Holy cow—it’s a Holy Cow
A heavily decorated Holy Cow and his minder. Photo by Gary Foster
You don’t often expect a slang expression to come to life, but that’s exactly what happened the other day as we drove through central India on our way to visit a national park.
Suddenly there they were—a priest and his heavily decorated Holy Cow—moseying toward us on the edge of the road.
This cow, which in this case was a bull, was deemed holy because of an unusual lump on its neck. It’s deformities such as this that set a Holy Cow apart.
On the road. Photo by Gary Foster
According to Deepti and Anand, if you own a Holy Cow (usually a female), you and your cow can’t just laze around.
You can choose to travel the countryside with it spreading holy messages and inspiration. Or you can give the cow to a priest who will take on the job.
Either way, a cow and its carer walk from village to village, sharing hope and faith. In return, villagers feed and house the priest and cow.
Deepti and Anand travel extensively in India and say they don’t see Holy Cows very often, so I consider myself blessed and privileged to have seen one in action. The priest stopped to let us take photos and we tipped him generously, which was only right.
Not every day that you see a Holy Cow.
Where to next? 
I simply loved this. You are one lucky woman. 🙂
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Thanks so much, I certainly feel lucky.
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Hi Peggy,
I also think you’re lucky to have seen a holy cow. But I’m a bit worried by all the decoration around his face. I wonder if it’s uncomfortable? Thank you for another very interesting story.
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I think the Holy Cow lives a pretty cushy life, so I wouldn’t worry much about the get-up. It’s all part of the job. 🙂
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All I can really say is HOLY COW! How interesting!
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That’s exactly what I said! 🙂
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