Jaya Jaya Sankara Hara Hara Sankara – While the memories of Uthangarai Gho Matha and infant Paramasivam is still haunting me many a times a nail bitting incident happened yesterday on Maha Sivarathri that really opened the scars (Please read HERE and HERE for that incident). Anantha Namaskarams to Periyava this incident miraculously ended on a very good just before Maha Sivarathri started. I’m still scracting myself on the grace of Periyava who rescued this small rishabam calf. Rama Rama

Nerve-racking Experience on Maha Sivarathri

Today was one of the most nerve-racking experiences with what started off as a routine cow rescue. We rescued 5 cows – 4 Gho Mathas and one male calf – from my area, Sholinganallur around 5.00 am. They were loaded into the truck to be transported to a goshAlA about 50 Kms away from my place. To contain and keep the calf safe, the driver loaded the calf first and positioned it at the front end of the truck; then loaded all the cows and tied them up right next to each other. Unfortunately and deliberately the driver did not tie the calf thinking it will be inside the vehicle.

The truck started towards the goshAlA. About half way through the journey, near Vandalur (25kms from my place), our driver heard some noises from the back of the truck. So, he pulled over and came around to take a look. That is when he realized that the calf was missing. Since he had already come half the way to the goshAlA, he decided to continue on and drop the cows at the goshAlA and then come back to look for the calf. As soon as he unloaded the cows at the goshAlA, he called me to report what had happened, confessing that he hadn’t tied the calf in the truck. I was shocked to hear this. I was more concerned about the well-being of the calf than getting upset with him for his carelessness.

Based on the circumstances, I figured that somewhere along the way from my place to the goshAlA, the calf must have sneaked underneath the cows, come out the rear end of the truck and jumped out. But I had no idea exactly where that could have happened.

Since I was tied up in prior work commitments, I asked him to retrace his path from Vandalur to my area with his truck, attentively, to find the calf. I was considering all the grave possibilities. If the calf was hit by oncoming vehicles as it jumped off, it would have died or been severely injured and would still be lying on the road. If it hurt itself hitting the road, it may have broken a leg or a joint, but may have limped away. Since this was very early in the AM, shops may not have opened, so no one may have seen what happened.

Our driver came back to Vandalur and carefully retraced his way back, stopping every now and then to observe standing calves, enquiring shopkeepers and other people. Since he owns cows and also deals with cows, he has experience of recognizing cows. He took the help of a couple of friends and carried on his search from 7:30 am to about 2:30 pm with no success and eventually reached home at 3 pm. All along, I was constantly following up with him for updates.

By 3 pm, I could no longer stay focused at work and had to do something about this situation. This felt like a big emotional blow for me on Maha Sivarathri day. We have done many cow rescues so far. Accidents and incidents have happened, but never once in my last 2.5 years of cow rescue have we lost a cow/calf of this sort. The mother cow must be distressed that her calf is missing. The calf must be stressed  it cannot find its mother. A lost calf, barely 6 months old, and still feeding from its mother, cannot survive on its own for long. It would become an unforgettable and unpleasant memory if we didn’t find the calf. It will be a huge scar for life.

I asked the driver to bring his friend so we could go looking for the calf again. I took my car and took both of them with me. We went back through the same route, carefully scanning the area for the calf. We saw many cows and calves along the way, but none of them matched the description of our calf. We called the owner of the calf to ask him to help us search. He said he was tied up, but offered to recognize and confirm the calf if we sent him a picture. We are talking about searching a 25 km net of winding roads and several intersecting streets.

I placed our burden at periyavA’s feet and continued our search. After about 5 Kms, near Sithlapakkam, I saw a lonely calf with a rope tied around its neck. We immediately recognized it as our calf. We got a hold of it, took some pictures and videos and sent it to its owner by WhatsApp for confirmation. The owner confirmed that this was the calf. So, almost after 12 hours of ordeal the lost calf was finally found.

That was a moment of massive relief for me. I felt a huge burden was taken off my chest. The calf looked depressed and exhausted, as it must not have eaten anything since jumping off the truck in the morning. We saw bruises and injuries on the side it’s body; from its fall, when it jumped from our truck. Other than that, it was walking and moving around fine.

The driver kept repeating that he stood at this same spot earlier in the day looking for the calf, but didn’t find it. At this spot, road dividers are about 5 feet tall. So, even if the calf was on the other side, we would not have spotted it. Worse, the calf was standing on the road in front of a meat stall. I still cannot believe how this all came together. BhagavAn’s blessings and periyavA anugraham are the only reasons the calf was safe and we were able to find it. This is one of the greatest miracles I have experienced in my life. I told our driver to never make this mistake again – of leaving calves untied.

The calf was tied up at the driver’s house overnight. Today morning, we rescued 4 more cows. With these cows, our calf travelled to the goshAlA – properly tied up this time – and has been reunited with his mother. As long as he saw his mother he jumped in joy and went to his mother who happily fed him. The picture you see above was taken by me from the owners place before the cow and calf was purchased. Posting a pics below.

Sri Periyava Thiruvadi Saranam. Rama Rama

Rescued pictures of the tired and exhaused calf below found after 12 hours search in front of a meat shop. The last picture is the reunion with his mother in Gosala. You can see some injuries on his side due to the mishap.

Categories: Samrakshanam

Tags: Gho Samrakshanam