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Donkeys with Bollywood names, a fascination
at Ujjain's donkey fair
by Rajni Khaitan

      Ujjain: The growing popularity of Bollywood films and film stars appear to have made inroads not just in private lives but business life as well. Believe it or not, a number of donkeys have been named after popular stars to fetch a good price during an ongoing fair here. Decorated in different colours, the donkeys bearing the names of Bollywood stars like Shahrukh Khan, Salman Khan or popular films of yesteryears such Amitabh Bachchan starrer "Badal" or "Mard" are the star attraction in the five-day annual donkey fair-"Gardhabraj Mela". The fair is being held in Madhya Pradesh's Ujjain about 200 kilometres west of Bhopal. Some of the donkeys are carrying religious symbols like Swastika. "We are fond of the donkeys and give them names accordingly. We name them as Raju and Badal. My donkeys are called Badal and Bhura," said Badrilal Verma, another trader. Large number of farmers and traders from far off places of the country are visiting a donkey fair-"Gardhabraj Mela"-here which commenced here on the occasion of Kartik Ekadashi, an auspicious day as per Hindu almanac.

      Besides donkeys, horses and other animals have also being brought from various parts of Madhya Pradesh in the fair. People from Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Chhatisgarh and Madhya Pradesh are flocking in groups to buy or sell donkeys in the fair, which is being organised along the banks of the River Mokshdayini Kshipra here. The fair continues until Purnima (full moon day). Besides the Bollywood names, the cattle on sale have a quite attractive price range. "I have been coming here since childhood. Donkeys, horses ranging between as low as rupees 51 to as expensive as rupees 60,000 are being sold and bought in the fair," said Shravan Kumar Prajapat, a donkey trader. To know the age of donkeys, their teeth are counted. An animal with two teeth is reckoned to be three years old while three teeth mean four years old. In addition to the cattle, many decorative items and goods for donkeys are also available for the farmers arriving here in groups.
-Nov 17,  2006

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