all you needed to know about selling your cow

sailing down the river

The Gandak is a majestic river, draining in its wake more than seven thousand square kilometres of land as it flows down to meet the Ganga. The meeting is of course, legendary. Not just because it is an extremely beautiful confluence of rivers but also because it is the site of Asia’s biggest congregation for trade in livestock. Since two smaller tributaries also join the Ganga at this point in its course, the Sonepur fair is quite strategic in its location vis-a-vis trade, both on land routes as well as waterways.

The fair sees much more than the regular rural livestock trade in cattle, horses, camels and sheep. The range of animals includes rare bred dogs, elephants, cats, monkeys and rabbits. And if Alsatians and Terriers weren’t enough for those fond of domestic animals, then there is a large variety of birds, some even as rare as the Snow Partridge that is usually found in much colder climate and the Grey-headed Parrot from the hills near Darjeeling, which are lined up for sale. The ways in which this annual fair links itself to a number of interconnected networks of trade in the local region as well as the other parts of the world is hard to imagine. A simple tabulation of different kinds of animals and goods that are bought and sold at Sonepur, both legally and illegally is a massive and daunting task. In terms of illegal trade, snakes, bears and intoxicants of a large variety are easy answers but on digging deeper, there are a lot of stories left to tell about Sonepur’s thriving trade environment.

 Sonepur, by itself, is a largely unassuming city. One could get by without much effort while being quite taken by some of its singularities. The old Gandak Railway Bridge is one such example – more than two thousand feet long and completed in 1887 during some of the river’s furious years. With the regular floods in Bihar during the last years of the nineteenth century and the successive floods in the last few decades, Sonepur’s culture and social life has survived just like its famous landmark. The first railway platform at the Sonepur railway station is another such marker to anyone stepping foot in the city. Far longer than the more famous bridge, this platform is one of the longest in the world, stretching to more than two thousand four hundred feet. But these dimensions slowly seem to cease as the fair makes claim to the pulse of Sonepur’s life.

Celebrations during Kartik Purnima

The Kartik Purnima is an auspicious day for Hindus and Sonepur’s charm is the throbbing life on this full moon night, filled with devotees lining up to take a dip at the confluence of two mighty rivers. Many stay on for the entire fortnight of the festival while others leave within the next few days although trade goes on well into a month from the date of the Kartik Purnima. The story goes that the Mauryan Empire bought its warhorses and elephants from Sonepur after breeders had travelled for miles to arrive at the banks of this confluence. Most local tales around the fair’s origins describe the confluence as one of five rivers, as famous as the kind of animals that frequented the annual fair – Persian horses, Burmese elephants and rare birds and animals along with elaborate displays of pottery and textiles from the span between Central Asia and the Gangetic belt.

The first day also marks the worship at the Harihar Nath temple, which is the epicentre of activity on that day. Offerings and ablutions are part of the rituals and needless to say, there is a fair bit of waste that accumulates around the fair. While public toilets are scant, relief mostly presents itself in the proximity between the mango groves where the fair is held and the tourist accommodation. The routes are lined with regular forms of entertainment – fortune tellers, soothsayers and those trained in various human feats like trapeze art or the more spectacular acts like walking on burning coal.

An all-male crowd watches a dance show in progress

In many senses, the fair is also a reality check. One would be quite taken aback by the vigour that nightly dance shows are treated with. It has been regular practice, for the last few years, to hold nightly dance shows where women take the stage to dance to the most popular dance tracks of the year as well as the older well-known songs. It should suffice to say that this is a comment on one facet of the gendered economy in this part of the world. While many commentators have called these shows ‘vulgar’, leading to the State Government’s ban on these shows in 2011, it was an open secret that these shows continued in local venues. That there is marketability to such practices gives a foreign visitor, even from a city a hundred miles away, that there is a strong clash between the national discourse on women’s empowerment and the prevailing economic and social constraints for women in most parts of India.

