SACRED COWS.

'Sacred cow and mandala'-600x450,2007. 'Crossing River'-550x400cm,2007. 'Sacred White'-550x400cm,2008.
Medium: acrylic on card.
MY FIRST ENCOUNTER.
Spending a lot of time in India, I encountered multitudes of sacred cows.
Cows in india are considered sacred by the Hindu religion, and seem to be allowed to wander anywhere. If they decide to wander on the roads, traffic finds a way around them.
Often they are decorated in multitudes of different bright colours, and are seen on occasions wearing all kinds of drapes, often dazzling designs.
My first day in India, an hour after leaving Delhi airport at around eight o'clock in the dark, walking down a dark street in an old part of the city I almost flew, my feet leaving the ground, as I encountered a large sacred cow lying in the middle of the road as solid as a rock! On encounter, it didn't even flinch.
I'd experienced my first of many culture shocks, which is one of the delights of traveling in India.
Part of a series of paintings inspired by the surprises & mystique of the Indian subcontinent, this is one of several that have been exhibited in Japan and elsewhere.