P RE FAC E

IN arranging th i s volume of sketches , made alongthe h ighways of a fasc inating land , one aimwhich I set before mysel f was to recal l p leasantmemori e s to those who have al ready fa l len underthe

,

spel l of i t s potent charm ; another was toawaken

,i f poss ible

,i n the minds of others the

determi nation to become better acquain ted withthe great Empire i n the East , the guard iansh ipand protection of which i s at once our pride andour duty . The appeal wh ich I nd ia makes i s asmany- s ided as i t i s un iversal and i rres i st ib l e

,with

i ts glorious arch i tecture,i ts un ique landscapes

,

i t s rich h i stori c associat ions,and above al l i ts

strangely i nterest i ng people,whose customs and

character have come down unal tered through thecenturies

,and are now submitted to the impact

of new ideas and new condit ions,to them doubt

less in great part i ncomprehensible . The effectof th i s col l i s ion of new and old

,of East and

West,i s part ia l ly h idden from us by the appa

rent i nd i fference of a calm demeanour , whichat once conceal s the tremendous capaci ty for

é

v i i i PREFACE

pass ion that glows beneath an impassive surface ,and heightens the mystery that surrounds afas c inat ing people .

I have,I hope , given typical views of typical

p l aces,but though not neglecti ng the more strik

i ng scenes and bu i ld ings wh ich form the goalof every p i lgrim

’

s quest , I have tried to fix theattent ion of lovers of the beauti fu l on theessential ly p icturesque s ide

,on the l i ttl e p ictures

that unfold themselves at every turn of the wheelof l i fe i n I nd ia and might wel l be overlooked bythe casual wayfarer .No attempt has been made to go far afield

,or

to give an elaborate account of the country , and i tsengross ing social

,pol i t ical and rel igious problems .

Our experiences were those of the ord inaryEngl i shman who spends a few months on thethreshold of an ancient and mysteriou s land andl i fe

,and we had no exceptional opportun i t ies or

capaci t ies for penetrat ing beh ind the vei l but bythe exerci se of a l i ttle sympatheti c imaginat ion ,and with the help of books on special s ides ofI nd ian l i fe such as are wi th in reach of al l ,we tried to understand such phases of the l i feas fel l under our not ice . I f we have not qu item is i nterpreted that l i fe

,i t i s owing to the ki nd

friends who,both i n Iridia and at home

,tri ed so

generously to set our feet i n the right way .

Amongst them I am spec ial ly glad of th i s opportun ity to thank Colonel D . D . Cunningham ,

Colonel John B iddu lph,and Mr . Rowland E .

Prothero . Where we have gone astray we must

P RE FACE ix

ask the i ndulgence of those beneath whose eyesthese pages may fal l .I should l ike to th i nk that these efforts might ,i n thei r smal l way

,help to pave the highway of

sympathet ic understand ing which must un iteEast and West

,if— as al l who real ise the vast

respons ib i l i t i es of our I nd ian Empire must des i re—the unselfi sh devotion and unst i nt ing sel fsacrifice of those who have toi led for i ts wel fareare to be crowned with success

,and we are

ever , i n Lord Curzon’

s words,to rule I nd ia by

the heart .

THE ATAL TOWER , AMRIT‘SAR

C O NTEN TS

CHAP .I . BOMBAY : AN EP ITOME OF THE EAST—Theh igh-road to India—An undying impres s ion of Orientaltropics—A wonderful panorama—Bombay emergesA n ative servant—Yacht C lub—Bri l l iant colouringE lephan ta—Malabar Point—Temple of Sh iva—Pars isNative quarter—P lague

I I . POONA : THE MAHRATTA CAP ITAL—AngloIndian household—Caste—Parbati Hill— Hindu Pantheon—Modern Brahman views—Cowley-Wantage M iss ion— S treet scenes

I I I . B IJAPUR : A C ITY OF TOMBS—Turkish origin—Th e Adi l Shah i dynasty—F ine build ings and tombsTh e Gol Gumbaz—Th e Mehtar Mahal—A MahrattaPrincess—Th e great gun—Shahpur gateway

IV . ALLAHABAD : THE MEETING OF THE WATERS—Colder cl imate—An ancien t place of pilgrimage—TheMaidan—Prince Khusru—Th e Fort—The MelaP i lgrims and Yogis—Old and new

V . CALCUTTA,THE SEAT OF EMP IRE—Disap

pointing appearance—Early days—Th e Bas ti s—Absenceof colour—India Museum— Sakya Mun i—The Government—Gardens—O ld settlements—Lady Cann ingTh e Hooghly—Village communities

V I . BENARES : THE HEART OF H INDUSTAN—Mar

vellously picturesque situation—Temple of Sh iva a s thePoi son God—Crowded al leys—Ma i KalimThugs—Durgapuja—Bath ing Ghats—Orthodox ritual—A Hind u ’ send—Benares ekka

PAGE

xi i C O N T EN T SCHAP.V I I . LUCKNOW AND CAWNPORE THE MUTINY

Fantas ti c buildings—Th e Res idency—Sir Henry Lawrence—Fog—Cawnpore—Th e entrenchment—Th e B ib iGarb—Fundamenta l difference of Hindu and Chri stianideal s—The Brotherhood M i s s ion

V I I I . AGRA : THE C ITY OF THE GREAT MOGULHuge red sandstone fort—Akbar—Shah Jehan ’s buildings—Th e palace i n the fort—Th e Taj—A primitiveclock—Pearl mosque—Father Benson—OMS . Orphanage at S ikandra—Mutiny episode—P lan of Moslemtombs—Nat ive l ife i n th e old town—Unexpectedgymnastics—Mohammedan views on figure -pai nting

IX . FATEHPUR S IKRI , THE WINDSOR OF THEGREAT MOGUL —A long avenue—B ird l ife—Akbar’sred sandstone city—Th e mosque—Th e D iwan-i-KhasTh e Panch Mahal—Vanishing beauty—Vandal ism—P ilfet ing col lectors—Th e Archaeological Survey

X . GWALIOR : SINDHIA’S CAP ITAL—Rock-dwel l ing

anchorites—Ten centuries of Rajput rule—Hindu loveof hoarding—Dawn—A pol it ical sa int—A steep ascent—Man S ing Palace—Th e solemn sacrifice, Johar—Th eoilman ’s temp le—Urwah i ravine—Jain Tii thankers

Lashkar—Native Court— F lying foxe s

DELH I,THE ANCIENT CAP ITAL—From Shah

Jehan to th e Mutiny—Jumma Musj id—Impres s ive scene—Mohammedan bel ief about God—Th e Fort—The lastMogul s—B ishop Heber—Aurangzeb’s Court—Akbar’slofty aims—Th e col lapse—Th e only justification forImperial rule

X I I . THE NE IGHBOURHOOD OF DELH I—KalaMusj id—Th e first Aryan settlement—Th e de

’

brz’

s of

twenty centuries—The Kutub M inar—Pathan invadersTh e Mosque—Hindu arches—Tughlakabad—Nob i l ityof office—Th e Cambridge M i ss ion to Delh i—Humayun

’

s Tomb—N izamuddin , a Ch isti saint

CO N T EN T S x i ii

X I I I . AMBALLA : A CANTONMENT—D i stant views ofsnowy Himalayas—House of the D ivi s ional JudgeCamel-sowar—M ilk—Polo and tent-pegging—Bril l iantlycoloured crowds—An Indian ra i lway- station—Nat ivetraffic

X IV. LAHORE : THE NORTHERN GATE— An ’angPal—Th e S ikhs—Guru Govind—Th e Koh inoor—Th eFort—Jehangir—Th e Badshah i mosque—Strange riverscenes— Shahdera—A network of narrow s treetsWindows l ike bee s ’ nes ts—Viz ir Khan ’s mosque—Buddh ist sculptures—P igeons and parrots—Kim

X V . AMRITZAR : THE WATER OF LIFE—Ceremon ial bath ing—The golden temp le—Th e Granth—BabaAtal Tower— Ghosts of departed pries ts—Northerntraders

XV I . THANESAR : THE CRADLE OF THE H INDURACE—In an ekka along th e Great Trunk RoadTh e Ja ts—The P lague i n th e Punj ab—Animal l ifeTh e Mahabarata—Th e battlefield of India—Th e townTh e sacred tank—P i lgrimage s—Ruined temple—VVaterfowl—Aboriginal races— Process of trans formationHindu pani—The rules of caste—Two s ides of nat ivel i fe

XVI I . ALWAR—A native s tate— Rajputs—A night undercanvas- A wal led town— Th e shrine at th e cros swaysTh e city palace and i ts p icturesque tank— Thunders torm

XVI I I . AJMERE— Sunri se over th e Ana Sagar— Early h is toryof Ajmere—Mahrattas and P indari s—A Rajput Iph igenia—The great mos que—A Ch i sti sain t’s tombAkbar

’s p ilgrimage— Sketch ing under difficul ties

X IX . JODHPUR— Through th e desert—On e of th e mos tnob le famil ie s i n th e worl d— Citade l of Jodhpur“ Scarlet prints of a woman ’s hands — R igid marriagelaws of th e pure-blooded clans —The city— P ig- stickingArcha ic bullock cart See that ye fal l not out by theway —Th e tombs at Mandor—Ahmedabad

xiv COfi

NTENT S

CHAP. PAGEXX . CEYLON . Colombo—New vegetation—Ascent to

Kandy Peradeniya Lady Horton ’s drive—Th eTemp le of th e Tooth—Buddh i sm in Ceylon—A coffeep lantation—Sketch ing i n th e Jungle—The Pavil ionGalangolla

— Dagobas—Gadaladenya—.Three attitudes ofBuddha— Th e l ittle Monsoon— Judge Lawrie —Mr.

Hardinge Cameron—Queen ’s HouseXX I . CEYLON Chri stmas at Kandy Alu Vihara

Dambool P ri soners ’ fare—S igiri Nuwera

Hakgal la—A collapse —B i shop CoplestonCHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF SOME OF THE

CIPAL EVENTS MENTIONEDINDEX

ILLUSTRATIONS

COLOURE D SKE T C H E SReproduced by th e Tlzree Colour P rocess

I—THE BATH ING GHATS , BENARES . Th e river banki s a marvel lous s ight . Th e Gh ats

,i n fl ight after fl ight of

irregular s teps , descend a hundred fee t to the water’sedge . Here and there the s tep s widen out i n to terrace s ,and on them are temp les and shrines of al l sort s andsizes . Th e cliff i s crowned by h igh houses and pa lace s ,wh ich culminate i n domes and slender minare ts . Hereand there a palace or temp le breaks away from th e mai nl ine, and , projecting forward , descends with sol i d breas tworks of masonry to th e water’s edge

,where every variety

of native craft l ies moored 727167543.

2—G IBRALTAR FROM THE WEST

3—THE C ITADEL, CAIRO , IN A SAND-STORM . I t i sintere sting for those wh o know Cairo to refresh the irmemory of Mohammedan arch itecture there , i n order tocompare the style with that of s imilar buildings in India

4- THE WAKE OF A P . o.

5—THE WALKESHWAR TEMPLE , BOMBAY . Th e

temple and tank of th e mystical Sh i va in th e Vi llage at

Malabar Poin t i s a mere combination of wh ite-wash,

water and fl ights of s teps with smal ler temples and shrinesdotted around them and a few gnarled old bo-trees . Theydo not posses s any antiquity , but l ike every th ing purelynati ve are thorough ly picturesque

xv i I LLU S T RA T I O N S

6—A DOORWAY, POONA. There are some picturesquenooks and corners in th e city . I found t ime to make adrawing of a quaint doorway, wreathed with a garland of

marigold , and of a lazy boy, whose time appeared to be of

l ittle value, s itting on a projecting ledge swinging h i slegs ”

7—THE GOL GUMBAZ, B IJAPUR . Th is building attractedme not on account of any special beauty of detai l—for i ti s s ingularly wanting i n ornamen t, and with in i s perfectlypla in—but because of i ts vastness and dignity 3 and of th eunique charac ter of its dome . I t stands four square uponits platform , with octagonal towers at th e angles sevens toreys h igh . In th e centre ri ses th e great dome, wh ichcons titutes its most striking feature and covers a largerarea than any other i n th e worldTHE SHAHPUR GATE , B IJAPUR . An old gate —avi sta of minarets in th e open ing -with grim battlemen ts ,and long spikes projecting outwards from th e gate s themse lves , to prevent th e elephan ts of an enemy from buttingup against them and battering them down with the irheads ”

9- SUNSET BEH IND THE IBRAH IM ROZA, B IJAPUR .

“ Th e great mausoleum of Ibrah im I I . , where Aurangzebl ived during th e final s iege of B ijapur, forms with its ac

companying mosque a domed group of great beauty ri s ingon a platform abou t 1 9 ft . h igh ; from th e centre of whatwas once a love ly garden . Th e whole effect of the dome s,and the forest of minarets and pinnacles ri s ing out of ashady grove of dark tree s again st a bril l ian t even ing sky,was very s triking

ro—A NAMELESS TOMB , B IJAPURr i—RETURN ING FROM THE MELA,

ALLAHABAD .

“ Th e Maidan is crossed by flat roads , here and therepass ing through scattered group s of trees . In on e of

these where th e ground was dotted over with dilapidatedsh rin esI found a suitable subject . I t was evening

,and dark

ness was approach ing ; th e air was ful l of th e red glow of

I L L U STRAT I ON S xvi i

RETURN ING FROM THE MELA—con tz'

nued

th e setting sun ,wh ich penetrated th e smoke , ri s ing beh ind a

neighbouring wall , and th e evening mis t w ith a hot andmurky glow. Pastme poured a cons tant stream of

rattl ing, many-coloured ekkas return ing to the town withnoi sy devotees from th e Mela ”

I z—A CORNER SHRINE IN A BENARES ALLEY. Th e

streets remindedme of Genoa , but are far more picturesque,with the ir rich colouring ( ch iefly a deep red) , overhangingstoreys , and an occas ional bridge thrown over from one

s ide of th e street to th e other. Every empty space i soccupied by a fantasti c representation of Hindumythology ,and

,besides th e regular temp les and shrines with wh ich

th e town bri stles , an uncouth image, or a s quare ly-hewnsacred s tone, i s set up at every vacan t corner

1 3—THE GHATS BELOW AURANGZEB’

S MOSQUE ,BENARES . Bathers and devotees

,i n a continuous

s tream,ascend and descen d these steps i ssu ing from th e

dark archways and lanes above, they col lect below on th e

brink of th e water, under huge s traw umbre l las and proceed by on e Operation to wash away the ir s in s , to washthe ir bodie s , and the ir s imple and scanty cloth ing as wel l .They then gird themselves in clean attire an d afterwardsreturn to on e of th e terrace s to have the ir caste-marksreplaced upon the ir foreheads by an official of th e temple 3h e i s provided with a number of l ittle saucers fi l led withcoloured powders for th e purpose . Th i s done

,they sit

on a p lank over th e water to meditate and bask in th e

sunsh iner4—A BENARES EKKA. A picturesque conveyance with

double shafts on e ither s ide , drawn together on th e top of

the pony’s back and fastened to a saddle. Th e trapp ingsof some of these ekkas are very gay, and some have acanopy l ike a b ird- cage on th e top . Th i s ‘ mach ine ’

hol ds , bes ides th e driver, two persons , who sit s idewaysand hang their legs over th e wheel s

r5—AGRA FORT—OUTS IDE THE DELH I GATE . The

Emperor Akbar, perhaps one of the greatest and mos t

xv i i i I L L U S T RA T I ON S

AGRA FORT—contin ued

l ibera l-minded rulers commemorated by h i s tory , l ived hereduring the early years of h i s l ife . I t i s to h im that we oweth e double l ine of noble red sandstone wal l s , 70 feet h igh ,with a circumference of over a mile ; they enclose with intheir precincts a remarkable group of palaces , mosques ,hal l s of s tate , baths , kiosques , balconies and terraces o-verhanging th e river

,al l nobly designed and exquisitely

decorated by Akbar and h i s successors,Jehangir and Shah

Jehan ”

r6—AGRA FORT—INS IDE THE DELH I GATE . The

gateways of th i s grand citadel, especial ly th e Delh iGate , are very imposing . With i n th e Delh i Gate i s asecond gate , flanked by two octagonal towers , and sur

moun ted by cupolasr7—THE TA! FROM THE FORT

, AGRA—The Fortextends about hal f a mile along th e right bank of theJumna, wh ich , pass ing through a waste of land , flat , butbroken , here takes a sharp bend to th e east. Across i tssh immering waters and sandy bed may be seen th e pearlydome and th emi narets of the Taj Mahal ri sing out oftheir setting of gardens and trees , wh ich descend to the

water’s edge

rS—THE BAZAAR , AGRA. Th e road is l ined with low one

storeyed buildings—shops,for th e most part, open to th e

street , supported by low carved pillars and she ltered byawnings o f straw . Swarthy peop le squat among theirwares , smoking their hookahs . Th e roadway is throngedwith people—many of th e women , carrying brass p i tchersand other heavy loads upon their heads , are clad i n brightcolours, with rows of bangles round the irwri sts and anklesth emen , i n less bri ll iant but more motley clothes . In thedis tance ri ses th e great gateway of the Fort

rg—THE JUMMA MUSJID , AGRA . A grand building of

red sandstone and marble though built by Shah Jehan in1 644, i t approaches more nearly to th e earl ier vigorousstyle of h i s predecessors ”

I LLU S T RA T I O N S xix

zo—THE MOSQUE AND GATE OF VICTORY ,

FATEHPUR S IKRI . Th e Buland Darwaza , or Gateof Victory, wh ich forms th e southern entrance to Akbar

’

s

mosque , i s th e lofties t building in Fatehpur S ikri , and i sapproached by a s tately fl ight of step s . At the en trance i sth e following inscription in Arab ic , Said Jesus , on whombe peace th e world i s a bridge, pas s over i t but build nohouse there

2 l —GWALIOR FORT BEFORE SUNRISE . Th e great rockof Gwal ior, ri s ing from th e plain l ike the hulk of a gigan ticbattlesh ip , looked very fin e when I saw it frommy window, a quarter of an hour before sunri se ; its crowningwal ls

,palaces , and th e irregularities of i ts precipitous s ides

were just being touched by th e dawn . I t was overspreadwith a deep red flush from th e glowing Eas tern sky , andthough th e base beneath was stil l i n shadow,

th e broadfeatures of th e landscape, th e bare ground , the trees , andth e partly ruined tombs were disti nctly vis ible in th e clearsti l l air. In th e foreground a square tomb w ith a Pathandome, gave distance to th e background , and betweenmeand i t, occasional figure s noi se lessly pas sed 2 0 2

z z—THE MAN S ING PALACE , GWALIOR . An exceptional bu ilding , growing out of th e top of th e rock anddominating th e approach to th e Fort . Semicircu lar bastionscrowned by cupolas flank

,at i n terval s , th e palace wal ls ,

and along them run horizon tal bands of blue and yel lowfaience

,and sculptured arche s . I t i s palace and rampart i n

one, and i s certa inly th e most original ly decorated house Iever saw. There i s a broad ribbon of blue along th e facade ,with a bright yel low row of Brahma’s geese upon i t, andbelow i s another band of blue, about five or s ix feet h igh ,with conventional vivid green mango trees growing in panel s .Through th e gateway came a stately e lephant, and beyondI could just get a glimpse of the plal n far be low

2 3—THE JUMMA MUSJ ID

,DELH I—AT SUNSET . Thi s

grand yet s imp le building of Shah Jehan is th e masterp iece of re ligiou s arch itecture in India . From th e loftybasement, bu ilt round an outcrop of th e sands tone rock ,

xx I L L U S T R A T I O N S

THE JUMMA MUSJ ID—con lz'

nued

a fine ly composed group of domes and minarets , cupolasand gateways ri ses over a w ide- spreading open space ,dotted wi th s tunted trees sheltering some temporarynative booths : from them th e smoke of th e evening firespervades th e atmosphere . Th e sun , setti ng in th e bri l liantcloudless sky , cau ses th e marb le domes s ilhouetted again stit to appear quite dark , and the sharp ly alternating formsof rounded dome and upjutting minaret look l ike anArab ic in scription along the horizon

Th e sun goes down as in a sphere of goldBeh ind th e armof th e city , wh ich between ,W ith al l that length of domes and minarets ,Athwart th e sp lendour, b lack and crooked runsL ike a Turk verse along a scimitar .

2 4—A STREET IN DELH I—LOOKING TOWARDS THEJUMMA MUSJ ID . Wherever th e fantastic ou tl ineof th i s stately group of dome s and minarets appears , th eeffect i s pleas ing , and their solemn dignity i s enhancedwhere th e foreground is occupied by th e unimportant butp icturesque buildings of th e native city

2 5—THE TOMB OF TUGHLAK SHAH . Th i s tomb formsthe nucleus of a miniature fortres s in th e centre of a smalllake , and i s approached by a low causeway rai sed on arches .Here repose th e bones of two of th e warrior kings of theTugh lak l ine . Th e wal l s wh ich enclose them are of mass ive marble and red sandstone masonry and are surmountedby a wh ite marble dome ”

2 6—A CAMEL-SOWAR OF THE I OTH BENGAL LANCERS .

