Wandering Cows, Careless Langurs — Stories from Jhalawar, Rajasthan

Steven Moctezuma
Jul 30, 2017 · 2 min read

Some locals gave me and some other students the lowdown on cows and langurs, seen all throughout Jhalawar.

A typical north Indian dairy cow

Cows in India are sacred. They must not be killed. And you see, many of the cows roaming around here have no owners. They are used for dairy, like cheese and milk, but once they get older, they cannot produce more milk. So we cannot do anything with them. What, then, do you do with a cow that cannot produce milk and cannot be killed? You set it free.

A langur nonchalantly pissing and pooping at my patio

Langurs are wanted here. The monkeys you see in Delhi are aggressive and produce a lot of conflict with humans. Sometimes you get too many monkeys and they continue to harass pedestrians and even enter people’s homes! So when there is a monkey problem, you bring gray langurs. They are bigger than the monkeys and they chase the monkeys away. The langurs are peaceful and do not bother humans. We coexist.

Steven Moctezuma

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Chicano philosopher with soul but not a soul!

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