You’ve probably heard about India’s sacred cow, the Mother of Civilization, a gift from God that has become a part of Indian iconography, religion and culture.
The cow protection movement began in 1882, and ended the slaughter of the animals in what was then British India.
The cow is revered because it is unique in that it offers five products to humans — milk, curds, ghee butter, urine and
dung — all of which are useful to everyday life in India. In addition, the beast of burden has traditionally been used to help plow the fields and pull carts for transportation.
If you’re one of those people who likes to dress up your dog, or cat, then we can only imagine what you’d do for a pet cow if you had one! You’ll have no problem understanding the high regard Indians place on the gentle bovines.
Anusulya Vishwak and her husband in Guradia, India decided to marry off their little white cow named Sadhana, whom they
had raised since she was little. The parents of the bride had no human children of their own, but Anusulya said she was merely doing for the heifer the same as she’d do for her own daughter.
After finding a suitable mate, preparation for the nuptials took two months and reportedly cost 200,000 rupees (US$3,230). Sadhana was outfitted with yellow flowers in her hair and what looked like a designer red blanket with gold trim. The black bull donned a red headdress with a multicolored blanket hanging casually over his back.
They were paraded through the street in a garlanded open-air tractor-trailer with the costumed couple riding in the back, looking very smug. At the end of the ceremony, Anusulya kissed the h
appy little wife while the new husband looked on rather jealously. Wouldn’t you have loved to have been one of the 1,500 guests in attendance?
More recently, in April of 2014, in Madya Pradesh, Ganga the cow and Prakash the bull were married on the advice of a holy man who told the villagers that this matrimony would bring good luck and save the state’s harvest from natural disasters.
The ceremony was performed by a bearded, long-haired Sadhu and was attended by over 5,000 guests, many of whom had donated a portion of the 1 million rupees (US$16,000) necessary to hold the wedding. The bride and groom entrusted the entire affair to a team of
25 people who pulled it off without a hitch.