Themen of th e roth Bengal Lancers are mostly S ikhs ;they have blue and red lance-pennons

,blue kurta or long

coat , wh ite breeches , red cummerbund,and blue cone

shaped turban . An obl iging Moonshee glorified mysketch by writing Shams ud-din Khan ’s name and status insplendid picturesque characters below it

”

2 7—A GATEWAY IN THE BAZAAR ,LAHORE . A

mas sive archway— intensely dark in its cavernous recesses—spanned th e street, and under it a jostl ing crowd passedand repas sed , looking bril l iant as they s tepped into the

I L L U S T RA T I O N S xxi

A GATEWAY IN THE BAZAAR—continued

sunlight from beneath th e shade . Through the archway Icould see on e of th e many coloured minarets of Viz irKhan ’smosque soaring up into th e blue sky and a superb figure

-with th e bearing of a prince— came strid ing towardsmeand gave a central comp leting touch to th e scene ”

z 8 —THE GOLDEN TEMPLE , AMRITZAR . Th e p ilgrimenters through a magn ificent gateway , to find h imself confronted by a dazz l ing vision , for the temple i scovered from th e tops of i ts domes to with in a short distanceof th e ground with plates of gilded Copper. All th i s sh immering glory sh ines i n th e sun l ike a blaz ing altar

,

’ and isreflected in th e dancing grey-green water of the pool—ihthe centre of wh ich i t i s set. A marb le causeway leadsacros s the pool to th e i sland p latform of th e l ittle temp lewith a marble balustrade on e ither hand and tal l columns

,

with gilt lamp s surmounting them ,rise above th e crowd

of flower- laden p ilgrims conti nual ly s treaming acros sz g—A TEMPLE IN THE TANK AT THANESAR . Th i s

famous sacred lake has been from th e earl iest t imes therendezvous of thousands of devout Hindus , seeking purification by bath ing and prayer. Th e temp les wh ich once surrounded i t have now fal len into decay , and are overshadowedby great trees . Long fl ights of s tep s lead down to th e

water’s edge,and on th e north s ide a causeway s tretches

out i nto th e lake, where , on a l ittle i sland , stands th e mos tperfect temple that now remain s

3o—THE MAIN STREET OF ALWAR . Th e Ma i n StreetofAlwar

,running straight towards th e mounta in s

,i s closed

at th e end by a conical and rocky spur, crowned by th efort wh ich dominates th e town . Th e stree t itse lf i s onelong bazaar, thronged by a busy bright crowd

3 r—THE ANA SAGAR , AIMERE . Shah Jehan bui lt fourmarble pavil ions on th e grea t bund or embankmen twh ich dams up th e water in th e valley of the river Lun i

,

and forms the lake cal led the Ana Sagar. One of thesewas used as th e Commi ss ioner’s house at th e time of myvisit . When I opened th e window at dayl ight and walked

X X I I I L L U S T RA T I O N S

THE ANA SAGAR—con tz’

n ued

out on th e wh ite marble bal cony , an exquisitel y beautifuland peaceful s cene lay beforeme . I found myself overhanging the sh in ing leve l s of a lovely lake , s urrounded bymost picturesque h i l l s , and with a glorious flood of l ightfrom th e ris ing sun sh in ing on the rugged rosy granitepeaks to the south-wes t

32—THE CAULDRON AT THE ENTRANCE TO THE

DARGAH , AJMERE.

“ Th e ch ief entrance to the

Dargah,from the crowded street, i s beneath a wh itewashed

archway of great heigh t, on e ither s ide of wh i ch , sur

rounded by a medley of arches , miniature cupolas, pillarsand trees

, are two huge iron cauldron s some ten or fifteenfeet across . On certa in festal occasions , and when richpilgrims give an alms of J£2 00 to 300 for th e purpose ,these are fi l led w ith rice , rai s ins , sugar, spice s and ghee ,wh ich

,when cooked by enormous fires l igh ted beneath the

cau ldrons , i s doled out to the poor pilgrims . When theyare satisfied th e members of certain privileged families ,swathed in rags and wadding

,are then al lowed to jump

into the sti l l hot cauldron and scramble for th e

remain s33—THE TOMB OF KHWAJAH MU IN -UD-DIN CH IST I ,

IN THE DARGAH , AJMERE. Th e glistening wh itemarble tomb of the sa i nt i s very picturesque surroundedby fin e lattice screens . I t i s al l dark and mysteriouswithin , and rich-coloured draperies and awnings shroudth e holy place, and shel ter th e doorways . Th e grey mistymoun ta in peaks made a beau tiful and quiet background toth i s vivid scene , wh ich was partial ly ve iled by th e greenbranches of on e of the gnarled and twisted trees shadingthe enclosure . Th e tree had dropped out of the perpendicular, and was supported by a finely carved yellowsandstone pillar

34—THE TANK AT THE BACK OF THE DARGAH ,

AJMERE . Deep in th e rocky mounta in- s ide at the

back of th e Dargah i s a long , narrow,natural cleft, the s ides

of wh ich are faced with irregular fl ights of steep steps

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xx iv I L L U ST RAT I ON S

4o—TH E TEM P LE OF TH E TO OTH , KAN DY—I NTERIOR. Several fl ights of s teps lead to a sculptureddoorway , and with in , an antechapel or vestibule opens on toa small courtyard in i ts cen tre i s the Holy ofHol ies , contaming seven shrines of diminish ing size , and w ith i n the

i nnermos t i s th e Tooth . The mysterious ve iled doorwayof th i s sanctuary , wh ich n o ordinary mortal may pas s ,formed the centre of my sketch . Th e projecting roof i ssupported by mas s ive wooden pillars , and th e wall s , corbel sand ceil ings are profuse ly pain ted with brigh tly colouredmonsters and floral designs

41—A STREET SCENE IN KANDY. Kandy pos ses ses nofine build ings or arch itectural features worthy of note ; butth e irregularity of i ts low buildings , the brigh t awnings .th e deep shadows in th e frontles s shops , th e fruit and otherwares , th e overhanging palms , th e stray yel low and crimsonCroton bushes , and above al l th e people , form an everchanging rzrélang e of colour, and a study in movemen twh ich are in th e h ighes t degree fascinating

42 -

'

I‘

HEMOUNTAINS FROM PALLEKELLY. Sketch ingin th e tropics I found no easy matter on account of

vegetat ion , wh ich clothes th e whole face of th e world in th eriches t greens . Noth ing is more beauti ful to the eye thanth i s verdure , but i t i s hard to paint, and moreover i t was al lnew tome . I attemp ted a sketch , but with i ndifferentsucces s , of th e jungle-clothed mountains around Pallekelly,culminating in a dark peak , about wh ich the clouds werebeginning to gather.

”

A TROP ICAL SHOWER . I t was very beautiful,

especial ly froma height, to watch th e great ra in -cloudsblowing up from the sea every afternoon and culminatingi n a deluge of ra in . The clear blue sky of the morn inggradual ly becomes flecked with wh ite wool ly clouds

,and

shadows travel rap idly over th e sunny green landscape .

On they come th icker and thicker, th e wh ite turns to grey,th e blue sky rapidly disappears , and th e grey gives place toblack , cas ting the whole landscape i nto a deep blue gloomthen a nebulous mas s, more dense than its predeces sors,

I LL U S T RA T I ON S xxv

A TROP ICAL SHOWER—con tin ued

charged with electricity, sweeps over the h igh mounta in sthere i s a vivid flash of forked fire and an almost s imultaneous roar of thunder, and a de luge of water fal l s in agreat grey ve i l over h il l and vale, and swirl ing onwa rdswarns u s that n o t ime mus t be lost i n seeking shelter if wewish to preserve a dry thread to our backs

44—MORN ING M ISTS IN THE VALLEY OF THEMAHAWELLI GANGHA. A terrace road windsthrough th e forest-covered h i l l at th e back of th e Pavilion ,and from i t exquis ite views Open on to th e valley belowand away to th e di stant b lue mounta in s . Th e colouringof the landscape in Ceylon seemed tome far more intensethan that i n any other coun try I had seen

45—THE MARKET , COLOMBO . Th e subtle l i thenes s of

the figures , th e profus ion and gorgeous colours of th efruit and vegetables , the deep shadows and fl ickeringl ights comb ine to make th e market a most attractive placefor an arti s t

46—THE QUEEN ’

S HOUSE , COLOMBO .

“ In the shadygarden of Governmen t House aremany fine trees , th emost consp icuous being a giant Banyan . Surrounding i tare beautiful green lawns dotted over with floweri ng shrubsand bright yellow and red Croton bushes . Two tamepe l icans and a crane patrol th e green sward , and , in theirodd ways , are a constant source of amusement ”

47—THE MARTALE H ILLS

xxv i I L L U S T RA T I O N S

ILLUSTRAT ION S IN

THE BABA ATAL TOWER,A M R ITSAR

TO M B OF TUGHLAK SHAHGI BRALTAR FRO M THE EASTNEEDLE- LIKE P INNACLES—ADENTHE M ALABAR COASTOUR F IRST V IE\V OF BO M BAYA NATIVE DHOVV

BACK BAYA BO M BAY BULLOCK CARR IAGETO M BS BY THE ROAD-S I DEON THE WAY TO ELEPHANTABO M BAY FRO M M ALABAR PO INTONE OF THE TOWERS OF S I LENCESKETCH- PLAN OF TOWER OF S I LENCEA HOUSE IN THE NAT IVE QUARTERUNDER M ALABAR HI LLIN THE FUNERAL PROCESS IONJAGGED P INNACLES OF THE GHATSSECTAR IAL M ARK STHE H INDU PANTHEONA DOORWAY IN THE TE M PLE OF PARBATI

WA ITING FOR THE TRA INA S M ALL M OSQUE IN B IJAPURBY THE ROAD-S I DEPLAN OF THE GOL GU M BAZTHE DO M E OF THE JU M M A M USJ I D , BI JAPURA WAYS IDE TO M BA CHILLY M ORN INGAN AVENUE IN ALLAHABAD

TEX T

X X IX

I L L U S T RAT I O N S xxvu

PAGE

AT THE M ELABOOTH S AT THE M ELAST. PAUL’S CATHEDRAL , CALCUTTAA TR I BUTARY OF THE HOOGHLYTHE HOOGHLY AT CHINSURAH

ABOVE CALCUTTABOATS ON THE HOOGHLYIN THE OUTSKIRTS OF THE TOWN

BENARES

BATHING GHATSTHE JU M M A M USJ I D

,AGRA

ON THE WALL OF THE FORTTHE TA! FRO M THE ROAD TO AGRAA PR I M ITIVE CLOCK

‘

THE JU M M A M USJ I D,AGRA

A STREET IN AGRA

ONE OF AKBAR’S M I LESTONES

THE ELEPHANT GATE,FATEHPUR S I KR I

THE PR I M E M IN ISTER ’S HOUSEON THE ROAD TO FATEHPUR S I KR IONE OF THE M AHARAJA ’S ELEPHANTS , GWALIORTHE URWAHI V ALLEY

MAP OF DELH ILAHORE GATE , DELH IPLAN OF THE PALACE OF DELH I f a cin g

k ALAN M USJ I D,DELH I

KUTUB M INAR,DELH I

SKETCH - PLAN or HU M AYUN ’S TO M BOUTS IDE THE CANTON M ENT, AMBALLA

FRO M THE M A I DAN

xxvi i i I L L U STRA T I ON S

A PERS IAN WELLTHE HOUSE or THE DIV IS IONAL JUDGEBANYAN TREETHE CROWDA CO M PETITORONE OF THE CROWDSWEET-SELLERSTHE FORT AND JU M M A M USJ I D

,LAHORE

THE BR IDGE OF BOATS ON THE RAV IW INDOWS LI KE BEES ’ NESTSA STREET W INDOWA CUR IOUS COLU M NAN OLD S I KHTHE M A IN STREET

,ALWAR

LOOKING DOWN ON THE ANA SAGARTHE CO M M I SS IONER ’S HOUSEA P ICTURESQUE CORNERA M ARWAR I TRADERA COOL I E NATIVE DRESSRESTINGA F ICUS ELASTICA

,PERADEN IYA

THE LAKE,KANDY

A STREET BARBERBY THE ROAD -S IDEA GOVERN M ENT- HOUSE PEON .

ONE OF THE CROWDA DAGOBA AT KANDYA S INHAL ESE TE M PLE

,GADALADENYA

THE THR EE USUAI . ASPECTS OP THE SEATED BUDDHAA SHOP IN KANDYIN COLO M BO HARBOURA YOUN G ELEPHANT AT KANDYREAD Y To START .

THE TE M PLE AT DAMBOOL

I L L U S T RAT I O N S xx ixPAGE

THE BALCONY IN FRONT OF THE TE M PLESIGIR I R I S ING OUT OF THE JUNGLE

DEG XLDURUWA

DOOR\V AY IN THE TE M PLE OF

ON THE \V AY TO NUWERA ELIYALOOKING AT THE TRA INTHE BI SHOP’S GARDEN , COLO M BO

OF INDIA,I LLUSTRATING THE H IGH-ROAD OF E M P IRE

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B OM BAY

crowded sh ip,and spent a pleasant day there with

friends .A kindfriend had bornemecompany so far , but atBri nd is i we parted , and there I was joined by thecompan ion of my journey . We sai led on a summersea through the Ion ian I s lands , passed Crete i n theearly morn ing

,pink with the ri s i ng sun

,and

i n due course were off the coast of Egypt . I t i s interesting for those who know Cai ro to refresh thei rmemories of Mohammedan arch i tecture there

,i n

order to compare them with the bu i ld ings of I nd iawhich they are about to see . The Canal affordsthe un ique experience of a sai l through the desertvaried by the trans i t of the B i tter Lakes and enl ivened by the s ight of s tri ngs of camel s and fl ightsof pi nk and whi te flamingoes . On enteri ng thedark blue waters of the Red Sea the aspect ofeveryth ing changes . On the right beyond Suezextends against an even ing sky a deep purp l erange of mountains

,commenc i ng wi th the gr im

serratedGebelAttakah . The shorewherever vi s iblei s s teri le to a degree

,and not a vest ige of vegeta

t ion i s to be seen . Throughout our course ofth i rteen hundred mi les to the Strai ts of Bab-elMandeb

,coral reefs run along the coast i n broken

l i nes paral lel to the shore,leav ing a channel from

two to three mi les wide, which , i n the absence of

l ighthouses and the prevalence of treacherous crosscurrents

,must requ i re some ski l l to navigate . The

masts of s ix vesse ls which we saw appearing abovethe water at Perim suggest the fact that that ski l li s sometimes want ing . But I am anti c ipat i ng. I n

AD EN

due course we came W i th i n s ight of the d istantrange of Mount S inai , then the weather began toget hotter

,punkahs were put up , and passengers

turned out i n al l their th innest clothes . We passthe Straits , and soon come i n s ight of the strange

NEEDLE-L IKE P INNACLES

moun tai ns wi th need le- l ike p innacles,which are

passed j ust before Aden i s reached . There a shorthal t amongst a swarm of naked gesti cu lat i ngnatives i n canoes , shout ing

“ habadive ,” haba

d ive ,” which , being t ranslated , means

“ th row ashin ing coi n i nto the water and I wi l l d ive for i t .Then the I nd ian Ocean

,flying fishes

,thunder

clouds,and the land of I nde .

I t i s contrast,and the presence of the unexpected

4 B OM BAY

that consti tute the picturesque,and that charm

themsth etic eye and mind . Of al l contrasts fewcan be greater or more strik ing than that of Westand East

,and few transi t ions can be product ive

of greater surprises than that made in stepp ingfrom the monotony of a steamsh ip into the midstof the tropi cs .The novel ty of l i fe at sea

,so romantic i n theory

(especial ly i n the Old days of sai l s) , soon wears Off,and as the days rol l up into weeks

,i t gives place

to emmz' ; l i fe becomes ted ious and i rksome , andthe least th in l ine of d istant coast at once arousesa longing to be again on shore

,no matter where .

With in,are the clock-work rout i ne

,the ceaseles s

motion,the cramped space

,the close proximi ty to

one ’s fe l low- passengers,the constant tramp of

feet—the pass ing and repass ing,and agai n re

pass ing of walkers on the deck—the fai nt o i lysmel l which even the best kept steamers are notwithout , and whi ch seems to i n fect the un i nteresti ng food

,so that i t al l tas tes of the sh ip without ,

are on ly the l im i t l ess horizon and the sameness ofthe ever- changing sea . I n these condi t ions andsurround ings

,the monotonous days pass

,and we

sleep to the accompan iment of the rock ing wavesand the measured thud of the engine .

One morn ing early in Apri l we became gradual lyconscious of the fact that we were no longer rocki ng , that the engine was at rest ; then a terrificno i se overhead announced the dropping of theanchor , and we real i sed that we were once more i nport . We had reached Colombo .

F I R ST I M P RE S S I O N S 5

How much can be revealed i n the vignette seenthrough a port-hole ! Looking out , we had ourfi rs t gl impse of a new world ! I t was unmistakableBeh i nd a horizontal bar of cocoa- nut palms

,to the

East,the sun was ri s i ng i n true oriental splendour

,

reflected on a calm sheet of glowing water . Duskyfigures

,i n many coloured garments

,were d i s

t ingu ishable along the shore and in amongst thetrees

,and as the l ight began to penetrate the

fol iage,the low roofs of nat ive huts appeared

,and

a th in wreath of blue smoke betoken ing the prepa

THE MALABAR COAST

rat ion of the morn ing meal . Here and there atower or spi re broke the outl i ne of the wavingpalms . Close by , on the water, a noi sy , grey-neckedcrow al ighted to d ispute wi th h is fel low the possess ion of some floati ng treasure

,for he too must

have h i s breakfast .There was someth i ng i n the s imple scene

,i n the

very ai r,and above al l i n the smel l—that strange

and al l-pervading smel l of everyth ing aromat icwhich se ized on the imaginat ion and indel iblystamped i tsel f upon the m ind . This was the East

,

the g lorious ,mysterious East . How di fferent fromanyth i ng expected

,and how far more enth ral l i ng .

6 B OM BAY

And yet what was i t that we have seen P A bel t oftrees

,a sheet of st i l l water

,some d i stant figures

and a pai r of crows . I t was noth ing i n i tsel f, buti t was enough : i t had created an undying andfascinat i ng Impress ion of the Orien tal trop i cs .Having come so far

,I cannot any longer con

ceal the fact that we were not then on our way toI ndia at al l

,but were i n an Austral ian L i ner, and

bound for the south . I t i s not , however, my in tent ion to recount our experiences at the Antipodes ,nor, s i nce Chronology i s of l i tt le importance , i nth i s connect ion

,wi l l I lo i ter i n Ceylon ; but l eav

ing that i s land for description l ater on,I wi l l

begin my story with the end of the return voyage ,and skirt i ng the Malabar coast

,proceed to

Bombay .

Our fi rs t s ight of Ind ia was a wonderfu l panorama of the Western Ghats

,with thei r fine rugged

outl i ne,broken by isolated

,precip i tous and almost

i naccess ibl e peaks,s i l houetted against the sunri se

glow . That great barrier- range runs south fornearly 800 mi les

,fol lowing the l i ne of the sea

coast . I t r i ses sometimes in splend id precip ices ,sheer out of the water

,sometimes abruptly i n

terraces,beyond a strip of flat green and fert i le

low- lying land,to an extreme height of nearly

7000 feet .The weather was gloriou s

,and the sea qu i te

calm . A peacefu l day ended i n a grand sunset ;about 9 PM . I saw a curious meteor , which lookedso strangely near that at fi rst I thought i t was amast-head l ight not hal f a mi le away . V ery

B OM BAY EM ERGE S 7

gradual ly i t moved downward,and then van

ish ed .

The coastl ine became gradual ly clearer,and two

days afterwards numbers of smal l brown lateensai l s appeared and clumps of fishermen

’

s s takes ,l ike Venetian fiolz, stand ing up out of the sea . Atlast Bombay emerged mist i ly above the horizonabout 2 .30 PM on January I I

, and by wewere steaming slowly i nto harbour .The beauti fu l Bay

,studded with green i s lands

OUR F I RST VIEW OF BOMBAY

and j utt ing precipices,unfolded i tsel f before us

,

wi th i ts background of strange,quaintly- shaped

h i l l s,amongst which the Bawa-Ma lang catches

the eye wi th i ts pecu l iar cyl i ndri cal and bott leshaped peak crowned with a ru ined fort .The town of Bombay stands at the southernend of one of the greenest of these low narrowis lands

,which l i e as a much indented

,protect i ng

barrier across the estuary of a river impri son ingan arm of the sea

,from five to seven mi les w i de

,

along the main land,and so form ing one of the

finest harbours i n the world . On the sea s ide ofthe i s land i s Back Bay

,a shal low bas in two mi les

broad,with Colaba Point between i t and the

harbour,and a ridge end ing in Malabar Point on

8 B OM B AY

the sea s ide . The Fort i s the nucleus of the C i ty,

and stands on the s l ightly- rai sed strip of landbetween Back Bay and the harbour

,the entrance

to which i t commands .Bombay I sland was occup ied by the Portugueseas early as 1532 ,

and,coming to Charles I I . as

part Of the dower of Catheri ne of Braganza,was

leased to the East I ndia Company for 35; IO a year.

The Portuguese,however

,st i l l remained near

ne ighbours andrivals on the I s land of Sal sette,and

blocked the open-door to trade wi th the Empi reof the East . I n sp ite of th i s

,Bombay soon became

the mos t important of the Company ’s possess ions .The fi rs t Mahratta War led to the permanent occu

pation by the Engl ish of al l the I s lands i n theBay of Bombay

,where the commerce and i ndustry

of a large d i str i ct had taken refuge from Mahrattaoppress ion . Before 1 830 Bombay had become thel i nk between the East and the West . The naturalbarrier that separates the coast from the tablelandof the Deccan was fi rst broken down in 1838 bya road over the Bhor Ghat . Some th i rty yearslater the rai lway was taken the same way on tothe Deccan plateau by a bri l l iant feat Of engineering sk i l l . The Suez Canal of course completedthe connect ion wi th the West .When the American War cut Off the supply ofcotton to Lancash i re

,the importance of Bombay

increased immensely,and

,after various ups and

downs of prosperi ty,i t now rival s Cal cutta as the

commercial capital of I nd ia. The natural apt i tudeof the Nat ives for text i le work

,and thei r reputa

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I o B OM B AY

H .M . East I nd ia Squadron , a Russ ian war- sh ip ,mai l- steamers and merchantmen d i scharging andrece ivi ng cargo

,countless smal l boats

,sh ips

d ingh ies,nat ive bunder-boats and Karach i s plying

bus i ly to and fro w i th the i r burden of bri l l iant lyclad passengers .We were soon boarded by a swarming crowdof jabbering

,shout ing

,gest i cu lat i ng nat ives

,and

a peon from King and Co . brought us letters frommany ki nd and hospi table I nd ian friends

,with

proposal s for the mappi ng-out of our I nd ian tour .A native servan t i s i nd ispensable for travel l i ng i nIn dia

,so I hadwritten beforehand to King and Co. ,

to look out for one for me . I had vi s ions of a redturban and spotless Wh ite clothes

,so my feel i ngs

may be imagined when av i llanous- looking figureto al l appearance a veritable cut- throat- in shabbyclothes and an ancient round hat boarded thesteamer and told me he was my servant . Hewas a Portuguese from Goa and said to be honest ,which was consol i ng

,and as I was to ld he had Whi te

j ackets and trousers i n the background,that would

appearwhenwegot toGovernmen tHouse, I tookh imfor a t ime : He seemed to know his way about

,but I

fel t rather doubtfu l about engaging h im as a bodyslave for three month s . The matter sett led i tsel fbefore long by h i s heari ng of

,

a permanent place asbutler at Karach i

,towh ich I leth imgo ; and I took on

John Lobo,a n i ce- looking young fe l low

,al so a Goa

Boy ,” as I was told i t was d ifficu l t to get an I nd ian

,

speak ing Engl i sh . He was act ive and i ntel l igent ,though not very methodical

,and served me we l l .

