Y is for Yaks
The Lord of the Universe ( Jagannath ) Vishnu's avatar Rama, and his consort, the goddess Sita, sit on their thrones flanked by two guards, who could be male or female, waving yak tails gently to keep them cool. Yak tails, or fly whisks, are always used in Gurudwaras as well where the Guru Granth Sahib is treated just as Hindus treat their deities. Yaks, otherwise famous for their shaggy look, and domesticated for their labour (as "beasts of burden"), and milk, the butter of which has made Kashmiri tea famous, are thus raised to a different level. Yaks are already for us exotic creatures that live in habitats such as the Himalayas. There may not be many mythological stories about them, but we thus have their presence in our midst…in the form of their tails. Yak tails are used to show off status, whether of historical figures, or of Hindu gods and goddesses. In short, a great deal could be made of yaks, and isn't. When we teach the letter Y in Nursery, w
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