Feed Cows

There are no fresh green pastures around….the whole green belt was dug out to make space for monstrous shopping malls (the modern citadels of conspicuous consumption) and outrageously large corporate buildings (do not know, they look meaningless)…herds of hungry cows (abandoned ones) roam about the streets, high speed traffic, approach vehicles that are parked, anticipating some food from heartless heads / humans sitting in the vehicles….I need not tell you, all of us know, most cows survive eating discarded plastic bags. Thin, emaciated creatures wandering around the crowded streets searching for something to eat….they live off plastic bags, fast food boxes, rotten vegetables, clothes….most of them are abandoned, could be due to their inability to produce milk or change in their masters’ business priorities, begin their journey quite early in the morning, i.e. by 6 am, a few stand in front of the apartment complexes waiting for people to feed them, while others walk into the main streets crammed with both human and vehicular traffic. Having forgotten their rustic life,  these animals are being forced to survive in harsh city life. Who has the time to take a pause and ponder about these sacred creatures? Do they really deserve this kind of wretched existence?

Please feed these abandoned cows…bananas, vegetables like Cauliflower or greens or left-over chapatis (rotis, Indian bread), whenever you can. This human task does not require much from one, except a few minutes off your busy schedule. In our country, Cows are sacred animals, they are regarded and respected as a matriarchal figure, for their gentle nature (in Mumbai and South, most people touch the Cows in the streets and seek blessings silently, most stop and feed them bananas…On Mumbai busy streets, usually, both the cow and its owner are found sitting near a temple, the animal is tethered to, busy munching on fresh grass/ bunch of sugarcanes kept in the vicinity….why do people in Mumbai and South behave differently from those who live in Delhi / Gurgaon? Í do not intend here to raise that much avoidable North-South divide, but….shocked to see Cows in highly a neglected condition in the COW BELT of our country)  …why are we neglecting them ? they roam about the streets like destitutes. They clamour for a piece of chapati that’s being thrown out of cars…today, saw a kid kicking a cow, as his parents watched the whole saga, gleefully, as if their kid was on major an adventure. What’s wrong with our society?  Are we losing our ability to treat animals? This is a truly sad state of affairs.