LA N D I NG I I

The d isembarkat ion arrangements are not altogether a cred i t to the P . and O . CO.

, and i t was notunti l s ix O

’clock that,i n a very badly managed

launch,we final ly succeeded i n land i ng ourse lves . at

the Apol lo Bunder Quay below the Yacht Club ,through a perfect pandemon ium of voci ferouscool ies .The sun was setti ng in a deep red glow , and itslevel rays l ighted up motley groups of bri l l i ant lydressed nat ives—who blocked the quay, as theysquatted at the i r ease

,watch ing the busy scene

and the brightly pai nted bu l lock carts with gai lyclad occupants—drawn by mouse- coloured oxenwith sh i n ing sat i n ski n s

,and l i tt l e humps—which

threaded the i r way amongst the traffic .We put up for a few days—before going toGovernment House

,Malabar Poi nt—at a queer

hotel,where the rats were very noi sy at n ights , the

cockroaches numerous and Of abnormal proport ions

,and the food so bad that we were glad of

the poss ib i l i ty of gett i ng meals at the YachtClub

,a del ightful

,cheery place , with a lovely view

over a neat terraced garden,fu l l Of bri l l ian t flower

beds,to the harbour and h i l l s beyond .

. I t i s bu i ltfor shade and to catch every breeze . I neverappreciated a draught thoroughly before notthat I found the heat i ntole rable—I never fel t apleasan terormore exquisiteatmosphere . I twas j u stright

,with cool morn ings and even ings and very

warm sun mid-day . The heat i s ne i ther so i ntensenor so damp as i n Colombo , and the balmy breezesprevented our feel i ng overpowered by the hot sun .

m B OM B AY

I lost no t ime in gett i ng near the Nat ive quarterof the town

,and made my way soon after daybreak

next day , past the Victoria Rai lway Station , awonderful ly proport ioned bu i ld ing i n the Byzant i ne styl e

,of dark grey and brown stone

,to the

Crawford Market . There I made a futi l e attempt atsketch ing i n a dense and motley crowd . Theweather was bri l l iant and cloudless and the marketwas dazz l i ng and thronged with al l k i nds of peoplei n every variety of dres s and undress al l buyingand sel l i ng

,with a deafen ing hubbub

,as the

traders squatted i n the centre of the i r stal l samongst the i r wares .I was not prepared for the bri l l iancy of thecolouring—scarlet and purple

,crimson

,green and

white,al l set Off and harmonised del ightful ly by the

variously shaded bronze and dusky l imbs,the

brown face s and great black eyes of the many d i fferen t races thronging the busy scene . The strangefru i ts and vegetables too were nearly al l new to us .We saw quan t i t ies of red bananas ; gourds of manyshapes and shades

,yel l ow and green and golden

heaped-up grapes , white and black , from Aurungabad ; oranges from Nagpur , and the pummelo , ashaddock

,l i ke a huge orange . The mango of

Mazagon,famous for i ts del i cate flavour , was not

yet i n season,but there was a strange vegetable

,the

fru i t of the egg-plant,

! of the marrow type,with a

sh iny black surface,l ike the material of the Pars i

hat,cal led baingan . There were also pi les of

pan or betel leaves,which

,Spread with l ime

(ch arm) and wrapped round s l i ces of the fru i t of theS olcmummelong ena .

C RAWFORD M A RK E T I 3

areca palm,are respons ib l e for the red l ips and

black teeth one sees so perpetual ly . The flowerstal l s were very quaint

,for the jasmine , roses and

other flowers were al l ruth less ly p icked to p ieces,

and threaded,flower by flower, i n to ropes and

chains,s trung with s i lver thread and t i nse l i nto the

strangest sweet- smel l i ng garlands and festoons .

BACK BAY

These were sold by weight,to be worn round neck

or head , or Offered i n the temples .Outs ide the fru i t and vegetable market i s agarden shaded by large- leaved , dusky trees , overhung with wreaths of the flaming crimsonbougainvi l lea

,of “ a colou r that seems fu l l of l ight

,

that no pai nt or dye could imi tate .

” Here i s thebi rd-market— al ive wi th screeching flame-colouredand blue macaws and parrots of every descript ion .

The whole scene was as al luri ngly p icturesque asanyth ing one could wish to see .

We drove , i n the afternoon , round Back Bayto Malabar Point . The Queen

’

s Road by the shorewas throngedw ith brigh tly clothed natives and withcarriages

,mostly occupied by Pars is . Looking

back we had charming views of the fine publ i c

I4 B OM BAY

bui ld ings and towers of the modern town . Theground upon which the European town standshas been reclaimed—th i s was main ly

,I bel ieve

,

the work Of S ir Bartle Frere— and,for impos ing

bu i ld i ngs,i t qu i te beat any of the Austral ian towns

I had lately left . Al l th i s stately l i ne of redd ishbrown stone bu i ld ings

,some of them bui l t bymun ificen t Pars i s

,has been erected wi th i n the

las t fi fty years , and they stand i solated i n greensquares and gardens

,with flowering shrubs of

vivid hue between fine broad streets glowing withri ch and harmon ious colour . The clock tower ofthe Un ivers i ty and Hal l and the L ibrary weredes igned by Street . The Muni cipal Bu i l d i ngs are

,

I bel ieve,the work of F . W . Stevens

,the man of

the who bu i l t the fine Victoria S tat ion .

The whole has qu i te the d ign ified appearance of aun ivers i ty town

,though one can hard ly connect

an academic atmosphere wi th surround ings ofsuch riotous colour.After pass i ng many vi l las and cross i ng the rai lway

,we reached a road

,close to the sea , which

reminded us of the Riviera : the rocky heightswere terraced to the top with bungalow and vi l lagardens

,ri ch i n tropical vegetat ion ; tal l , s lender

and gracefu l palms rai se thei r feathery heads aboveround- topped trees , and aloes and datura h ide thegreat rocky boulders . From here there i s one ofthe finest views i n the world and al l i s bathed inan atmosphere of l ight and fanned by refresh ingand balmy breezes .We passed the sumptuous vi l la of a ri ch Pars i ,

MA LA BAR H I L L 1 5

who appeared to be entertai n ing hi s fri ends , forouts ide h i s gate were many carr iages and smartbrightly-painted bul lock- chariots , with panel sadorned with painted garlands of roses and otherornaments . Then we went on to Malabar Point towri te our name in the book at Government House ,which i s qu i te at the Poi nt and with i n sound of the

A BOMBAY BULLOCK-CARR IAGE

waves . I s topped five minutes outs ide the gate tomake a sketch of three quai n t l i ttl e whi tewashedtombs under the trees by the road s ide

,which

rather pleased me . At Malabar H i l l we cal led onthe B ishop , and also on the wi fe of Col . BurnMurdoch

,R .E . , who had kindly wri tten to ask us

to go to E lephanta with her .A l l my l i fe

,s i nce I fi rst heard my old fri end M r .

Fergusson talk about the caves at E l ephanta,I

16 B OM BAY

have had a great des i re to see them,but

,having

lately heard them much deprec iated,we very nearly

gave up the exped i t ion I am glad we d id not,as

they were del ightfu l ly i nterest i ng . Owing to astupid blunder , however , the Sappers

’ launch d idnot turn up t i l l l ong after the appoi nted time ;then the t i de be ing against us

,and low into the

TOMBS BY THE ROAD S I DE

bargain,we had to transh ip to a smal l boat . How

ever,we had a del ightfu l hour and a half

’

s sai leastwards across the Bay

,through a crowd of

picturesque sh ipping,and then

,i n the i s le-sprinkled

lagoon , we had the waters al l to ourselves . Atwe reached the land ing- place

,a s l ippery pier of

i solated larva-blocks lead ing to the foot of a longfl ight of stone steps that mount the h i l l to th ecaves ,amongst palm - trees and creepers above . Alas , bythe time we reached the top the sun was al readybeginn ing to set . As we had to d ine at e ight at Governmen t House—a four-mi le drive beyond Bombay , i n the oppos i te d i rection—it may be imagi ned

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1 8 B OM BAY

th i s figure when thei r cannon battered down somuch of the temple .

There are open ings on either s ide of th i s cave onthe right i nto a smal ler temple

,and left to an Open

space,facing a th i rd temple

,guarded on e i ther s ide

by two convent ional l ions : before th i s i s a c i rcu larplatform where stood

,doubtles s

,i n old days the

stone Nand i or sacred bul l,so often kneel i ng at the

entrance of a temple of Sh iva . Most of the gods ofthe H indu Pantheon seem to be represented here ,Brahmaw ith fou r faces

,V ishnu and h i s lotus

,Sh iva

with h i s bu l l and l ingam,and the cup from which

flow the three sacred l i fe-givi ng streams,Ganges ,

Jumna , and Saraswat i , bel ieved to un i te at Al lahabad . Parvati , S h iva

’

s bride,h is son Gan esh

,th e

elephant- headed god of good luck,

"

Chandra themoon -god , I ndra on h i s elephant , and Bhai ravaan in ferior form of Sh iva with rosary of skul l s .The entrances are kept by gigant i c dwarpals or

doorkeepers . The stone i s of dark weather-beatengrey

,but bears traces of having been painted .

The whole place,amongst the volcan ic rocks

,

covered with vegetat ion,i s wonderfu l ly pictur

esque,and I longed for an opportun i ty to sketch i t .

As we steamed back across the lagoon we had amost del ightfu l d istant view of the ci ty with thedeep vermi l ion glow of even ing beh i nd i t

,and the

gracefu l palms and steep hi l l- s ides standing up inthe foreground again st the sky .

We had despatched a messenger to the A DC .

at Government Hou se to warn h im that we hadbeen detained and might be late . A capital l i tt l e

MA LABAR PO I N T 1 9

pair of pon ies,i n a l ight carriage , got us to Malabar

Point in twen ty minutes t ime,and we found a very

pleasant party at d inner , i nclud i ng Col . F . Rhodes ,Capt . St . Leger Jervo is , S i r John Gladstone , S i r R .

Beauchamp and a Prince and Princess S herbatov ,

who were l eaving next day for Kandy . I t wasarranged that we should sh i ft our quarters nextday to Government House ti l l we left for Poona .

The real Government House i s seven mi les off atParell

,i n a lovely garden

,but though a fine house

i t i s rather avoided,as i t has a bad reputation from

a san i tary point of view,and S i r Jas . Fergusson

’

s

second wife d ied there of fever .We spent five very pleasant days at Ma l abarPoint

,the assemblage of bungalows

,which forms

Government House . They stand shel tered by palmson the black basal t rocks

,and al l face the sea ,

which i s qu i te close on three s ides . Verandahs connect them wi th the great central bungalow

,an

immense long room ,—part i t ioned with latt i ce- l i ke

carved wooden doors i nto a drawing- room,d in i ng

room and hal l,

-w i th a deligh tfu ldeepverandah al lround . Next to i t come Offices and then our bungalow, stand i ng on a knol l s lop ing down about fi ftyfeet i n to the sea . Opposi te the mai n entrance i sH . E .

’

s bungalow, and close by others for guests ,doctor and There are tents scatteredabout for servants and guards

,t hen comes the

stable , and the nat ive vi l lage i s beyond— it i s qu i tea l i ttle colony i n fact . My set of rooms

,l ike the rest

,

i ncluded a large room some twenty- seven feetsquare

,with a dress i ng- room

,a bath- room and a

2 0 B OM B AY

writ ing- room . The rooms are al l arranged for coolness and shade

,and court the breeze

, w i th doorsmade l i ke Venetian bl i nds they are h igh and airyand Open i nto charming , seduct ive , deepverandah s .

The wonderfu l s i lence of nature seemed to havesubdued voices and movemen ts to a un i formly lowand gentle key the on ly sound to be heard was therippl e of the waves breaking gently on the beachbelow us

,occas ional ly broken by the harsh vo i ce of

BOMBAY FROM MALABAR PO INT

one of themany crowswho,with consummate impu

den ce ,w ill even enter the d i n ing- room to carry off abone or other dainty from a plate . Across the bluebay and the l i tt le whi te-sai led boats dancing overthe waves

,we saw the towers and spi res of Bom

bay , on the further horn , about one-and-a-hal fmi les d i stant as the crow fl i es—or one might saythe “ vul tu re fl i es

,for we have many here but

that i s another story .

”

Al l the arrangements i n a large oriental ménage,

such as th i s,are a quain t mixture of splendour and

s impl ici ty. The whole place swarms with wonder

S P LEN DO U R A N D S I M P L I C ITY 2 1

ful kh idmatgars i n flaming scarlet and gold l ivery ,and the body-guard is beauti fu l i n an old- fash ioneduni form and blue and gold turban , with lance andpennon . At d inner the band played , and we weresurrounded by twelve or fourteen men , who eachfanned us with a gigant ic painted palm- l eaf, and wedrove out wi th four horses and posti l ions , w i thother marks of state . But on the other hand to getto our own rooms from the d in ing- room we had topass through an end of the verandah

,screened off

to serve as a pantry , and down a covered walk , offwh ich were l i tt l e rooms serving as k i tchens , scu llery

,and so on . Gl impses might be had , through

the open doors,of quaint domest i c scenes . I used to

watch with some amusement groups of duskyfigures seated on the floor

,each S lowly and del i

berately wiping a cup or plate . This ceremonyappeared to occupy the greater part of the i ntervalbetween meal s ; then the crockery was packed awayi n a big basket

,to be produced for the next meal .

We were lucky i n coming i n for a great partyon the even ing of January 15 ,

which was a verybri l l iant and i n terest ing s ight . There were asmany nat ives

,Pars i s and H indus

,as Europeans ;

al l sold iers and sai lors,i nclud ing the Russ ians

from the men-of-war i n the harbour , were i nuni form . Numbers of the most important nat iveswere i nvi ted to d inner beforehand , I bel ieve ratherto the d isgust of the Engl i sh . This went so farthat the lady seated at d i nner next one of the bestknown and most publ i c- sp i r i ted of the Pars i s hadthe bad taste to refuse to speak to h im

,and kept

m B OM B AY

her back toward h im al l the t ime ! No wonder ,fore igners who have had opportun i t ies of ascertai ning the mind of the natives tel l u s that

,whi l st

acknowledging that we rule with k i ndness and

justi ce and have given I nd ia peace , the nativeshave no affect ion for us

,and th ink we lack the

t rue sympathy,without wh ich weakness can

never pardon superior st rength .

The dresses of the H indus on th is occas ionwere most beauti fu l . The men were i n vermi l ionand gold turbans

,and soft wh i te c lothes wi th a

touch of gold embro idery,and

,on the top of the

ears perhaps,an ear-ri ng with a bunch of emeralds

and pearl s . The Pars i women were lovely ;gracefu l ly C lad i n al l manner of beauti fu l s i lksand soft brocades

,pale p ink

,mauve , orange ,

or lemon -yel low,with a touch of gold or s i lver

along the outer edge . They drape a long stri p ofsoft s i l k around them as a petti coat

,the end i s then

passed over the i r heads,above the whi te vei l wh ich

confines the i r hai r . They are often very pretty , andsome of them wore such fine j ewel s as qu i te toecl ipse those of al l the Engl ish women . The rowsof emerald s

,pearl s

,and d iamonds were especial ly

spl end id . Some of the native lad ies had ornaments i n the left s ide of the nose , a custom whichi s as unbecoming as i t must be i nconven ient ,espec i al ly when the j ewel fal l s down to or over themouth .

One morn i ng,before breakfast

,I took a walk i n

the neighbourhood,down the oppress ively hot

avenue and then round to the further (west) s ide of

A T EM P LE OF S H I VA 2 3

the h i l l . Here , i n the nat ive vi l lage , I came upon adel ightfu l ly p1cturesque tank , about one hundredyards long

,with steps

,descending to the water on

al l S ides , and above , al l manner of quai nt bui ldi ngs . Thi s i s Walkesh ivar

,a temple of the

myst ical Shiva , the giver of n ew li fe through death ,and i s regarded as one of the most sacred places i nth i s partof I nd ia . Here

,the l i ngam

,Shiva ’s emblem

,

i s reverenced with lustrat ions of holy water fromthe Gauges and offeri ngs of bete l leaves . The worsh ippers approach ing the shri ne

,ri ng the bel l s

,

which are placed i n th ree long rows above i t .Though I do not suppose the templ e and tankpossess any antiqu i ty

,st i l l

,l i ke everyth ing else

pure ly nat ive , they are thoroughly p icturesque ,though i t i s mere whitewash

,water

,and fl ights of

steps wh ich combine to give th i s resu l t .Towers

,smal l temples

,and shri nes— al l most

attract ive i n shape and colour—were grouped i ncharming complexi ty

,with here and there amongst

the bu i ld i ngs a gnarled Old bo- tree . There weresevera l of the usual tal l octagonal p i l lars or towersfor l ights—which the un i n i t iated might take forattenuated pigeon -houses— perforated

,on al l S ides

and al l the way up,with smal l apertures to hold the

l i ttle batt i s or earthenware jars of cocoanut o i lwhich i l luminate the sacred spot . From the top ofthe temple flew a bright red flag . On one s ide ofthe tank the bu i ld ings descend to the sea

,on the

other they mount to the top of the ridge . Herefor the fi rst t ime I saw Yogi s

,by thei r bri ck

shri nes under the trees,at the waters ide

,who from

24 B OM B AY

the i r revol t i ng appearance,I imagine

,must con

s ider themselves very rel igious z—such shocks o fmatted hai r had they

,and bod ies streaked and

smeared wi th chalk and paint . They sat,qu i te

unconscious of the i r surround ings,tel l i ng the

rosary of beads which,with thei r hands

,was

h idden from sight,and repeat ing Sh iva’s one thou

sand and eight names over and over again . Not so

ONE OF THE TOWERS OF S I LENCE

many years ago there was,I am told , a Yogi here ,

who l ived for twenty years i n a stone box,i n which

he could nei ther s i t nor s tand nor l ie fu l l l ength .

The throngs of H indus , coming away , al l seemedto have the i r foreheads marked wi th quai nt s igns

,

which I d i scovered i nd icated thei r caste . Thebrown wrinkled forehead of the old priest was al sobarred with three bold whi te l i nes .Another day I drove to the Pars i Towers ofS i lence on the top of the h i l l— the most beauti fu ls i te i n the neighbourhood . A funeral p rocess ion

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2 6 B OM B AY

comes the rai n washes i nto th i s wel l,and the water,

after being fi l tered , finds i ts way to the sea . Theysay the most up- to-date of the Pars i s are ratherashamed of th i s custom of thei rs

,and would l ike i t

abol i shed , but i t was thei r wonderfu l venerat ion forthe sanct i ty of the elements that led to the i r devisi ng th i s e laborate scheme by wh ich they avoid thecontamination of earth

,fi re

,or water, for that

would expose them to the attack of the Evi l Sp i ri t ,to whosemach inat ions they attribute al l d i seaseand evi l .The Pars i s

,on whose i ndustry

,l evel -headed

commerc ial enterpri se and publ i c spirit th e flourishi ng cond it ion of Bombay i s based

,have on ly been

i n the i s land s ince the days of Bri t i sh rule,and owe

the i r prosperi ty ent i rely to our protect ion . TheMohammedans i n I nd ia always persecuted thembi tterly

,t reated them as pariahs

,and confined them

to the country d istri cts . They had fled from Pers iai n consequence of the persecut ion ofKhaliph Omar ,642 A .D . ,

and were al lowed,by a H indu prince , to

settl e i n a d i str i ct ofWestern I nd ia,on cond it ion

that they abstai ned from cow-ki l l i ng and adopteda modificat ion of H indu dress . Thei r curious headdress seems to have origi nated i n the tal l Pers iancap

,cut down and bent : to th i s they cl i ng tena

c iously , but i n many other respects they haveadopted European dress and customs

,though no

people or caste has suppl ied so few converts toChri st ian i ty . They are not idolaters

,though a cer

tai n amount of H indu superst i t ion has corruptedthe puri ty of thei r worsh ip

,and to remove th i s an

PA RS I S 27

effort after reform, and return to the origi nal monothei st i c fa i th was made i n 185 2 .

The Zoroastrian fai th teaches them bel ief i n a

Supreme God,who i s I nfin ite Perfect ion , the

Creator and Ruler of the Un iverse,and further

that to have the ass i stance of th i s Good Spi ri t theymust cul t ivate good thoughts

, good words , andgood deeds

,and extreme pur i ty

,phys ical and

mental,otherwise they offend the s ix Guard ian

Spi ri ts charged with the care of the three sacredelements (fire , water , earth) , metal s , an imal s andbi rds , trees and plants , and put themselves i nto thepower of the Evi l Spi ri t

,who

,warri ng against the

wel l—be i ng and happiness of mankind,perpetual ly

sows d i sease,s i n

,and death .

I n the Zend Avesta (the Zoroastrian sacredwri t ings) , puri ty and immuni ty from s in andd i sease are conti nua l ly described as proceed ingfrom Good thoughts

,Good words

,and Good deeds .

Through them,too

,l i es the way to Heaven

,they

g ive the soul the right to enter , and seem also toconsti tu te i ts sole reward . A beaut i fu l passage

,

from the Zend Avesta,descript ive of the pass ing

of the soul of the good man upwards after deathhas been immorta l i sed by G . F . Watts In h i s p icture of the “ Dying Warrior . ”

“When the th i rd n ight tu rns towards the l ight ,then the soul of the pure man goes forward

,and a

l ight wi nd meets h im from the south . I n that wind

My authority for th is statemen t is th e l ate Mrs . ArthurH anson

,to whom Wa tts quoted th is pa s s age when sh e a sked h im

th e mean in g of h i s picture.

2 8 B OM B AY

comes to meet h im the figure of a maiden,beaut i fu l

and sh i n i ng,with bri l l iant face . Th en toh erspeaks

the sou l of the pure man ‘What maiden art thou,

whom I here see ! who art fai rer than maidens ofearth ! ’ And she repl ies to him

,

‘ I am,O youth ,

th i ne own good thoughts and words and works ,appearing to thee i n greatness and goodness andbeauty .

