Cloth Burlap/Sack cloth/Hessian cloth is coarsely or densely woven cloth/fabric like that of gunny bags, from fibres such as jute, sisal, sikki, flax, hemp, etc. (In the Bible it is described as made of goats’ hair or camels’ hair.)
Woollen fabrics Woollen fabrics manufactured by many well-known companies have been found to be mixed with camel hair.
Leather Camel hide/skins/leather is considered stronger than bovine hide/leather, is tanned as ‘fur on’ and ‘fur off’, is commonly used in Rajasthan for slippers, is available as matt finish in a variety of colours and called wet-blue, crust or finished leather made into hats, boots and fashion garments in Australia. Camel hide is not only commonly used in Rajasthan for slippers/mojadis but entire pieces of furniture, bags, doors and artefacts like lampshades, vases and bowls are covered with camel leather, some of which is embossed in gold and other colours. Usta artists who do this Cordwain/Cordovan work (i.e. decorating leather for walls by embossing/painting) refuse to compromise and use artificial leather. Their work adorns walls and ceilings of both Hindu shrines and Muslim dargahs (like the main mausoleum of Sufi Saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti’s dargah at Ajmer) in Rajasthan and at Delhi; the work can also be seen at the NSCI Club, Mumbai.
Jewellery Camel bone jewellery has been manufactured since ages. Ivory looks very similar to camel bones. The use of camel bone in place of ivory is encouraged
Transport Camels and even elephants and monkeys have helped plough land, transport goods on their backs, pull carts and tongas, etc
Processions Animals such as elephants, horses and camels traditionally feature in religious functions and wedding processions. Processions involving such animals require Police permission. Crackers are burst along the route which quite often scares the animals and they go berserk thus injuring people.
Races Races involving other animals such as camels, donkeys, elephants, buffaloes, etc. are sometimes organised as a kind of novelty or attraction at a fair or some other function without showing any consideration whatsoever for the poor animals involved. The worst of these is possibly the camel races at the annual Pushkar fair near Ajmer in Rajasthan where as many as a dozen persons sit atop a single camel made to race other camels. Trading in camels, camel beauty contests (for which their noses are pierced and a ring inserted), selling of finery and saddles are also part of this fair. Ironically, the leather for the saddles and footwear as well as bone jewellery sold is of camel origin.
Joy rides Camels, ponies, and elephants are used for ‘joy rides’ particularly in hill stations and tourist resorts. The conditions under which these animals are kept are often pathetic. It is not uncommon for them to be loaded with the maximum number of adults and children they can physically hold. Naturally, some riders get thrown off. Both Indian and foreign tourists are responsible for patronising such joy rides. Camel rides and races are part of the Desert Festival celebrations at Jaisalmer in Rajasthan. At the Bikaner Camel Festival horses in finery are made to run races.
Fair The Cattle Fair in this State at Nagaur which takes place every February is considered to be one of the largest cattle fairs in the country, however, horses and camels are also traded; and camel racing is part of the festivity. Asia’s biggest Donkey Fair is actually a 500 year old traditional festival of Sanganer, Jaipur, organised by the All-India Donkey Development Mela Committee. Donkeys are not only traded, but made to race. Camels and horses have been recently introduced in the fair. Unfortunately, a local animal welfare organisation called Help in Suffering lends support to the fair. It is strange that some people see nothing wrong in donkeys racing or donkey fashion parades held for the merriment of people! On Kartik Purnima the annual Pushkar Mela/Camel and Cattle Fair, near Ajmer is held when thousands come to bathe in the holy waters of the lake. Bedecked camels are made to race with as many as a dozen humans on top of each of them. Besides selling live camels, a number of camel leather items such as whips, animal covers, kits, shoes are sold; the handicrafts include ivory work from Morta. Shobha Yatra at the Pune Festival in Maharashtra is a procession led by decorated elephants, camels and horses.
Sightseeing Camel Festival (including beauty pageant for camels) in Dubai. Camel Racing in the Middle East, Australia. Camel Wrestling in Turkey.
International food Kosher animals include pig, horse, camel and rabbit. The method of killing animals (shochet/shechita) for meat is also prescribed, and one of the stipulations is that the animal never stands in its own blood. This has led to a method of killing them which many regard as very cruel: in slaughter houses in the West the animal is hoisted up on one of its hind legs, yanking it off the ground and in the process frequently breaking its leg, then the butcher slits open the throat to bleed the animal to death. Australian trendy restaurants feature ‘bush tucker’ which includes original foods of the Aborigines such as ‘witchetty grubs’ made from larvae and the gamey duck. Farmed crocodile, buffalo, magpie geese and camel meats could very well be utilised. The latest traditional fancy foods promoted include camel steaks and camel jerky, as well as kangaroo tail soup and emu meat and eggs.
Milk Camel milk is called Llama which is consumed in Rajasthan. In fact Rajasthan Milk Federation (RMF) recently launched sale of camel milk in tetra packs. It is estimated that around one lakh litres of camel milk could be collected daily from across Rajasthan and RMF has already assessed the great potential in this sector. Besides milk products, camel milk based derma-cream has been developed
Brushes Camel’ brushes are very misleading since there is not a single hair from a camel in these brushes! (Camel was the name of the man who owned the brand of brushes.) These brushes actually consist of various inexpensive hair types like that of goat, sheep, ox (ear hair), horse, pony, lesser grade squirrel hair or a blend of them.
Animal sacrifice It is a common practice for animals like sheep, goats and male buffaloes to be beheaded ritually on auspicious days in and around temples all over India. No different than Bakri Idd when in addition to specially fed and fattened goats, camels may also get sacrificed by Muslims
The National Research Centre on Camel (NRCC) is situated on the outskirts of Bikaner at Jorbeer. Initially it was under the aegis of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and was started with the mandate of developing infrastructure facilities for conservation and preservation of existing breeds of camel in arid and semi-arid regions and to generate scientific and technical information. Although the traditional camel cart was improved by installing electric indicators to avoid accidents after dusk, unfortunately the centre is now giving emphasis on transforming “the ship of the desert” into a milch animal and soa modern camel dairy has been set up at its campus. Plus different camel herds have been subjected to the unnatural embryo transfer technique and selective breeding for genetic improvement of indigenous breeds. The females have been made to super ovulate and with the aim of reproducing thrice, instead of twice, in two years. Experiments using reindeer, donkey and camel excreta for producing paper are underway in North America and Europe.
