ANIMAL STORIES: Tale of Swiss Nandi I was visiting Switzerland on my friend Udhabsharan’s (Kaufman) invitation a few months ago. He met me at Luzern. During the time of my visit a piece of news about a runaway bull had made headlines in the local newspapers. On June 20, two bulls were being taken to be slaughtered. But both escaped. One of them was found and shot dead. The owner looked for the other one but it could not be found anywhere. The bull’s story was published in the papers and it became very popular among the city’s denizens in no time at all. After three days the bull was found in a farmer’s yard. The farmer informed the owner and asked him either to take it out or kill it. However, the bull had become almost a hero by this time and some people wanted to save it. Finally after long discussions, the owner agreed to let the bull be on condition that he be given the price of the bull. This demand also made into the newspapers. Now there rose another problem — anyone who paid the bull price was compelled to keep it. Around 10 miles from the city, on the Rigi mountain lived a Buddhist monk or the Zen guru Vanja Palmers and he had his ashram on 15 acres of land on lease. When he came to know about the bull, he offered to pay the price and shelter the animal. After the necessary checkup, the bull was brought to the ashram and left with other cows and calves. But the bull did not have a name. Various names were suggested and finally it was decided that the animal would henceforth be called Nandi Muni. Muni is native German for bull. The meaning of Nandi — Bahana or the Carrier of Lord Shiva according to the Hindu religion — was published in the papers. Many well-wishers wanted to thank the Zen guru for his kind and thoughtful act. I also wanted to thank him for his wonderful deed. After many failed attempts, I got to meet him. Introducing myself, I said I was from Nepal, the country of Lord Buddha’s birth, the land of the Everest and the temple of Lord Pashupatinath in front of which stands the statue of a bull named Nandi. We then went to see Nandi, who was grazing in the fields nearby. And as I watched I was thankful that Nandi had been saved by Vanja. Himalayan News Service Looniyawas (Rajasthan): Sonia was priced higher than Vasundhara, while Dharmendra outraced Shah Rukh. Ghanashyam threw tantrums while Basanti outwitted Hema Malini at a beauty pageant. Surprised? These are some of the activities at a three-day donkey fair in Looniyawas village The fair with animals named after celebrities is hugely popular among villagers. Held near the temple of goddess Khalkani, it also attracts traders of horses and mules. But once an all-India event, the 500-year-old fair is now an affair confined to Rajasthan and neighbouring states. “Our fair used to be the biggest in Asia and buyers came from as far as Afghanistan and Ladakh and Gujarat. We now get people only from Rajasthan, Gujarat and Haryana,” said Bhagwat Singh Rajawat, president of the Gadharv Mela. He said this year around 1,500 animals took part, but the number of donkeys fell from over 2,000 in 2004 to barely 1,000. “Earlier the ground used to be filled up with donkeys, now the animals are seen in only a fourth of the space,” Rajawat said. “The fair’s charm is reducing year by year,” moaned Madan Lal, a trader. Rameshwar Jat, another participant, came from Haryana and said the prices of donkeys had gone down. “Earlier a donkey sold for Rs13,000-16,000. Now it is hard to find a buyer even for Rs 5,000.” Rajawat said people now preferred horses as they found them to be more useful. Madan Lal fears the donkey fair may soon turn into a horse fair. According to media reports, Rs10,000 was the highest price a donkey fetched at the fair while a horse named Manmohan was sold for Rs 140,000. Ram Jeevan Ram of Pali district in Rajasthan was honoured for bringing 43 donkeys to the fair.