It was a fine Thursday morning and I was pedalling as fast as I could to my employer Mr. Ram’s
shop in the town. I worked there as his
clerk cum typist. Ram was a Brahmin of the pure breed, strictly
honest, generous in his dealings with
customers and very punctual with his
prayers, without which he never touched his food, however hungry he could be.
It was unusual for a cow to be tied in front of the shop. It
was large handsome cow with an enormous udder
that denoted good milch breed.
“Probably Ram has bought
a new one .” I thought. He was very fond of two things. Cows and Elephants.”
They had already two cows and now this could be
the third”. My thoughts raced faster. The cow bellowed aloud, startling
me from my thoughts.
As I entered the shop,
the accountant Mr. Jayakumar
briefed me in short. “ He has done it again,he said with a wide grin.which
meant Ram had again purchased another cow. My thoughts raced to an incident
that occurred the previous year.
Through the glass window of
his shop, Ram had seen the local
butcher Abu lead a healthy cow through the main road in front of his shop to the
butcher’s . Since it was a butcher who was taking the cow, it meant that it was
to be killed for meat.
Ayyo! What sort of
cruelty is this? He cried and ran out of the shop towards the butcher.
“Abu, are you taking
this Mahalakshmi to be slaughtered ?” He asked Abu the butcher. “ Yes Swamy”
Abu replied.
“ Oh Abu!” How can you be so cruel? “ Instead of killing
this creature, can’t you take it home
and care for it. It will give you a lot of milk. Your family will be saved from
poverty” Ram explained. But the words fell on deaf ears. Ram pleaded
repeatedly.
Abu was losing his patience. “ Look Swamy” I am a butcher . I never care for any animals be it cow,ox or
goat, that are bought for meat. Tomorrow is Friday. I am showing this healthy
creature to the town shopkeepers who will see what a fine healthy breed it is
and arrive early morning tomorrow to my shop
for meat. If at all it is a sin to kill animals it will be for those who
sold it Not me.! “ He reasoned.
Ram found no way to divert Abu’s intention. “ Very well. How
much do you want for it”?
Abu paused to calculate. He could not offend the Brahmin
because at a time of want of a small
loan, Ram had given him the money.
“ It cost me six
hundred. Given a small profit of two hundred, I am prepared to sell it for
eight hundred.”
“ It is too much.” Ram lamented. : I shall give you five
hundred ready cash and you can take it to our house and tie it there.”Ram was
very apt at haggling.
Abu would not budge. Finally, after much haggling, Abu agreed to six hundred.
The cow was added to
the family herd of two. Ram’s large family required a lot of milk and they were
quite wealthy to afford cow breeding.
Their cattle shed was very large and could easily accommodate four cows as well
as store a large quantity of fodder.
When their permanent Vet examined the animal, he certified that it was three months pregnant!.
Ram’s joy knew no bounds. “ Guruvayoorappa!”
He cried aloud. When she delivers, I
promise to give both the cow and calf to you!”
And deliver she did! A male calf. Milk overflowed in the
household. Ram did as he had promised. He donated cow and calf to the famous temple of Lord Krishna.
That was last year. “ Now what has happened now ?” I asked Jayan.
“ Abu did it again” He led this cow before the shop more than three times just to attract our Swamy’s attention and our poor Swamy fell for it again. “ Another six
hundred gone down the drain.”
When Ram’s father
came to know of this new acquisition, he got furious.” Do not bring it home. He
shouted over the phone. It might have some contagious disease that might
endanger our existing ones.” The vet had mentioned such a warning previously.
This placed Ram in a
very uncomfortable position , unable to send the poor creature to the
guillotine or take it home. Before evening, he had to do something. He could
not tie the creature in front of the shop on the roadside. Someone might steal I
at night t and it could turn into tomorrow’s meat.
Help came in the form of
Ram’s friend confident adviser
Moideenkutty. He agreed to take it to his nearby house on one condition. The
cost of feeding had to be borne by Ram. Moideekutty was a cunning guy who managed to eke a living by selling
fake foreign perfume to those who were crazy for it. They thought that they got it very cheap and he made a living that
way!
Ram agreed because there was no other way.
For two weeks Ram
shelled out fifty rupees a day. The cow’s bellowing could be heard in the shop.
Ram became suspicious. Aren’t you feeding the animal well ? He asked
Moideenkutty. This irritated
Moideenkutty . He shouted.
‘ Look Swamy”. “ You
may be filthy rich and I a poor beggar ,but I do not lie. Our holy Koran mentions that even if our life was in danger,one should
never lie. Why should I Swamy? . “ Do
you know one thing ?” The cow gorges fodder costing more that what meagre amount
you are giving me. It chews like a mill!” How can I afford it ? And to add to
our miseries, our sleep is interruptedin the middle of the night by its
terrible howls!. Even our neighbors have
started complaining.” So, I am giving it back to you!.
At that very
moment the cow bellowed startling even Ram.
“Hear that”. I am totally fed up. You can take back your precious Mahalakshmi !’
In spite of Ram’s best efforts to appease the furious man,
Moideenkutty did not agree. The cow arrived in front of the shop next morning.
As we talked about the incident, Ram arrived. When he saw me
I noticed that he was beaming with
pleasure. Holding my hand, he pulled me into the interior of his
shop and whispered. “ My dear man. You have been sent to me by Lord Krishna
himself! I could’nt grasp what he meant.
