How do you assess the worth of a farmer – in the hectares of land he owns, tonnes of grains he produces or the labourers he employs? Welcome to Aurad taluk in Bidar district, where a farmer is as big as the number of donkeys he owns.
Donkeys are used to transport farm inputs like seeds and fertilizers and farm in this hilly taluk. A large portion of land in this backward taluk is undulated with villages on top of hillocks and fields in mountain valleys around streams and on tank beds. Tar roads lack length and quality and a lot of villages or hamlets (tandas) still do not have access roads.
A visit to the Aurad countryside reveals how donkeys are part of household. The Koragar family in Koundagaon village has 14 donkeys. They are all tied to a rope that passes through their ankles and not through loops around their necks. “They are not dogs to be put on a leash, are they?”’ questions Saibavva, the matriarch of the family. Her husband died 20 years ago and she raised her two sons and two daughters, from money earned through renting out the donkeys. “Outsiders tend to think we eat them. We don’t. The donkeys are like our children. We like them very much. We use them to carry loads into fields and between villages,’’ she said.
The white ones are five times costlier than the dark ones, though both are used for the same purpose, she explained. While the white ones cost between Rs. 50,000 and Rs. 70,000 each, the grey-coloured beasts can be bought for Rs. 12,000 to Rs. 20,000 per head.
“The grazing habits of donkeys are unique,” explains Saibavva’s 22-year-old son Shankar. They go hunting for grass only when they are in a group. Otherwise, we feed them at home, after they are tied up, says Shankar, glancing at his smartphone every now and then.
Every month, at least one case is registered about donkey theft in the village. “We face a lot of pressure from the public when ten to twenty donkeys are stolen from a single home,” said a senior police officer. That is why they urge donkey owners to keep at least one dog per herd, the officer said.
