The Winds of Wonder

An anticipation

Verses flowed like milk from udder of a white cow,

Music that had come from the lyre of sweetness;

Through them a heart with ears of listening calm

Heard sounds of the future approaching closer;

A rhythm whose ecstasies can never cease

Went in anticipation to the cattle-shed;

A sudden awareness seemed to have blazed

From the epic that glowed with words of light.

17 October 2024

एकः प्रत्याशा

श्लोकाः श्वेतगोगर्भात् क्षीर इव प्रवहन्ति स्म,

माधुर्यस्य वीणातः आगतं सङ्गीतम्;

तेषां माध्यमेन श्रवणकर्णयुक्तं हृदयं शान्तम्

समीपं समीपं गच्छन्तः भविष्यस्य शब्दाः श्रुताः;

यस्य लयः आनन्दाः कदापि न निवर्तयितुं शक्नुवन्ति

प्रत्याशायां गोशालायाः समीपं गतः;

सहसा जागरूकता प्रज्वलिता इव आसीत्

ज्योतिवचनैः प्रदीप्तमहाकाव्यात्।

१७ अक्टोबर २०२४

In the Rigvedic Sanskrit the word for “cow” is “gau”, गो, which also means “light”, “illumination”, of course it is spiritual illumination. Therefore “cattle-shed”, गोशाला, means the House of Radiance, Enlightenment, Illumination.

“The golden lyre of Apollo is a symbol of poetic achievement.” Keats loved lyres. Romantic, he was a lyricist.

Punganur Cow

The Punganur is a traditional breed of the Chitoor District of Andhra Pradesh in southern India. The breed name may derive from its association in the past with the Rajahs of Punganur, or from the name of the town itself.^[2] It is reared mainly in hill country, at up to 1500 m above sea level. It has in the past been an endangered breed. An attempt was made in the 1950s to form a government conservation herd, but without success. Its conservation status was listed by the FAO as “critical” in 2007. In 2016 there was a herd of no more than 30 head on a government farm,  In 2022 a population of 9876–13275 was reported to DAD-IS, and in 2024 the conservation status of the breed was listed as “not at risk”. It is among the smallest of zebuine cattle breeds: bulls stand some 107 cm and weigh about 240 kg, cows average 97 cm in height and 170 kg in weight. The coat may be white, grey, brown, red, or rarely black.  The horns are small and of crescent shape.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punganur_cattle

Many temples in Andhra Pradesh, including the renowned Tirupati Thirumala Temple, use the milk of Punganur cows for Ksheeraabhishekam (milk offerings to deities). The Punganur Cow cost ranges from Rs 1 lakh to 10 lakhs, depending on factors like purity and health.