Lakshmi and Shankar

A bright morning here in Amritapuri:  the new miniature indigenous cows that the ashram got recently from the Kerala Agriculture University were moved to their new separate cowshed close to Amma’s room…

Very cute animals, especially their rabbit-style ears continuously moving to capture the various sounds around them! They are from two endangered breeds of cows that once were a common household milk producing animal in Kerala and other parts of India: The Vechoor Cow (vechur cow)and the Kasargod Dwarf.

They are supposed to be the breeds that Krishna once played with and made so dear to his heart… They are also the smallest cow breeds in the world as per the Guinness records… When the larger breeds of cows were introduced to India, these  two indigenous breeds became less and less popular, as the new breeds yielded more milk.

Shankar the adult bull

Amma wanted to take this step and help reintroduce these breeds amongst villagers. Their milk is supposed to have medicinal attributes, so Amma wants the MAM to make research on this matter.

Here are the six new residents of Amritapuri:
Shankar is the bull;  Parvati, Lakshmi and Saraswati are the cows; Kasturi and Sreekutty are the two calves (females)…

What touches the most when spending time around them, is their sensitivity and intelligence… They seem to be very much alive, always alert but never tense, definitely very affectionate… They seem to really understand what is happening around them, accepting to be touched and petted by kids and adults alike…

Enjoy the pics below… They are all of the adult animals except the one with the two garlanded calves.

(Read also: Birth of baby Krishna cows at Amritapuri)

Priyan

4 year old Govinda making friends with 7 year old Saraswati

Saraswati accepting baby Prema’s mischiefs

Sreekutty and Kasturi, ready to go play with Lord Krishna

Parvati and her ears