Cows on the beach

When I was in conversation with Dr Sathyajit of Ayurveda Yoga Village  which is newly built on Dhareshwara beach , Kumta ,  two things made me curious . Ayurveda consultation is free for locals and second is in the mornings they let the cows to wander in the beach! I must tell you that these are not local cows but brought from Gujarath and the breed is known as  Gir. After having  a customized K-T ( Tea) and a single Mangalore Bun with a tasty coconut chutney I reached Yoga village’s cattle house much before the said time to photograph them.

They are our part of family. They go to the beach in the mornings , gaze till afternoon and then come back to get a good wash and rest

The cattle house is spacious   with muddy surface, Ceiling fans and lights  for the cow’s comfort.  Cows are not tied and are free inside the house. A dedicated caretaker cleans them, feed them and take them to beach for gazing just like the olden days in my home. Milking is also done traditionally where they leave two teats for the calf.

Gir cows are very beautiful cows. They are large with convex head and pendulous ears hanging . They are cute and loving and they like human affection. They must of the most curvous cow of all breeds. I got ready with my camera when the caretaker started taking them to the beach. They got annoyed in the beginning but slowly got used to me. I must have looked funny to them rolling all over the ground while trying to photograph them. Few even decided to check what I was carrying and even given affectionate ‘licking’ service. This adorable group feasted on the beach side greens while every now and then they ran on the sandy beach side to get warmer. The passed through every corners of the sheoak trees , drank sweet water from paddy field canals , jumped in to the sand-holes , disobeyed their caretaker often but they’d never leave the herd.

Today in India the word cow comes with a tag ‘disputed’ , not to blame the cow but because of hate-love relationships of different ideologies behind the cow. And keeping a big herd can itself draw unnecessary attention and troubles as well. “We had tough time while transporting these cows from Gujrath ” Says Dr Satyajith while patting the back of his only one majestic male in the herd “Rudra” . But for the love of cows they were ready for anything always. “why not! “I told to myself after recalling that refreshing walk with the cows on beach!