ISSN (Online) - 2349-8846

Cattle Tattle

Samares Kumar Das (samcau.d1@gmail.com) is Assistant Professor, Department of Veterinary andAnimal Husbandry Extension, College of Veterinary Sciences and Animal Husbandry, CentralAgricultural University, Selesih, Aizawl, Mizoram, India.

After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in veterinary science and animal husbandry, fuelled by apassion for rural life, I opted for “extension education” as a major discipline for my master’s degreecourse. To be sure, though, there were other reasons to do so—such as a lack of interest in the jobof a veterinary surgeon. However, when I ended the course at the Indian Veterinary ResearchInstitute, Izatnagar, Uttar Pradesh, I felt an urge to serve people who live in the countryside and forwhom animal husbandry is a way of life.

I started disseminating the science of veterinary and animal husbandry, adopting the philosophyand principles of “extension education” to change the behaviour (“knowledge,” “attitude” and“skill”) of livestock keepers. “Helping people help themselves shape their behaviour in a desirabledirection” is the basic tenet of extension education. From “university extension” in the 19th centuryas an educational movement, extension education has evolved to “agricultural extension” in the20th century as a means to increase agricultural production.

Whenever a client visited me at the dispensary or whenever I dropped in on a farmer, there wasalways an exchange of ideas, views, information, intelligence and news. Knowledge of low-costtechnology was disseminated effortlessly. For example, feeding cattle with paddy straw is a usualpractice in rural Bengal. If a farmer did not chop up the straw and add common salt to the water,he was told to do so, and, if possible, add molasses as well into the cattle feed. Not only did thispractice help reduce the wastage of straw and increase the palatability and nutritive value of thefeed, but the farmer was also heartened with the new “information” he had obtained—all with littleeffort.

There are innumerable such examples of “knowledge transfer,” but bringing about a change in“attitude” is the most difficult task. Different methods have to be employed. Take, for example, theadoption of artificial insemination (AI) in cattle. Only the principle of “seeing is believing” canchange the reluctance to adopt AI. If a farmer sees the benefits of rearing cross-bred animals in hisown neighbourhood, he will readily adopt AI.

Changing “skills,” however, is not as difficult. The principle of “learning by doing” is the best tool.In rural Bengal, where basic veterinary services are still unavailable and largely inaccessible, afarmer can get his animal injected at the dispensary the first time around. But if he does not learnhow to administer intra-muscular injections, he will have to depend on somebody.

Though para-vets are employed at the level of the village council (panchayat) for delivering first-aidand AI at the doorstep, as in the case of the village-level workers of the “community development”programme of the early 1950s, these services are rarely available in times of need. Clients have tobe taught the basic skills of veterinary practice and animal husbandry to enable them to functionconfidently and independently.

Unfortunately, however, I did not continue as a vet since I left to become an assistant professor atthe only agricultural university in India under the central government—the Central Agricultural

ISSN (Online) - 2349-8846

University, Imphal, Manipur. The new position entailed a three-pronged responsibility of teaching,research and extension. Unlike the previous job, there were fewer opportunities for direct contactwith livestock keepers. Thankfully, the new job brought in new clients in the form of students.

However, my mind remained restless, and I went on to publish my PhD thesis, “Life in theSundarbans: A Participatory Rural Appraisal,” in 2012, and the next year, edited the autobiographyof the renowned crop scientist, Ratikanta Maiti. I went on to write handbooks and textbooks onveterinary science and animal husbandry, participated in conferences, got involved in thepublication of a quarterly journal, and, above all, began advocating science through drawing.

In one sketch, a general truth of life is expressed in a folk-rhyme: “Clever shop-keeper/Invitesstreet-goer/Come brother/Smoke bidi/Go thereafter.” It sums up an intelligent business tip: don’tmisbehave with customers, always be friendly with them. Inviting a passer-by for a smoke is acustomary way of showing hospitality in rural Bengal.

This folk-rhyme exists perhaps best in the memory of my mother, Kalpana Das, who is now 75 yearsold. Nearly 60 years ago, when she was travelling with her father to visit her elder sister, who wasresiding at Barrackpore, a suburb of Calcutta, she saw a minstrel singing on the railway platform.Among the many folk-rhymes he sang, the one quoted above is the only one my mother remembersto date. I translated it from Bengali into English and drew a representative sketch, which I startedshowing to the bachelor’s degree students in my class on entrepreneurship. I plan to sketch otherfolk-rhymes as well, depending on the memory of old rural folk who are the living treasure troves ofrhymes, songs and adages.

Bringing science to the doorstep of the common man should be a universal goal. Research anddevelopment are intertwined, just as knowledge and university-generated innovation are of no useif they are not disseminated. Drawing and sketching are effective means of popularising science.