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3.49 AVERAGE
3.49 AVERAGE
“You tie empty Coke and Sprite bottles around your waist in order to float in the water; you line up tattered shoes as goalposts when you play football; and you figure out how to get an animal to the third floor. But you don’t give up on culture and tradition, particularly when they bring you good luck.”
–Shoba Narayan
Book No. 18 of 2018
This book was a bit like a This American Life episode, minus the fact that it wasn’t really American at all. I went back and forth between thinking that cows were way more fascinating than I would’ve ever guessed, and wondering if the story had any direction or point at all.
⭐⭐
–Shoba Narayan
Book No. 18 of 2018
This book was a bit like a This American Life episode, minus the fact that it wasn’t really American at all. I went back and forth between thinking that cows were way more fascinating than I would’ve ever guessed, and wondering if the story had any direction or point at all.
⭐⭐
One of my goals this year is to explore more BIPOC authors. It’s easy to stay in our bubble of comfortable ignorance, but the truth is I want to know. Different viewpoints on what success, love, faith, friendship, etc. and expand on life thru their eyes and cultures.
This is one I picked up last year from a local book store & added it to my TBR. I finally read it and really thought it was fun! Shoba Narayan takes us on a journey upon her return to India (after being in the US for a few years) with her husband and kids. She helps us understand customs and life in India (because we certainly don’t have
This is one I picked up last year from a local book store & added it to my TBR. I finally read it and really thought it was fun! Shoba Narayan takes us on a journey upon her return to India (after being in the US for a few years) with her husband and kids. She helps us understand customs and life in India (because we certainly don’t have
emotional
funny
informative
medium-paced
3 Stars
Disclaimer: I picked this up as a memoir for a reading challenge because I prefer lighthearted memoirs.
The author is an NRI, a US returnee in India, and it shows on every page of the book.
It has been written for the US audience, and I’m not sure how much they’d be interested in without feeling overwhelmed and confused.
The Indian readers, on the other hand, would have had many more experiences with cattle (at least many of them would). There’s quite a lot of information overload, a good lot of taken from other sources. Even some of the initial statements seem to be rather carelessly summarized from news portals.
Also, I could do without some of that high-flying attitude implicit in the overall tone. Moreover, the book is quite disjointed. I wasn’t surprised to read in the author’s note that these were first shared as individual installments. The stitching together of various incidents to create a book is quite evident.
That said, Sarala is a wonderful character, or rather person, and her grit, resilience, persistence, and acceptance of life are not uncommon in people whose livelihood depends on cattle rearing.
I lived in the same street where a family had buffalos and cows at home and was into the diary business. The smell of cattle is hard to miss, even on people. But what’s more apparent is their hardworking nature and their determination to lead a dignified life. Yeah, they aren’t perfect by any means. Some of them are aggressive and (over)protective of their cattle. Can’t blame them either. They lose everything if they lose even a cow.
I didn’t even have to imagine Sarala. I’ve seen her every day for almost two and a half decades. We’ve gotten milk from them (though we had another milkman).
We know their pain when they don’t find their cows. They drive through the same roads, enquiring if anyone has seen a certain cow grazing in the open lands. The cows could be stolen, bound, and carried off to the butchers, and they wouldn’t even know until it’s too late at times. Imagine someone stealing your livelihood for their personal gains.
It does make one wonder why cows are left to graze outside on the roads. The answer is simple. Feeding a cow is costly. They eat a lot (to produce milk twice a day), and the milkmen wouldn’t have any money left if they had to feed the cows. They give them as much as they can afford and leave the cows to graze in the open and eat their fill. That’s why running a gaushala (a shelter home for cows) is so darn expensive and needs donations to care for the cows and calves.
Even today, we get milk from our milkmen (or boys, they are young guys), and well, we prefer it over the packeted version. By the way, we get buffalo milk for daily use and cow milk during festivals.
And hey, we used gaumutra in our new home because we couldn’t bring a cow (it wouldn’t fit in the elevator). Just throwing in some ‘shocking facts’ as the author did in the book.
Now you see why I’m not really impressed by the book. I like that it was about Sarala, but that’s about it. The author’s latest book seems to be a lot better than this, so I might pick it up.
*****
Note: A lot of 'educated' people on social media make jokes and call Hindus cow-piss drinkers. They think that the gaumutra jibe signifies their superior intellect. It is not. Instead, it is a sign of Hinduphobia. It is not funny. Neither does it make them cool or woke.
