According to Hindu belief, the cow was the first creature to arise during the Churning of the Ocean of Milk, and in the Vedas it is detailed that cows are to be treated with the same respect as one's mother, because of the milk they provide.

As such, cows are regarded as sacred and are not troubled or imposed upon, even if they enter a business, as here in Lucknow Chikan, a textile shop in Varanasi. In the back of this store is a statue of Shiva seated on his bull Nandi.

One morning, some three decades ago, a real Zebu bull entered the store and went straight to the Shiva idol, licked it and then laid down at the foot of the idol, where it stayed for half a day. The next day, the bull returned and stayed put until the lights went out at 9 pm. Since then, the bull visits the shop every day, so the baffled shop owner soon started to call his bovine visitor Nandi Baba, i.e. ‘Daddy Nandi’ or ‘Father Joy’.