Additionally, while trade in endangered birds and animals is otherwise illegal, it is a flourishing activity in the backdrop of this popular fair. The district administration takes many measures to clean up the negative publicity that the Sonepur fair gets every year but little in terms of results is discernible. Sonepur, by and large is distracting because there is so much to take in at any point of time. While there are so many concerns with how the fair progresses, there is also the visibility of different forms of livelihood on such a massive scale. From potters to the makers of different weapons and artefacts, one can easily find some interesting story to hear – of some new kind of trade or craft which puts into perspective many other things that one sees in life outside Sonepur in Bihar.

Birds of a feather...

Bihar is a state in India that is hardly well-known for things considered great by the national media. Many of its stories and its problems are unheard of and the few times that one hears of them are hardly remembered amidst the blaze of information. That it can provide a lot of fodder for thought to any curious traveller in South Asia is needless to say. Sonepur is perhaps one of those places to start with, in Bihar. The range of art, especially the Madhubani art from the region, the architectural and historic attractions of the region’s Buddhist and Jain history, and the excellent street food is enough to make a visit to Sonepur memorable. The must-eat is of course the ‘bhang ka pakoda’, a fried snack laced with cannabis resin, that is otherwise a delicacy on the famous festival of Holi around the country and in our case, a regular with visitors to Asia’s biggest cattle fair.

A whole new meaning to "The world is a book..."

The Khuda Baksh Oriental library

If you have the slightest interest in the magnificent contributions and the complex developments in the world of science, philosophy and medicine in the last few hundred years in South Asia and its surrounding regions, you might want to take a look at the trove that is the Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Public Library in Patna. Often just called the Khuda Bakhsh Library, the residents of Patna have prided themselves over its existence for years. The library has seen the city grow and change around it since the close of the nineteenth century even though the library was conceptualised much before that by Maulvi Muhammad Bakhsh. 

Maulvi Muhammad Bakhsh perhaps always knew that he wanted to leave behind a library for posterity. Presumably taken by the advances in printing culture in the lower Gangetic belt and resigned to the gradual decline of the landed gentry in Patna, he struck upon the idea for a collection of great manuscripts that could be viewed and used by all. Before his death in 1876, he left the solemn task to his son, Maulvi Khuda Bakhsh, after preserving a collection of 1400 manuscripts himself. A noted scholar in Arabic with a great love for Persian and Urdu, Khuda Bakhsh invested all efforts into realising the idea of the grand public library.

Khan Bahadur Khuda Baksh

Khuda Bakhsh was perhaps the best person to set up such a library, if one is to go by Jadunath Sarkar’s description of him as the greatest authority on Islamic bibliography at the time. Having been a lawyer at the Nizam’s court, his knowledge of the different legal strains and schools of law in Islamic jurisprudence as well as the great debates in Islamic philosophy at the time, was extensive. All in all, he made sure he expanded on his father’s collection of manuscripts sizeably from the original 1400 manuscripts in 1876 to the 5000 documents by the time of his own death in 1908. 

From Sarkar’s description of the man, one finds an image of a serious scholar committed to preserving the knowledge of his time, influenced strongly by a colonial modernity and its spill-over effects. The huqqa-smoking bibliophile now rests in a grave on the premises of the library, oblivious to the generations who have gained from his efforts. His son, Salahuddin Khuda Bakhsh, who took over the reins of the library after his death, was thankfully a similarly dedicated bibliophile. What many don’t know is that he is most famous in literary circles for inviting a fatwa from a fringe Muslim seminary in Patna because he took on a translation project of Joseph Hell’s book ‘Arab Civilisation’ in 1977 from the Jamia Milia Islamia in New Delhi. The scholar Girija Kumar has argued elsewhere that this effort was just another instance of Salahuddin’s attempts to engage with texts that were critical of orthodoxies in Islam. Criticism and reasoned well-knowing debate was the underlying force behind his intellectual drive and it shows amply in the collection at the Library.

