India's oxen

[Guest guest]

Hari Bol,

 

One of the breeds not mentioned in that very well done article, was

Rajasthan's Tharparkar, arguably the hardiest of all Indian breeds.

 

In February 2000 myself and another devotee here attended the All India

Cattle Fair held here in Jaipur. The big white bull with the black head

featured in the article, a Deoni from Latur in Maharashtra, won first prize

for being the finest bull.

 

The best milker from all the indigenous breeds of cows and buffalo's was won

by one of Chandan Farms Tharparkar cows. The competition included Gir,

Sahiwal, Red Sindhi, Rati, Nagauri etc. as well as buffalo's.

 

For and Indian cow to compete alonside a buffalo is no mean feat. Here in

Jaipur we have a herd of Tharparkars, which were originally purchased from

Chandan Farm in Jaisalmer.

 

The Tharparkars are able to withstand both extreme heat as well as cold,

they rarely get sick and are one of the best draught animals available.

 

Because of indiscriminate crossbreeding over the years, pure strains of this

animal are hard to come by. Folklore has it that the Tharparkars are the

last remaining remnants of Krishna's Kamadhenu cows. One look at them will

tell you why.

 

Anyone interested in more information can contact me at the Jaipur temple.

 

Your servant,

Ramanuja das