Holy Cow

I am not in India yet. I am in New Zealand and yesterday drove up to the Bay of Islands to check up on my yacht, Sapphire. Everything was OK but there was a lot of mould on various surfaces so I spent a while cleaning that off and then had my tea in the dark and a good sleep. This morning daylight saving had arrived in NZ and a light breeze sprang up so I shook the sails out and went for a short sail, turning back off Paihia when the wind died.

On my way back to Whangarei I took a detour  along the Ruapekapeka Road, an unsealed back country road through farms that goes past Ruapekapeka Pa, the site of a famous incident between the british Army and local maori back in 1845. A Pa is a fortified enclosure, usually on a hilltoop or headland into which the local tribe could retreat in times of war. This one was purpose built by a warrior chief named Kawiti - and it was different from all other Pa because firstly it wasnt built anywhere near a maori communitty or travel routes or tribal borders but was specifically built inland on a commanding hill to lure british troops across difficult terrain and away from the security of their ships and coastal strongholds. It had a double pallisade with trenches tunnels and underground rooms which were all reinforced and almost immune to british cannon which ordinarily would easily destroy traditional pa where most of the dwellings were above ground. After two weeks the british finally breached the perimeter and on entering found it deserted. British had sustained significant losses and Kawiti had made a strategic withdrawal with his mana intact. Shortly after a peace treaty was signed. All that remains now are the trenches and mounds. Its hard to imagine as you walk around them that here once were warriors. And warfare.

But driving through these wonderfully green hills I couldnt help but notice  fat cows sitting in groups in the afternoon sun, looking very content and picturesque, especially the black and white ones. I wondered if in a weeks time , when I am in India I would be seeing such lucky cows, settled in deep crisp green grass, inhaling the cleanest of air, undisturbed and rested. 

I have since read about the holy cows in India. They are revered by Hindus but Muslims are not vegetarian and happily slaughter and eat them. It appears this difference has made the Cow a political issue in India, the right leaning BJP appealing to the Hindu vote by passing  laws with increasingly severe penalties for their illegal slaughter. Muslims are angered by these laws saying they are directed at them, and the members of their community whose livelihood depends on the meat trade.The left leaning Congress party declared  "We are not an enemy of the animal, but we do not use the cow to woo voters. Religion and politics should not be combined,"