You see that fine cow outside ? I bought it for your sake.
Care for it and it will bring you good luck and give your family lots of milk
! I stood there stupefied. Seeing me in
the silent mode, Ram added.
“Don’t worry about the cost. You can pay me little by
little. I shall never harass you even if you make a delay in payment. It is an asset! We are Hindus. We cannot let
cows that are sacred to us like our own
Mothers be butchered for meat. So, I saved it. Take it home.”
He had struck at the
very weakness I had!
I was in fact very fond of dogs and cows.
At home we have two
big German Shephards. I perfectly knew that owning a cow was entirely a different matter altogether. One
had to build a shed to house it with convenience
to store hay, cut grass, clean the shed every morning and wash to animal at
least once a week in Summer. Of course, the dung and the urine were excellent
manure for the plants and coconut trees that stood in our small farm.
As if he had read my thought Ram said. “ Don”t worry .
Consider it as your good luck to get this cow. Just look at her. What a
magnificent animal.!
It was true. The cow was indeed a magnificent sight. In
short, I nodded my consent and made arrangements for taking it home.
Everyone at home were stunned to see me leading the huge
cow. I had to answer the numerous questions from my Mother,wife and all the
others. They just could’nt believe that
Ram had given it to me for free!. We tied it outside my room and gave it fodder and water. Everyone were very pleased that there was a
cow, a Mahalakshmi in our possession. It was a very proud moment of my life.
The next morning saw several of our neighbors arriving to
get a glimpse of the cow. Everyone
opinioned that it was certainly a good buy. Some wanted to know the
price. Others wanted to know whether it was pregnant! However, my wife attended to it most lovingly
caressing her head and shoving handfuls
of green grass. The cow gazed at her with her large liquid eyes and nuzzled her
hand for more. It ate everything that we gave. Grass, banana leaves, mango
leaves, jackfruit tree leaves and nothing seemed to pacify
its hunger. Within two days,the fodder meant for a week had disappeared
and when that was finished, it mooed aloud for more.
One thing became evident to me. This cow was a real fodder mill ,the actual truth that
Moideenkutty had said. I began to have my doubts.
A sudden noise like that of a
diesel train horn, made us jump out of bed in the middle of the night. Had the
old coconut palm that stood near the house fallen ? Minutes later, another terriblesound was heard right from where the cow was tied.
And the sounds kept coming on and on.
“ The cow is in heat” Our
Mother exclaimed from her room. You have
to take her to a bull tomorrow.”
It was a Sivarathri for us. The animal never stopped making that awful
sound till morning and in that process never let anyone get a wink of sleep !
Since, everyone was exhausted and tired, deprived of
proper sleep, there was nobody to
get up and prepare breakfast.When her
coffee did’nt appear, our Mother began
scolding everyone.
When, I informed Ram about the
cow’s rantings he advisedme .” Take her to the bull. In a very short time, she
will give you a beautiful calf and you will have abundant milk for the
household as well as to sell.” “ I shall give you the day off.
The next day saw me leading the
cow to the bull some two miles away. All along the way people who knew me kept asking me where and how much I had paid
for it.
When the mating was over, even
after we had reached home, I noticed that the cow had’nt lowered its tail. I
asked an old farmer why she acted like
that.
The silly cow still believes
that the bull’s prick is still with her!
When I told this to my wife, she burst out
laughing.
Two days, the animal kept quiet.
Then,all of a sudden, in the middle of the night its explosive bellow interrupted the peace of
the night. “ Maybe the mating had’nt been done well. Mother quipped. So, again
the very next day I took it to the bull. It was not only ardous but also
expensive because the owner who was a
very greedy farmer charged me Rs.100 for every
mating. I was getting the feel of a financial pinch!. On the way back, I
resolved to get the cow off my back somehow. Otherwise,I would become bankrupt.
That evening,we had a strange
visitor. It was a butcher.
“ I have a person who is
interested in buying this cow. He has
paddy fields and so fodder will not be a
problem for him. He will give you a reasonable price. The price offered was
lower than that poor Ram had actually paid. Ven though it was a hundred less, I
thought it was better to get rid of it.
As it would not be butchered, selling it now
did not bother my conscience. The cow was sold!. Everyone felt greatly
relieved. We could now sleep in peace.
The next morning I arrived at the
shop to work. Some time later, Ram came. He wore a sober look. It was unusual
for him to be like that because as soon as he came into the shop, he’d give me
a big grin and say “ Om Namah Sivaya” This time,his face was grim. I wondered
why.
I gave him the bundle of
notes I had received from the man who had bought the cow.
“ I sold the cow to a man who is
not a butcher for one hundred rupees less”
Ram looked at me in the face and
spoke. “ You were wrong to sell it in the first place without my
consent.” “ Secondly,unknown to you, it was again sold to a butcher who led it
along this way.”
I was taken aback. “Yes. Ram continued.”” God is great
Bhaskara!” It showed me the poor animal before the cruel butcher could kill
it.”
“And what happened after that?” I
asked in wonderment.
“ I bought it back. “ He said
with a victorious smile.
I did not know whether to laugh aloud or to
weep on account of the generosity of the simple Brahmin. One thing pacified me.
The cow was donated to the Cow Care Home
of Lord Guruvayoorappan at Vengara where she would be cared after by the Temple
administration, till her demise. The
End.
By C.S. Bhaskaradas. Amrita,
