Cows, Cows, & More Cows

I encountered my first cow in the Paharganj. It was January 26^th; I have just gotten off the Delhi Metro at R.V. Marg. It was my second day in Delhi; I thought I was at Connaught Place. It didn’t seem too out of place; the area had a bit the feel of a county fair – open air market, fruit and vegetable stands, colorful textiles and handicrafts. Of course, it was completely not like a county fair too. No one was wearing a cowboy hat or chewing tobacco. County fairs don’t have filthy children doing tricks for a few rupees for the tourist. They may have over-loaded garbage cans swarming with bees, but not the trash and open sewers of this neighborhood.

It was just a few cows sunning themselves on the side of the street, but that was only the beginning. As I moved through the Pahargani looking for the concentric circles of Connaught Place cows were everywhere, and cows are big. When was the last time you stood next to a cow? It was like walking down Fifth Avenue at rush hour with cows, manure and garbage – oh don’t forget the pedi-cabs, motorized rickshaws, and cars. No sidewalks, just people, cows, and horns. There were white cows, black cows, steers, brown cows and people lovingly dumping pales of what I will call vegetable matter, but it looked like garbage to me, in front of the cows. The place overwhelmed your nostrils.

I decided to explore the alleys off the main street – they were only about 6 feet wide, they were so narrow that the wires and open windows seemed to form a roof, it was dark noisy, crowded. I was sure I’d get lost in the winding maze; but I could always hop into a pedi-cab. A few days later I learned several things, one most pedi-cab drivers do not speak English, are illiterate, and two, I couldn’t pronounce any Indian word of more than two syllables correctly.

I wasn’t in a hurry, it was a national holiday, Republic Day; I had all afternoon to kill; so I just explored. Eventually I came out to a street. While wandering I came across a small courtyard, just as I turned the corner a woman opened the door; at the door was a steer – it must have stool 6’2” I think it came calling. I should have taken a photo, but didn’t. I think the woman was more curious about me than surprised at the steer.

Eventually I immerged at the New Delhi Train Station. The area wasn’t any more crowded than the Paharganj but it was faster and noisier. The way they drove I’d have thought I’d seen several motorized rickshaw tip over by now. I won’t say they are good drivers, they follow no rules, and safety never occurred to them, but they are skilled.

The gas and diesel fumes were more nauseating than the manure and sewers so I retreated back into the side streets of the Paharganj. After a few blocks I was confronted with a herd of cows – there must have been five of them; and they blocked my way. Should I just push on through, making a path as I go? How would they react? I wasn’t afraid of getting hooked (I was reading Hemingway’s ‘A Sun Also Rises’), but it did occur to me that I might get stepped on. I couldn’t turn back. Forward I went, the cows just ignored me, didn’t bat an eye, or turn a head; they didn’t so much as move as they leaned out of the way. Cows don’t have any more sense of personal space than anyone else in India. Bodies, animal or human, rubbing against one another is just a fact of life with a population of over one billion.

Immerging unscathed from the herd I was confronted with the mother of all cows. It wasn’t the biggest or fattest cow I have ever seen but it was the ugliest and dirtiest cow I have ever seen – and there it sat in a sea of garbage. This time I did take a photo.

The cows didn’t so much surprise me as the cows in traffic, not neighborhood traffic but fast traffic. Everyone swerved for the cows, the cows went there own way. People did have much respect for traffic either, but the cows had absolute right of way. Vendors would shoe them away from there stands, but otherwise they ruled.

I didn’t give the culture of cows much thought before I left, but it remains an Indian theme and has a profound effect on life in India