That the Pars i s do obey the beaut i fu l,eth ical

precepts of the i r rel igion i s apparent from the i rl ives

,which are act ive

,laborious

,patien t

,generous

,

and very free from sel f- seeking . I n the i r corporatel i fe they are very closely un i ted

,and i t i s said that

extreme poverty and crime are equal ly unknownamongst them . I understand that they sufferedvery l i t tl e from the plague . But last census showedthat th i s most i nte l l igent and progress ive communi ty i s d imin i sh ing i n numbers . They haddecreased cons iderably

,and had fewer ch i ldren

under five years , i n proportion , than any other class .There i s a growing tendency in the younger generat ion to marry out of the commun ity

,and the re

act ionary party have lately resolved to exclude al lsuch from thei r templesand chari tab le trusts . Someof the more progress ive able men are determinedto test the legal i ty of th i s act ion

,which they con

s ider threatens the advance of the educated Pars i ssoc ial ly and i ntel lectual ly .

The gardens round the Towers of S i l ence weredel ightful

,they were bright wi th bushes of jasmine

and scarlet poinsett ia and Ol eander,and have a

lovely V iew over the sea . They look down on

THE NA T I V E QU A R T ER 2 9

groves,

of palms and acacia- l i ke tamari nd trees,

white flowering mango,and tal l peepu l trees w i th

vivid green fol iage,al l o f a trembl e i n the breeze

,

and old cypress trees wreathed wi th flaming orangebignon ia .

But the great attract i on of Bombay to my mindl ies between Bycu l la , Crawford Market and theDocks

,i n the extraord inary strangeness and beauty

of the streets i n the native town . I t i s , i n a queergaudy way

,the most wonderfu l ly picturesque place

i t i s poss ibl e to imagine,and , I bel ieve , one of the

best b i ts of oriental town to be seen i n I nd ia . I wasqu ite enchanted with the people and thei r quain thaunts

,and was never t i red of d riving i n

,i n the

dogcart,or taking the tram

,and wandering on foot

through the crowded streets,under tal l

,brightly

pai nted houses with deep ly overhanging bal con iesand beaut i fu l ly ornamented corbel s and p i l lars .I t wou ld be wel l worth coming to I ndia s implyto see th i s part of Bombay . I ndeed , i t i s i n colour ,sounds and smel l— that ‘characteri s t i c and unmistakable Eastern smel l of ghee

,spi ces and wood

smoke -an ep i tome of I nd ian l i fe . The arch i tecturei s aoz

'

zczrrcmixture of Portuguese-Renai ssance andH indu

,and some of the tal l houses wi th thei r

elaborately carved facades and project i ng upperstoreys are remarkably good as works of art .I n the marvel lous

,smal l

,low shops beneath

,

squat amongst the i r wares the nat ive tradesmen onthei r heel s

,nurs ing the i r knees . They sel l d i fferen t

sorts of grain,or hammered brass and copper pots

gold and s i lver Cutch repousse’

work of Dutch

30B OM B AY

origi n,or gold damascened Guj rat work ; tor

to i se- shel l carvi ngs the famous “ Bombay boxes”

of i n la id sandal—wood ; carved ebony or . black

wood furni ture,al so copied from the Dutch ;

carpets from S ind , of beaut i fu l convent ional de

D E L I GH T F U L COM B I NA T I ON S 3 1

s igns and colouring ; gold , and s i lver- thread andembroideri es ; and the con fect ioners

’ shops werefi l led w i th strange

,oi ly- looking sweetmeats and

queer bal l s of flour and honey . There are al so manythousand j ewe l lers

,from d i fferent part s of I nd ia

,

who here d i splay thei r dazz l ing wares bracel ets,

armlets,anklets , nose- ri ngs , necklets , made of

stri ngs of pearl and tu rquoise threaded on a goldwi re ; or of bands of gold enamel led with blue ,green and red

,or set wi th many- coloured gems

sapph i res , emeralds , or rub ies—which are oftenqu i te valueles s except for the art i st i c effect produced by the poi nts and sparkles of the i r gorgeousbri l l iant colour chai ns of pearl with piercedamethysts dangl i ng by a hook from between everytwo or three beads nat ive gold ornaments of manyk inds

,e i ther magn ificently sol id from Guj rat

,or

covered with i n tri cate des igns from the Mahratt id is tri cts .The whole place i s one great bazaar

,which runs

through deep bu i ld ings where quai n t archwaysgive access to unexpected mosques or H indutemples

,pai nted l i ke the houses i n bold ly bri l l i ant

and vivid reds and greens . Al l th i ngs consp i re tomake del ightfu l combinat ions for Sketch ing—thedeep overhanging archways and bal con ies ; thelace- l ike carving on the corbel s ; the frequent vistasof H indu towers

,domes

,or stone carvings

,and

here and there a minaret ; the tanks with s tepsdown to the water and surrounded with a clusterof l i ttle temples

,each with i ts upright stone spi re .

All th is i s bathed i n bright sun l ight,and an i

32 B OM B AY

mated by the cont i nual s tream of marvel lou sfigures

,surgi ng and shout i ng i n the narrow street .

I t i s for al l the world l i ke a giganti c ant-heap thathas been d i sturbed—or

,perhaps

,rather l ike some

gigant i c tu l ip-garden for the vivid variety ofriotous colours i s endless and i nconceivable ; yet al lthese hues of red and yel low

,vermi l ion

,crimson

,

cherry- colou r,rose and peach

,orange , saffron ,

l emon , or canary- colour, and of purple , blue , orgreen of metal l i c o r tender shade

,are blent and barmon ised del ic ious ly i n the glorious atmosphere of

l ight , saturated and subdued by the soften ing influen ce of the sea ai r .Equal ly i nexhaust ib l e seem the resources of costume , for i n hard ly any place i n the worl d i s therea bus ier ci ty l i fe than i n Bombay

,or a more varied

assemblage of nat ional types . There are of coursemore H indus

,Mohammedans

,Pars i s and Mahrat

tas than representat ives of any other race,but spec i

mens of almost every characteri s t i c oriental dressmay be met j ostl i ng each other i n the swarmingB h endi bazaar. There are the H indu cool ies andart isans

,with hard ly a rag to cover thei r bronze

l imbs elderly Pars i s,with ceri se s i l k trousers

and cow hoof- shaped brown or black brimless hats ;sh immeringgreen and gold tu rbaned MohammedanMou lv ies or Khojah s ; deep copper- coloured Mahrattas and rich Guj rath i and Marwari ban iyas , withvermi l ion or cr imson or wh ite head-d resses , somearrangedw ith h igh poin tedpeaks ; faircomplexion edPars i women

,w ith beaut i fu l eyes and dark hai r and

fine j ewel l ery,clothed i n the del i cate-hued soft s i lk

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34 B OM B AY

wax candles . These nat ive i l l uminat ions,out

l i n i ng al l the arch i tectural features with l ines offi re , are the prettiest s ight of the sort imaginable .

When I saw these quaint towers,theywere covered

wi th p igeons , perch ing in the n iches and flutteri ngand hovering around .

Another bright day,with the thermometer at

I was out sketch ing in Hornby Row at seveno ’clock , and after breakfast Mrs . Burn-Murdochkind ly took us to see the Bombay Pottery Works .

They were under the management of Mr. GeorgeTerry , an old man wi th a bent back , who tol d methat the origi n of th i s revival of the ol d i ndustryi s due to a conversat ion he had wi th S i r BartleFrere . I t i s a rude k i nd of ware wh ich i s madehere

,someth ing l ike the Valerie pottery but not

wi th such transparent glaze,though some of the

colours are very good .

Some of the bes t nat ive potter ’s ware i n al lI nd ia comes from S ind

,and the i ndustry i s

bel i eved to have been in troduced by the Mogul s .They covered the i r mosques and tombs wi thbeauti ful ly colou red specimens of th i s art

,i n tu r

quoise-blue

,copper-green

,dark purple , or golden

brown,under an exqu i s i tely transparent glaze .

The I nd ian art i san i s remarkable for h i s pat ience ,h is thoroughnes s

,and accuracy of detai l

,and h i s

arti st i c feel i ng for colour and form . The metalwork and carving shows h i s true sense of convent ional ornament . The compos i t ion and colour i ncarpets or enamel s and the form of h i s pottery haveseldom been surpassed . But much of the ski l l of

N A T I VE ART. 35

the I nd ian craftsman i s due to the hered i tarynature of h is art . The potter

,the weaver

,the smith

,

each belong to a separate caste and a son inev itably fol lows the trade of hi s father and reproduceshi s work .

Unfortunately,the competi t ion and prestige of

Europe have created a tendency to imi tate European des igns other causes also have combined tobring about a deteriorat ion i n the nat ive work .

One of the Condi t ions most necessary to el i ci t goodand arti s t ic work from a nat ive craftsman is absol u te le i sure. I t i s es sent ial to have i nfin i te pat iencewith h im

,and to avoid press i ng h im i n any way ;

for only when he i s a l lowed perfect l iberty to turnfrom one piece of work to another

,as the spi ri t

moves h im,can he produce h i s best . The bes t

work used to be done to the order of wealthypri nces and nobles of the nat ive courts

,many of

wh ich have now ceased to exi st,or lost the i r in

fluenCe and wea l th and large orders , to be turnedout at a fixed date , have tended , as much as anyth ing. i n the d i rect ion of decadence i n I nd ian art .The School of Art i n Bombay has done muchto revive the various techn i cal i ndustr ies of thepeople

,which were dying out but whether the in

fluen ce of the d i fferent Government Schools of Arthas been al together beneficial i s a much-d isputedpoint

,as there i s always much ri sk that a school

contai n i ng pri ncipal ly casts from the ant ique,and

detai l s of I ta l ian and Goth i c ornamen t ,w i ll destroythe old ind igenous ideals ; and as the nativecraftsmen have not much creat ive power , the

36 B OM B AY

resul t may be that the i r work wi l l lose al l distin ct ive character .The l i tt l e brown nat ive ch i ld ren i n the streetsare a del ightful

,and often a curious

,s ight . The

l i tt le H indu gi rl s al l wear nose- r i ngs on the l efts ide , even though they may have no other att i re ,and they have often a profus ion of j ewel s ; chai ns ,and bangles wi thout end . I ndeed they are somet imes made away wi th for the sake of the j ewel swi th which the nat ive parent del ights to load h erch i ld . One day we went to i nspect a Pars i gi rl s

’

school,and were del ighted wi th al l we saw . The

head-mistress was a Pars i,with three Engl i sh

mistresses under her,and there were two hundred

better- C lass gi rl s,from five to e ighteen years

of age,al l able to pay for the i r education . The elder

gi rl s sang some of Scott Gatty’

s songs , and thel i tt l e ch i ldren thei r Duty to God

,the i r Parents

and thei r Teachers,i n Mahratta

,clappi ng thei r

hands three t imes at the beginn i ng of each l i ne ;the mus i c

,l ike al l Orienta l mus ic

,had a curiously

wei rd effect . Up to fi fteen,the girl s were dressed

l ike l i tt le boys,i n short sat i n trousers reach i ng

below the knee,a sort of mus l i n vest and straight

t ight jackets of coloured sat i n . Thei r hai r hungdown i n a p igtai l beneath l i ttle round t i nsel capsembro idered i n gold or pearl s . The elder ch i ldrenwere dressed

,l ike the women

,In the ord inary s i lk

sari,of beaut i fu l del i cate shades

,edged with gold

or s i lver embro idery . They looked happy and wel l ,a contrast to the European ch i ldren , poor l i tt leth ings ,whowere the colour of paper : long res idence

OVE RC ROWD I N G 37

i n th i s cl imate seemed to make every one look paleand boi led to rags

,yet i t does not exhaust them

enti rely . The popular and energet i c Governor h imsel f looked t i red

,and no wonder

,with so much

anxious work on h i s hands ; but he was in goodspi ri ts ; and our gen ial and indefat igable hostesshad energy enough to leave Government Houseonce a week at 4A M , drive a mi l e and a half tothe station

,then after a short rai lway journey have

a good run with the hounds— the quarry be ing aj ackal she used to be back again i n Bombay forn ine o ’clock breakfast .Occas ional ly the thermometer dropped to thes ixt ies and then i t was ch i l ly one n ight

,driving

back from d inner wi th the B ishop at MalabarCourt

,there was a strong wind , and we fel t i t qu i te

cold . But In spite of the cool n ights and morn i ngs ,the sun was wonderful ly strong

— and I found i t

almost too hot,and In the old town human i ty was

too closely packed for sketch ing there to be agreeable .

This mass of human be i ngs,with hard ly a st i tch

of clothes on thei r bodies,are terribly overcrowded ,

especial ly i n the poorer quarters . The overcrowd ing i s most dense i n the g igant ic lodginghouses

,or

“chaw ls

,i n which so large a part of

the native populat ion l ives . A sing le chawl , fiveto seven stories h igh—with i ts s teep narrow stai rslead ing to nests of smal l rooms

,each i nhabi ted

by a fami ly and open ing on to a long , n arrow ,

and dark passage—may contai n from five hundredto a thousand inhab i tants .

38 B O M B AY

Every known rule of san i tat ion i s d i s regardedi n these houses

,which have the largest populat ion

to a square mi le of any ci ty i n the world ; andhere

,i n September 1896, a terribl e vi s i tat ion of

the plague made i ts fi rs t appearance S i nce thet ime of Aurangzeb

,and devastated Bombay , pre

v iously regarded as one of the heal th iest of Orientalc i t ies . I t i s not cons idered l ike ly that i t originatedon the spot

,though its origi n cannot be ascertained

with any degree of certai nty ; there are bel ieved tobe on ly two poss ible sources of i n fect ion

,e i ther the

country to the extreme north of I ndia , or Ch ina ,for i n both of these places plague constantly preva i l s . The probability seems to be that i t came fromChina and was carried by rats

,who certain ly suffer

and d ie from the d isease,and transmi t i t to human

be ings by contact , or perhaps by means of fleas ,wh ich abound on the bod ies of rats and desertthem after death . I n sp i te of the most s trenuousefforts

,i t was found imposs ibl e to carry out al l

the des i rable regulat ions , on account of the violentOppos i t ion and exci ted feel ing of the people

,who

concealed thei r s i ck,Opposed al l d i s i n fecti on

,and

even attacked the hospi tal s consequently,the

p lague spread from Bombay City i nto the Pres iden cy,

along the sea—coast and i n land i n everyd irect ion . I t then estab l i shed i ts hold on the Punjab and North-West

,and has s ince then returned

every year,and in some d i stri cts i n North I nd ia i t

raged i n 1904—5 with a v iolen ce unparal le led s incethe Black Death i n the fourteenth century .

The Commiss ion sent out by the Home Govern

THE P LAG U E 39

ment to report on the matter came to the d i shearten i ng conclus ion that there are no means ofstamp i ng out the present epidemic of plague i nI nd ia

,that even with the best measures mos t

rigid ly appl ied,a certa i n amount of danger sub

s i s ts , and al l that can be done i s to lessen thedanger as much as poss ible . The fear l est theI nd ian epidemi c should spread to Europe does notappear to be without foundation .

The terrible mortal i ty i n the Punjab in 1904-

5sheds a l urid l ight on these ser ious words .

UNDER MALABAR H ILL

IN THE FUNERAL PROCE SS ION

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42 P OONA

Deccan plateau . The scenery was very fine as weascended bya mountai n pass ; andw h en the countryi s les s burned up

,i t must be beauti fu l . As it was ,

we had some grand views looki ng back upon thehazy pla i ns below .

The ch ief characteri st i c of the Western Ghats i sthat they are al l flat- topped

,and that the upper

layer,a s tratum of basa l t or trap

,usual ly has pre

c ip i tous s ides , broken through by prodigious volcami c outburs ts wh ich have formed the most unexpected jagged pinnacles and craggy peaks . Theser i se abruptly ou t of the forests

,on the terraced

s ides . Near the top the l i ne makes a z ig- zag toreach the heights above—the Deccan p lateauwhich extends i n one monotonous plai n right awayto Madras . Here we were at the watershed . Fromth i s poi nt the welcome ra i n

,brought to the West

ern Ghats by the Bombay sea—breeze and the unfai l ing monsoon fromtheArabian Ocean

,has to find

an outlet to the eastward,right acros s I nd ia

,i n the

Bay of Bengal . Clewes po inted out several spotsin the jungle where he said panthers and bearswere to be found , but the j ungle struck us as avery scrubby affa i r compared with that of Ceylon .

Th e Mahrattas , who had thei r capi tal at Poona ,were

,from the time of Aurangzeb t i l l 18 18

,

supreme i n the Maharashtra,the great Province

,

”

which extends from the Arabian Sea to the Sataramountains i n the north

,and includes a great part

of Western and Central I nd ia . The name wasthat of the people of al l races

,l ivi ng i n th i s region

,

bu t i s appl ied to H indus only . The Mahrattas ,

MA H RA T T A S 43

who probablydescended i nto India fromthe NorthWest at an early period

,st i l l regard themselves

as a separate people,though nowadays they almost

r

JAGGED PINNACLES OF THE GHATS

al l belong to Bri t i sh I nd ia or to the N izam ’sdominions : the i r language i s a cop ious , flexibleand sonorous tongue . They are of two castes only ,Brahmans and Sudras . The Brahmans have sma l lsquare heads

,dark sk i n s , and the regu lar features ,

44 P OONA

spare upright figure and calm commanding ap

pearan ce of a h igh-bred race , and are among th emost ambi t ious and ab l e men in I nd ia . The lowcaste Mahrattas are uncouth

,smal l wi ry men

,

showing much act ivi ty and power of endurance .

Bred and born among the hi l l s they have thequa l i t i es of mountaineers , and in defence of theirhomes they have always shown great bravery

,

though they have rather the courage of the free !booter than the genu ine sold ierly i nsti nct . Thereare now s ix Mahratta regiments i n the I nd ianarmy

,but the race as a whole has settled down to

agricul ture .During the fi rs t centuries of the Chri st ian erathe Mahrattas enjoyed cons iderable prosperi tyunder a number of petty ch iefs . They submitted ,with but l i tt l e res i s tance

,to the fi rst Mohamme

dan invasion , but i n 1657S h ivaj i , the famous heroof Mahratta story

,rebe l led against the Mohamme

dan Kings of B ij apur . He and h i s sold iers wereof humb l e caste

,though h i s min isters were

Mahratta Brahmans . He inspi red h is countrymen with h is own enthus iasm

,and h is fol lowers

were conspicuous for the i r dash ing qual i t ies .I t was long s ince the Mogul s had met withany serious res i s tance , but S h ivaj i , having conquered B ij apur

,defied the Emperor, and before

he d ied had gone far towards shak ing off theiryoke . The new Mahratta State wh ich he foundedwas u l timately recogni sed by Aurangzeb . S h ivaj i

’

s.

grandson,brought up at the Delh i court

,turned

out feeble and degenerate,and was a puppet

M A H RA T T A RA I D S 45

i n.

the hands of h i s Brahman min i ster,the

Peshwa,who threatened Delh i and succeeded

i n establ i sh ing the right of “ chauth — thefamous Mahratta C la im of one- fourth of the Staterevenue- over the whole Deccan . The office ofPeshwa became hered i tary

,and grew in import

ance wi th the growth of the Mahratta k ingdom ,

the ki ngs s ink ing i nto obscuri ty . Before 1760 theMahrattas had overrun Bengal , Behar , and Orissa ,and various Mahratta ch iefs had se ized d i fferentparts of the Mogu l Empire . S indh ia ruled over alarge stretch of country south of Agra and Delh i

,

the Gaekwars held the Rajput plains of Guj rat,

and the north of Bombay,and Holkar the uplands

of Malwa . Al l these States acknowledged thePeshwa at Poona

,as the head of the Mahratta

confederation,which final ly absorbed nearly the

whole of I nd ia and became the largest empi reever formed by a H indu race . The renownedMahratta caval ry numbered men

,and

boasted of having watered thei r horses i n everyIndian river from the Kistna to the I ndus .Thei r method was to ride long d istances intoa host i le country , str ike some terrific blow andthen reti re beyond reach of pursu i t . But theconfederation lacked the elements of permanencyit depended on plundering exped i t ions

,and

,with

the except ion of the Peshwas,i ts ch iefs were rude

freebooting warriors . The fi rs t check came whenthe Afghan

,Ahmed Shah Abdal i , i nvaded I nd ia

i n 1761 , and completely crushed the Mahrattas atPan ipat . Thei r empi re was not broken up however

46 P O O N A

unt i l the Brit i sh came i nto contact wi th them :

and ti l l 1803 the ti tu lar Emperor of Delh i rema inedunder the control of S indhia . Then took place thegreat Mahratta war

,i n which both theW ellesleys

d i st i ngu i shed themselves . After hard fighting atAssaye

,Argaum, Delh i and Dig, the Mahratta

confederacy was destroyed . One more struggletook place between 18 16—18 18

, when the Peshwajoined wi th the freebooting Pindari s of Rajpootanai n an attempt to defy Brit i sh supremacy ; butMountstuart E lph i nstone formed a scheme bywhich Holkar was utterly defeated at Mah idpurand the Peshwa at Ki rkee . The Peshwa surrendered to S i r John Mal colm , who sent h im asa pri soner to B ithna near Cawnpore . Here he d iedi n 185 1 , l eavi ng h i s undying hatred of h is con

querors as a legacy to h i s adopted son ,th e i n famous

Nan a Sahib , who showed the true Mahrat ta temper i n the Cawnpore Massacres of June 1857.

At the top of the Ghats we found a del i c ious lycool breeze

,and enjoyed a bri l l iant sunset , and at

Poona Stat ion were greeted by our host,Major

Spratt . A drive of ten minutes amongst bungalowsand compounds overshadowed by acacias broughtus to h i s house

,where he and h i s wi fe were com

fortably i n stal l ed , and we spent some very pleasantdays wi th them

,and made acquaintance for the

fi rst t ime wi th a normal Anglo- I ndian household .

I had never rea l i sed before what a reti nuethe exigencies of caste requ i re the unfortunateEngl i shman to keep goi ng . Firs t there i s theKh ansama or head-man

,who is respons ible for

A N AN G LO - I N D I A N H O U S E H O L D 47

al l the other servants,and buys al l the provi

s ions,in the market ; he has to have a coo/z

'

e tobri ng home the food and hand i t over to the coole ,who i s , of course , provided with a wash er-up A

usual ly a Mahommedan,has charge

of the pantry,andwa its at tab l e . Then each member

of the fam i ly has h i s own B earer,who i s appa

ren tly respons ible for h is master and al l h i sbelongings

,and dusts and keeps them i n order .

The Sweeper does al l the rougher work , and theobl iging B /ccestz

'

,with h i s goatsk i n water—bag

,

provides the water for the b ig bath- tub,which

,

standi ng on the Chuma floor of the bathroom , surrounded with earthenware chatti es , i salways kept ful l of water

,and i s one of the

pleasantes t of I nd ian luxuries . Part Of the floor isset about wi th a four- i n ch h igh wal l

,and provided

wi th water channel s l ead ing to a hole i n the wal l ,where the water run s out

,and by which the snakes ,

who l i ke cool damp retreats,occas ional ly come in .

