Chasing cars... err... Camels...

This is a slightly modified version of what I wrote for the paper. The person behind the scenes is my dad, who drove me to all these places without salichifying,  and we had fun in the process too!

At 6AM on Friday morning, an open ground at MR Nagar off Pulianthope High Road bears all the signs of being a cattle market – the sound and smell of sheep, men and women haggling with the traders and vehicles waiting to take away the animal.

The sheep are coded using colour powder according to the trader; some are pink, some green, and some multicoloured. They bleat loudly as their traders entice potential customers to check out the animals. “We have the best among the lot here,” claims one man, pointing to a herd of about 50 sheep covered in pink powder.

With Bakrid around the corner, over 20 individual traders from Cuddapah in Andhra Pradesh have brought their sheep for the Chennai market, and are doing brisk business, to say the least. As interested Muslims examine the sheep to get the healthiest ones, the traders run their sales pitch. They are unwilling to reduce the price evn by a few hundred rupees. Hard headed fellows.

Rajesh, one of the traders, says, “Apart from transport, we also have to pay for our food, stay and the helpers. Under those circumstances, the price is reasonable. We barely make Rs 1000 on each animal. This is the last day for us to sell the animals. By afternoon tomorrow the sacrifices should be over, so we will leave tonight or early tomorrow.”

Meanwhile in a small street off Broadway, a few camels chew the cud lazily as they sit next to a mosque in Mannadi. They have been brought down from Rajasthan especially for Bakrid by several groups of people. While the price of an entire camel can be prohibitive for most families, they have the option of sharing it with other families.

Dastagir, who is one of the many people who organise to procure the animals, explains how the sacrifice works in case of a camel, saying, “When the qurbani is done, the names of the seven families will be recited. That is what we mean by splitting the cost. After that, the meat is also divided equally among the families.” Each camel costs Rs 35,000 to Rs 40,000, he says, adding that once an approximate number of people who will purchase a share are known, the camels are brought by walk from the north.

The state vice president of the Jananayaga Muslim Munnetra Kazhagam (JMMK), Dastagir says that they do not do this for the money. “We are doing this to help our fellow-Muslims. Not everyone can manage this, and since we have the means to do so, we take care of the arrangements. It is not about profit,” he says.

The other option for sacrifice is cows, and these sell for about Rs 1300 a share. Mehrunisa, a housewife, says that the tradition differs for each family. “The animal chosen for qurbani depends on each family’s preference. As long as our sacrifice is healthy and up to the standards, we do not mind anything,” she says with a smile.