Disclaimer: I picked this up as a memoir for a reading challenge because I prefer lighthearted memoirs.
The author is an NRI, a US returnee in India, and it shows on every page of the book.
It has been written for the US audience, and I’m not sure how much they’d be interested in without feeling overwhelmed and confused.
The Indian readers, on the other hand, would have had many more experiences with cattle (at least many of them would). There’s quite a lot of information overload, a good lot of taken from other sources. Even some of the initial statements seem to be rather carelessly summarized from news portals.
Also, I could do without some of that high-flying attitude implicit in the overall tone. Moreover, the book is quite disjointed. I wasn’t surprised to read in the author’s note that these were first shared as individual installments. The stitching together of various incidents to create a book is quite evident.
That said, Sarala is a wonderful character, or rather person, and her grit, resilience, persistence, and acceptance of life are not uncommon in people whose livelihood depends on cattle rearing.
I lived in the same street where a family had buffalos and cows at home and was into the diary business. The smell of cattle is hard to miss, even on people. But what’s more apparent is their hardworking nature and their determination to lead a dignified life. Yeah, they aren’t perfect by any means. Some of them are aggressive and (over)protective of their cattle. Can’t blame them either. They lose everything if they lose even a cow.
I didn’t even have to imagine Sarala. I’ve seen her every day for almost two and a half decades. We’ve gotten milk from them (though we had another milkman).
We know their pain when they don’t find their cows. They drive through the same roads, enquiring if anyone has seen a certain cow grazing in the open lands. The cows could be stolen, bound, and carried off to the butchers, and they wouldn’t even know until it’s too late at times. Imagine someone stealing your livelihood for their personal gains.
It does make one wonder why cows are left to graze outside on the roads. The answer is simple. Feeding a cow is costly. They eat a lot (to produce milk twice a day), and the milkmen wouldn’t have any money left if they had to feed the cows. They give them as much as they can afford and leave the cows to graze in the open and eat their fill. That’s why running a gaushala (a shelter home for cows) is so darn expensive and needs donations to care for the cows and calves.
Even today, we get milk from our milkmen (or boys, they are young guys), and well, we prefer it over the packeted version. By the way, we get buffalo milk for daily use and cow milk during festivals.
And hey, we used gaumutra in our new home because we couldn’t bring a cow (it wouldn’t fit in the elevator). Just throwing in some ‘shocking facts’ as the author did in the book.
Now you see why I’m not really impressed by the book. I like that it was about Sarala, but that’s about it. The author’s latest book seems to be a lot better than this, so I might pick it up.
*****
Note: A lot of 'educated' people on social media make jokes and call Hindus cow-piss drinkers. They think that the gaumutra jibe signifies their superior intellect. It is not. Instead, it is a sign of Hinduphobia. It is not funny. Neither does it make them cool or woke.
I didn’t realize this book was non fiction when I picked it up.
It ended up being both more interesting and less interesting than I expected.
I didn’t know there was so much to learn about cows, but this author made me enjoy learning it.
The story is not an adventure, none of the characters really change, but for all that it was a surprisingly interesting and enjoyable read. It was also a nice introduction to contemporary India with a guide familiar with both India and America, writing for an American/English audience.
It ended up being both more interesting and less interesting than I expected.
I didn’t know there was so much to learn about cows, but this author made me enjoy learning it.
The story is not an adventure, none of the characters really change, but for all that it was a surprisingly interesting and enjoyable read. It was also a nice introduction to contemporary India with a guide familiar with both India and America, writing for an American/English audience.
The title is a bit misleading as the book feels all over the place and I can’t really make out the primary focus of the book except that it’s about cows not the cow lady.
Also, educated people should ideally base their theories on scientifically proven facts and not just “he said/she said” stories of how their health miraculously recovered and a cancer patient became healthy again because of drinking cow urine!
There were fun parts here and there but overall it’s a book of stereotypes as far as India -“the land of the poor” is concerned.
I had plans to read other books by the author but after this I don’t think I’d want to anymore.
P.S. I heard the audiobook
Also, educated people should ideally base their theories on scientifically proven facts and not just “he said/she said” stories of how their health miraculously recovered and a cancer patient became healthy again because of drinking cow urine!
