1 week Ago
Two centuries ago, hundreds of Punganur cows lived in Chittoor district, their native land. But now, their population is less than 50, says K. Mani (61), a farmer from Jangala Agraharam village, less than 30 km from Punganur town of Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh.
Despite the popular belief that the Punganur breed cows are the embodiment of Goddess Lakshmi and the bovine Goddess Kamadhenu, the limited commercial viability of these cows, one of the smallest cattle breeds in the world, is one of the major causes for their declining numbers, Mr. Mani opines. However, Jagadeesh Reddy (45), a natural farmer from Nalagampalle village close to Punganur town, argues that the cow breed has great commercial value.
He stresses that there is no replacement for the Punganur cow, given its soil-friendly nature. “It is a great ally to farmers. As a natural farmer, I can confidently say that the dung of the Punganur cow is highly valued and works wonders when used in making organic fertilisers of Jeevamrutham and Ghanamrutham.
“Who says it’s not a commercially viable breed? I know many who are willing to pay ₹5,000 to ₹7,000 for a litre of Punganur cow’s ghee when regular ghee is available in the markets for only ₹600,” says Mr. Reddy. Uncertain origins While the origins of this petite cow breed remain a mystery due to the lack of sufficient documentation, Subramanyam Achari (74), a retired headmaster living in Srikalahasti, nearly 120 km from Punganur town, shares the information he obtained from his grandfather.
According to him, three centuries ago, the Punganur cow received patronage from the kings and zamindars of the Vijayanagaram dynasty, the vassal kings of the Arcot Nawabs, and Palegars (chieftains) of the Deccan Plateau. During the 18th Century, the breed flourished in the erstwhile Arcot region, which includes today’s Rayalaseema region, parts of Karnataka including Bellary, Bengaluru, and Mysore, and parts of Tamil Nadu. It was during this period that Punganur cows were even considered superior to other breeds.
“While all other cattle were given normal feed, this particular breed of cows used to relish delicious dishes such as dates, cashews, badam, and honey-mixed vegetables and fruit juices. This may be due to the belief that they were divine. During festivals, these cows used to grab the special attention of the royal families as special prayers were performed to them,” he says.
However, most farmers and officials in the agriculture, horticulture, veterinary, and dairy sectors maintain that this is all speculation and that there is no precise historical information about the Punganur cow. On average, Punganur cows are 80-90 cm tall. With round and dark eyes, a robust build, and an agile body, they can be mistaken for well-groomed pet dogs.
These dwarf-sized cows, which are grey, white, and brown in colour, mingle easily with other pets and cattle on farmlands, presenting an interesting spectacle. Unlike the other native or hybrid cows, the Punganur cow’s tail remains tall and sometimes touches the ground. Enamoured for a lifetime “When it walks at leisure, it almost presents itself with the gait of a maiden with a long braid while taking a stroll.
When you look straight into its eyes, the Punganur cow displays a sense of timidity. You can see the blush on its cheeks. All in all, once you start nursing a Punganur calf, you are enamoured by it for a lifetime.
The cows have a lifespan of 20-25 years if they are well taken care of even though scientific studies say they live only for 12-14 years,” says P. Murali, a dairy farmer from Punganur. However, those who raise these cows usually share a strong bond with them, and the death of either the owner or the per would be unbearably painful to both, says Mr.
Murali. He adds that there are instances of the owner becoming forlorn for the rest of his life after his cow’s death and the cow not continuing its breath for long in the absence of its master. “This must be the prime reason why the people shudder at the idea of raising Punganur cow,” he says.
Practical tribulations Bhargav Pollannagari (28), a software engineer who runs a cow shelter at Puttaparthi in Sri Sathya Sai district, discusses the practical tribulations of raising the Punganur cow. “Just take off the lens of romanticism from your eyes and look. The maintenance of a Punganur breed is expensive.
You can’t treat it like the other cattle breeds. Even if you choose to groom it on your compound or under a shed, it won’t budge. It feels that it is its birthright to barge into your house.