If the rich history of the library’s fountainheads is alluring, then the range of collections that the library holds should surely make you jump. Classics from Urdu, Persian and Arabic along with travelogues and rare copies of controversial publications are strewn across the shelves at the Khuda Baksh Library. Sample this: the Jahangir Nama, the Sirat-i-Firoz Shahi, a huge range of publications on Tibb (medicine), translations and original drafts of many biographies (Tazkira) and books numbering more than two hundred and fifty thousand. Biographies were of extreme importance to both Khuda Bakhsh and his son, as a result of which, one sees the vast number of biographies, both translated as well as the original versions in the library. Similarly, memoirs and travelogues like the Ibrat Namah and the Masir-i-Talibi, providing rich accounts of a different time on the continent, are now freely available for students and lovers of history and literature.

Forceps from the era

The Yunani Tibb system of healing and medicine that underwent thorough changes with the introduction of colonial knowledge on surgery and pharmaceuticals would probably have lost a large part of its own scientific history had it not been for the preservation of documents in the Khuda Bakhsh Library. The efforts here are parallel to those made by the famous Hakim Ajmal Khan in then Shahjahanabad, or Old Delhi as we now know it.

Today, the looming building of the Khuda Bakhsh Library has undergone several changes. Many of its collections have been digitized and available for perusal on its website. Many scholars from Patna and the rest of the country have benefitted hugely from these efforts in the last few years by the National Mission for Manuscripts and the administration of the Library. Works on the Safawis (the Safavid Empire) and the Qajars, preserved in the Library, have now helped write broader connected histories of Islamic scholarship across the breadth of Asia. 

The library, over the years, has managed to gather around itself a milieu of academic and cultural efforts that help in its sustenance. Its assemblage of various historic scientific instruments as well as its collection of vivid Patna Qalam paintings are the result of careful patronage and dedicated endeavours to preserve the traces of a complex past. Such a past defies many of our assumptions about the development of cultures and their continued sustenance. If you like to allow yourself the luxury to sit and delve into a different time and think through it, the Khuda Bakhsh Library is one of those places that affords you the luxury to do so. And if you still haven’t made up your mind, let’s just say that a look at the centuries-old and vastly famed ‘deer skin’ leaf of the Qura’an should be an ample reward for taking the road to Bankipur in Patna.

Fairs & Festivals of India

Monks at the Thiksey Tsechu in Ladakh

India is indeed a land of Festivals. Indian festivals boast of India's rich cultural and traditional background. There are end number of festivals which are celebrated in this amazing land. The festivals in India may differ in their celebration and rituals but the commonality in all the celebrations is that it celebrates humanity. They represent the diversity of culture on one hand and unity of India on another hand.

Some of the common rituals, which are followed in most of the festivals, are processions in the streets, decoration of homes and sacred places and traditional and folk song and dance performances. Most religious festivals have elaborate prayers, traditions, customs and rituals attached to them.

Color generally seen at a fair

India is known as a land of many religions and innumerable languages, it might well be described as a land of many festivals as well. There is perhaps not a single day in the Indian calendar when a festival or a fair is not celebrated. Bright colors, brightly lit religious places, decorated houses, sweets and traditional dresses and dances and unwavering enthusiasm are the characteristics of all the festival holidays in India. If someone wants to see the deep roots of the culture, belief, life style, living, food, art, traditions of India, the fair and festivals are the window to view the true colour of India. There are festivals for all occasions which include color festivals, festivals to celebrate change of seasons, festivals connected with the harvesting or sowing of crops etc. Even the birthdays of divine beings are celebrated by connecting them with particular festivals. Indian festivals are celebrated according to the solar and lunar calendars. Consequently, dates & months may vary accordingly.

A Few important festivals of India

Mopin (Arunachal Pradesh)
Mopin is the most important festival of the Gallong community of the Adi Tribes of Arunachal Pradesh. Mopin across Arunachal Pradesh is celebrated for five days in the month of April. It is celebrated prior to the sowing of the paddy.

People worship the deity of welfare in order to get rid of natural calamities, evil spirits and for good harvest, health and prosperity. During this festival, smearing rice powder on each other’s faces marks the beginning of the festival. One other feature of the Mopin festival is a dance known as Popir which is performed in a very elegant manner.

