Pumpkin Nandi

10-foot tall Nandi reaches down to enjoy his favorite fall treat. He makes eye contact with the artist in this portrait, offering gratitude for the sweet pumpkin.

Nandi and Ogemaa (Ogie for short) were born in March of 2011 to what we call a "reluctant" dairy farmer - a farmer who does not want to kill his cows, and when he has the opportunity not to, he takes it. Usually, male calves on the farm are immediately taken from their mothers, and bottle fed by the farmer until they are sent to another farm to be used for veal. Indra found out about the farmer and asked if she could take one of the babies. Thankfully, he agreed. She went to pick up one one-day-old calf, but when she got there, another had just been born. The farmer agreed to let her take both. She brought them back to Indraloka and named them Nandi and Ogemaa. Nandi is named after the Hindu deity Krishna's cow. We were overjoyed to bottle feed the two for as long as we could. From the beginning, Nandi was a mellow, easy-going cow while Ogie was high energy and assertive. Both remained just as gentle as they were when they were tiny. Nandi had a deep love for fresh carrots and back scratches (if you could reach his back) and Ogie loved cucumbers. They both really enjoyed pomegranates, too! They were best friends and formed a close bond with the horses and Hubbub (a goat), and Nandi was especially close with Mookie.

Art by Johnny Braz

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