September 10, 2004
One amazing thing
about traveling to new lands is that you see such wonderful things, such
as cows. While a cow may not seem a wondrous sight, the location where
you find them is unique. In India, the cow is a sacred animal, part of
the Hindu religion. This religious status makes them a protected animal.
If you kill a cow on purpose, you can go to jail for six months or more.
When I first arrived in India, this law didn't make sense. In the shops
you see shoes and other items made from cow leather. There is a simple
explanation. When a cow dies of natural causes, the leather and bones
may be used, but not the flesh, as Hindus do not eat cow meat. This protected
status also results in a strange sight. On the busiest city street you
will find cows wandering down the road. They ignore the honking, near-
misses, and congested traffic as if they know they are watched over by
the gods.
To a foreigner, these cows seem to be their own masters, but this is not
the case. About 80% of the cows are owned and their owners are well aware
of the habits of their animals. The cows are not wandering aimlessly but
act as natural garbage cleaners and recyclers. They nose around among
the trash thrown out in the streets, looking for vegetable scraps, paper
covered in food waste, clippings from gardens, anything that they can
eat. While this diet may seem inappropriate, many of the cows have sleek
coats and well-muscled bodies. They look healthy.
These sacred cows also try to pilfer fruit and vegetables from vendors'
stalls. I was told that the vendors have to let the cattle do what they
wanted, but this is not what I've seen. The shop owners shoo the cattle
away, and in one case I saw a man beating the head of a cow that was trying
to eat the seat of his parked motorcycle. The cows like the salt from
the sweat that collects on a motorcycle seat. After the cows have spent
the day rummaging through the city's waste, their owners find them and
milk them. The milk is taken back to the family or sold at the shops.
Like many adventures, things don't always go according to plan. We will
tell you about what has been happening with the camels in our next journal
entry.