City Moment – Happy Cow, Sri Aurobindo Marg
The beautiful Delhi instant.
[Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi]
One morning The Delhi Walla met an extravagantly dressed cow on the busy Sri Aurobindo Marg. The animal, attired in pink velvet, had a marigold garland draped around her horns.
“She is my mother,” said the accompanying clean-shaven sadhu, as he affectionately patted the cow. Introducing himself as Sitaram, he said, “I walk across the city with my Nandi maa. We are going towards Safdarjang Enclave. We accept whatever people give us. Sometimes it is a roti, sometimes it is a ten rupee note.”
When I patted her, the cow energetically started to lick all around her mouth.
The sadhu laughed.
“This means that she is happy to see you,” he said. “You have been blessed by her.”
The sadhu then closed his eyes, turned his face towards the cow and started to recite a prayer. The cow kept on licking her mouth. She continued to be happy, obviously. It was a beautiful moment.
Happy on the road
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
HA ha ha. The cow may not be happy but the sadhu must be. This is yet another way of earning livelihood. Normally they choose a cow having some deformity – such as a small extra leg looming at the stomach etc. This cow also appears to be having some extra flesh in the eye.