Bihu (Assam)

A Bihu dancer

It is the most important festival of Assam. It is celebrated with great happiness and enthusiasm and is celebrated by all Assamese irresepective of caste, creed, religion, faith and belief.

The Assamese witness three Bihu festivals in a year. Each Bihu coincides with a distinctive phase in the farming calendar. For example, Rongali Bihu marks the beginning of sowing of seeds, the Kati Bihu marks the completion of sowing and transplantation of the saplings and finally Magh Bihu marks the advent of the harvest period. The three are connected with the spring, winter and autumn seasons respectively.

Bali Yatra (Odisha)
To commemorate the glorious past of commercial voyages to the islands of Bali, Java and Sumatra by Oriya traders, a big fair called ‘Bali Yatra’ is held on Mahanadi river bank at Cuttack on the full moon day of the Hindu month of Kartik.

Kartik Purnima was considered the most auspicious day by traders to venture on a journey to distant lands. To mark the occasion; small boats made of cork, coloured paper and banana tree barks are set afloat on the Mahandi river. The Bali Yatra bears testimony to the rich maritime legacy of ancient Orissa. It is also known as Boita Bandana Utsav, or the "festival of boats".

Man and his best friend at the Pushkar festival

Pushkar (Rajasthan)
Held each November at the time of of Karthik Poornima (full moon), the Pushkar Camel Fair is one of the largest cattle fairs in India. During the fair, millions from rural Rajasthan flock to Pushkar, along with camel and cattle for several days of livestock trading, horse dealing, pilgrimage and religious festivities.

The camel and cattle trading is at its peak during the first half of festival period. During the latter half, religious activities dominate the scenario. It is an occasion for Hindu pilgrims to converge for a holy dip in the sacred Pushkar Lake to "wash away the sins of a lifetime" and pay obeisance at the ONLY Brahma temple in the world.

Sonepur (Bihar)
The Sonepur cattle fair or Sonepur Mela is held on Kathik Poornima (the full moon day) in the month of November in Sonepur, Bihar, on the confluence of river ganges and Gandak. This fair attracts visitors from all over Asia. It is the biggest cattle fair of Asia and goes on for around one month.

Horses at Sonepur

It is quite an exciting fair as nearly all the animals of different breeds are bought here for sale. Persian Horses, Camels, Guinea Pigs, Dogs, Bears, Cats, Rabbits, Buffaloes, Donkeys, Ponies, Sheep etc are specially brought here for sale and buyers from across the globe come to buy the best of breeds from here. A major attraction is the sight of numerous beautifully decorated Elephants lined up for sale.

Kullu Dussehra (Himachal Pradesh)
Dussehra, symbolising the victory of Rama over Ravana, is celebrated all over India but the Dussehra of Kullu has got its own significance. When Dussehra celebrations come to an end in the rest of the country, they begin in Kullu. Over 600 local deities are brought to pay homage to Lord Raghunath. This is a time when the valley is at its colorful best.

The celebrations continue for a week every year. Dussehra in Kullu commences on the tenth day of the rising moon (the ‘Vijay Dashami’ day) and continues for seven days. On the first day the idol of Raghunathji in a gaily attired chariot and attended by village gods mounted in colourful palanquins, is pulled from its fixed place in the Dhalpur Maidan (open ground) to another spot across the Maidan by big ropes. The pulling of ropes is regarded sacred by the local people. This forms a huge procession. All the gods in the valley visit Kullu during Dussehra in order to pay their homage to Raghunathji.

Elephants at Thrissur Pooram

Thrissur Pooram (Kerala)
Thrissur Pooram, which is known as the "Pooram of all Poorams" or "Festival of all Festivals" is the most awaiting cultural extravaganza in North Kerala.

The festival is celebrated every year during the month of April/May. The sprawling Thekkinkadu maidan located at the heart of the city and encircling the famous Vadakkumnathan Temple is the venue of almost all major events of the Pooram festivals.

