Gau seva

 

Loitering on the banks of Ma Ganga I see the real beauty of India. The faith, seva bhav, love. A few sadhus and animal welfare volunteers have come together to treat the injured horn of a bull. Coming from a farming family I have seen such scenes in my village. When pinned down like this by the humans, the poor cattle think they are getting slaughtered. I remember that fear in the rolled eyes of the pinned down buffalo or bull. Those strong puffs of breath spurting saliva and slime on the muzzle. But here the bull is somehow relaxed. Its eyes aren’t popping out with the fear of death. This I feel is due to the touch of the sadhus. There is an assurance of safety, love and care. Their presence makes the bull behave well even in the face of such a painful, scary experience. Its eyes are normal. Its muzzle isn’t oozing with slime, which a cattle normally does with strong puffs of breathing under such circumstances. The bull seems assured of safety. The touch of loving sadhus mixed with the touch of caring animal lovers from an animal welfare foundation. It’s in safe hands. The injured horn is dressed. And the volunteers move away slowly releasing the rope, leaving only the sadhus near the bull as it gets up. The young bull gets onto its feet with wonderful calm. The sadhus pat it lovingly. ‘You are a good boy. Now don’t fight too much over girlfriends,’ says the young doctor. The onlookers laugh. The sadhus guide it to a relatively open space.