Master and his herd

Last night, as I went to sleep, I wished I hadn't made plans for morning photography. After a long time, I was looking forward to a Saturday morning lie-in. But it was too late to change my mind after all plans involving quite a few photographers were chalked out. We had decided to go to the old city on the occasion of Bakri Eid.

On the way, as tradition dictates, older parts of the city were lined with merchants selling goats. Each of them had brought his herd and made a place by a tree-lined street. Goats were being fed with hay and leaves plucked from nearby trees. Most had come from the outskirts of the city, some from nearby districts and some even from neighbouring states. All for the big bounty that awaited them. The goats sell for very large sums of money and by the end of the day, confident as the merchants are of selling off entire stocks running into dozens, they are likely to make a bit of a fortune.

It was chaotic out there. There were impatient goats, sleepy goats, goats enjoying themselves, some playing with their masters, especially if the masters were young kids, some getting spanked for trying to make friends with another herd... Eating, defecating, sneezing, snoring, running, it was all there. The air was friendly. And despite the immediate physical discomforts like smell, dust and so on, it was good almost being part of a celebration.

To see these peaceful creatures with gentle faces reduced to rivers of blood along the back-alleys must make everyone sad. But whether they were oblivious, indifferent or scared of what lay in store for them was hard to tell. It's hard to read what's on a goat's mind from it's face. For a fact, none tried to run away.

The air had a festive mood and a large number of people were out on the streets celebrating the occasion. We made out way for some traditional Indian breakfast before returning home.

The rest of the day will be spent in trendier locales. In a way I'm glad, that in Hyderabad we are able to see life on both ends of the spectrum.

More shots from the occasion can be found here.