Aishwarya Rai listens to everything he tells her

Goatherd Puttaswamy says he needs her and a host of other beauties to keep loneliness at bay

Aishwarya Rai listens to everything he tells her

Goatherd Puttaswamy says he needs her and a host of other beauties to keep loneliness at bay

A goatherd who lives near Mandya, Puttaswamy alias Puttana alias Chikanna also has Usha, Arathi, Cheluvi, Putnanja, Nandini, among others, vying for his attention.

Stars in their own right: Puttaswamy and his beloved goats

The 48-year-old Puttanna has named his goats after film stars, even after hit films. There are also mythological characters in his flock.

Unmarried because of a kidney ailment, he befriended goats to kill loneliness. And they have been returning the compliment, to his satisfaction.

"I decided not to marry when I came to know both my kidneys are damaged, as I didn't want to spoil a girl's life," said Puttanna. " However, I was lonely. Now, I am able to forget all my woes with the companionship of goats."

He has got 14 goats. Choori Chikkanna, the name of a hit Rajkumar-starrer, is the leader of the pack and Aishwarya is his heroine.

Then, mythological characters like Kichaka, Duryodhana, and Indra are also some of Puttaswamy's goats.

When he calls out a name, the goat that answers to it rushes to him to nibble at anything he might have in his hands for it, from groundnuts to grass.

Training them

He takes about three weeks to get a goat to respond to a name. He whispers its name time and again in a goat's ear, till it gets used to it. Then he calls out to it when it is among the herd.

He discourages other goats coming to him when a particular name is called by not responding to it. Slowly, there is no confusion in the minds of goats over their respective names.

This activity amuses the goatherd no end.

"I thought there was no one to listen to my woes, and thought of the idea when I was roaming the woods around my village," said Puttaswamy. "I bought two goats initially and now I have fourteen with me."

He said did not like sheep, and preferred goats because they look sleek compared to their woolly cousins.

Puttanna is not a Kuruba, people of the shepherd community.

He is from the tribal community; his family activity was farming.

When the idea of conversing with goats struck him, Puttaswamy turned shepherd and his parents and brothers are encouraging, as the business is also lucrative. So far, Puttswamy has sold over fifty goats after nurturing and the business has fetched him a handful.u00a0

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