Then there i s the D h obi , who washes your clothesi n the river by the effect ively destruct ive processpecul iar to I nd ia . He stands i n the water , closeto a stone or rock

,and when he has ri nsed the

garment i n the stream he l i fts i t i n a bundle aboveh is .head ,

and with a l l h i s force dashes i t repeated lyagainst the rock t i l l i t i s clean . Need les s to say

,

i t return s to you rather the worse for the wear andtear ; and I was not so much amazed to hear thatthere are men who send the i r sh i rts to Englandto be washed

,as I should have been w i thou t my

acquai ntance wi th the methods of the dhobi .

48 PO O N A

Then , there i s the D ara/cmor doorkeeper, theMah

’

orgardener,a Ch oprasz

'

or “ badge-bearer totake notes and do outs ide commiss ions

,a Punh czh

wa la,a 0 2172 2, or tai lor, who S i ts i n the verandah

and sews,an Ay ah for each lady i n the house ,

and , for each horse , a Syce who s leeps at the footof h i s stal l

,bes ides the Coachman who drives you .

So that the s implest ord i nary Anglo- I nd ian household cons i sts of at least n ineteen or twenty servants . Fortunately ,

theyallhave thei r separate huts ,with thei r wives , beh i nd reed enclosures i n thecompound , and cater for themselves .I t i s only after heari ng something of the castesystem

,and i ts i nd i sso lub ly close connect ion with

rel igion i n I nd ia,that i t becomes apparent why

the Engl i shman has al lowed h imsel f to be saddledwith th i s

,at fi rst s ight

,rid i culously large staff.

The H indu bel ieves that the Supreme God createdseparate orders of men

,with fixed employments

,

as He created vari eties of plants and an imal s,and

that whatever a man i s born that he must remainfor the whole course of th i s l i fe . Consequently

,

shou ld any member of even the lowest caste overstep the stri ct l im its of h is d ivi nely ordai ned duty

,

he would commi t an offence,to dea l with which a

caste meet i ng woul d have to be cal led and shouldthe transgress ion be proved

,the cu lpri t would be

condemned to a form of persecut ion,of wh ich ,

says S i r Mon ier Wi l l iams,boycott i ng i s a feeb l e

imitat ion . No one of h i s own or any caste wouldbe al lowed to associate or have any trade deali ngs wi th h im . He would be a ru ined , homeless ,

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50 P O O N A

or a so l d ier,or i ndeed belong to any trade caste

which i s not degrad i ng . But to whatever castea man belongs , he must conform impl i ci tly toi ts ru les

,which are supposed to be d ivinely

ordained : they regulate the food to be eaten ,the common meal wh ich may be shared

,mar

riage, and the employment a man may engage i n .

The food al lowed varies i n the d i fferen t castes ,but must never be cooked by a person of lowerorigin . N0 food cooked with water may be sharedby d ifferent castes together, and stri ct ru les determine fromwhomth e h igh ercastesmayreceivewater.

Fru i t,however

,or dry food requ i r i ng no prepara

t ion,may be shared i nd iscrim inately . No i nter

marriage i s al lowed between persons of d i fferen tcastes

,and caste- rule enforces ch i ld marriage

,and

stern ly forb i ds the re-marriage of a widow. Thed ifferent castes

,and theworsh ippers of the d i fferen t

gods,are d ist i ngu i shed from one another by special

s igns with wh ich the forehead i s marked afterbath ing . Some kind of perpend icu lar bar denotesa fol lower of Vishnu and some mark denoti ng h i sth i rd eye

,a fol lower of Sh iva .

I n sp i te of the tyranny and terror i sm whichmay resu l t from the caste system i t i s not al l badand though i t has created various complexi t i es i nthe Engl i shman

’ s household,yet probably th e

endless d ivi s ions and an imos i t ies of caste andtrade leagues

,which make pol i t i cal combinations

imposs ib le,have helped us to govern I ndia .

Poona,which stands on a rather rocky

,bare and

treeless plai n on the bank of the River Mutto,i s

PARBAT I H I L L 5 :

:entre of the government of Bombay duri nga iny season and the headquarters of the Bomarmy . Our host , Major Spratt , ! and Captai nJCS spent the greater part of the day

,whi l st we

i n Poona,i n camp some s ix m i les d i s tant ;

re manoeuvri ng and gun- pract i ce were goingThe camp was pi tched on an exposed plai n

i A1 , 2 , and 3 Followers of V tshml .4, 5 , 6, 7, and 8 , Follo wers of Sh iva.

SECTAR IAL MARKS

I e east of the town,with plenty of space al l

1d .

he day after our arrival i n Poona we droveto Parbati H i l l

,which i s an i solated con i cal

crowned by an old palace and a H indui le . Parbati i s about three mi les south i nl irection of the h i l l s , which term inate i n thesquare rock of S inghgarh ,

a place famous i nratta h i story .

’e reached the foot of the Parbati H i l l justIt the hottes t part of the morn i ng , and to i l edhe steps to the summit . There are about

Now Colonel S pratt Bowri n g , R .A.

5 2 P OO N A

two hundred great wide steps and ramps on theway up

,wi th thei r numbers marked on them in

Marath i we took i t eas i ly and d id i t pretty comfortably ,

but i t was a hot walk,and we were very

glad to fal l i n wi th the suggestion of an oldwoman

,going up with offeri ngs ; and we sat be

s ide her 011 a step,under the shade of a cactus

hedge . Hal f way up we found a bl i nd man who ,having rece ived a copper

,shouted out t id ings of our

approach to the temple above . The view on the wayup appeared to us rather fine

,when once we had

become reconci led to the dr ied-up aspect of thecountry . The parched plai n of Poona

,dotted with

l i tt le groups of trees and end ing in the l i ne of ghatsand the h i l l s of Satara

,was spread out at our feet

l ike a great tawny yel low carpet fleckedwith black ,under the pale blue canopy of sun l ight . When wegot qu i te to the top we found a deep pictu resquewindow open ing i n the wal l

,and there we stayed

some time to res t,look ing down over Poona and

the river on one s ide,and to a wooded tract of

country away across the famous bat tle-field ofKi rkee . The last Peshwa i s said to have watchedthe final ann ih i lat ion of h is troops from thi si dent i cal window . To the south

,on our left

,l ay

the h i l l s,amongst which i s Mahabaleshwa—where

our host ’s ch i ldren then were— the h i l l stat ion towhich before the rai ns al l Bombay takes fl ightfrom the heat . A canal l eads towards these h i l ls ,and ends

,about seven mi les off

,i n the great art i

ficial lake of Khadakwazla,over fourteen mi l es

long,from which the Poona water- supply comes .

H I N D U PA N T H EO N 5 3

When we reached the top of the Parbati H i l lthe hered itary ch ief priest was having h i s middaymeal

,and d id not make h i s appearance unti l late r

,

but h i s son,an i ntel l igent voung Brahman educated

i n a school i n Poona and speaking Engl i sh remarkably wel l , met us and took us round .

I n an outhouse of the temple we were i nteres tedto see two women gri nd ing at the mi l l i n the trueB ibl i cal fash ion

,wi th two stones and a handle i n

the s ide of the top one .

Bes ides the principal temple to Parbati,or

Durga,the wife of Sh iva

,there are wi th i n the

enclosure here,two other temples , one to Vishnu

and one to Ganesh,the elephant- headed god of

good luck,and i n the corner of the fi rs t court-yard

are four shrines . These are ded icated to Surya , godof the sun

,drivi ng a chariot ; Kartikkeya , Shiva

’

ss ix-headed son

,the god of war

,ri d i ng a peacock ;

Vishnu,and D .n a

The young Brahman priest explai ned that thereare not so many dei t ies worsh ipped In I nd ia as i ssometimes supposed . Vishnu and Sh iva , underthei r various forms

,thei r wives

,Sh iva ’s two sons

and the monkey-god Hanuman,complete the l i st

of those who have temples ded icated to them .

The three ch ief gods,al l man i festations of

Brahm the supreme sp i ri t,are Brahm

'

a'

, Vishnu ,and Shiva

,and there are on ly two places In I nd ia

Poshkara or Pokhar nearAjmere , and at I dar , nearAhmedabad— where Brahma 1s worsh ipped . Hemust not be con founded with the Supreme GodBrahmwho i s

,as i t were

,the etern allyevolv ing l i fe ,

M POO NA

forevertaking fresh shape , and then for ever drawingback i nto formlessness . He i s an impersonal ,spi ri tual Being

,pervading everyth ing , but he can

never be worsh ipped except by turn ing th e thoughtsi nwards

,and has no templ e i n I ndia . H is fi rs t

man ifestat ion was i n the triple personal i ty ofBrahma

—1, the Creator ; Vishnu , the Preserver ;

Sh iva , the Destroyer and Re- creator . They aretyp ified as the Supreme God by the letters A .U .M .

compos ing the myst i c syl labl e Om with which al lacts of worsh ip begin .

These three are al l equal,and thei r funct ions

apparently i nterchangeable : each may i n tu rnbecome Paramesvara

,Parbrahmor Supreme Lord .

One of the H indu poets expresses i t thusIn those three Person s th e on e god was ShownEach first in place

,e ach last—not one alone ;

O f S h iva, V ish nu , Brahma, eachmay beF irst, second , th ird , among th e b lessed Three.

These three,l i ke al l subsequently emerging

forms of l i fe,wi l l eventual ly be reabsorbed i nto the

d ivine formlessness of Brahma . The H indus bel i eve i t to be imposs ib le to draw any l i ne of separat ion between d i fferent forms of l i fe : i nan imateobj ects , stocks and stones , plants or an imals andmen , demigods , gods—they are al l l iab le to passi nto each other

,from a blade of grass to Brahm ,

and al l wi l l return to Brahm and shapeless,un

consc ious impersonal i ty in the end .

Of the triad of gods,Brahma l s represented , as

we saw h im at E l ephanta,with four h eads and

arms , hold ing a spoon and vase for l ustral cere

fl P OO NA

monies,a rosary

,and a ro l l of the Vedas . His wife

,

Saraswati , r ides a peacock and holds a mus ica li n strument . Vishnu , whose worsh ip was at onet ime far more popular than at present , i s said tohave become incarnate n i ne t imes

,the las t t ime i n

the form of Buddha . He holds i n h i s four hands ashel l

,a club

,a quoi t

,and a lotus flower

,and h is

wi fe,Lakshmi

,somet imes represented on a snake ,

i s said to have sprung from the foam of the oceanshe i s rather a favouri te wi th the shopkeeper caste .

Devotion to Rama and Kri shna,two of Vi shnu ’s

i ncarnations , are very popular al l over I nd ia . S irMon i er Wi l l iams says that i t i s a form of theworsh ip of Vishnu , as Rama or Krishna , whichalone of al l nat ive faiths possesses the elements ofa genu ine rel igion

,and “ has most common ground

w i th Chri st ian i ty,as i t attempts to sat is fy the

yearn i ngs of the human heart for fai th,l ove

,and

prayer, rather than knowledge and works . Nevertheless , Sh iva i s Mahadeo

”— the great god—and,

in s pite of the coldness and severi ty of h i s systemand his stern asceti ci sm

,Shiva i s perhaps the most

general ly venerated of the triad . Sti l l,nei ther

Vi shnu nor Sh iva have ever been paramount inI nd ia

,though thei r votari es have fought many

bi tter battl es at Hardwar and other sacred spots,as

to which of the two should have the supremacy .

Sh iva’s wi fe,the Devi

,th e goddess

,i s worsh ipped

not only as Parbati,the goddess of beauty and love

,

but al so as Durga,and Kal i the . te rribl e . The

image of Ganesh or Gan-pat i,the elephant-headed

god of good luck , i s to be seen everywhere , smeared

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fi P OO NA

i n the extravagances of the H indu Pantheon andplay a part i n a system which encourages so manystrange and monstrous supers t i t ions and suchh ideous idolatry . There has , however , always beena chasm between the superst i t ions of the massesand the ph i losophyof the cu l t ivated classes i n I nd ia ,for H indu ism i sf or/ excellen ce an al l - comprehens ivefold

,so that th e i ntel l igent and cul t ivated Brahman

has probably always had some method of mentalengineeri ng by which to explai n away the idol s , assimplyaids to devotion , and as enabl i ng the massesto form some idea of the countless mani festat ions ofthe Supreme God . I n i ts i nfin i te adaptabi l i ty to thei nfin i te van i ty of the human mind i s said to l ie thestrength of H indu i sm “ I t appeal s to al l

,ph i lo

Sopher , man of the world , the poet , the lover ofseclus ion ; and yet i t al lows everyvarietyof i dolatry ,and sanct ions the most degrading superst i t ion . I ti s th i s wh ich renders i t essent ial that mi ss ionariesi n I nd ia

,i f thei r i nfluence i s to be construct ive as

wel l as destruct ive,shou ld be not merely fervent

Chri s t ians,but men of the highest cul ture and

wides t sympathy .

When the young priest had shown us over thetemples—or rather round

,for we were not al lowed

to go in —h e brought to us h i s old father . He wasclothed s imply i n an anci ent yel low rag

,and I th i nk

he must have en tered on the fourth stageof a devoutBrahman ’s l i fe

,when he abandons al l worldly con

cerns ; but he convers ed mos t i nte l l igently aboutS i r Bartle Frere

,whom he remembered see ing i n

1875 , when the Prince of Wales came to I nd ia . I

R U S S I A N V I S I T O R S 5 9

wondered whether h i s on e and only garment hadbeen washed s ince then . He expressed a h0pe thatS ir Bartle ’s son was i n the Civi l Service , notthe army : as “ mil i tary officers do not get suchgood pay as Civi l Servi ce gentlemen .

Two Russ ians from the Czarew itch ’

s su i te hadbeen up to Parbati with Major Spratt and the old

A DOORWAY I N THE TEMPLE OF PARBA'

I‘

I

Brahman was much zh z‘rzlg zce’ about the Russ ians

,

and most anxious to know what fh ey were doinghere , and whether i t was real ly l ikely they wouldinvade I ndia . He had heard that the Russ ians

,hav

ing an unsati s factory coun tryathome , were anxiousto add I ndia to thei r possess i ons . Thi s

,he appeared

to cons ider,would not be advantageous to the

natives add ing that he bel ieved they were a veryhard people

,and i f th eycame they would compel us

60 P OO N A

al l to be Chri s tians,and there would be no j ust ice

as under the I ngl i s Sah ibs .’ I was glad to hear

h im say th i s,as the Poona Brahmans have a bad

reputat ion as the most d i saffected i n I nd ia . I t i ssupposed that the Mahratta Brahmans find i td i fficu l t to forget th ecen turyof ru lewh ich ended , assudden ly as i t had begun ,

in the loss of Delh i and ofPoona

,and they have the reputation of cont inual ly

nurs ing a smoulder ing gri evance . The house- tohouse vis i tat ion at the t ime of the plague gave ri seto a good deal of sed i t ious wri t ing . I hOpe , however , i t i s true , as some who should know assure us ,that the bel i efgai ns groundwith the most thoughtfu l amongst the nat ives of I nd ia

,pri nces and

people,that

,wi th al l i ts imperfect ions

,the Engl i sh

dominat ion affords the best government I nd ia hasever had or i s l ikely to have

,far preferable to that of

any other nat ion,and that prosperi ty and progress

are bound up with i ts continuance .

To get to Parbati we had driven through thecrooked streets of the nat ive town

,and the Ral ie

(or t i n and copper) bazaar , which of course was asattract ive as such places always are . We had heardnoth i ng about the nat ive town

,so i t came upon us

as a surpri se . I n the Mahratta days the town wasd ivided into seven Pe its , or wards , named after thedays of the week

,with an eighth cal led the Baital

Pe i t,or the devi l ’s quarter . This i s now known as

“ Panch Howds’

-the five tanks—and iswh ere theson of our old friend Mr . E lwi n"‘ was

,for so long ,

head of the Cowley-Wantage Missioh . The misAt one time Ed itor of th e Quarterly Remew .

THE P LAG U E 61

s ion has exi sted here about th i rty years they havefounded schools

,an i ndustrial home for boys

,

and a hospi tal and d i spensary , and have rece ivedi nto the Orphanage many friendless and homelessch i ldren

,who had joined the crowds of beggars

who haunt al l I ndian ci t ies . I n I nd ia begging i sone of the few profess ions out of which i t i s alwaysposs ible to make a l iving . I t i s cons idered mostun lucky ever to refuse to give to a mendican t anda feast to the swarms of beggars , rel igious andotherwise

,who perambulate the s treets i n troops

,

i s bel ieved to be a sure way to acqui re meri t .The miss ionaries had some terrib le experiencesi n Poona at the t ime of the plague i n 1899 , as theyremained at the i r posts i n a most sel f-devoted manner . The pest i lence carried off people

,and

travel led stead i ly and rap id ly from house to house,

hard ly spari ng a fami ly i n the doomed ci ty . Thousands fled from the town and crowded i nto theneighbouring vi l lages

,or camped out i n the open

,

carrying the plague i nto country d istri cts wh i chmight have escaped .

One of the Homes had to be moved to the segre

gation camp , where al l persons who had had anycontact with plague were detai ned for ten days ’

quarant ine . One of the \Vantage S isters veryplucki ly accompan ied the boys to the roughquarters of th i s great heathen camp . About th i rtycases from the miss ion were taken to the plaguehospi tal , where long huts—wooden—frame bu i ldi ngs covered with matt i ng , and roofed i n wi thgrass—erected i n a waste b i t of land

,served the

62 P O O NA

purpose of wards . The influx of patients was sooverwhelm ing that the staff were qu i te unable tocope with i t adequately . at one t ime as many asn i n etyper cent . d ied , the supply of coffins ran shortand the bodies lay i n heaps awai ti ng burial . Onlyhal f the miss ion plague- cases d ied , but S isterGertrude

,who had cheerfu l ly and courageously

borne the brunt of the exposure and anxiety,never

recovered the strai n , and died soon afterwards .The progress of Chris t ian ity i n I ndia has beenso extremely S low as hard ly to meri t the term .

I t i s patheti c to read i n B i shop Heber ’s Journalthe glowing anti c ipations he formed i n 18 2 5 ofthe changes l ikely to be the resu l t of the workthen be ing undertaken ; but though progress hasso far been very s low

,yet I bel ieve the last I nd ian

census has caused some astoni shment to statesmeni n I nd ia

,by bringing out prominently the extra

ord inary relat ive advance of Chri st ian i ty duri ngthe last ten years

,compared with that of any other

rel igion i n I nd ia .

There are no strik ing or important bu i ld i ngs i nPoona ci ty . The Peshwa

’

s castl e was burnt downi n 18 27, and only the mass ive wal l s remain , closeto the lane where , under the Mahratta ro

’

g z'mc

,

pol i t i cal offenders were trampled to death by anelephant . The last Peshwa watched from a windowin the palace the ghastly death i n th i s manner ofa Maharaj a Holkar, i n the lane below .

There are , however , many quaint nooks andcorners i n the c i ty

,and we passed some good

doorways,and quai nt H indu temples and shri nes

,

C H ARACTE R I ST I C S C EN E S 63

which,though perhaps they cannot be admi red in

themselves,always look wel l

,s tand ing out with

the i r overhanging trees from amongst the lathand mud of the nat ive houses , and the brightlypainted shops wi th deep shadows wi th in . I foundt ime to make a drawing of a fantast ical ly shapeddoorway

,wreathed with a garland of marigold ,

and of a lazy boy,whose t ime appeared to be of

l itt l e value,s i tt i ng on a proj ect i ng ledge swinging

his legs . We were amused by al l k i nds of enterta i n ing l i tt le i ncidents i n the nat ive bazaars—girl sh ing the fami ly l i nen i n copper pots i n the

street , or a goat lyi ng on the fami ly bedstead , withanother looking on from the upstai rs ba l cony andonce a big cow came bouncing down the frontstai rs , and upset a d ign ified o ld gentleman whosat , smoking h i s hookah , i n the gutter below .

We had several pl easant excurs ions towards theclose of the day i n the del ightfu l I nd ian even i ng

,

when s i l ence descends and the l i nes of pungentsme l l i ng smoke become qu ick ly vi s ible i n hazy

,

low- lyi ng l i nes . Once we went to the Boat Club,

whence we got a very pretty V i ew of a bend i n therIver

, with Parbat i i n the m iddle d i stance and theh i l l s beyond against the saffron- co loured sky .

Another even ing our host sent on horses andcarriages hal f—way laid a dak

,as i t i s cal led

and we drove to the Kadakwaz la Lake for tea,and

then sat and watched the sunset and the moon ri seover the water i n the soft

,smoky s i lence of the

Eastern even ing.

I t was real ly chi l ly as we drove back to d i nner .

64 P OO N A

Later on that even i ng Major Spratt accomme to the stat ion , where my

“ boy madebed i n the wait i ng- room , and there I S !

tri ed to s leep—unt i l the 3 A .M. t rai n forcame in .

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66 B I J A P U R

mostly burnt a du l l brown . The human elementi n the prospect cons i s ted of very black people

,with

very few and ragged clothes , who here and there ,al l along the l i ne

,were tendi ng goats and buffaloes

and l ived i n most e lementary grass and strawhuts .Some hours . l ater—whi l st cross i ng a wide andtreeless but fert i l e plain

,i nterspersed wi th rare

flocks of smal l antelopes graz i ng qu ietly,regard less

of the train—I caught the fi rs t s ight of B ij apur ,with the vast dome of the G01 Gumbaz bright i nthe sunsh ine .

We reached B 1j apur late i n the afternoon , andI drove at on ce

'

to the dak bungalow to depos i tmy baggage ; then started off i n a tonga, with apai r of capi tal pon ies harnessed to a yoke

,to see

as much as dayl ight would permit of th i s oncemagnificent Mohammedan ci ty , now a ci ty of thedead . The place I stopped i n

,the “ dak bungalow

,

was origi nal ly a mosque attached to the great GolGumbaz

,which I had seen across the plain

,and of

whi ch more hereafter .Major Spratt had kindly telegraphed . fromPoona to the pol i ce officer here to ask h im to takeme round . Unfortunately he was away

,so my

on ly resource was to get a native gu ide,who could

not speak a word ofEngl i sh , and to let my servanti nterpret for me

,but h is Engl i sh i s of the vi lest

,

and h i s translat ions were almost ent i rely in comprehens ible . I should have been quite at seawithout Cousen ’s most usefu l book . Bijapur o fto-day cons i sts of the partly ru i ned and very

ITs T U R K I S H O R I G I N 67

much deserted remains of the once gloriousci ty. I ts palmy days , when i t was equa l i n spl endour to Agra and Delh i

,were from 1 50 1 ,

—whenYusaf Khan declared h imsel f i t s King—unt i11686

,

when i t was taken by Aurangzeb . S ince then i thas suffered violence and fal l en i nto decay

,but i t

Sti l l contains a number of spl end id bu i ld i ngs .Unl i ke the other Mohammedan states i n I nd ia

,

WA ITING FOR THE TRA I N

which al l owe thei r origin to i nvas ion from theNorth-West

,B ijapur claims to have been founded

by an adventurer-prince who came d irect fromTurkey ; and there i s certain ly much i n the character of the arch i tecture and ornament to supportthe theory of Turkish origi n .