The major attraction of this festival is the Elephant procession, which witnesses the participation of elephants from various temples of Kerala. Apart from this splendid procession, other attractions of Thrissur Pooram festival include a spectacular display of colorful fireworks, parasol exchanges, display of pyro-techniques and drup concerts.

Hemis Tsechu ( Ladakh)
The Hemis Tsechu is the largest and most popular monastic festival of ladakh. It is a two day annual festival which is celebrated in the courtyard of hemis monastery. It is celebrated on the 10th day of the Tibetan lunar month. The main purpose of this festival is to commemorate the birth anniversary of Saint Padmasambhava, the patron saint of Tibetan Buddhism and the one who brought Buddhism from India to Tibet. During these two days festivals, the resident Lamas perform sacred masked dances in the courtyard of the Monastery.

Along the Ganga - From the source to the sea

Most of the Ganges is about quaint fishing boats

The Ganges is more than just a river. It is a symbol. The second longest river of India flowing over 2510km has been important in religion and life. Being a perennial water source providing fertile soil all around it, the Ganges has also been the source of major kingdoms and an agricultural hub. Cities like Pataliputra, Kannauj, Kara, Allahabad, Murshidabad, Behrampur, Kara and Kolkata had sprung up along its banks and the banks of its distributaries. A journey along this river provides for a fascinating glimpse into how important the river still is.

From the source to the sea, the Ganges is more of a unique entity than a physical river. The river has been made immortal by the legend that surrounds it and the role that it plays in the various legends. The river is also a part of daily life and life on the banks of the river starts with a prayer to it. The journey starts at Gomukh, believed to be the source of the river deep in the upper Himalayas. It winds through Varanasi, one of the oldest living cities in the world and ends at the Sunderbans, the world's largest delta. A part of the journey can be accomplished by rafting (in the upper reaches) and by sailing in fishermen's boats (from Allahabad to Varanasi, from Chandennagore to Kolkata and then in the Ganga Sagar). INDEBO (www.indebo.com) has been one of the pioneers in designing journeys along this river in fisherman boats or rafts.

The storm before the calm in the upper reaches

The upper reaches: Most of the upper reaches have to be walked or can be rafted in. You would trek to Gomukh, believed to be the true source of the Ganga. Here the river is crystal clear, cold and pristine. You can then move on to Gangotri. The ganga is believed to have come down from the heavens at Gangotri.Uttarkashi would be point of interest to you as well. This picturesque town has breathtaking views of valleys and natural skies. From here on, you can come to the twin towns of Haridwar and Rishikesh where the Ganges takes on a slightly milder state. The regions are great for rafting. The towns provide important facets of Hinduism as well as they are some of the holy points and pilgrimage centers for the Hindus.

Along the plains: The ancient and holy city of Varanasi draws pilgrims by the multitudes. On display are the innocence and religious fervour of the people. One of the oldest living cities of the world, Varanasi is an important site for Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists. Buddha delivered his first sermon close to Varanasi. Many believe, that to die in Varanasi would guarantee salvation. On this journey, Allahabad would be very important as well. The Ganga, the Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati merge at Allahabad.The confluence is the site of the Kumbh Mela. Down the river lies the town of Sonepur – famous for Asia's largest cattle fair where horses, elephants, birds and cows are traded. Further down from Sonepur in the Northern reaches of West Bengal lie Murshidabad (the town of mysteries) and Chandennagore, the French town. Both feature prominently on the way to Kolkata.

The tiger gets more elusive in the Sunderbans

Meeting the sea: Where the river meets the sea lies the Sundarbans - the world's largest continuous mangrove forest. It hosts an amazing diversity of flora and fauna, including probably the largest remaining population of Royal Bengal tigers, the endangered estaurine crocodile, the Ganga river dolphins, as well as an astounding variety of birds. On one of the islands of the Sunderbans is held the annual Ganga Sagar Festival. The river is also famous for the Hilsa – a fish that lives in the sea but lays its eggs 1200km upstream in the river. Due to its anadromous nature, the Hilsa is famous for its taste, especially with the mustard.