Exotic India

My first day I was in India, I woke up at 6am and had some time on my hands. I went up to the fitness center and was working out. Looking out on the view from the fifth story of the hotel you can see a lot of the local neighborhoods and the trees that stretch out over the roadways. While working out would see these birds flying around. Each time I would watch the bird and wonder what kind of bird it was. Each time one landed near me it would be a pigeon  not some rare Bangalorean pigeon but your standard gray, bread crumb eating, statue perching pigeon  I bring this up because before I go talking about all the unique things I experience in India it’s important to remember there is whole lot of usual in unusual and extraordinary is just ordinary with a little something extra.Apparently the pigeons perch on the building across from my room so every morning I wake up and have 5-6 beady eyed, gray feathered "ordinaries" staring at me. 

Now with that said. Let’s talk about cows! First thing I see when I leave the apartment is cows. This neighborhood has a little mini herd of about 5 cows that come out mid morning  I have taken to calling them the Moo Crew. Cows are not unusual in India but I haven’t seen them gather in groups. There is even a little calf and a bull. Cows are just not something you see on your average walk to the grocery store in the US. 

From what I understand the cows do have owners but the people who own the cows will turn them loose during the day to fend for themselves and the cows will come home in the evening when they need to be milked. They visit the various heaps of trash in the neighborhoods where people have thrown out food and "graze" on these piles during the day. 

I have to admit to being a bit nervous having this many cows right on the street. They tend to block the sidewalks so you have walk behind them to get around. I have always heard that walking close behind large animals with hoofs is BAD. But you can't get too far into the street or the traffic will kill you. Kind of like being caught between a rock and hoof place. People here tell me that these cows wouldn't hurt anyone and they are perfectly safe. Sure easy for them to say. They are not carnivores! I seriously caught the red one giving me the evil eye.