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Sacred cows and holy crap of India, what's this all about? The 'holy crap' part is a play on words but sacred cows of India shouldn't be messed with.
It's widely known that cows are sacred in Hinduism but did you ever wonder why? In the Hindu faith, cows are considered to be generously bountiful. They represent life as well as the Earth and are regarded as ever-giving providers and nurturers of all creatures. Hence, why cows are considered sacred.
In fact, killing a cow is a serious offense in India. Laws against cow slaughtering are implemented in several states to protect these sacred bovines. The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, has stated that the penalty for killing a cow is life imprisonment. Yes, you read that right.
A popular misconception is that cows are worshiped by Hindus but this is simply not the case. Hindus do, however, adore, honor and have great respect for cows which is why it is forbidden to kill and eat them in India. It's not uncommon to see cows adorned with flowers, bells and even decorated with colourful splashes of paint.
When visiting India, it does take some time getting used to not only seeing cows just about everywhere but also skillfully manoeuvering around them. Simply put - cows rule. They rule the narrow alleyways where there's barely enough space for one person let alone a cow. They rule the busy streets with cars (not so) carefully avoiding them. Cows are surprisingly very agile. Steep stairs are no match for a cow no matter how much it weighs.
It might seem like the cows are wandering around freely but I was told that they all have owners. I was a little confused by this because most of the cows were rummaging through piles of garbage to feed themselves.I wondered why the owners didn't feed them enough to alleviate their hunger.
One of the big issues with cows roaming the streets is the cow dung. While trying to appreciate the surroundings, I also spent a lot of time actually looking at the ground trying to avoid puddles of holy crap. My vigilance paid off as I avoided stepping in any dung paddies during my two months in India, haha!
Cows are generally docile but you might encounter an unhappy cow once in a while so be careful. I was almost rammed into by a mad cow in Varanasi. I had just enough time to find a safe space in the very narrow alley to avoid it. Needless to say, I feared those pesky cows after that incident.
That being said, I did find cows to be strangely photogenic. Taking pictures of sacred cows in unusual places became a favorite pastime of mine. Although, after nearly two months in India, I realized there was no unusual place for a sacred cow. Remember: Cows Rule in India.
READ MORE ON INDIA:
- A Celebration at the Border of India and Pakistan
- On Not Falling in Love With the Taj Mahal
- Introducing the Great Rann of Kutch of Gujarat
- The Slums of Dharavai: A Highlight of my Trip in India
- Cruising Along the Backwaters of Alleppey in Kerala
- The Holy City of Varanasi: Where Life Returns to Ashes
- Visiting Shri Karni Mata: The Rat Temple of Deshnoke
TRAVEL RESOURCES:
- Verify visa requirements for India on the official website
- Book flights to India via Skyscanner
- Compare hotel prices in India on Booking.com & Agoda
- Check hostel prices on HostelWorld
- Stay connected using an Airalo E-sim for India
- Search for tours & excursions in India
- Shop for affordable travel insurance with SafetWing
- Save on conversion fees while traveling with Wise
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I’m the founder and creator of Life Untraveled. I quit my corporate job, sold everything I owned and have been traveling full-time since 2018. I hope to inspire you to travel differently on a budget.
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12 Responses
NTripping
Hey Lydia, that was a really fun post to read! I’ll make sure to pin it and tweet it 🙂
Cheers, N.
The Full-Time Tourist
I’ve heard so many things about the cows wandering in the streets in India. I never even considered the holy crap that would be in the streets as well! Did you find it smelled or was it about the same as any other metropolis? Also those cows are definitely a photogenic bunch, as you said!!
Lydia@Lifeuntraveled.com
With all the cow crap and other garbage, unfortunately, it does tend to smell a lot. I often held my nose and my breath….lol!
Lydia@Lifeuntraveled.com
Hi Sarj! Glad I made you laugh! Maybe the cows are fed up of all the “paparazzi”…..lol! I can imagine that a guy on a moped is no challenge for a bunch of cows – like I said, they rule the streets so best get out of the way! 😉
Lydia@Lifeuntraveled.com
I was uneasy many times when I was near a cow or, worse, a group of cows but they’re quite docile. Only once did I get really scared when one of them started charging wildly in the narrow streets of Varanasi. Even the locals were running away….lol!
Lydia@Lifeuntraveled.com
Hi Rashmi & Chalukya! Thanks so much for your comment. We did see some cows being fed (by their owners?). I’m sure many cows are well taken care of because most of them are big and don’t look like they’re starving in any way. 🙂
Lydia@Lifeuntraveled.com
It’s definitely strange sharing your space with cows but that’s just one of the things that makes India so crazy and wonderful! All that crap did incite a few swear words along the way….lol! I tried to avoid following any of the cows. 😉
Lydia@Lifeuntraveled.com
It’s definitely overwhelming and takes time to get used to. They really don’t give a f*** about anyone so you just have to adjust…lol! And it was strange seeing them on the highway, you would think they would avoid such a busy area but, hey, they rule everywhere!
Lydia@Lifeuntraveled.com
haha…..yes cow “activity” is hard to avoid in India! Interesting about them roaming around in Tipperary – wonder how they would fair in India’s chaos?!
Lydia@Lifeuntraveled.com
Gotta love the cows in India but I was weary of all the crap. It’s everywhere and very hard to avoid….lol! It happened several times when store owners tried to keep cows away but I think it’s because they probably feed them sometimes so the cows figure it’s okay.
Lydia@Lifeuntraveled.com
Hi Fray! I really enjoyed capturing some cows on camera but I I admit I was mostly fearful of them…lol. They did, however, seem docile most of the time except for one time in Varanasi when one was charging at everyone in the narrow alleyway. We got out of the way and no one was hurt but my heart was racing!
Cows are sacred but aren’t worshiped so no one ever told us not to take pictures of them and no one was ever offended. They mostly found it curious (and funny) that we were taking so many pictures of cows cause to them it was just normal to see them everywhere.