Just a week before the Year of the Ox arrived, a friend asked me this question: What is the difference between an ox, a bull, a cow and a buffalo?

It brought me back to Mandya, where Adeline and I had asked the same question. As we travelled through village after village,  Smitha and Razia very patiently (and with much amusement) identified every animal for us.

Four months later, I realised that I could not answer my friend’s question (I know, shame on me.) But thankfully, Straits Times very helpfully published a little trivial box on the first day of Chinese New Year. For all of you who still don’t know the difference, here it is:

• Ox: A castrated male of domesticated cattle kept for work purposes or for food
• Bull: An intact (not castrated) adult male
• Water buffalo: Frequently used in Asia for plughing, meat and dairy
• Cow: An adult female which has had one or two calves

Now, I wonder why it isn’t the Year of the Bull instead?