For fifty years, they ministered to those
once-roofless beings in this gaushala.
Unnumbered herds arrived, lived well, and died
within its boundary—their Shangri-La.
Although the scar of infecundity
upon this married pair remained unhealed,
the wife once had a vision where she saw
herself among some Gir calves in a field.
Believing that to be divine allusion,
they gave their lives to these abused and weak
souls who know naught but ear tags, swollen udders,
and roping stanchion stalls that always reek.
Each of their acts (say, foddering the cows)
went on to show that nature had a plan
to prove the world: true parents know no difference
between the offspring of a beast and man.
Their mornings started with sweet moos and lowings.
The husband, every day, would shout, “All run!
Yasoda, Chhabra, Sundari. Fresh hay
is here. Have now before midday is done!”
These happened years ago, and now there is
a wreathed slab in the centre of this ground
that reads, ‘The World of Shri and Giridhar‘,
and countless hoofed heirs roaming free around.
Word Meanings:
Gaushala: a place where stray and abandoned cows are brought and sheltered.
Gir: a breed of cows
Yasoda, Chhabra, Sundari: the names of a few of their cows.
Madras Courier originally ran as a broadsheet with a poetry section. It was a time when readers felt comfortable sharing glimpses of their lives through verse. If you have a poem you’d like to submit, do email us at editor@madrascourier.com.
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