<p>We had a cow white as milk and a calf brown as chocolate with a teardrop white patch on her forehead. This naughty calf never walked but always gambolled. I named the chocolate-like calf Cadbury. It was a festive day when they arrived at our Kanchipuram home. Sweet rice was prepared and shared with neighbours who came to meet the new additions to our family.</p>.<p>A small shed was built in our backyard for the mother and her daughter. A cowherd boy, Kannan, would visit twice a day to milk the cow and tend to their needs. The night following their arrival, my grandfather, Gopalachari, could barely sleep, eagerly awaiting the first cup of coffee made with Cauvery's fresh milk.</p>.<p>At 5 am, Kannan arrived with his cylindrical vessel. After allowing Cadbury to have her share, Kannan started to milk the cow. In less than 20 minutes he handed over the vessel brimming with frothing milk to my grandmother, and in another 20 minutes she came out of the kitchen to hand over a brass tumbler filled with steaming coffee to my grandfather, who was ecstatic when he tasted it. </p>.Cow's first milk could boost athletic performance.<p>Every Friday, my grandmother would perform puja to Cauvery and Cadbury. First, a thorough bath followed by applying kumkum and haldi on their foreheads and a meal of jaggery and bananas. The ceremony would conclude with an arati.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Cauvery was a gem of a cow. She never brandished her horns against us. She loved being tickled on her dewlap and would gaze at us with appreciation when we fondled Cadbury, which seemed to say, “Thanks for loving my child.”</p>.<p class="bodytext">She was with us for about two years when I had to leave my grandfather’s house for Madras (now Chennai) to join my parents. I missed Cauvery and Cadbury dearly. My letters to my grandparents were always about them. Then one day my grandfather wrote to say that he sold Cauvery and Cadbury. “I had to do it because the owner of the house asked us to vacate, and no other house owner was willing to let out his house for a tenant with a cow and a calf," he explained.</p>.<p class="bodytext">I learned so much from my two years association with Cauvery the cow and her calf Cadbury. Even today, I remain grateful to Cauvery not only for her milk but also for the seed of love for animals in general she and her beautiful calf Cadbury planted in my heart. Nowadays the subject of cows raises eyebrows. Cow is a motherly being not only for Hindus but also for people of other faiths. She has all the qualifications to be loved by all.</p>
<p>We had a cow white as milk and a calf brown as chocolate with a teardrop white patch on her forehead. This naughty calf never walked but always gambolled. I named the chocolate-like calf Cadbury. It was a festive day when they arrived at our Kanchipuram home. Sweet rice was prepared and shared with neighbours who came to meet the new additions to our family.</p>.<p>A small shed was built in our backyard for the mother and her daughter. A cowherd boy, Kannan, would visit twice a day to milk the cow and tend to their needs. The night following their arrival, my grandfather, Gopalachari, could barely sleep, eagerly awaiting the first cup of coffee made with Cauvery's fresh milk.</p>.<p>At 5 am, Kannan arrived with his cylindrical vessel. After allowing Cadbury to have her share, Kannan started to milk the cow. In less than 20 minutes he handed over the vessel brimming with frothing milk to my grandmother, and in another 20 minutes she came out of the kitchen to hand over a brass tumbler filled with steaming coffee to my grandfather, who was ecstatic when he tasted it. </p>.Cow's first milk could boost athletic performance.<p>Every Friday, my grandmother would perform puja to Cauvery and Cadbury. First, a thorough bath followed by applying kumkum and haldi on their foreheads and a meal of jaggery and bananas. The ceremony would conclude with an arati.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Cauvery was a gem of a cow. She never brandished her horns against us. She loved being tickled on her dewlap and would gaze at us with appreciation when we fondled Cadbury, which seemed to say, “Thanks for loving my child.”</p>.<p class="bodytext">She was with us for about two years when I had to leave my grandfather’s house for Madras (now Chennai) to join my parents. I missed Cauvery and Cadbury dearly. My letters to my grandparents were always about them. Then one day my grandfather wrote to say that he sold Cauvery and Cadbury. “I had to do it because the owner of the house asked us to vacate, and no other house owner was willing to let out his house for a tenant with a cow and a calf," he explained.</p>.<p class="bodytext">I learned so much from my two years association with Cauvery the cow and her calf Cadbury. Even today, I remain grateful to Cauvery not only for her milk but also for the seed of love for animals in general she and her beautiful calf Cadbury planted in my heart. Nowadays the subject of cows raises eyebrows. Cow is a motherly being not only for Hindus but also for people of other faiths. She has all the qualifications to be loved by all.</p>
