India's Entrepreneurs Milk Hindu Love of All Things Bovine

SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
By Kamala Thiagarajan

Ganeshan Palsamy turned to cow dung art after a bitter harvest when he’d been forced to sell 300kg of a vegetable for 10 rupees in profits. Photo: Kamala Thiagarajan

Ganeshan Palsamy lays out his wares on a white sheet on the red cement floor of his two-room home in the southern Indian city of Madurai. Spread out in front of him is a year’s worth of his handiwork. There’s a Buddha’s face, with clearly defined features; a Hindu temple pyramid, a wall hanging of ducks floating on a pond, a giant hand with thumb and forefinger pressed together and Hindu religious symbols.As far as artists go, Palsamy is unusual. Though Palsamy has no political leanings, he is one of a growing number of organic farmers across the country who are benefiting from government handouts targeting India’s growing bovine businesses. [More]