Oh! What luxury it must be for Nandini, the most favoured among the five hundred cows in Yogi Adityanath's Gaushala. It was breaking news, when the general public was informed how the newly appointed chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, wakes up at 3a.m. and feeds his cows, before eating his own breakfast. Residing in a small flat, in a multistorey building, even owning a pet dog is not easy. Hmmmm, wow, so good to be a cow, now.
The Indian cow! This female has no need for any make up etc., as religious Hindus touch it reverently as they pass by, and then they kiss their fingers. Near Hindu temples, the cow enjoys a special status of reverence. It is the duty of Hindu worshippers to pay the cow's caretaker and feed a little grass to the cow. Rich devotees pay more and treat the cow to special 'ladoos' that the care taker prepares, with wheat husk, flour, jaggery, and water. It is a profitable business for these illiterate women, because as the care taker of the 'holy' cow, their status is automatically elevated substantially, and they to are offered new sarees and cash tributes. They also profit by collecting the cow's urine, which is bought by the devotees, for its medicinal value. Quite a few people will vouch for the medicinal qualities of the urine having healed some or the other persistant rash that they though was uncurable.
All Gujarati and Jain shopkeepers have started to display a money box in the shape of a white cow, on their counters. My sincere advice to all shopkeepers of other faiths is to do the same. It is an effective ploy to confuse fanatics, who attack randomly, accusing the victims of cow slaughter or beef consumption.
Baba Ramdev has floated a floor cleaner made from cow's urine, and it is advertised as a natural disinfectant, and bio-friendly too. The advertisement also counsels the public to buy this product and save the cow from the slaughter house.
My personal experiences with the cow are both bitter and sweet. I am very cautious whenever I walk in the vicinity of the temples near my house. It is not a pleasant experience to have one's sandle right in the middle of fresh cowdung. If I have to cross the road at an unmanned signal and a cow comes sauntering along, then it is very safe to cross the road as all traffic comes to a standstill for 'her majesty' the cow to walk on safely. If ever I desperately jay walk, then angry vehicle drivers honk incessantly and almost run me down. But the cow can walk along any road with immunity.
In our Zorastrian religion, the cow's consecrated urine is used for religious cleansing of the human before a navjote, a wedding and even at the funeral. Legend says that our prophet, Zarathustra, was saved from being trampled by a herd of cattle as a new born baby, when evil men had placed him in their path. So, technically and religiously, Zorastrians too must refrain from eating beef, as a reminder of past favours of the cow.
As a teacher of eight year olds, it is not so easy to let the students realize that the bullock cart is manned by the males and that the 'cow' is not allowed to be made to do 'work'. That makes it very important to educate the students about the different parts of a cow and bull. So I start with the dewlap, the brisket, the nostril and the muzzle, the horns, the hoof, the rump and the switch. Then the udder and the teats. Then we discuss how the cow and bull ruminate and chew cud, and how their stomach has four special compartments. We discuss the colours of its skin, and tongue. I also inform them about the cholestrol that people eat as a delicacy and which is sold in handcarts on the road, and is known as 'baall-lee'. Then the awkward explanation about how a cow produces milk for its new born, but humans steal the milk.
Very often, one sees old and skinny cows, roaming on the road, their rump covered with dried dung, flies hovering all over their body, as they seem too weak to swing their tails and shoo them away. I have even seen crows pecking away at the exposed wound on a cow, and the public would still touch its 'good' parts reverently and pass on. I have seen cows sitting in the hot sunlight outside a temple with their mouth lathering with thirst, and the caretaker only keen on asking devotees to pay for some grass and feed it.
Recent news reports have highlighted the fanatic behaviour of certain Hindus who have suddenly earned the post of 'gaurakshaks' or 'cow-protectors'. They take it into their hands to lynch any person who they suspect is out to slaughter a cow, or anyone who they assume is consuming beef. I prefer vegetarianism, but I have numerous friends who enjoy beef. I prefer acrylic bags, shoes and belts, but I admire the well made leather products that I see in the market. But then, I am not a Hindu and so I suppose it is easy for me to be passive about the situation.
The most recent change that I have observed is that if a temple cow and its caretaker are approaching me from the opposite direction, on the footpath, I am the one who has to cower into a safe distance, because the cow care taker now walks with her head held high and an almost defiant demeanour, as opposed to the previous diffidence that she used to sport. I suppose that in Uttar Pradesh, the cows now enjoy a very secure life, almost like the z-security given to important government officials. Oh! What luxury it must be for Nandini, the most favoured among the five hundred cows in Yogi Adityanath's Gaushala. It was breaking news, when the general public was informed how the newly appointed chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, wakes up at 3a.m. and feeds his cows, before eating his own breakfast. Residing in a small flat, in a multistorey building, even owning a pet dog is not easy. Hmmmm, wow, so good to be a cow, now.
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