There st i l l existed i n Turkey in the fi fteenthcentury , on the decease of the Su ltan , the ancientcustom of putt ing to death al l h i s sons

,with the

exception of the hei r . I t may have been a s impleway of avoid ing undes i rable d i sputes

,but i t

68 B I J A P U R

tended to create uneas i ness in the minds ofthose wives whose sons were not l ikely to succeedto the throne , when the heal th of the ir lord andmaster began to fai l .Such was the state of mind of the mother of

Yusaf on the death of h is father,Sultan Murad

,

i n 145 1 . Then she heard that Yusaf was to bestrangled , and acting on an inspi rat ion She

hastened with her boy to a merchant from Pers ianamed Khojah Imad-ud-d in Gargastan i , and exchanged her son for a slave who bore a strik i ngresemblance to h im . The next morn ing the report was spread throughout Constant i nople thatyoung Yusaf had d ied i n the n ight

,and the body

of the l i ttl e s lave was given a royal burial .I n the meanwh i l e the merchant

,find ing that i t

was to h i s i n terest to act d i screetly,qu iet ly with

drew to h i s nat ive place Saver,tak i ng the real

Yusaf wi th h im . There,and subsequently at

Kass im,Yusaf remained under the fai thfu l guar

diansh ip of Khojah Imad-ud-d in Gargastan i ,unt i l one day appeared to h im i n a vi s ion a mysterious person , who bade h im proceed to H industan where h is ambi t ions wou ld be real i sed

,and

where after experiencing hardships and d ifficu l t i eshe would gai n a kingdom for h imsel f. “ Yourbread

,

” said the mysterious messenger, i s al

ready baked for you in the Deccan .

Fired with a des i re to obey the cal l,Yusaf

read i ly persuad ing the merchant to accompany h im—s tarted i n the year 1459 on h i s j ourneyeastwards . At Dabul they tarried

,but a second

S ULTAN'

YU SAF

appearance of the vi s ion spurred the young pri nceon

,and they eventual ly reached B idar i n the

Deccan and the Court of Sul tan MuhammadBahman i . I t so happened that Imad-ud-d in wasknown to the Sul tan

,and through h i s i nfluence

Yusaf was taken i nto court employ . He soonbecame a favouri te

,as he excel led i n al l ath let i c

and manly exerc ises,and qu ick ly was rai sed , by

h is royal master,to an important pos i t ion i n the

state .His rapid promot ion and -the favour which heenjoyed aroused the envy of the les s fortunate , andwhi l st hewasabsen t i n the Carnati c—where he hadbeen sent , in command of a large force , to quel l adi sturbance—hi s enemies were busy i n i ntrigueand d id the i r best to poi son the mind of the Sultanagain st h im .

His success,however

,i n that as i n other expe

ditions, notably i n that agai ns t the State ofB ijapur , only served to i ncrease the confidencewhich h i s master placed i n h im , and he waseventual ly appo i nted Governor of B ij apur wi th thet itle of Adil Khan .

On the death of Muhammad the State of B idarfel l on evi l t imes . His successor d id not possessthe confidence of h i s people

,and Yusaf

,having a

strong force at h i s d i sposal,rebel led agai nst h i s

new master,open ly declaring h i s i ndependence .

He made himsel f master of B ijapur, and extendedhis dominions to the sea-coast , even wrest i ng Goafrom the Portuguese . He founded in 1489 the Adi lShah i dynasty

,which

,after a bri l l iant career of

70 B I J A P U R

nearly two hundred years,was eventual ly over

thrown by Aurangzeb in 1686. A hundred yearslater i t passed to the Peshwa

,then to the Rajah of

Satara,and eventual ly wi th the res t of h i s pos

sess ion s i n to the hands of the Bri t i sh .

The h i story of B ij apur i s a h istory of greatwarriors and great bu i lders .Surrounded as was the terri tory of B ij apur bywarl ike ch iefs on al l s ides

,i t was hardly to be

expected that i t wou ld remain long at peace .

With or without pretext,the k ings of B ijapur

were constantly e i ther making inroads on the i rneighbours ’ country or i n turn defendi ng themselves from attack

,or for mutual greed and

aggrand i sement coming to terms with some ch iefswi th whom they had bu t recently been in bloodyconfl i ct

,i n order to make a combined attack upon

a th i rd,and carry fi re and sword up to the gates

of h i s fortress . Few hi stories afford a betterl esson i n the art of i n trigue or more tales of wi ldromance than that of the Court of B ij apur , es

pecially duri ng the i nterval s when the throne wasoccupied by a minor and the government was i nthe hands of a regent .The bu i ld ings of B ij apur are un ique . Thoughthey have been sadly muti lated—first by depredat ions of the Mahrattas i n the eighteenth centuryand secondly by long neglect—there st i l l rema i nsmuch to be seen of th i s once ri ch and splend id ci .tyFor th i s we have to thank the efforts of success iveRes idents at Satara

,from Mountstuart E l ph i n

stone to S i r Bartle Frere,who obtained a large

2 B I J A P U R

grant from the Bombay Governmen t for the preservat ion of the bui ld ings .Mosques , palaces and tombs i nnumerable showthe taste and greatness of i ts Mussalman rulers .The wal l s , s ix mi les i n c i rcumference , st i l l i ngreat part remain . I n places they are almost level ledto the ground,

but in other parts they are,w ith the ir

fort ified gateways , fai rly i ntact . The area whichthese wal l s enclose

,however

,only forms the centre

of a once much larger ci ty,i nd icated by smal l

scattered domes that are seen beyond . The citadelforms the nucl eus of the whole

,and in and near i t

the ch ief bu i ld i ngs stand . Al l are carved i n ri chbrown volcan ic rock , overgrown and partly h iddenby the j ungle of prickly pear , i nterspersed withtamarind trees

,which has d i splaced the once care

ful ly tended and beauti fu l gardens .Grouped about under the venerable wal l s of thelarger bu i ld i ngs are clustered the mean mud hutsof the present nat ive inhab i tants of B ijapur . S ince1883, when the town was made the headquarters ofthe d i str i ct , the Europeans have l ived i n thepalaces

,tombs and mosques

,which they converted

i nto very comfortable quarters the change inmost cases was sadly to the detriment of thebu i ld i ngs .The tomb of Khan Muhammad (one of the twoclose together

,known as the Two S isters) was at

the t ime of my vis i t occupied by the d istri ctengineer . I t was growing dark when fi rst I ap

proach ed th i s tomb , and when I entered the gateway to get a near view of i t

,I was fortunate

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74 B I J A P U R

tombs , i s h i s office , and h i s bedroom i s a smal lmosque

,with the m ihrab converted i nto a cup

board for hanging clothes . What a desecrat ion !The post office occupies a mosque

,as does al so

the dak bungalow,where I took up my quarters .

Thi s mosque has a very cons iderabl e dome andtwo tal l red brick minarets . I t cons i sts of threeai s l es of five bays and i s open on the east s ide .Each bay (of three ai s les deep) forms a su i te ofrooms for a travel ler . The east or outer ai s l e i sthe verandah

,the m iddle a is l e forms a s i tt i ng

room,and the immer a bedroom,wh ilst the d ivid ing

arches , to a he ight of abou t ten feet , are closed bya curtai n wal l . A bedstead i s provided , but thetrave l l e r brings h is own bedd ing

,and h is servant

brings i n the food . Though th i s mosque i n i tsel f i sa bu i ld ing of cons iderable beauty of des ign

,i t i s

qu i te ecl ipsed by the s ize of the great Gol Gumbaz ,which stands on the same platform with it—s ixhundred feet square—and to wh ich i t i s attached .

The Go ! Gumbaz (or Round Dome) , the mausoleum of Muhammad Adi l Shah (died 1656) i san impos i ng ed ifice

,approached by a stately gate

way . I t i s one of the most remarkable bui ld ingsi n B ijapur

,both on accoun t of i ts s ize and of i ts

construct ive bol dness .The k ings of B ijapur

,during the later part of

the dynasty,vied wi th one another i n the magn i

ficen ce of the tombs which they erected for themselves . I brah im I I . bu i l t a tomb (the I brah imRoza) of surpass ing beauty , l avi sh ly enrichedw i th ornament . Muhammad ’s tomb exceeded that

DWE L L I NG IN THE T OM B S 75

of h i s predecessor i n grandeu r of d imens ions and:on structive sk i l l ; whi ls t Al i Ad i l Shah commen ced a mausoleum for h imsel f wh ich— i f h i sdeath had not put a stop to i ts progress—wouldhave surpassed every other bu i ld i ng i n I nd ia , bothin magn ificence and s ize .For some reason or another i t was the G01

Gumbaz which attracted me more than any otherbui ld ing at B ij apur : not on account of any specialbeauty of detai l—for i t i s s ingularly want ing i nornament

,and wi th i n i s perfectly plai n—but be

cause of i t s vastness and d ign i ty ; of the un iquecharacter of i ts dome ; and , partly perhaps , al sobecause of my greater fam i l iari ty wi th i t

,lodged

as I was at i ts feet,and gaz ing up i nto i ts face ,

from my chamber i n the mosque . I got up tosee i t by sunri se

,and i t was the last th ing I saw ,

with the moonl ight playi ng on i ts surface,as I lay

down at n ight .The Go ! Gumbaz stands four square upon i ts

platform,with octagonal towers at the angles

seven storeys h igh . I n the centre ri ses the greatdome , which const i tutes i ts most strik ing feature and covers a larger area than any other i nthe world . Fergusson wri t i ng of th i s bu i ld i ngsays :

“ As W i l l be seen from the plan , i t i s i nternal lya square apartment

,135 ft . each way : i t s area

consequently i s sq . ft . ,wh i l e that of the

Pantheon at Rome i s W i th i n the wal l s on lysq . ft . At the height of 57ft . from the floorl i ne the hal l begins to contract by a serie s of

76 B I J A P U R

pendent ives,as ingen ious as they are beaut i ful

,to

a ci rcular open ing 97 ft . i n d iameter . On theplatform of these pendent ives the dome i s erected1 24 ft .

‘

i n d iameter,thus l eaving a gal lery more

than 1 2 ft . wide al l round the i nterior . I ntethe dome i s 178 ft . h igh , external ly hi ts th ickness being about 10 ft .

PLAN OF THE GOL GUMBAZ

The most i ngen ious and novel part of theconstruct ion of th i s dome i s the way i ts lateral oroutward thrust i s counteracted . Thi s was ac

compl i shed by forming the pendentives so thatthey not on ly cut off the angles

,but that

,as shown

on the plan,the i r arches i ntersect one another

,

and form a very cons iderable mass of masonryperfect ly stable i n i tsel f

,and by its weight

,act ing

i nwards,counteract i ng any thrust that can pos

sibly be b rought upon i t by the pressure of thedome . I f the whole ed ifice thus balanced has any

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78 B I J A P U R

mosques i n I nd ia , and as large as an Engl i shcathedral . The great clo i stered courtyard was intended to hold 8ooo worsh ipers , and was , i n i tspalmy days , strewn with beauti fu l velvet carpets ,al l

,alas ! carried Off by Aurangzeb .

Near here i s a very del ightfu l l i tt l e b i t ofarch i tecture

,the Mehtar Mahal— the gateway to a

smal l mosque—Which comes as a surpri se as onegoes along the road . I t i s a smal l but mostcharmingly original bu i ld ing

,i n form a square

tower th ree s toreys h igh,wi th m inarets at two

corners ; and , about i ts bal con ied and project i ngwindows

,i t i s r i ch ly ornamented with i ntricate

stone carving i n a mixed H indu and Mohammedanstyle . I ts main feature i s a beaut i fu l orie l windowwh ich proj ects from the second floor

,supported

by exqu i s i te corbel s wi th rows of hanging drops .

The facade of th i s fasci nat i ng window extends oneith erside , andformsth e fron tofabalconybefore twosmal ler windows . And the whole i s shaded by awideproj ecti ng canopy of stone

,which rests on most

del icately sculptured brackets,a marvel of stone

carving,enri ched wi th a perforated des ign . I t i s

wonderfu l that th i s lace-work of ornament shouldhave s tood for two centuries without snapping .

Thence I went to the Ci tadel , a fortres s surrounded by a moat

,contai n ing most of th e publ i c

bu i ld i ngs,and many courts and gardens and

palaces , of which the ru i ned Sat Manzi l (the Palaceof Seven Storeys) was one of the most remarkable .

I nto the wal l s of the Ci tadel are bu i l t many

A M A H RA T T A P R I N C E S S 79

ancient pi l lars and scu lptured stones,probably

taken from the Jai n temples which stood here whenthe Mohammedans stormed the Citadel . Many wi ldtales of adventure are connected wi th th i s spot

,but

n one more strik ing than that of Yusaf’

s widowedQueen Bubujee Khanum ,

a Mahratta pri ncess by

THE DOME OF THE JUMMA MUSJ I D

birth . During the minori ty of her son , she defended the C itade l and h i s l i fe agai n st a traitorousregent . Clad i n armour , she fought amongst thesold iers

,unt i l a band of fai thfu l Mogul s , ral lying

to her support,reached the brave defenders by

means of ropes let down from the ramparts . Oneof the princ ipal assai lants

,S aftar Khan , was k i l led

by a great stone rol l ed down on h im ,by the young

80 B I J A P U R

k ing, from the parapet of the C i tadel , after whichthe assaul t col lapsed .

One of the b ig guns used i n the final s i ege ofAurangzeb , the celebrated Mal ik i-Maidan (Kingof the Plai n) , for which B ij apur i s famous , l iess t i l l on a bast ion south of the Shahpur Gate .

Fortunately the proposal to place i t i n theBri t i sh Museum came to noth ing . The gun i s

5 ft . i n d iameter, and a ful l -grown man can s i tupright i n i ts mouth ; i t weighs forty- two tons ,and of i ts powers marvel lous tal es are told . I t wascast at Ahmednagar

,two hundred mi les away , and

was carried off by one of the B ij apur kings,who

brought i t here through a road less country . I t i sof fine bronze

,with a cons iderable admixture of

S i lver,and has a beaut i fu l ly fin ished surface . A

monster,represented at i ts mouth swal lowing an

el ephant,reminded me of one ofOrcagna

’

s picturesof the mouth of Hel l . I was not surpri sed to hearthat the H indus used , t i l l qu i te recently , to worsh ipi t

,burn ing a l ight perpetual ly before the muzz le .

I n a very ru i nous cond i t ion outs ide the moat ofthe i nner c i tadel i s the Asra- i-Shari f

,or Palace of

the “ The Hai r of the Noble one . Thi s i s a large ,heavy- l ooking bu i ld i ng

,des igned for a Court of

J ust ice i n 1646, and'

i t cons i sts of a spac ious hal l,

ent i rely open on the east s ide,facing a great tank

and supported by teak p i l lars about 60 ft . high . Thewest s ide 15 d ivided i nto two storeys

,and here , i n a

e scoed chamber,i s the shrine where the “ re l i c

two hai rs of the prophet ’s beard— i s supposed to bekept ; but as no on e has ventured to examine the

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8 2 B I J A P U R

re l iquary s i nce a midn ight ra id of th ieves manyyears ago

,the annual p i lgrimages to the re l i cs are

made purely on a foundat ion of fai th . I n th i s partrof the bu i l d ing are several fine old carpets of goodworkmansh ip ; some of the doors , i n laidwi th ivory ,must at one t ime have been fine work s of art

,and

have produced a very strik ing effect i n conjunct ionwi th the gi lded wal l s and The windows

,

at the back of these upper chambers,look down

upon the piers of a bridge across the moat wh ichused to connect th i s palace with the C itadel .The main gateway in to the Ci tadel

,close by

,has

been converted i n to the Stat ion Church- and abeaut i fu l l i t t le church i t makes . One end of thegateway has been fi l l ed up by a window

,and the

other i s occupied by the door . The vau l ted roofi s supported by two columns , and the whole i sr i ch ly decorated with S araceii ic i nci sed plasterwork ; l i ke that at the Alhambra . Close by i s theAnand Mahal (Palace of Del ight) , where l ived thel ad ies of the harem . I t was bu i l t by Ibrah im I I .i n 1 5 89 ,

though the fagade was never fin ished ;i n these ut i l i tarian days i t i s turned to accountas the official res idence for the Ass i stant Commiss ioner and Judge . To the west of i t i s theGagan Mahal (Al i Ad i l Shah

’s Hal l of Aud ience) ,wi th a remarkable and magn ificent arch of verywide span

,flanked by two smal ler ones

,open i ng

Th e va l uab le l ibrary of Arab i c and otherman uscri pts wasrescued from th e n eg lec t wh i ch threaten ed its destruction by S irBartle Frere , and may be seen

,b y those i n terested

,i n th e In d ia

Ofli ce L ibrary at We s tminster.

THE S H A H P U R GATEWAY 83

to the north . On the roof was a gal lery , wherethe lad ies of the harem sat to see the pageantsi n the open space below, and whence they mayhave witnessed the submiss ion of the k ing andnobles of B ijapur i n s i lver chai ns to Aurangzeb .

Also appropriated to the use of the lad ies of thepalace

,was the MakkaMusj id—amin iaturemosque

of great s impl ici ty of des ign— near the o ld mosqueof Mal ik Karim-ud- d i n . I t i s qu ite i n good preservat ion

,and i ts proport ions are

,as far as I could

j udge,perfect . The arches of the mosque proper

cannot be more than eight or ten feet h igh . Therude minarets at the corners of the smal l courtyardare of earl ier date .

From here I drove to the Shahpur Gateway ; amotley throng of passers—bywas streaming throughin the even ing l ight . An archway i s always apicturesque obj ect

,but th i s old gate—a V i sta of

m i narets i n the open i ng—was especial ly attract ivewi th i ts grim batt lements and the long spikes

,

project i ng outwards from the gates themselves,

to prevent the elephants of an enemy from butt ingup against them and batteri ng them down withthei r heads . About sunset I made my wayout through the Makka Gate to the Ibrah imRoza

,the great mauso leum of Ibrah im I I .

where Aurangzeb l ived dur ing the fina l s iegeof Bijapur . I t and i ts accompanying mosqueform a domed group of great beauty r i s ing on aplatform about 19 ft . h igh from the centre of whatwas once a love ly garden . The whole effect of thedomes , and the forest of minaret s and p innacles

84 B I J A P U R

ri s i ng out of a shady grove of dark trees ,a bri l l iant even ing sky, was very strikintomb i s surrounded on al l s ides byarcade of seven arches

,the ce i l i ng of

exqu is i te ly carved with verses of the Kwreaths of flowers

,gold on a bri l l ian t

A CH ILL MORN ING

ground . The windows are fi l l ed wi th a latt icework of Arab ic sentences cut out of stone S labs

,

the space between each letter admitt i ng the l ight .Thi s work i s admi rably executed , and i s not surpassed in a l l I nd ia . The vau l ted stone—s labbedce i l i ng of the pri ncipal chamber i s of mysteriou sconstruction

,being perfectly flat

'

i n the centre andsupported apparently only by a cove project i ng

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CHAPTER IV

ALLAHABAD : THE MEE T ING OF THEWATERS

I LEFT B ij apur by a midday train , having i n mycarr iage two men from Madras one , I th i nk, wasa judge

,but I d id not d i scover h i s name . They

were very pleasant travel l i ng companions , and Iwas sorry when they left me at Sholapur

,where

they were rece ived on the platform by a l i tt l ecrowd of natives . As I was i n th e ircompany ,

I camein for part of the ceremony of welcome . A wreathof very strongly scented flowers was put roundmy neck

,a bouquet pressed i nto my hands

,the back

of my hand smeared with attar of roses,and the

palm sprinkled with lavender water . Then a fewbetel leaves , contain ing areca , chuna , or l ime , &c . ,

and wrapped i n gold paper,were presented to me

,

and I fel t some l i ttl e embarrasmen t as to how Iwas to d ispose of al l these th ings fortunately thetrain was on the move

,I , j umped in

,and was thus

rel ieved from the d ifficul t i es of the s i tuat ion,and

saw my friends no more .

On arriving at 7 A .M. next morn i ng at theVictoria S tat ion

,Bombay

,I found awai ti ng me

my compan ion,who had come down from Poona

88 A L LA H A B A D

by the previous train,escorted by Major Spratt ’s

peon . We went to church at 8 o ’clock,and then

to Watson ’s Hotel for breakfast after lunch withthe Burn-Murdochs

,who were as ki nd as ever

,we

drove back by Breach Kandy and the native town,

i ntend ing to stop th e n ight i n Bombay . At dinner,

i t was suddenly suggested that i t wou ld be wi sernot to de lay our start , for nex t day was mai l day ,when we Should have less chance of gett i ng acompartment to ourselves . We hurried ly left ou rd i nner , and , with superhuman efforts , j ust succeeded i n catch ing the express for Al lahabad

,i n

wh ich we fortunately secu red two commun icat ingcompartments to ourselves .The country through which we passed nextday was un interest i ng and dried up

,and

,unt i l we

reached I tars i J unct ion , we ran ch iefly throughdusty

,scrubby jungle ; then th ings improved , and

the landscape became greener . I t was colder,but

we were r is i ng up to the great central plai ns ofI nd ia

,and were prepared for cold n ights at th i s

t ime of year . Frost greeted us the next morn ing,

and we real i sed that we had left warm weatherbeh ind us

,and when by 9 A .M . we reached Allaha

bad we were glad to don th ick winter clothes .

