Hyderabad: The stage is all set for the grand ‘Sadar festival’ organized by the ‘Yadav community’ in the city on the second day after the Deepawali, for years.
The Yadav community members numbering over a few lakh have been organizing the carnival in their city or town across Telangana for several decades.
“It is a get-together of the men of the community. Until 20 years ago, the carnival was held only in Hyderabad, now in all districts, mandals of the state it is held. People of all communities participate in the get-together and lakhs of people witness it,” said General Secretary All India Yadav Mahasabha, E Hari Babu Yadav.
In Hyderabad, the biggest carnival is organized between Musheerabad and Narayanguda roads.
On the occasion of the Sadar festival, thousands of people congregate to participate in the night-long carnival. Special guests for the program are ministers serving in the government and former public representatives from the Yadav community who shake a leg to the drum beats along with the local community members.
The idea behind the get-together was mooted by the elders a century ago, said Hari Babu. “The community members were busy taking care of their cattle and unable to spend time with relatives and friends. So the elders decided to hold a carnival on the next day of the Deepavali and all gather at the designated place,” he explained.
Dairy farm owners bring the ‘bull-buffaloes’ after decorating them and parade them a the Sadar festival. The animal is given a bath, decorated with edible colours and flowers and paraded in the locality with drummers and local youth joining the procession. It is then brought to the Narayanguda in the city or other carnival spots in nearby designated points.
Over the years, the bull buffaloes from the northern states of the country have been brought to the city. The star attraction this year is the champion Buffalo Bull ‘Gholu 2’, a Murrah breed weighing 1.8 tons and standing 7 feet tall, specially brought from Haryana.
E Haribabu Yadav said it has won several championships in Haryana and many parts of India. “In the past few years, we brought champion bulls including Yuvraj, Dara and Shehenshah”.
Gholu 2, which has a special pool to bathe daily for at least two hours, after taking a massage with mustard oil, has a very specific workout regimen of walking 5K daily. The bull buffalo is fed various types of grains, dry fruits, litres of milk and bananas every day.
Naveen Singh, a farmer from Panipat in Haryana is the owner of this huge and popular buffalo. While Gholu 2’s grandfather’s name is Gholu 1, his father’s name is PC-483. Born and raised in Panipat, the buffalo bull eats around 30 kg of green and dry fodder every day. Besides this, he eats around 7.5 kg of mixture made of wheat and grams.
“Every year, Gholu 2, produces a huge amount of semen needed to inseminate over 10,000 buffaloes. The owner earns about Rs Rs 10 lakh to Rs 15 lakh through the sale of the semen of this bull, in which about Rs 3 lakh is spent on its diet and maintenance,” said Haribabu Yadav.
In contrast, a normal male buffalo can hardly inseminate 1,000 buffaloes in a year.
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