Huge-bodied, in a mix of black and white, the animal would not look too out of place beside an elephant. It has small horns on a round head, and anyone who comes near it is startled, though it does not charge at anyone with those small horns. It has no dewlap, but its tail almost touches the ground, and two huge ears hang down near its neck. It moves like a king. Its great body is black and white, but all four legs are white, so that when it walks it looks as if an elephant is coming. Curious crowds surrounded the huge animal at the cattle market.

A visit on Tuesday (5 July) to Gabtoli, the city's only permanent cattle market, found that the huge bull had been brought to market by Asma Begum from Chengara village in Gangni upazila of Meherpur. Asma lost her husband, Amirul Islam, 30 years ago. She has raised the bull together with her daughter, Najma Begum. She owns no land of her own.

Four years ago Asma borrowed money and spent Tk 1 lakh 80 thousand to buy Raja. She cannot even run her own household, let alone pay for cattle feed, so she spends most of her days working in other people's homes, and the main use of that money is buying Raja's feed. When cattle feed prices rose, Asma was in trouble, and mother and daughter both had to struggle to keep Raja fed.

Raja has grown under the care of mother and daughter. He is given eight kg a day of wheat, maize and khesari bran mixed together, along with grass and straw. Not just three meals a day: whenever it seemed Raja's hunger was not satisfied, he was fed. Raja eats Tk 500 to 550 worth of feed a day. His sleeping place is always kept clean and a ceiling fan turns over his head 24 hours a day. When the power goes, mother and daughter fan him with hand fans until it returns, lulling him to sleep.

It is claimed that Raja, brought to market for Qurbani, will yield 30 maunds of meat. He is three and a half years old and has four teeth. The asking price is Tk 15 lakh, but no buyer has yet offered a workable price. Asma is in difficulty after bringing the bull to market, because transport alone cost her Tk 14,000.

Asma Begum told Jago News: "I brought the cow to market on 2 July. Raja will give 30 maunds of meat and I'm asking Tk 15 lakh, but one person offered nine lakh. My daughter and I have come to the market with Raja. My husband is dead; I raise him myself. I've raised Raja with my own hands for three and a half years."

"His feed costs Tk 500 to 550 a day. I work in other people's homes to get the cow's feed. I have no assets of my own. What can I do, stay ashamed? Raja has to be fed," she said.

Determined to escape poverty through Raja, Asma said: "Who wants to stay poor all their life? How long will I suffer? I've scraped money together to raise Raja. I hope he sells for a good price. If I can sell Raja for a good price, I can live a little better. How long will I stay poor! I have no land of my own; Raja is all I have."

"I paid Tk 14,000 in vehicle hire to bring Raja to Dhaka. I'll have to pay another Tk 10,000 in market costs. Including our own expenses, Tk 30,000 has been spent. I raised Raja on loans: I owe Tk 2 lakh to people in the village and another lakh taka at the cattle feed shop. I'll pay off all my debts by selling Raja. If I don't get the right price for Raja, I'll be ruined," she said.

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