Meet ‘The Sartaj ‘of Sadar Carnival

Hyderabad: Sadar, the annual buffalo carnival celebrated by the Yadav community exclusive to Hyderabad is gearing up for its 73rd event on Tuesday this year.

Started in 1946 by Salandri Nyayam Chowdhary Malliaha Yadav in 1946 (Source:Wikipedia), the tradition still continues, where buffaloes from all over Hyderabad, Harayana and Punjab are displayed during this event which is celebrated on the second day after Diwali.

This time a Haryana-based champion bull 'Sartaj' has become the centre of attraction of the carnival. This massive beast stands tall at 7 feet, weighs around 1600 kilos and as per the owner's claims this rare Murrah breed buffalo is worth Rs 27 crore.

A 25-time champion, 'Sartaj' has won several prizes and had won a cash prize of Rs 1,25,000 in the same festival last year. Last year's attractions were 'Yuvraj', 'Shehanshah' and 'Dara' and Shehanshah will be on display for the second time this year as well.

Sartaj's diet

Sartaj is given more than 10 litres of milk,along with seven types of grains, one kilogram of dry fruits (cashews and almonds), two dozen bananas per day. He is also taken for a daily five-kilometre morning walk ,the caretaker of the bull said.

He also has a beauty regime where he is given an oil massage twice a day, scrubbed, and bathed thoroughly. His horns are painted in black and adorned with anklets and other ornaments.

On the day of the festival these buffaloes will be painted colorfully and adorned with garlands and ornaments. They will be paraded through the streets, accompanied by drummers and crowds. Apart from this, there will be dance performances and sword fighting's, followed by traditional lunch.

The chief organisers said that all arrangements were made to celebrate the festival in a grand scale. This time five buffaloes were selected for the procession, which will start from Musheerabad and end at Narayanaguda YMCA.

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