Md Jasim Molla of Kumarkhali upazila in Kushtia has gone abroad to earn a living. His wife, Halima Khatun, is a housewife. In six years of marriage the couple have not had a child, so she has given her spare time to "Rajababu", caring for him like her own child for about four years.
Rajababu is the bull kept by Jasim and Halima, who gave him the pet name. The Friesian bull stands about five feet ten inches tall and measures about eight feet from tail to head. He weighs an estimated 957 kg, or more than 23 maunds. The expatriate's wife is asking Tk 10 lakh for him.
A calf bought by her father-in-law
About six years ago Jasim Molla, son of the late Samchhaddin Molla of Uttar Mulgram, married Halima Khatun, daughter of Md Chand Ali of the same area. The year after the wedding Jasim Molla went to Iraq to earn a living. Halima's father-in-law bought her a cow with a Friesian calf, and that calf is today's huge Rajababu. For about four years Halima Khatun has raised him like her own child on grass, straw, bran, gram, maize and other feed. The bull eats about Tk 600–700 worth of feed a day, and Halima now has many dreams centred on him.
With the Eid of sacrifice approaching, there has so far been little response from buyers, and the family is deeply worried.
On a visit, Rajababu, a black bull, was seen tied with a rope to a mango tree in front of a tin-roofed house with a concrete floor. Halima Khatun was fanning him with a hand fan.
"I have been raising the bull like my own child for about four years. I named him Rajababu out of affection. He has cost about Tk 20,000–22,000 a month. If I get Tk 10 lakh, I will sell him for the sacrifice," she said.
She added that she would use the money to buy another cow, and with the rest buy a plot of land and build a house on it.
Worries over the sale
Contacted on social media, Jasim Molla said there are not many people at his home, and taking a large bull to market and back is a problem. With Eid coming, he is very worried about the sale.
Upazila livestock officer Dr Md Noore Alam Siddiqui said that for this year's Eid of sacrifice about 23,566 animals have been prepared on 3,597 farms and in households across one municipality and 11 unions. That is 10,935 more than the upazila needs. He said he is keeping track of the animals and their owners at all times.
Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.
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