30th Mar 2015.
Mohinder's Proud Possession : Sheru, Equus Africanus Asinus (the Donkey)
Posted on the 01 March 2018 by Sampathkumar Sampath
Equus
africanus asinus, a domesticated member of the horse family, Equidae – is also
found in the city…. In villages, it could be a common sight – nearer
VivekanandaCollege in Sivasami Salai, one can find a few donkeys, an animal
used extensively by launderers. A male donkey or ass is called a jack, a female
a jenny or jennet. As beasts of burden
and companions, asses have worked together with humans for millennia. Somehow,
in many stories (and in life too) they are ill-treated !!
There is common
belief that donkey’s milk boosts immunity in newborns; though Doctors disagree
its curative property. Doctors say donkey milk is not harmful to babies, but
lack of hygiene could pose the risk of infections. Yet people do line up to buy little quantity
of donkey milk and give it to children, especially new-borns. That way, there is some demand for donkey (its
milk !!)
Couple of years
ago, despite economic meltdown riding ‘monkey on the back’ – the donkey market
reportedly was alive and kicking. A
record number of donkeys - 2,000 to be precise - was sold on the opening day of
the nine-day donkey bazaar in Ahmednagar district, and that too at record
prices. The prices reportedly ranged from
Rs 7,000 and Rs 15,000-nearly 50% higher than the previous year. The donkey bazaar, held each year in
drought-prone Pathardi tehsil in Ahmednagar district, attracts traders from not
only Maharashtra but also Gujarat and Rajasthan. The price of a donkey, the official explained,
depended on its physique, height, colour, age and the number of teeth. Donkeys
from Kathewadi in Gujarat are the most expensive-between Rs 10,000 and Rs
15,000.
The
official attributed the unprecedented demand for donkeys to the acute shortage
of power and labor. In rural and hilly areas where construction work is in
progress, labor is hard to come by, and workers are demanding higher wages.
Under such circumstances, he explained, many builders were finding it more
productive to use donkeys. According to
market experts, the output of a donkey was equivalent to that of seven to ten
human labourers. "By and large, donkeys are used to move construction
material such as bricks, metal and sand from one place to another,'' he said.
Donkey is a prized
possession of a resident in Punjab – and why it would not be. Brought from
Bikaner in 2012, Sheru, a donkey has turned on the
fortunes of his owner Mohinder Singh-a resident of Punjab. According to
a report in TOI, Sheru stands 54 inches tall and
commands a hefty amount of Rs 3 lakh, equal to the cost of two Nano cars.
30th Mar 2015.
30th Mar 2015.