हिम साम्राज्ञी

Summary

The text describes the experiences of Sita Devi, a teacher from Farrukhabad living in a barasati near Gurudwara on Singh Sabha Road with her friend Sneh Lata. They teach at a school on the Yamuna banks, commuting by bus from Roshanara Road to Kashmiri Gate. Sita is distressed by the large number of stray cows and bulls wandering Delhi's streets, particularly around the Ghantaghar area. She observes injured animals, including bulls with bleeding horns, hooves severed by cart wheels, and a brown bull limping after being hit by a car. Sita writes letters to newspapers about the municipal corporation's responsibility for these animals, but her letters go unpublished. One December evening, Sita sees a strikingly white cow with her calf near a garbage drum on Singh Sabha Road, which she calls "Him Samragyi" (Snow Queen). After noticing a bull with a cracked hoof lying near Nangia Park, Sita and Sneh visit the "Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals" office near Kudsiya Bagh. A bald officer with thick glasses tells them it is not their duty to pick up injured animals but they will send a vehicle if informed, noting the primary responsibility lies with the municipal corporation. The officer mentions that owners often abandon recovered cows rather than pay heavy fines to release them from the kanji house, after which they are sent to a gaushala on the Yamuna banks. The friends wait an hour for the vehicle to return from Sarai Kale Khan before leaving, assured the officer will dispatch it. Later that night, Sita insists they check if the cow has been picked up. They walk to the roundabout, passing the familiar mentally disabled Chotelal, and observe the street scene.