It demands to play with you and your children. And moving enough, it treats your wife or mother as its mother. So, you will naturally shed the idea of any commercial activity from it.
This is the secret to why most families feel reluctant to own Punganur cows,” he says. Though his forefathers maintained the Punganur cows in the past, he kept away from bringing the breed into the dairy farm. Having studied the nature of the Punganur breed sometime in his dabble with dairy farming, Bhargav reveals a “mysterious” habit of the stunted breed.
“Several farmers and Punganur breed lovers told me. And I observed a couple of times. This cow likes to eat dust and mud and lick the wet soil.
Hence, this habit makes it vulnerable to diseases. The claim of the animal husbandry and dairy sector officials that the Punganur cow is insulated from diseases and known for its resilience is only half true. Moreover, the tall claims that this breed gives two-and-a-half to three litres of milk per day are impractical.
The limit of a healthy cow is just one to one-and-a-half litres of milk a day, which suffices for a three-member family.” The strong bond between the Punganur cow and its owner can also be established by the fact that not a single cow or bull of this breed has ever been spotted among those confiscated or rescued from illegal transport to slaughterhouses in the country. Never abandoned According to a senior professor of SV Veterinary University, a majority of the rescued cows, in many instances would be sick and in emaciated conditions, which makes them unfit for reproduction or dairy production.
“Under these conditions, a minuscule number of cattle owners abandon their animals in faraway places. They roam on the streets before getting captured and transported to slaughterhouses by some gangs involved in this dark activity. However, in the case of a Punganur cow, I have never come across a single instance of the animal being abandoned by its owner,” he says.
It is also interesting to know that the Punganur breed will reproduce till it attains the age of 12-15 years and rarely after that. “The owner has to bear the animal for about a decade without any return if this subject is considered from the point of view of commerce. Incredibly, even those farmers who are impoverished prefer to sail with this unique breed for the rest of its life, even though it gets barren.
The connection they share is unbelievably strong. This could also be a reason why many don’t prefer to raise them. Many orthodox families, however, dream of owning Punganur cows but hesitate to take the plunge,” he said.
Meanwhile, over the past few decades, following a boom in ayurveda and naturopathy, the dung and urine of the Punganur cow are said to be commanding a high price in the market. The breed owners in the combined Chittoor and Tirupati districts are said to be selling the raw materials to their clients located in Bengaluru and Chennai. They observe that the demand for the byproducts is even higher among some ashrams nestled at the foothills of the Himalayas.
Guru Swamy, an owner of Punganur cows who lives close to Sri Padmavati Mahila Visvavidyalayam in Tirupati, says that dung mixed with some spices would work wonders to control diabetes, hypertension, and kidney ailments. The general practice is that dung powder mixed with therapeutic products is filled into small capsules for easy consumption. Similarly, dried dung powder is used to make dung cakes and incense sticks for special pujas, he says.
“Unfortunately, most sellers of such byproducts dupe the customers. The use of scented products makes it difficult to detect the pure Punganur breed’s material,” he says. On the other hand, the officials of government veterinary clinics in the Chittoor district, particularly in Palamaner, Punganur, and Bangarupalem mandals (considered the native land of Punganur breed) observe that despite the massive efforts of the Central and State governments to rejuvenate this rare breed, their numbers are “not at all” satisfactory.
“It’s true that they are resilient. Their owners keep visiting us only for vaccination purposes,” a veterinarian tells The Hindu . A veterinary expert from Bengaluru observed: “Just like the red sanders timber species, which is endemic to the Seshachalam biosphere in the Eastern Ghats, the Punganur cow is endemic to Chittoor district, with the Punganur-Palamaner belt being the epicentre.
” Since there have been many incidents where sellers have tried to pass off other dwarf breeds of cows as Punganur cows, veterinarians and animal husbandry officials warn that one should be cautious while purchasing them. Published - October 19, 2024 01:00 pm IST Copy link Email Facebook Twitter Telegram LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Andhra Pradesh / Visakhapatnam.
