Animal Farm

Old Ravi had a farm, ee i ee i oh. And on his farm, he had...

Some cows. Ee, i, ee, i, oh. Some cows, she says? Try thousands, millions of cows. Everywhere!!! And all those images you have all seen of cows in the middle of the road, stopping traffic...that's how it is. From small alleys in the old city to the highways. No one touches them, no one yells at them except, as Hindus will tell you in a whisper, for the Muslims who, imagine that, eat them. Easy to understand as the Muslims do not share this veneration of the bovine that has been grounded in religion for centuries. Tried to find out how that came to be. Seems no one knows but one theory is that the cow was so valuable alive as a source of nourishment with milk and as a source of fuel thanks to the dung, that this "second to God" status came to be. Speaking of dung, yours truly who despises it with every fiber of her body never knew bullshit could be this valuable. It is used for fuel, fertilizer, building material, etc.

How these old girls make it through a day is nothing short of a miracle. Survival instinct in a desert land takes her to the garbage pile which gets supplemented by kind souls who discard their table scraps outside their doors. A la Pavlov's dog, cows will stand for hours at the door of someone's house because they know food is coming. Funny to watch!

 

Old Ravi had a farm, ee i ee i oh. And on his farm, he had a goat. Contrary to the cow that just is, the goat is "property of" which gives it a clear path to the curry pot. Or to Fredy's workshop when the goat skins are imported to music stores in Manhattan. Funny how MimiYork, normally obsessed with food, mentioned it so rarely during this trip. Well, goat was not on my list. It masquerades as mutton on the menu. "But a goat by any other name would taste as strong", says Shakespeare. Oh, wait, that's not what he said but still stands.

Old Ravi had a farm, ee i ee i oh. And on his farm, he had a camel. The desert mule is built to last in the hot sun and through sand storms.

Most importantly, the gods have gifted him with the patience necessary to put up with countless, temperamental tourists. We did not go see the sand dunes as we read about the traffic jams, the fields full of tents and, above all, the effect this mass trekking is having on the desert. When the guides warn you away, you know to take notice.

Old Ismail had a farm, ee i ee i oh. And on his farm, he had a pig. As far as we can understand, pigs are raised by the Muslim community. We walk through the alleys and you are so struck by people's ability to live with so little. You think you have seen the worse of conditions and then you enter the Muslim neighborhood to see that poverty has its own cast system. Where in North America, we would be looked at with suspicion reserved for intruders, here people greet us with smiles, invite their children to wave. I know, I know...I have said this many times already but it continues to amaze me. Taking a page out of the cow's book, the pigs set out to prove that one man's garbage is another pig's treasure!

Old Ravi had a farm, ee i ee i oh. And on his farm, he had some dogs. Here a dog, there a dog, everywhere a dog. While back home, man's best friend fulfills its single purpose of amusing human beings, the dog here serves, as far as we can tell, no purpose whatsoever. Apologies to all dog lovers of the world. They just wander, looking for scraps left by the cows, goats and pigs. Such is the order of things. No Wesminster Kennel show or rescue movement for these canines. All are equally ignored, left to multiply at will.

Old Ravi had a farm, ee i ee i oh. And on his farm, he had some horses. The "regular" horses that show up, pulling carts to market and the dignified white ones that lead the wedding parades. We were able to see only one of those. Quite a show! Behold all the glitters that can be attached to a horse. I guess Diwali was just a dress rehearsal.

Old Ravi had a farm and then Ismail battled it away and then Ravi won it back, hoping Ismail would go to Pakistan but brave Ismail stayed. So both Ravi and Ismail had a farm but the farms went away because of draught, mortgage and kids off to America. All of their animals found themselves in city streets, the real animal farm, navigating through cars, rickshaws and motorcycles.

 

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