Bakra online!

This Eid let your bakra come to you! 

As Baqr Eid nears, you know that, at some point — before the animal slaughter-fest and never-ending family barbecues that dominate this holiday — you’re going to have to make a trip that no civilised man in the modern world should have to make. It’s time to go mad, cow hunting.

Let me paint a picture of what you know you’ll have to endure: a long drive out of the city to the bakra mandi; the stench of poop, hay and hooves combined with both human and animal sweat, hours and hours of searching and examinations (how many teeth, tongues and tails does it have?) coupled with impending migraines from all that haggling with the dealers. To top it off, the weather is only getting warmer. And those tents aren’t air-conditioned.

How far are you willing to go to personally see through every step of this madness? What if there was a way to bypass all of the above unpleasantness, save your nostrils some trauma, your car some potential piss and still get your bakra?

The answer to all your problems is one click away. Order your bakra online. Browse through catalogues that contain photos of sacrificial animals. We went through several websites that offer sacrificial animals online. One of them, an online marketplace Olx.com.pk has individual owners posting offers of their animals online and they do so throughout the year. Another website, Buy-bakra.blogspot.com had out-of-this-world photos of beautiful, seemingly blow-dried animals in scenic backgrounds to choose from. It appears defunct, however, considering that the last post on it was in 2009.

Two of the most comprehensive online animal buying websites one found was CowMandi.com and EidQurbani.com.pk. The former contains photos of animals from various farms, with each farm listed; along with these, are given various cattle-related trade events with one section of the website devoted to animals that are up for sale.

EidQurbani.com.pk, however, seems to cater exclusively to the Eid buyer. They have been in business for the last five years and have posted on their website that, “we offer pictures of animals alive and slaughtered to reinforce your confidence in us.” Animals are divided into different categories. Details regarding their size, weight, gender, price, etc. are all available. Bakras are priced between Rs19,500 and Rs26,500, while cows start from Rs60,000 with the most expensive one priced at Rs145,000. Bulls range from Rs56,500 to a whopping Rs212,000. To use the service you need to register an account and they take cash upon delivery of the ‘product’.

When one asked around, Mrs Parveen Khan, a 45-year-old homemaker, who has previously ordered her animal online, was quite satisfied with the service. “I didn’t know what to expect,” she said, “but I didn’t think there was any harm in trying. Plus, it’s not as if I was making any advance payments that I was at risk of losing. It’s cash on delivery and I had the bakra inspected by the neighbourhood butcher just to be on the safe side. I think it is a very convenient service to have.”

Faisal, 34, who runs his family jewellery business and belongs to Karachi’s Memon community, is open to the idea of ordering a bakra online instead of going to the mandi. “I’ve never enjoyed the process of taking a day off and going to the bakra market. For the past several years, my brother has been buying my bakra for me,” he said, “if the service is legitimate, and even if I have to pay a few thousand rupees extra, I would love to be able to order my bakra online.” He added that he wasn’t sure if the notion of an online bakra mandi would take off in Pakistan as for most of the people in his neighbourhood, the process of personally going to the mandi was an event they prepared and looked forward to. And later, they enjoyed parading their buy around fishing for compliments. The online bakra delivery system wouldn’t work for them, Faisal said.

“Hell no!” responded Asad, 27, a professional photographer, “I’m not big on Baqr Eid, but no matter how legitimate the service, I wouldn’t trust them to buy a bakra for me. You need to go to the mandi and see for yourself the condition and price of the animal you are going to buy.” That was an interesting response coming from a person who doesn’t feel strongly about the religious festival.

If the mere notion of making a trip to the bakra mandi fills you with dread, be a little adventurous and try something new. Go online, select your bakra, a delivery date, arrange for the payment and soon, the bakra of your choosing will be ringing your doorbell.