After a rather t i ri ng journey of a day and an ight from B ijapur to Bombay, and then a dayand two n ights on to Al lahabad , we thought wel lto stop three n ights to res t . This i s more than thei nterest of the town warrants , but we had manyletters to write and d ifficu l t arrangements o f plansto make

,and the place i s not whol ly wi thout

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90 A L LA H A BAD

Delh i,the wal l s of which before long enc i rcled al l

that remained of the once Splend id Mogul Empire .When Alum Shah left Al lahabad the East I nd iaCompany sold the d i stri ct to the Nawab of Oude

,

from whom i t came back i nto our hands ten yearslater.Centuries beforeAkbar’s day, h owever, a stronghold

,ca l l ed Prayag , or the place of sacrifice , existed

at the meet i ng of the Gauges and th eJumna,which

,

s i nce the ear l i es t days,had been a most popu lar

place of pi lgrimagewith the H indu race . The fi rs tauthenti c h i s tori cal i n format ion about i t i s on thetaperi ng S haft of the Lath of the Buddh i s t ki ngAsoka , i n the garden at the entrance of the fort i tdates from about E C . 2 5 8 , and i ts 49 feet of heighti s covered wi th i nscript ions ; i t i s , no doubt , verycurious

,but i s one of the th i ngs about wh ich I find

i t d i fficu l t to screw up much enthus iasm .

Modern Al lahabad—or Cann ing Town as theEuropean quarter i s cal led—has no streets . Thei rplace i s taken by a wide network of long

,broad

,

wel l -watered avenues,bordered with compounds

i n which stand bungalows ,surrounded by fine treeswith twisted

,gnarled boles . Even the shops and

post—office are i n bungalows , with a drive up to thedoor and a garden i n front . Th ings looked greenerthan in Bombay

,owing to a recent thunderstorm

,

and some of the gardens were very bright,with

splend id roses,bougainvi l l ea and b ignon ia—the

two last are seen i n masses everywhere—but therei s no grass

,and the dusty soi l was too much in ev i

dence for Engl i sh eyes .

THE MA I DAN 9 1

This i s not enti rely calcu lated to arouse en thus iam i n the mind of a sketcher

,but

,nevertheless

,

there are attractions for h im , i f he looks i n the rightd i rect ion . The Maidan i s crossed by flat roads

,

leadi ng away in various d i rections : on them maybe seen the usual picturesque figures of an I ndianhighway. Bheest ies with the i r brown

,d i stended

,

dripping goatskin bags,fruitsellers

,women bearing

hods , l i ttle naked chi ldren , hal f- clad groups s i tt ing

AN AVENUE IN ALLAHABAD

by the ways ide,or the bu l lock cart drawn to one

s ide whi l st the driver l ies underneath i n the dust,

taking the rest wh ich seems a wh o quci h on afterthe midday bath and food . Here and there , theseroads pass through scattered groups of trees

,and

under one of these cl umps of trees ,where the groundwas dotted over wi th smal l d i lapidated shrines ofvaried form

,I found a su i tabl e subject . I t was

evening and dusk was approach ing ; the ai r was fu l lof the red glow of the sett i ng sun , which penetrated the smoke ri s i ng from beh ind a neighbouring wal l and the even ing mist , with a hot and

9 2 A L LA H A BA D

murky glow. Past me poured a constant stream ofrattl i ng

,many-co loured ekkas

,return ing to the

town with noi sy devotees from themold , the dustfrom thei r wheels added mystery to the al readyhazy atmosphere .

I n the nat ive town , with i ts low brown houses ,there were of course picturesque corners

,but what

s truck our eyes ch iefly— as we drove, through i t , tothe tomb of Khusru—was the absence of colour ,after the v ivid blues and reds and yel lows of Bombay

,and the number of clothes worn . I n Bombay

the dusky l imbs of the natives had often hardly asti tch of cloth ing on them ; here , at th i s season ,qu i l ted coverings were not unknown

,and many of

the men swathed themselves i n voluminous pett icoats looped up between thei r legs

,orworewrinkled

tights covering th e irlegs , to the ankles ,w ith sk impyfolds of rucked white cotton .

We drove,under a tal l archway

,overgrown with

creepers,i nto the Khusru Bagh

,one of the most

beautifu l and shady gardens i n I nd ia , and there ,under a fine spread ing tamari nd- tree

,we saw the

last rest i ng-place of Akbar’s i l l - fated grandson ,Pri nce Khusru

,the rebel l ious and popular hei r o f

Jehangi r . Akbar had a great affect ion for Khusru ,whom Jehangi r treated with a j ealous an imos i tythat caused the Rajput Pri ncess Khusru

’

s motherto commit su icide . I n h i s bri l l iant youth he wasmad enough to seize Lahore from hi s father ; buthe was soon overpowered

,and spent the remainder of h i s l i fe a prisoner. S i r Thomas Roe

,

James I . ’s Ambassador, came across h im travel

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94 A L LA HABA D

octagonal wel l,flanked by two vaul ted octagonal

chambers,probably i ntended as cool retreats from

the summer heat . And,i f we were d isappointed at

not seeingAkbar’s Audience Hal l supported bye ight rows of eight columns

,and surrounded by a

deep verandah of double columns , with groups offour at the corners —we remembered that theArsenal

,whi ch i t now conta ins

,was probably a

very essent ial part of. the I nd ian Empire,and that

the Di rector-General of Ordnance had,no doubt

,

good reasons for d isfiguring the palace by a modernbri ck and mortar fagade .

The mi l i tary authorit i es have been more respectfu l to the H indu remai ns and have not i nterferedwith the wel l known Akshai Bar

,or ever- l ivi ng

banyan tree— a forked stump,with the bark on

which,though the tree appears to be replaced every

few months,yet stands i n the midst of what i s

,

probab ly,the ident ical H indu temple of Shiva

,de

scribed by the Ch i nese pi lgrims i n the seventhcentury . I t i s now in a pi l lared crypt , reached byan un derground passage beneath the wal l s ofAkbar

’

s Fort ; th i s seems to Show that Akbar’swel l-known rel igious l iberal i ty led h im to al lowthe priests and p i lgrims free access to the ancientH indu shrin e

,though he was obl iged to in corpo

rate it i n h i s bu i ld i ng.

I n the passage lead i ng to the ancient temple aresome curious idol s

,and

,i n the centre, a stone

rudely tapered to a cone , which the devout venerate and reverence wi th lustrat ions . Beyond i s asquare aperture probably lead ing to the r iver ,

THE EVER - L I V I N G T REE 9 5

though the H indus say i t leads s traight to Benares ;whi ls t the natural moisture , exud ing from thewal l s

,i s supposed to prove the truth of the legend

that the sacred river Saraswati , which d i sappearsi n the Bikan eer desert , many mi les away north ,finds i ts way to th i s holy spot . The tree was probably worshipped here by the rude aborigi na ltribes before the Aryan invas ion brought therel igion of the Vedas to I nd ia , and H indu i sm ,

with i ts ostrich- l ike capaci ty for ass imi lati ng al ienrel igious pract ices

,has sanct ioned i ts conti nued

worship . Hiouen Th sang gives a descript ion ofthe wide- spread ing tree i n front of the pri nc ipalshri ne of the temp le , which recal l s the descript ionsof the blood—stained grove at Kumasi . The treewas supposed to be the abode of a man- eat i ngdemon

,and was surrounded by the bones of the

human sacrifices ,w ithwhich from the“Old unhappy

far-off days of earl iest trad i t ion i t had been pro

pitiated.

From the ramparts of the Fort,we looked down

over the river , with i ts many strange craft , and thel i ttl e temples on the bri nk

,and saw immediate ly

at our feet a very interest ing and characteri st i cscene . The greatmain ,

or rel igious festival,to

which Al lahabad probab ly owes i ts origi n,and

which takes place every year at th i s t ime,was j ust

beginn ing . The cold b lue waters of the Jumnawash the Fortwalls

,and after flowing for about hal f

a mi le , bes ide a sandy spi t of land , fal l i nto themuddy Ganges th is tongue of land

,between the

two sacred rivers,was covered wi th grass and palm

96 A L LA H A B AD

huts and booths of man i fold shape and height,the

encampment of the pi lgrims who come from theends of I nd ia—Srinagar or Ceylon

,Kabul or

Calcutta— for cleans ing and purificat ion .

From time immemorial,many points on the

ever- swel l i ng stream of the mighty Ganges havebeen held sacred ; the source Gangotri , and thei ssue i nto the plai ns Hardwar

,Deo Prayag

,Benares

,

and Sagar,where i t enters the sea

,have always been

the scene of crowded rel igious fest iva l s,to which

mu lt i tudes throng . But the placeof pi lgrimage ,f arexcellen ce— towh ich literallyhundredsof thousandsrepai r

,towash awayth e sta ins and defi lemen ts con

tracted i n the turmoi l of l i fe and i ts i l l us ions— i swhere the waters of the c lear and rapidJumna meetthe s low and state ly stream of the ben eficen t benefactress , Mother Ganges , and , as th eybelieve , th esti llmore sacred waters of the Saraswati . Not many aredevout or adventurous enough to undertake the s ixyears ’ p i lgrimage to al l the holy spots from sourceto sea , though the pass ion , which glows beneaththe calm impass ive exterior of a H indu

,moves

some intense and fervent soul s to accompl i sh theend less penance of measur ing the i r length thewhole weary way . But every year hundreds ofthousands flock here to bathe and pray

,and there

are many Whose fervour leads them to devote afu l l month i n a l l solemni ty and earnestness

,to

fast ing and re l igious exerci se . Then the stri ngs ofpr iest- led p i lgrims

,with banners floati ng from long

bamboos , return home , bearing pots of holy waterfrom the sacred stream with reverent care . Water

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98 A L LA H A BAD

the danger in volved by i t ,where so many d ifferi ngfai ths are concerned , are added the rowd ines s andexci tement whi ch accompany such gatherings al lthe world over . The Government has a del i catetask i n keeping al l th i s seethi ng cauldron from exceeding the bounds of decency and order . Aquainter contrast than that between the primit ivepas s ions and trad i t ions of the unchanging Easthere revealed , and the e laborate pai nstaki ng or

gan isation , so carefu l ly admin i stered by the consc ien tiousWest , i t wou ld be d ifficu l t to conce ive .We went down and walked along the l i nes ofbooths and huts , al l surmounted by long bambooswith bright flutteri ng flags at the top the wholescene

,with the busy crowds of people , formed a

very p iquant prospect . I n one part of themeldwere men

,seated on the ground

,preparing the

colours with which they s ign the caste-mark onthe foreheads of those who have worsh ipped andbathed ; further onfwere groups sel l ing the garlandsof white flowers wh ich , strung flower by flower

,

with threads of t i nsel,and worn as necklets and

fi l lets for the head , recal l the Greek custom of

coming to sacrifice crowned with flowers . Th escene

,with i ts m i l l ions of l i ttl e twinkl ing l ights

,

i s most strik ing at n ight,but the early morn ing

i s natural ly the moment when the throng i s at i tsbus iest and noi s iest , and then the ai r i s ful l ofd iscordant cries and deafen ing shouts

,al l the

yogis,Brahmans and worshippers clamouri ng

loudly “ Jai Ram,or Jai Vishnu

,as they per

form thei r devotions,thei r dark foreheads barred

Y OG I S 9 9

with Whi te , or smeared with bold patches of ochre ,i n the shape of Shiva ’s eye

,or Vishnu ’ s trident .

The weird and horribl e forms of the fanaticalyogi s repel led and fascinated our attent ion at thesame t ime ; with bod ies smeared with ashes , andbarredwith paint—yel low

,red ,orwh ite—with dusty

matted hai r many of them were most loathsomeobjects

,as they sat count i ng thei r beads before

BOOTHS AT THE MELA

their huts , or the grass umbrel las wh ich served thesame purpose . Before each ascet i c was a cloth

,

spread on the ground,and on th is the passers-by as

a tribute to h i s supposed sanct i ty,threw offeri ngs

,

—often s imply cowrie shel l s,which pass as current

co in,of such i nfin i tes imal val ue , that s ixty- two

make only a farth ing those,who appeared to have

gone through a long course of austeri ty andpenance had the richest harvest

,as they are pre

sumably those gi fted wi th the h ighest occu l t power .I cal led down thewrath of a holyman byputting my

I oo A L LAHA BAD

foot on the boards i n front of h is booth , which Iimagined to be a kind of shop but when he sworevehement ly and horribly

,and spri nkled the place

with water,I d iscovered that i t was cons idered a

holy spot . I bel ieve the ch ief yogis , or gurus ,occupy a throne or seat

,cal led g adz

’

; i t i s placedunder a pavi l ion

,and sometimes even roped round ,

to ensure respect for the sanct i ty which attachesto i t from i ts occupant

,whether present or absent .

Those,whose pos i t ion and power are les s un iver

sal ly acknowledged,have to content themselves

with an umbrel la and smal l mat,t iger- sk i n , or a

boarded space,marked off as a sacred precinct .

Any pretens ions the yogi s m igh t have to spi rituality were , i n the greater number of cases , clear lyunfounded . Thei r evi l faces were boldly streakedwith pigment under matted locks

,co i led i n ropes

on thei r heads,or crowned with fantasti c head

dresses and the wi l d and swol len,bloodshot eyes

,

which add to the i r repu l s ive aspect , are the resul tof the d i fferent preparat ions of op ium or hempwith wh ich they i ntoxicate themselves

,hoping thus

to deaden thei r nerves to the sel f- infl icted tortures,

which they bel ieve wi l l give them supernaturalpower over gods and men .

There are about five and a hal f mi l l ions of thesemen in I nd ia , who have given up a l l earth lyemployment

,and l ive apart as asce tics ; they spend

the i r t ime ch iefly i n roaming the country andbegg ing . Some belong to more or les s wel lorgani sed communit ies

,cal l ed ah h aras

,of wh ich

at least ten varieties were represented at the Al la

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1 0 2 A L LA H A B A D

al l these ahh czrczs from thei r numbers , thei r ub i

qu itous habits and the i nfluence they exert on thepeople

,cannot but be of Immense importance i n al l

rel igious and pol i t ical movements .The even ing

,afterwe vi s i ted themeld we d ined

with the chaplain of Al l Saints ’ Church,where

Father Benson,of Cowley

,had been ho ld ing a

Quiet Day,and had given some addresses which

,

I was told , were very i nterest i ng . I n I nd ia maybe found

,at the same moment

,al l the various

stages of c ivi l i sat ion through wh ich man haspassed from prehistori c ages unti l now .

CHAPTER V

CALCU TTA , THE SEAT OF EM P I RE

IT was 6 A .M on a ch i l ly February morn ing,when

we arrived in Calcutta , and I was not at al l p repared for i ts appearance ; i n stead of a ci ty of magn ificen t palaces and wide avenues

,on the banks of a

maj est i c r iver , and beneath a bri l l iant ly clear sky ,we found overselves i n a dank

,ch i l ly mis t

,cross i ng

a wide muddy stream,with i ts banks l i ned with

grey warehouses and tal l ch imneys,that rem inded

me strangely ofVauxhal l on a November morn ing.

Only the dark faces of the whi te- clad people re

cal led an Orienta l town .

Professor Forrest had k ind ly asked us to staywi th h im

,and sent a peon to meet us

,and h i s

carriage to take us to h is flat , i n a large wh itewashed house in Hungerford Street .We crossed the river , by a bridge of boats , anddrove through many i rregular, but un i nterest ingand European- looking streets , with houses , for themost part

,of damp- stained stucco , then over the

Maidan,a wide

,open

,grass- covered space l ike

Regent ’s Park— dotted with trees—with here andthere an equestrian statue and through the mis t

m4 CA LC U T T A

faint i nd ications of Fort Wi l l iam appeared i n thed istance .

The publ i c bu i ld ings have very l i ttle that i sgrand or characterist i c about th em,and might qu i tewel l be i n L iverpool or Manchester . To the northand east of the Maidan i s the town

,to the west the

river and the Fort,to the south and cast are streets

of vi l las,or stucco palaces , surrounded by high

mi ldewed wal l s,and scraggy trees— palms

,teak

,

tamarind, &c . &c .

,and at the south-east corner of

the Maidan i s the Cathedral . Our host’

s house orflat i s on the east s i de , about a quarter of a mi lefrom the Maidan , which , as we crossed i t together,on foot

,later i n the day

,reminded me forcib ly i n

p laces of Wimbledon Common . I t was short lyafter sunset ; we were enveloped i n m is t wi thnoth ing to d isti ngu i sh i t from aNovember mist onthe common

,except that i t was hot . We w ere

wa l king over d ry grass,towards a road

,l i t with gas

lamps,which m ight qu i te wel l have been those

along S i r Henry Peek ’s wal l when we joinedi t

,we were amongst trees exactly l ike those oppos i tethe Pound

,and I had an i rres ist ible feel i ng t hat I

was only hal f a m i le from the gol f l i nks . Then aH indu

,clothed i n but one rag

,brushed against

me,and the i l lus ion was destroyed .

I t i s not surpri s ing that there should be so l i tt lethat i s I nd ian and Oriental about Calcutta

,for i t i s

a purelyEng lish creat ion . TheEast I ndia Companyhad first a factory at Hooghly

,the original Portu

gueseport i n Lower Bengal,but i n 1686,under the i rpres ident Job Charnock

,th ey founded a settlement ,

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I o6 CA LC U T T A

The ci ty was origi nal ly almost Venetian i n i tsamph ibiousness the present Maidan was a lakefor the greater part of the year ; the quarterswhere the Europeans l ived were so close to thepaddy

,or ri ce fields

,and the marsh , that drai n

age was a d i fficu l ty,and i l l-heal th a certainty to

the unfortunate S ervants of J ohn Company . Theyi ndeed were not able to flee to the h i l l s for the hotseason

,as the Government does at present . The

mortal i ty i n the early days amongst the exi les i nthe swamp was appal l i ng,

and the enervatingeffect of these surround ings perhaps , i n part ,accounts for the want of moral tone of the AngloI nd ian society of that day ; the standard sank toan i ncred ibly low level . To th is combinat ion ofunheal thy influences

,c l imat i c and social

,may

be traced the acute attacks of misery and desponden cy which assai led such men as the Lawrences ,and Metcal fe

,and no doubt many other unknown

young offic ial s during the early days of thei rI nd ian career .For a short t ime after the i ncident connectedwith the Black Hole

,the Mohammedans had

possess ion of the place agai n,but Cl ive at P lassy

( 1757) restored the authori ty of the Company ; anew and a more prosperous Calcutta sprang

'

upfrom the ashes of the origi nal settl ement

,and

soon the whole of Bengal,which i n manu factu re

and agricul ture was the ri chest part of I ndia,was

in the hands of the Engl i sh . The nat ive town wasa col lect ion of squatter ’s settlemen ts of mud huts

,

roofed with bamboo—each wi th the water-hole ,

THE NA T I VE T OW N 1 9 7

whence i t was dug,bes ide it— enclosed with in reed

pal i sades , and shaded wi th bamboo , peepu l orpalm trees ; they were regu larly three or four feetunder water for some part of the year . With i tsswarming mul t i tudes of dark- l imbed dock cool ies

,

or mi l l-hands from the cotton and j ute factories,

A TR IBUTARY OF THE HOOGHLY

i ts basi cs s t i l l form an i nsan i tary congeries ofmud and bamboo shel ters

,th readed by tortuous

lanes , where a broken-down bu l lock-waggonladen wi th j ute wi l l completely block the narrowway for hal f an hour

,i n sp i te of voci ferated

cr ies of “ Jald i,j ald i . Two great thoroughfares

have been driven right through the heart of th i squarter

,and the drainage

,water- supply and local

government genera l ly are now in the hand s of areformed mun ic ipal i ty

,under whose auspices the

108 CA LC U T T A

dawn of a better day i s looked for . There aregreat schemes afoot now to rel i eve the terrib leovercrowding .

I must confess I d i d not l ike Calcutta ; i t i s ,to mymi nd , a du l l and stup id place , with noth i ngbeauti ful to look upon , though my companionmain tained that i t had charms which revealedthemselves on closer acquai ntance .

One unden iable drawback to Calcutta i s thatthe Bengal i i s , i n many of h i s characteris t ics , asmuch a creat ion of our own as the town , andthere i s an utter absence of colour i n the crowds .

Coming across from Bombay to Al lahabad weconstant ly passed groups of women in bri l l iantsari s and men draped i n gorgeous Cashmereshawl s with variously coloured long t ights and perhaps a fine sat i n or brocaded waistcoat i n a contrasting colour . And beyond Jubbalpore we saw alot of splend id men , armed to the teeth , and gor

geously arrayed , coming i n to pay thei r respects toa new Deputy Commiss ioner . All th i s colour wemissed terrib ly i n Bengal .The sl im natives of Calcutta are even less p ic

turesque than those i n Al lahabad ; the women wearwh ite cotton chuddahs

,and the men have flapping

draperies of d ingy white cotton or mus l i n,l ooped

into loose drawers,wi thout even a bright turban

to rel ieve the monotony . The long scarlet coatsworn , above thei r brown legs , by the chaprass iesor government messengers

,attached to every

pub l ic office or offic ial- and the scarlet and goldun i forms of the Viceroy ’s bodyguard

,are almost

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I I o CA LCU T T A

towers that mark some sacred spot , or the Dagobas ,bu i ld ings contai n ing rel ics of Buddha

,but they

sometimes enclose sacred trees,and those from

Buddha Gaya enci rcled the sacred Bo- tree (F icusre/zlgz

'

osa) where Sakya Mun i sat for five years i nmed itat ion

,and rece ived enl ightenment on the

problems that perplexed h im . Legend,h istory

and art combine to set before us h i s ben ign andbeauti fu l figure

,fi rst i n the luxurious court of h i s

father,on the borders of Oude , where , i n the days

of Nebuchadnezzar, the burden of the mystery ofal l th i s un i ntel l igib le world of pai n and sorrow laidsuch hold on h i s p it i fu l and gentle nature

,that he

fled from hi s wi fe and ch i ld and al l human intercourse

,i n to the calm of the ascet ic ’s s i lent l i fe . For

s ix years he dwel t i n the desert , hop ing , by med itation and the endurance of bod i ly privat ion , toattai n a mental conquest , and , by th i s greatrenunciat ion

,to penetrate the obscuri ty which

envelops the riddle of l i fe , and force i t to yieldup i ts secrets . The As iat i c bel ieves that byattenuat ing the bond between sou l and body

,the

soul can l iberate i tsel f and attai n to knowledgewhich wi l l prove a pass-key to un lock al l secrets .After the supreme moment , under the Bo—tree ,Sakya Muni devoted the remainder of h i s fortyyears of wandering i n the lands watered by theGanges

,to publ i sh ing to h i s fel lows the knowledge

which he bel i eved he had wrung from heavenof the eight- fold path that leads by puri ty

, pity , truth

and gent leness to perfect peace,and emancipat ion

from that craving for ind ividual exi stence which

S A K YA M U N I 1 1 1

he bel i eved to be the root of al l evi l . Sakya Mun ipossessed the pass ionate devotion of a martyr

,and

the supreme intel lect of a sage,but he was a pure

agnost i c . He can tel l us no more of the origin andmeaning of l i fe than I came l ike Water and l ikeWind I go . H is personal i ty i s one of the mostflawless i n puri ty and tenderness that ever abodei n the “ battered caravansera i of l i fe

,or struggled

for del iverance from the pri son of the senses . H issp i ri tual i nfluence i s that which most nearlyapproaches Chri st ’s ; but the ph i losophy and thedogmati c teach ing of Buddha are sundered asthe poles from that of Chri s t ; thought was everto h im more than act ion

,knowledge than love

,and

h i s h ighest asp i rat ion never went beyond the hopeof ceas i ng to suffer

,nor attai ned to the concept i on

of an act ive j oy i n “ the glory of going on andst i l l to be .

