NOBLE COW: MUNCHING GRASS LOOKING CURIOUS AND JUST HANGING AROUND
7.
Secret of India's Street Roaming Cows
By Lin Shujuan (China Daily)
Chaotic, loud, hot and crowded. Diverse, charming and full of stories. There are as many Indias as there are travelers to that country.
It is often said that you’ll either love India or hate it. I disagree. You can only love it in the way you love chocolate. You might get sick from a temporary sensory overload, but its temptation is a lasting one.
Before I set out, I knew little about India. I couldn’t even tell the difference between Hinduism and Buddhism. My knowledge about the country was restricted to some contacts with Indian friends, an occasional peek at online photos posted by tourists and the beautiful TV commercial of Incredible India.
I had intentionally not prepared much for the trip except for picking up medicine to protect my stomach against the infamous Delhi belly. Travel has always been one of the best ways to learn about another culture and country. I preferred to keep it that way.
The five-day trip was such a cultural treat that three weeks later, I am still talking about it with colleagues and friends and, even more surprising, they are still interested.
Like most first-time travelers to the country, my two friends and I chose the tried and tested Golden Triangle route, comprising New Delhi, Agra and Jaipur. But we got little time to see around Delhi because travel between the three cities took up much of our time and energy, the latter dissipating rather quickly in the heat of temperatures 30 C and above.
For someone ignorant of India, like me, culture shock hit the moment we got on the road from Delhi to Agra.
Buses, cars, trucks, scooters, auto-rickshaws, bicycles, pedestrians - and animals - share the roads, paying scant attention to traffic rules. Some buses run with their doors missing. Auto-rickshaws are packed with passengers not just inside, but on their roofs. Trucks seem to take more polite approach, with each of them carrying this sign on their rear bumpers - Blow Horn!
However, once you get used to the chaos, you sense an underlying harmony. Our guide is very helpful telling us how to distinguish between different religious groups from the way they dress, and what their religious differences are all about.
Secret of India's Street Roaming Cows
By Lin Shujuan (China Daily)
Chaotic, loud, hot and crowded. Diverse, charming and full of stories. There are as many Indias as there are travelers to that country.
It is often said that you’ll either love India or hate it. I disagree. You can only love it in the way you love chocolate. You might get sick from a temporary sensory overload, but its temptation is a lasting one.
Before I set out, I knew little about India. I couldn’t even tell the difference between Hinduism and Buddhism. My knowledge about the country was restricted to some contacts with Indian friends, an occasional peek at online photos posted by tourists and the beautiful TV commercial of Incredible India.
I had intentionally not prepared much for the trip except for picking up medicine to protect my stomach against the infamous Delhi belly. Travel has always been one of the best ways to learn about another culture and country. I preferred to keep it that way.
The five-day trip was such a cultural treat that three weeks later, I am still talking about it with colleagues and friends and, even more surprising, they are still interested.
Like most first-time travelers to the country, my two friends and I chose the tried and tested Golden Triangle route, comprising New Delhi, Agra and Jaipur. But we got little time to see around Delhi because travel between the three cities took up much of our time and energy, the latter dissipating rather quickly in the heat of temperatures 30 C and above.
For someone ignorant of India, like me, culture shock hit the moment we got on the road from Delhi to Agra.
Buses, cars, trucks, scooters, auto-rickshaws, bicycles, pedestrians - and animals - share the roads, paying scant attention to traffic rules. Some buses run with their doors missing. Auto-rickshaws are packed with passengers not just inside, but on their roofs. Trucks seem to take more polite approach, with each of them carrying this sign on their rear bumpers - Blow Horn!
However, once you get used to the chaos, you sense an underlying harmony. Our guide is very helpful telling us how to distinguish between different religious groups from the way they dress, and what their religious differences are all about.
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India you will find in the bazaars. There is crowd, and the cows enter there, and they eat the vegetables to their heart’s content. But she is not punishable. Still the cow is not punishable. Maximum a stick will be shown. But if a man takes one potato without the permission, he is punishable, he will be sent to jail. |
Seeing all these different people share the street peacefully with one another - besides an assortment of animals including cows, sheep, monkeys, pigs and even squirrels - I come to appreciate India’s cultural cohesiveness.
I’m also fascinated by the sight of cows wandering the streets, navigating the traffic with great ease.
It isn’t difficult to understand why Indians would allow cows to stroll on the streets, but I couldn’t quite figure out why the cows would enjoy the outing. That question lingered in my mind till the end of the trip.
I ran into a pair of twin sisters from Britain at the airport while heading back to Beijing. I finally solved the riddle of the cows on the roads. They told me why the cows liked to stroll or even just stand on the streets - the busy traffic kept mosquitoes and flies away from their bodies! That was a cool way to keep pests away, I thought.
A five-day trip is simply too short for a country like India. I have to go back there, many times.
I’m also fascinated by the sight of cows wandering the streets, navigating the traffic with great ease.
It isn’t difficult to understand why Indians would allow cows to stroll on the streets, but I couldn’t quite figure out why the cows would enjoy the outing. That question lingered in my mind till the end of the trip.
I ran into a pair of twin sisters from Britain at the airport while heading back to Beijing. I finally solved the riddle of the cows on the roads. They told me why the cows liked to stroll or even just stand on the streets - the busy traffic kept mosquitoes and flies away from their bodies! That was a cool way to keep pests away, I thought.
A five-day trip is simply too short for a country like India. I have to go back there, many times.
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A disciple has read an article from government side that in Iran they want meat, so all these skinny cows should be killed and meat should be exported so that you can get oil economically. So one should not think of this religious sentiment. They should be practical. They should not object. Government is going to open many slaughterhouse to get oil, and kill these loitering, mischief loitering cows who have no food. Like that. So government policy is that religion is an opiate of the masses. It is a sentiment. It has no value. That is government conclusion. |
A Universal Friend
Today there are about 1.5 billion cows in the world. In many different countries humans and cows have formed close relationships. In England, dairy farmer Mark Evans spends all of his waking time with his cows, milking, feeding, and otherwise nurturing them. The African Masai tribe believes that all cattle were given to them from the great god N’gai at the beginning of time - a belief which today remains at the heart of their culture. India is home to a quarter of the world’s cow population. One major reason for this is that India’s majority Hindu community reveres cows and considers them to be “second mothers.”
Today there are about 1.5 billion cows in the world. In many different countries humans and cows have formed close relationships. In England, dairy farmer Mark Evans spends all of his waking time with his cows, milking, feeding, and otherwise nurturing them. The African Masai tribe believes that all cattle were given to them from the great god N’gai at the beginning of time - a belief which today remains at the heart of their culture. India is home to a quarter of the world’s cow population. One major reason for this is that India’s majority Hindu community reveres cows and considers them to be “second mothers.”