It is 1pm. At the livestock market on the ground of the capital's traditional football club Rahmatganj, a crowd of curious people has gathered in front of one cow. The trader was wiping down the huge black-and-white animal with a wet gamchha. The cattle tied up nearby were too frightened to come close.

The curious onlookers were asking the owner all sorts of questions: "What breed is it?", "How much does it eat a day?", "How old is it?", "Is it bad-tempered or calm?" Without answering, the trader stayed busy caring for the animal.

Talking to this correspondent, Kushtia cattle trader Abdul Mannan said he comes to Dhaka every year with one cow raised at home, and this year was no exception. He has raised the animal he brought since it was a year old, and for two and a half years has fed it Tk 500 worth of feed a day.

He said the local-foreign crossbreed is called "Shanto" (calm). Used to comfortable surroundings at home, Shanto keeps getting restless in the market, and he has to spend the whole day handling it. Because of the heat it has to be bathed twice a day and given straw, bran, grass and water from time to time.

He said the animal weighs more than 20 mon. Remarking that the meat of this home-raised cow will be very tasty, he said: "It cost a lot of money to raise this cow. If I sell it for less than Tk 6 lakh, I will make no profit."

The trader expressed hope that whoever likes the animal will pay Tk 6 lakh for it.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.