The masterchef of Malayadipatti

Last Christmas, 52-year-old Syed Abutahir woke his family up before dawn. It was time for the annual pilgrimage to the hilltop dargah just outside Madurai dedicated to Sufi saint Hazrath Sultan Sikandar Badshah Aulia. It is a three-hour drive from his home in Rajapalayam to the foot of the hill in Madurai.

If things hadn’t gone horribly wrong that day, it would have been the 22nd time Abutahir made an offering at the mausoleum of the saint. Before the truck arrived to take them to Madurai, Abutahir snuck away with his goat to the hillock right behind his house. He wanted to graze his pet one last time before sacrificing it.

“I raise a goat every year like my own child. Some rich people simply buy an animal for sacrifice,” he said. “Sacrifice counts when y

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