There were fun parts here and there but overall it’s a book of stereotypes as far as India -“the land of the poor” is concerned.
I had plans to read other books by the author but after this I don’t think I’d want to anymore.
P.S. I heard the audiobook
funny
informative
medium-paced
Cow is one of the first animal domesticated by human. In India cow plays an integral part of life. Shobha Narayan in this book provides facts, culture, customs, religion, and myths on cow. This book deals with he relation with milkwoman and their journey for buying a cow.
Shobha first meets her milkwoman Sarala in an elevator with a cow on her new apartment. Shobha an American immigrant who returns to her home country of India makes friend with Sarala and thus begins their journey to buy a perfect cow as gift for Sarala.
Shobha first meets her milkwoman Sarala in an elevator with a cow on her new apartment. Shobha an American immigrant who returns to her home country of India makes friend with Sarala and thus begins their journey to buy a perfect cow as gift for Sarala.
Absolutely delightful microhistory of an urban dairy farmer in contemporary Southern India! I loved this! It opens with the author meeting in the elevator of her new apartment building a cow and her owner, Sarala, the local milk lady, and it just keeps entertaining to the last page. I did not want it to end.
The author and her family return to India from the USA to allow their children to grow up near family in the heart of their heritage. Soon after arriving, the narrator befriends the local dairy woman, learns much about the industry in modern India, and a great deal about the cows.
Like many westerners, I was aware that cows were sacred in India. During my travels in NW India in 2013, I had the opportunity to see many cows seemingly just wandering free everywhere. Yet until I read this, I did not appreciate the cow's intricate role in its culture, traditions, diet, history, and religion, to this day. Now I can't wait to return to India and perhaps meet a milk lady or two myself.
The book is structured much like [b:Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life|25460|Animal, Vegetable, Miracle A Year of Food Life|Barbara Kingsolver|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1480104279s/25460.jpg|1582285] with sections of story alternating with information. I grew up on an active dairy farm and much of the daily life of Sarala and her cows was familiar to me, proving that there is a certain universality and timelessness to farming. Yet, I still learned a lot! Plus it was just a fun read!
I was able to use this for the microhistory prompt in the 2018 Pop Sugar Reading Challenge, but I read it because it caught my eye on a list of recommended new books.
The author and her family return to India from the USA to allow their children to grow up near family in the heart of their heritage. Soon after arriving, the narrator befriends the local dairy woman, learns much about the industry in modern India, and a great deal about the cows.
Like many westerners, I was aware that cows were sacred in India. During my travels in NW India in 2013, I had the opportunity to see many cows seemingly just wandering free everywhere. Yet until I read this, I did not appreciate the cow's intricate role in its culture, traditions, diet, history, and religion, to this day. Now I can't wait to return to India and perhaps meet a milk lady or two myself.
The book is structured much like [b:Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life|25460|Animal, Vegetable, Miracle A Year of Food Life|Barbara Kingsolver|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1480104279s/25460.jpg|1582285] with sections of story alternating with information. I grew up on an active dairy farm and much of the daily life of Sarala and her cows was familiar to me, proving that there is a certain universality and timelessness to farming. Yet, I still learned a lot! Plus it was just a fun read!
I was able to use this for the microhistory prompt in the 2018 Pop Sugar Reading Challenge, but I read it because it caught my eye on a list of recommended new books.
This was a very surprising book to me, and I am so glad a read it. It is, in a word, about cows. Cows, it turns out, are a far more complex topic than I, as a westerner who group up with them could have imagined.
I am so delighted to learn more about Indian culture, especially how modern India is transforming into a massively urban culture and how they are holding on to rural roots and to religious values. The cow rescue compound was an eye-opening concept to me. The idea of walking a cow around in a living space to bless it with droppings (even if this living space is an apartment in a brand new building) is amazing. The many interesting medical properties of cow products (not all milk, my darlings, not by a long shot) are fascinating, and the writer does a marvelous job bringing outsiders in.
I am so delighted to learn more about Indian culture, especially how modern India is transforming into a massively urban culture and how they are holding on to rural roots and to religious values. The cow rescue compound was an eye-opening concept to me. The idea of walking a cow around in a living space to bless it with droppings (even if this living space is an apartment in a brand new building) is amazing. The many interesting medical properties of cow products (not all milk, my darlings, not by a long shot) are fascinating, and the writer does a marvelous job bringing outsiders in.