<p>Cattle and buffalo have a different lifestyle in India than elsewhere. The difference is most evident in the cities, where cattle are roaming in the street scavenging in the garbage. We regularly come across cattle on city streets. <br>
The cattle wander through the crazy traffic and everyone -- cars, buses, trucks, motorcycles, pedestrians and cyclists -- manage to avoid them. The cows take it all in stride, and remain totally calm, even as people touch and push them. They are treated with a mixture of respect and neglect. I saw boys hitting them with sticks, without elders stopping them.
They are part of the economy in numerous ways. One morning, I saw an elderly woman in the city dump a bag of garbage in front of a cow, and march home, having accomplished her mission. On the other hand, there are vendors who sell lovely fresh greens near the cattle for locals to buy and feed to the cattle, presumably to enhance their karma.<br>
Beef is never on the menu, but milk is very important to local diets, and manure is important for heating and cooking. One of the distressing sights is to see a woman sitting on the street scooping fresh cow poo into her bowl with her bare hands. She will then hand-mould bannock - shaped paddies, and set them out in the sun to dry.
There are quite a variety of bovine; not quite sure what's a buffalo v. a cow. There are some with big horns, some with swept back horns, some with painted horns, some with blankets against the cold, even one with a lovely decorative shawl.<br>
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In the country, cattle live a more typical existence, tethered outside homes, being herded along the road, and grazing. Bullocks are used to pull carts, power water pumps, and to plough fields. </p>
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