Circle of Life!

School for Cows!

When I was driving by in my neighbourhood recently, I noticed a herd of cows cutting across my way. I paused, waited till the last one crossed and then resumed my journey. They were heading into  the grounds of an Institution of Higher Learning nearby. I remembered seeing them somewhere...Yes, in the house of my milk man when I went there to share his grief - his father passed away recently (no illness, died just like that; he was part of the golden way of life still practiced in villages by elders...Read Life, simple, best to find out more).

Milkman rode in with cans of milk a while later to my house. I asked him, 'What are your cows doing in this Institute? I see them there quite frequently nowadays...'

Pat came the reply: 'Anna, when there is no food anywhere else for them to feed, I send them to College to study the pasture!!!!!!'

Way to go! Judgment delivered on our education system in layman's terms! 

The Nation in general and our State in particular are reeling under severe drought and the simmering heat made it even worse for cattle - no water means no feed. When there is no feed for them, they become feed, sadly...

In city suburbs like the one I live, large grounds with some grass still in them are found only in the playgrounds of Learning Institutions (schools, colleges and the likes).

These (grazing) grounds would soon become battle grounds for food if the situation persists. Weather forecast tells us to expect a good monsoon this year...lives of lot of cattle and farmers riding on this big time...

Milkman has 8 dogs, umpteen chicks and roosters, a bunch of goats, cats and a dozen or so cows in a piece of land so close by to the city it would make him a millionaire overnight if he decides to sell it but here he is - toiling hard, eking out a living by following 'family tradition'. He has been trained only to do this ever since he was a child and this he does happily! 

He usually grows fodder in his own lands but drought made it impossible and his 'children' are out grazing whatever they can wherever they can...

Government tried to set up fodder depots (buying from neighbouring states and selling at subsidized rates) but they are yet to take off; monsoon is about to set in in two weeks time so we can as well forget the depots.

I bought some goats and chicks from him, set them loose in my farm; they will in turn help me to advance my food forest which will in turn give more food for them :-)

Circle of life, ain't it?

Circle of Life!

Sing along, Simba!

"

From the day we arrive on the planet

And blinking, step into the sun
There's more to see than can ever be seen
More to do than can ever be done
There's far too much to take in here
More to find than can ever be found
But the sun rolling high
Through the sapphire sky
Keeps great and small on the endless round

It's the Circle of Life
And it moves us all
Through despair and hope
Through faith and love
Till we find our place
On the path unwinding
In the Circle
The Circle of Life

It's the Circle of Life
And it moves us all
Through despair and hope
Through faith and love
Till we find our place
On the path unwinding
In the Circle
The Circle of Life

"