Here comes the bull!

Eid-ul Azha is an exciting festival, and perhaps a bit more special for children of Dhaka city. Animals are bought to be sacrificed on the occasion, commemorating prophet Ibrahim's willingness to sacrifice his son at God’s behest. And so children get a chance to see, feed and have fun with the animals on the occasion. City kids hardly have a chance to interact with such animals otherwise.

“Come to our house, cow, come on!” four-year-old Hridita was calling out to the cattle passing her apartment building in West Rajabazar, Dhaka. Her grandmother Hosne Ara said, “It’s a rare experience for her. She never saw so many cows on this road before. She is so happy and excited.”

Labib, a nine year old was stroking the head of a red bull. He said proudly, “This is not ours, our cow is gray and much healthier.” He had come to see the red bull bought by his friend’s family.

Little Ayanti touched the horns of a buffalo by her house in Hatirjheel and ran away. When she was told that it was so brave of her to touch the ‘cow horns’, she smiled, “Thank you. But it’s a buffalo, not a cow!” Ayanti and her friends were roaming around the area to see all the sacrificial animals in the neighbourhood.

Hasib and Siam were in another group feeding the newly bought animals. They were feeding hay to the bulls. They rushed to the piles of hay, racing to feed the bull first. There beaming faces said enough about the childhood joy.

Simanta took some hay and said to watch the bull's tongue, “It’s like a snake. It wraps around the hay and makes a sound.” He said he loved to see the bull getting a bath. He and the other boys were touching the horns of the bull and running away in fear that the bull may become angry.

When asked about their animals this Eid, all of them crowded around, trying to describe how good their particular cow was. One said, “Our’s cost one lakh two thousand taka.” Another said, “Our bull is polite. It eats whatever you give it, it's not being fussy.” Priyam, 5, said, “Our bull is the best. It’s all red and has big nose, big eyes, big teeth.” The other children laughed, but he continued, “His tail is beautiful, he can kill mosquitos with his tail.”

The caretaker of Priyam’s bull, Jalil, was also proud to show the bull, “Please take a picture of the bull.” Though the animal was unwilling to stand up, he poked it repeatedly until it stood up.

Two little girls, Tripti and Konka, were trying to feed the cattle grass. They said the black beast looked beautiful with its garland. Tripti said she cried until her father agreed to take her to the animal market, “Bhaiya and I were there! There were so many bulls and camels there.” Later, they bought the garland too.

“Everyone was asking on the way-‘how much?,” said Nabil, Tripti’s brother, with a smile. He was not happy as Eid is near, “I feel bad for the cow. We’ll miss him from tomorrow.” Then added, “But, we have to sacrifice him…it’s the rule.”

Nabil’s feeling epitomises the spirit of Eid-ul Azha, to sacrifice something you love for a greater love.