In a country where Eid ul-Adha is more of a competitive sport than a religious festival, footwear at the cattle market can make or break your season. Whether it’s Gabtoli or Hazaribagh, cattle markets don’t choose a favourite when it’s time to bring an end to your shoes. Everyone is subjected to the same suffering.
Under the sun, between lanes of cows and in streets of mud and dung, where you have to walk for a minimum of 5km, the correct shoes can go a long way. To people who are prone to the error of slipping, it may even become their vessel in this battle between cow and death. So, here’s the footwear you may choose to wear for the cattle market.
Crocs
Not the first option that comes to your mind when you combine mud and dung. But for you, I have one word. Comfort. Especially in this heat, comfort goes way further than you think. “You wear the Crocs; you come back home and spray them with a hose. That is all it takes,” said Mohammed, 31, working at a private firm, when asked about his insistence on wearing Crocs to the cattle market.
If you decide to wear Crocs to the cattle market, you only do it for comfort. The increased risk of slipping and falling does not matter to you; you have air in your feet, and luxury is your lifestyle. Even if you fall, the crocs will endure, but whether you can run after your cow is another matter.
Flipflops
The most popular option, and rightly so. Flipflops have been worn for generations in the kingdom of cow dung, and they’ve held their own. 9 out of 10 people may not recommend using your toothpaste, but 9 out of 10 cattle market enjoyers will tell you to wear flipflops.
To most, it’s the only logical choice, the only choice that respects the market. You do not need flashy footwear. You need a pair of reliable flip-flops. You do not go there to show off; you go there to bargain and buy the second-best possible cow because the best one was taken five minutes before you arrived.
Rahin, 22, a student at a private university, said, “I choose the most worn-down pair available to me. The flipflops do not survive to see another day, but they do what they need to.”
Gumboots
A popular choice, especially with the ladies. Gumboots keep the mess out and keep your dignity in. They’re an incredibly handy choice and to some, the only logical choice. But often, gumboots are worn by people who are forced to be there. Rarely will you find a cattle market enjoyer rocking up in a pair of gumboots, because to them, gumboots do not provide the proper cattle market experience.
“First, I do not want to go to the cattle market. But even if I did, I would wear the biggest gumboot I could find. I do not care about the heat or how much I need to walk. I do not care if my feet blister or feel like a portable oven; I will wear those boots. I’d rather have no leg at all than feel the mud,” said Maria, 25, working at an ad firm, when asked about whether she will be going to the cattle market this year.
Whether you are someone who has been forced to go or you have been going to the market for years, gumboots are a solid choice. Just forget that it’s summer.
Sneakers
Not the white ones. Not the new ones. A pair that has been kept for what feels like generations. A pair that fits a bit too tight because it was for a younger you. The ones that have been kept in the shoe box for a millennium, dreading this exact moment.
“Sneakers provide you with everything you need,” said Fahim, 31, working for an NGO, justifying his choice. “They keep the mud out, and most importantly, if you need to run after the cow, there is no better alternative.”
If you want to seem organised, unsentimental and a person with a plan, old sneakers might be your best bet against the bulls. There is comfort, there is versatility, and more importantly, there is safety. You won’t fall in sneakers; you will not slip into the dungy abyss. But safe to say, the pair won’t be anyone’s envy anymore.
Leather
Somewhere between the crocs and the flipflops lies the realm of Leather. Whether it’s a leather sandal or a boot, the outcome will be the same. They will absorb everything the ground has to offer. The mud, the dung, the mess will forever be embedded within these shoes. A memory that you once ventured out to the beasts and came back satisfied.
Abrar, 23, a student, had a look of horror when he was asked about his leather sandals. He said, “It is a bad idea. I once wore a pair to my local market. My mother scolded me, and the smell didn’t leave my feet, no matter how much I tried.”
If you wear leather sandals to the cattle market, you are practical in theory and optimistic in practice. You will have a fine time. Your sandals will not. By the end of the day, you will have developed a complicated relationship with them, unsure whether to clean them, retire them, or simply accept that they have been changed by this experience and so, in small ways, have you.
The cattle market does not care about your footwear. The cow does not care about your footwear. The mud, which will find you regardless of what you have on your feet, does not care about your footwear. Yet, every Eid, thousands of people make this decision with the full weight of their personality behind it, arriving in loafers they will mourn, sneakers they will regret, and sandals that will never quite recover.
