My encounter with death!
Last year I was visiting Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh to attend a three-day event. While I was crossing a
narrow lane near to the event venue I saw a Cow lying on the floor near to a
house in a dead posture. I thought she was dead and I overlooked heading to my
destination. Next day early morning when I was walking down the same lane to
explore the nearby places and take a regular morning walk; I got shocked to see
the same cow lying just a few feet away from the earlier spot barely breathing.
The most shocking part for me to realise that the last night it rained heavily
with a chilled cold throughout the night where this innocent animal was lying
the whole day and night under the open sky. It took no time for me to think
about how she could have survived in such a cold and rainy night!
By the time it was 6:30 in the
morning with fog around. I went near to her to examine if she was OK. I saw her
clearly, she was putting hell lot of effort to breath. I touched her neck and
felt how it was difficult for her to survive. I looked closely with her entire body;
her legs, tail, stomach, hands, ears everything was just immovable as if dead.
I understood that cold might have hit harder and she could not bear it but she was
still breathing. It was an abandoned plot between two houses where the surface
was very wet and bushes had grown up. I asked the lady of the house where she
was lying before 'How did she come here and what happened to her?' She replied '
I don't have any idea about this. I saw her fainted near to our house but no
one helped her and then someone dragged her to the side of the house'. 'Someone
dragged her'? I asked. 'How can someone drag her if she was not well?' 'Didn't
anyone try to call the veterinary doctor to examine her?'. 'Bhaiya no one
cares about an animal. They all talk about them and their welfare but who
cares? Especially the stray animals'. I asked her 'Since how long is she
lying here?' 'She is here for the last 3 days' she said. 'What! last 3 days and
no one bothered to take care of her? Man! this is damn shocking'.
Immediately I took my cell
phone and started searching for the veterinary hospital in the town. By the
time it was around 8 o'clock. I found a few numbers and rang them but as always
most of them were not working and those which were working dint get picked up.
Finally, I spoke to a doctor who was earlier posted in the hospital. He gave me
another number to call. I called up that number and after a long try got
connected to him. 'Hello, am I speaking to the Doctor?' 'Yes what's the concern'
'Sir, I am in need of your help to rescue a stray cow fighting for her life
lying in this abandoned place. I am new to this place
but if you can help, I can try to bring her in an auto-rickshaw to get her
treated'. 'Yes you can bring her but you will not be allowed to leave her here
as we don't have any facility to keep any animals here'. I thanked him for the
time and started talking to the near-by locals.
No one was taking an interest
in talking to me as everyone became spectators. Finally, I asked a local vendor
who was about to open his shop just a few feet away from the lying cow. 'Bhai,
since how long this cow is here and why no one has rescued her so far?' He replied 'She
is lying for the last three days we called municipal people. They came and
dragged her to the side.' I asked him 'why didn't you call the doctor?' 'Bhaiya
we are traders and how can I alone do this? Everyone should do this.' He replied to
me. I started thinking deeply about how inhuman we all have become. We need
pure milk, ghee, butter, curd, cow dung etc but when the giver of all these is dying then there is no one to rescue her because no
one wants to take responsibility. Why would one bother to call the doctor to
help her? Why would one bother to take her to the hospital? Let her die, who
cares.
One auto-rickshaw was passing by. I stopped him and asked if he was ready to help me. He also denied. I was completely helpless watching this
innocent beautiful animal dying every second. I could realize how painful it
was for her to even breath. It again started raining and I rushed into the
shed. It rained heavily for the next few hours. I waited to let the rain stop and
again try to rescue her. I went to the same spot again after around two and a half
hours when rain stopped completely but not to my surprise her 'well-wishers' standing around her looking at her, she was dead! And her well-wishers
were none other than other cows. I just encountered
the death! I was thinking how animals can understand other animal's pain when
they still don't have a developed brain as we human have. And we, so-called
humans can't even show our emotions towards animals because we are more developed!
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