Historical Sonepur cattle fair on way to becoming history...
Sonepur (Bihar): Away from the din and bustle of city life, rural women can be seen cooking food on hearths using cow dung cakes and dry wood under trees, some others dry their clothes in the open field after a taking dip in the nearby river, while some others can be seen just chatting and listening to popular Bhojpuri numbers on their mobile phones –- that's what the forlorn “Hathi Bazaar” (elephant market) at the famous Sonepur cattle fair looks like this time round. The ever-moving wheel of time has crushed past many traditions and conventions, burying those under the debris of modernisation and aspirations of new-age generations. And like many other traditional events and fests, “Sonepur Pashu Mela” or the cattle fair of Bihar also going the way to enter the pages of history. Spread over sprawling 500 acres along the confluence of the Ganga and Gandak rivers, the Sonepur fair has been known as Asia's largest cattle fair. But this year, the fair doesn't...