ABSTRACT
The deep red pottu 1 smeared across the forehead of the male calf had started to bleed in the rain, appearing as a premonition of a dark gash slicing his face. He stood still, patiently with three other baby males at the foot of the 1000 steps that mark the ascent to the Simhachalam Temple in Visakhapatnam city, Andhra Pradesh. Simhachalam is the second most venerated Hindu temple in the state after the Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanam, which in turn is regarded as one of the holiest Hindu sites in the world. Each calf was decorated with a garland of drenched flowers and holy basil or glittery red ribbons. Following possibly a painfully squashed ride in the backseat of an auto-rickshaw or even a long trek from a nearby village in the peri-urban conurbation of Visakhapatnam, the baby male calves had been, briefly gods, before being donated by their owners to Simhachalam. Ribs protruded painfully from the ribcage of each calf. I reached out to rub one calf's back to find it sodden with rainwater. I did not know that calfskin could soak up wetness that heavily.
