Today we have some photos by reader Matthew Ware, taken in Rajasthan, one of my favorite parts of India. Matthew’s notes are indented; click on the photos to enlarge them:
These photos were taken near Udaipur, Rajasthan, northern India in early 2022. We saw quite a few static animal-powered devices, mainly used for threshing cereal crops, but this was the first (and only) one we saw that was used to lift water.
The Hindus do love their cattle – after all, they may well be a reincarnated friend or family member! They often adorn them with trinkets and, as in this case, paint their horns. As sacred animals, they are not slaughtered for food.
Judging by their humps, I’m presuming that they are Brahma cattle.
They don’t seem to be overly impressed. Maybe they don’t like having their photo taken!
However, the man seemed rather happy to be snapped.
Presumably, one’s the accelerator and the other the brake… he does seem quite close to the less hygienic end of the animal though.
Presumably they can add/remove water pails depending upon stream height.
That is quite a clever device. I suppose for the cattle, having already been through cycles of reincarnation, just going around in circles is not a problem.
Right 🙂
But I understand why they look bored stiff. It must be boring to keep coming back as cattle every time. With reincarnation, there is a chance of becoming an eagle or a lion — exciting stuff.
Becoming a bat and then a human, and then developing the ability to remember the previous life is the best shot we have of answering Thomas Nagel’s What Is It Like to Be a Bat?
Wow! A good reminder that in many places of the world, things haven’t changed much.
Sub