The rai l s we saw were those Asoka placed aroundSakya Mun i ’s tree , which he reverenced so muchthat when he sent h i s daughter to convert Ceylon ,he sent with her an offshoot of the sacred tree

,

planted i n a golden vase . Other rai l s we saw,from

Bharhut,with beaut i fu l flowing scrol l s and clean

cutmedallion s,i llustrating l egends from a worsh ip

earl ier than Buddhi sm as we know it ; they areof a period probably but l i tt le later than Asoka .

But the great figure of Buddha from Muttra,s ix

feet h igh,with a floral halo round h i s head

,i s of a

t ime nearer the Chri st ian era,for i n the early days

Buddha ’s l i fe was an i nsp i rat ion,but he h imsel f

was not presented as an object of worsh ip,and

1 1 2 CA LC U T T A

groups of danci ng boys,or scenes represent i ng in

c iden ts of love or war , are those that , wi th honeysuckle and lotu s ornament

,predominate i n the

finest early carvings .I n i ts socia l aspect

,Calcutta , at the moment of

ourv isit,was very gay

,and our kind host and other

friends took care that we should have every opportun ity of see ing th i s s ide of Anglo- I nd ian l i fe . Wehad a very pleasant d inner at the Viceroy ’s atGovernment House

,which was bui l t byLordWel

les ley i n 1800,and stands on the outski rts of the

bus iness part of the ci ty. I t i s an important looki ng house of yel low painted stucco wi th deepverandahs and colonnades

,l ike a house i n Regent ’s

Park,but for the screaming green parrots and

feathery palms surround ing it . I believe i t i s asi nconven ient ly planned as i t wel l could be—butthe s ix acres of green garden

,with lovely roses

,

great bushes of Cape j asmine,oleanders and scarlet

h ibiscus,and real grass lawns must be some com

pen sation for the drawbacks i ndoors .The d inner

,as was qu i te fi tt i ng

,was better done

than anyth ing we had come across i n any otherI nd ian or Co lon ial Government House . J ust at theright distan ce a band played

,whi ls t fi fteen magn i

ficen t kh idmatgars ,i n long red cloth tun ics , white

trousers and bare feet,with scarlet cummerbunds

round thei r wa i sts,gold embroidered breast

plates and whi te turbans,handed s i lver plates and

champagne to twenty- four persons . The Viceroy

’

s splend id b lue and gold turban ed‘

Roh i lla

bodyguard , with thei r scarlet ku rta , or long

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“ 4 CA LC U T T A

usual ly respons ible for the l i fe and property ofabout human be ings

,and entrusted with

j uri sd ict ion over about 1 2 00 square mi les .

Our host,Professor Forrest

,i s a l iving en cyclo

paedia of th ings I nd ian , and no one i s so capable ofenl ighten i ng the appal l ing Ignorance of the Brit i shmind on the myster i es of the growth of the presentsystem of I nd ian government

,out of that of the

Company ’s board of d i rectors i n the day of Cl iveand Hast i ngs .

I t i s a common error to suppose that the EastI nd ia Company were a trad ing company exerci s ingsovere ign r ights over vast provinces i n I nd ia

,unt i l

i n 185 8 anAct of Par l iament transferred these landsand the i r government to the Crown . The claim ofthe Crown to the I nd ian terri tories was assertedas soon as Cl ive

,i n 1765 ,

laid the foundat ion ofsovereignty

,by acqu iri ng the right to rece ive the

revenues of Bengal , Behar and Oris sa .

I t was by the regulat ing Act of 1773 that theBri t i sh nation fi rst assumed actual respons ib i l i tyfor the government of the East I nd ia Company

’s

possessmn s , on the pri nciple that no subj ects cou ldacqu i re the sovereignty of any terri tory for themselves

,but on ly for the nat i on to which they be

l onged .

Soon after,Burke laid down

,as the sound pri n

c iple on which the good government of I nd ia musta lways depend

,that the govern ing body was

accountab le “ to Parl iament,from whom the trust

was derived . I n 1784Pitt brought i n a B i l l forthe better regulat ion of our I nd ian concern s , the

D EV E LO PM EN T H 5

obj ect of which was i n real i ty to place the wholegovernment of I nd ia under the control of theCrown but the powers of the Court of Directorswere conti nued

,subject to the revi s ion of a Board

for I nd ian Affai rs appointed by the.

Crown . By1793 th i s Board had become an I ndiaOffice , and i tspres ident was always a member of the Cabinet andpract ical ly Min isterfor I n d ia . Bu t , by th i s time , th eimportance of the Governor-General i n Counci lhad been much i ncreased by a great const i tu tionalprivi lege

,which conferred the power of legis lat ion

over the whole I nd ian Empire,with due regard

to the royal prerogative,and the privi lege of

Parl iament .I n 185 5 Lord Dalhousie , one of the ab lest andmost sagacious and far- see i ng of I nd ian statesmen ,opened the doors of Counc i l to the pub l i c andal lowed the debates to be publ i shed . ProfessorForres t bel i eves that Lord Dalhous ie perce ivedthat the Government of I nd ia would some day bed i rect ly vested in a S ecretaryof State , on ly answerable to Parl iament . I n order

,therefore , to provide

adequate protect ion for the people of I nd ia againstthe ignorance of Parl iament he des i red to createan i ndependent legis lat ive body . Strong as he was ,he may have fe l t that no Governor-General cou ldwithstand the undue i nterference of the M in isterfor I nd ia

,and of Parl iament

,un less freedom and

publ i c i ty weregranted to the I nd ian legis lat ion .

When the news of the Muti ny became known i nEngland

,the respons ib i l i ty for the wi ld fanat icalB lachwoocf s Mag az ine, August 1905 .

1 16 CA LC U T T A

outbreak was laid at the door of the East I nd iaCompany

,which was un iversal ly condemned . A

Bi l l for the better.Government o f I nd ia was

i ntroduced by Lord Palmers ton ; and a Counci lwas establ i shed

,s tyl ed The President and

Counc i l for the Affai rs of I nd ia, w i th the im

petuous and imperious Lord E l lenborough aspres ident . He exci ted general i nd ignation by thepubl i cat ion of a secre t despatch censuring LordCanning for h i s action i n regard to the pun ishment of the authors of the outbreak . He res igned ,and was succeeded by Lord Stanley

,who i ntro

duced another East I nd ia B i l l .On November 1

,185 8 ,

a royal proclamat ion ,i ssued throughout al l I nd ia

,declared the d i rect

sovereignty of Queen Victoria over al l terr i tories,

whether admin istered d i rectly , or through nat ive

prI n ces .

So ended the ru le of the Company of MerchantAdventurers t rad i ng to the East I nd ies merchants wi th the sent iments and abi l i t ies of greats tatesmen

,whose servants founded an Empi re

wh ich they governed wi th fi rmness and equ i ty .

By thi s Act one of her Maj esty ’s PrincipalSecretaries of S tate exerci ses al l powers anddut ies which were exerci sed by the Company

,

orthe Board of Control . A Counci l was establ i shed ,cal led the Counci l of

'

I ndia,but al l the deci s ive

power passed i n to the hands of the member of theBri t i sh Cab i net who i s Secretary of S tate forI nd ia , the Counci l i n pract i ce be i ng consu l tat iveonly . I n I nd ia the superintendence

,d i rect ion and

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1 1 8 C A LC U T T A

the jackal was a gentleman at large . I had walkedto the Zoological Gardens i n the afternoon ; theyare n icely la id out

,and there are some fine tigers

—the successors of those that starved themse lvesto death from homes ickness— also a l ion , whichwas born i n the London Zoo . The Austral ianb i rds and beasts are wel l represented

,and I made

great fri ends wi th a wh ite cockatoo,who confid

ing ly turned al l parts of h i s body towards me tobe scratched . The parrots ’ cages , l i ned with hay ,looked very comfortable and much better for theb i rds

,I should imagine

,than the usual wi re net

work over d i rty sand .

We were taken by the L i eutenant-Governor in asteam- launch to Garden Reach , with i ts rathercockn eyfied vi l las , and then to tea i n the celebratedBotan ical Gardens oppos i te ; they are wel l worthseeing

,and we walked about the gardens after

tea,and met the Commander- in -Chief here again .

The gigant i c banyan (F icus bch galezcsz'

s) here rival sthe h igh over- arched and pi l lared shade of theone the Viceroy uses as a d i n i ng- room at Barrackpur . I t was Dr . Wal l i ch

,a Dane i n the Govern

ment service,who made th i s one of the most usefu l

and beauti ful t ropical gardens i n the world . H isexperiments here laid the foundat ion of tea cul t ivation at the foot of the H imalayas and i n Assamhe col lected specimens of al l the finest trees andplants i n I nd ia

,as wel l as exoti cs from Penang

,Ne

paul , Java , and Sumatra , and palms and creepersfrom South America and the South Seas . Therei s a tree with scarlet flowers flaming l ike a fresco

CA L C U T T A GA RD E N S 1 1 9

of soul s i n Purgatory another,a creeper

,covered

the bamboo hedges with great clusters of enormouswh ite bel l s ; the Amh crsi icz nobi lis was i n greatbeauty

,com ing into flower . I thought

,however

,that

the ord inary gardens of Calcutta were al l the unl earned needs for pleasure and content . We werenever t i red of admi ri ng the avenues of bamboos

,

the masses of blue convolvulus covering low wal l s ;the ub iqu itou s orange and wine- coloured creepers

,

the great beds of roses and hel iotrope,the bushes

of Cape jasmine and double scarlet h ib iscu s or the

jungly dark- red lanes , fu l l of ferns and lovely trees ,with thei r stems a tangle of vivid green creepers

,

or cotton- trees with red magnol ia- l i ke flowersthe d i tches a mass of beaut i fu l calad ium leaves

,

blotched and streaked crimson,purple

,brown and

whi te,and the tanks fi l led wi th pink water- l i l i es

as big as peon ies .

On the Maidan people play gol f,and drive i n

the afternoon,and the Viceregal turn-out may be

seen i n great state,with four horses and post i l

l ions,footmen

,outriders and escort

,al l i n scarlet

and gold,driving under the shadowy forms of

preced ing Viceroys ’ statues . One of the pleasautest l egacies left by any departed Viceroy i sthe Eden Garden , planned by Lord Auckland

’ss i s ters by the river s ide ; i t i s prett i ly la i d out withtrees

,wind ing paths and ponds of water ; bes ide

one of these i s a picturesque pagoda temple broughtfrom Burmah . One of the most attractive aspectsof Calcutta i s revealed by an even ing strol l there

,

beyond the fort,along the river and past the forests

n o CA LC U T T A

of sh ipping great four-masted schooners l i e closeto the quay

,amongst the nat ive craft , some with

h igh poops ,great rudders and low proj ecti ng bows .The Engl i sh w ere not , by any means , the on ly ,or indeed the first

,adventurous spi ri ts to establ i sh

trad ing sett lements on the Hooghly i n the seventeen th century . The Portuguese

,French

,Dutch

and Danes al l founded “ factories ” or depots forthei r merchand ise on the river . The Portuguese

,

before Shah Jehan ’ 5 t ime,bu i l t a fort at Hooghly

the French settled at Chandernagore i n 1673 ,and

st i l l have a colony there under an Admin i s tratorsubord inate to the Governor-General at Pond icherry ; the Dutch held Ch insurah from about1640 to 18 2 8

,when they ceded i t to the Brit i sh in

exchange for the I s land of Sumatra and theDanes sold Serampore to th e East IndIa Companyi n 1845 .

We were very glad that a picn ic,to wh ich our

host took us , gave us the opportun i ty of seeing al lfour of these early settlements . Two launchesawaited our party on the river , and i t was arrangedto steam up to the Dutch settlement

,Chinsurah

,

there to lunch i n the old Dutch Governmen tHouse ,

which i s now the property of the Maharajah ofBurdwan . The wi nd was very chi l ly go i ng upstream

,and we were qu ite glad of th ick coats and

rugs . Unfortunately , owing to the t ide and windbe ing against us

,i t took us five hours to reach

Chinsurah . We managed better on our return,and

d id the d i stance i n three hours,but our stay at

Ch insurah was cut very short,and we had no t ime

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m2 C A LC U T T A

to do proper j usti ce to the elaborate lunch providedby the Rajah

,whose father was on board our

launch and entertai ned us sumptuous ly i n h is son ’shouse we had to leave before the poorman ’ssweets and ices made thei r appearance .

On our way up stream we passed many j ute ,cotton and paper mi l l s , al ternat ing on the flatbanks with groves of cocoa-nuts and mangoes

,and

smal l whi tewashed modern temples ; some of theselast were in a marvel lous semi- class i c or pseudogoth ic style . They stand usual ly i n green compounds , enclosed with in h igh wal l s , and with broadterraces of steps , on the river s ide , l ead ing downto the water

’

s edge . But the river struck us asbe ing , l i ke Sydney Harbour , too broad i n proport ion for the flat shores

,and the bui ld ings and groves ,

which might have been pictu resque,were dwarfed

by the vast expanse of the stream .

On our right we ski rted the Engl i sh- lookingPark of Barrackpur, with the Government bungalow

,i ts long fagade , l ike a vi l la at Tw icken harn ,

d iscern ibl e amongst the trees . I n ol d days , beforeS imla was the headquarters of government

,from

March to December,the Viceregal party spent the

hot weather here . Now i t i s on lyused for shortweekend vi s i ts . Lady Cann ing had a great affection forthe garden

,and del ighted to be h ere

,wh ere she had

not a quarter of a mi le to walk and three sentriesto pass , to get from her own room to the drawingroom .

Here i n the garden she had made so beauti fulLord Cann ing buried her at sunri se one morn i ng

LA DY CA N N I N G 1 2 3

i n 1861 . Lady Cann i ng went through al l thehorrors of the Muti ny t ime , and fel t acute ly al lthe anxiet ies of the pos i t ion of the Viceroy

,on

whom lay the respons ib i l i ty of steering I nd iathrough the cri s i s

,and then

,i n the face of severe

cri t i ci sm , meting out adequate penal t ies to themisdoers , without overs tepping the l i ne where j ustpun ishment becomes unchri st ian retribut ion . Thestrai n proved too much for her

,and she succumbed

BARRACKPURat once to an attack of fever caught in the femi .On the way from Darj eel i ng she had hal ted at thefoot of the H imalayas to make a sketch of thebeaut i fu l j ungle scenery, and arr ivi ng i n Cal cuttaunwel l and overt i red

,she d ied i n a few days . Her

grave i s i n a l i ttl e glade of green tu rf,shaded by

trees,and open i ng on a beaut i fu l reach of the river

(which here i s twice the width of the Thames atLondon Bridge) , which she so much admired . Fora long whi le a l ight was kept always burn ing onher grave at n ight .On the other s ide of the r iver we passed theFrench settlement of Chandernagore , where ,though the whole place i s only 3 miles round , theFrench Admin istrator has under h im a perfect reproduct ion i n min iatu re of h i s home government .

1M CA LC U T T A

Then came the Dan i sh sett lement of Serampore ,where Dr . George Smith used to l ive ; the scene ofthe labours of the Bapti st mi ss ionaries , Marshmanand James Carey . Carey was a great botan ist andplanted profuse ly ; h i s magnificent park with fineteak

,mahogany and tamari nd trees has been de

vastated by the cyclones to which Calcutta i s alwaysl iable late i n the hot weather and after the rains .He showed a very human s ide of h i s character ashe lay dying .

“Dear brother Marshman,he said

rather pathet i cal ly,I am afraid

,when I am dead

and gone that you wi l l let the cows get i nto mygarden . The whole s i te seems now to have beenswal lowed up in a j ute factory .

The craft on the river i s very p icturesque,and in

the sunset coming back,the temples on the bank

and strangely shaped boats,lookedmuch more

effect ive between the bri l l iant sunset sky and i tsreflect ion i n the river .Some of the boats were covered with reed thatch

,

others had great square,much- tattered sai l s

,and

with the wind dead aft,were mak ing good way

down the centre of the stream ; most of them hadgreat rudderswi th high sterns and platforms rai sedabove them fromwhich the t i l l er was worked . Hereand there a wreath of smoke from a smal l steameradded i nterest to the scene .

When the moment came to leave Calcutta wewere qui te refreshed at the prospect before us ofd i rty Benares

,but we were glad to have been i n

Benga l,i f only because we saw qu ite a d i fferent

sort of country . I t i s a great deal flatter than the

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1 2 6 CA L C U T T A

Fences or wal l s seemed unknown , except i n thecase of an occas ional “ wal led garden . The matli uts are often covered with creepers and thatched ,and overshadowed by plantains with pale seagreen fol iage or feathery bamboos and dark mangoes . They cons i s t of a front room wi th a door ,and a hol e two feet square

,as window

,and a

sma l l er back room , which gets i ts l ight andair only through the first . Some of them are t i ledand those of the better class usual ly have averandah supported on pi l lars . A goat or two i stethered outside , and perhaps i n the immediateneighbourhood a woman may be seen i n a wh i techuddah

,with bracelets on her ankles and wri sts

and hai r drawn back tight i nto a knob . No woman,

however humble her s tation,but would lose her

sel f- respect i f she appeared,before her fami ly

,

without a nose ring and bangles . The people al lcongregate i nto the vi l lages , and there i s no onein the fields , unles s i t be a watchman or chokeedar,crouch ing under h i s l i t tl e straw shel ter .These sel f-contained I ndian vi l lage communi tieshave preserved the i r consti tut ion

,customs and

character unal tered for centuries,through al l the

vic i ss i tudeswh ich have befal l en the land,under the

rule of thei r nat ive princes , _ and that of the i rMos lemconquerors

,through the cruel raids of

Mahrattas and the,to them

,i n comprehens ible

methods of the Brit i sh . For th i rty or fortycenturies they have had the same official s . TheHeadman who pres ides at the meetings of the

panch czy czi or local board , which assembles under

V I L LAG E COM M U N I T I E S 1 27

a large tree to d i scuss and sett le affa i rs ofpub l i c i nterest ; the vi l lage Notary or accountantwho keeps record of the bus iness and of the landassessment

,produce and rents ; the Priest or

spi ri tual head,a Brahman

,who is almost wor

sh ipped,and presents to whom bring down almost

i ncalcu lable benefi ts . He somet imes combines wi thh i s office that of the vi l lage Astrologer

,a most

important funct ion,for a nat ive ’s l i fe i s passed i n

BOATS ON THE HOOGHLY

constant dread of evi l i nfluences from the stars orfrom some unlucky omen

,and the astrologer knows

the charm by which al l such mal ign influences maybe averted . The v i llageS choolmaster—who teach es

the ch i ld ren to read from a hornbook of palmleaves and to wri te on the sand

,and who enforces

d isc ipl i ne by strangely orig inal methods— i s somet imes also a pr i est . I f so , he takes no payment forh i s i nstruct ion , as i n I nd ia no rel igious teachereve r teaches for money

,though no doubt h i s

scholars bring him gifts of produce or food . TheBarber shaves

,cuts nai l s

,cracks j o in ts

,and Is an

expert at massage . There wi l l be al so a vi l lagecarpenter, blacksmith , cowman , weaver and a shoe

m8 CALCU T TA

maker,dyer

,dhobie

,oi lman

,water- carri er

,watch

man and sweeper . The hered i tary Potter must notbe forgotten

,as

,though a H indu usual ly prefers to

eat h i s food off a platter of leaves,the con sump

t ion of earthenware i s cons iderable,for no art ic le

of the sort should,s tri ct ly

,be used a seco nd t ime .

Al l these hered i tary craftsmen pursue thei r tradesas a sacred cal l i ng , and not for money . The H induregards the work to which he i s born as a holyduty

,to execute wh ich God created h im . And

whether he come into the world as a priest,a

sweeper,or as a member of a crim inal caste whose

fixed bus iness i s plunder or murder,he i s bound

by al l th e obl igations of rel igi on to cont i nue i n theprofess ion of h i s father for th i s l i fe . The next t imehe appears i n human shape he wi l l have anothercaste

,and a di fferent cal l i ng

,unt i l he has run

through the whole gamut of human exi stence ,and can cease to be . So the long- l imbed , wholehearted

,and dul l-headed vi l lagers have always

bel ieved from the d im days long before h is toryconcerned i tsel f with them

,and so now they con

tinue to go duti ful ly about thei r bus iness , fol lowing the trad i t ions of the i r e lders

,

“ confused between facts and fancies

,t ied and bound by the

al legorical practi ces of a faith the i nner mean ingof which has long been forgotten . So they arecontent to to i l wi th an apparently ind i fferent calm ,

beneath which l ies a great and arden t capaci ty forpass ion ; and as they l ive so they d ie , as the irforefathers d id before them

,calmly smi l ing .

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130 B EN A RE S

the great mosque of Aurangzeb , packed close , withnarrow al leys between them . Al l th i s

,i n Spite o f

i t s attract ion,i s comparat ive ly modern , and except

a few bu i ld ings,there i s noth ing earl ier than the

t ime of Akbar (s ixteenth century) ; for l ike manyEastern towns Benares has sh i fted i ts s i te fromtime to t ime

,and has left traces of i ts “ dead sel f”

for mi les along the Ganges .Unfortunately

,I d id not see the remains of the

earl iest c i ty,Sarnath

,a marvel lous place

,I bel ieve

,

with gigantic Buddhi st Topes,and ru in s of other

colossal bu i l d ings,st i l l in siz

‘

u close by .

N0 one knows the story of i ts beginn i ng,at the

t ime of the very earl iest Aryan sett lement in I nd ia ,but Benares was the rel igious centre of I nd ia as farback as the s ixth cen turyB .C .

,when itwas chosen by

Sakya Mun i as the fi rs t place i n wh ich to preachh i s doctrine of N i rvana . I t then became a stronghold of Buddhism for many centuries ; but i n thefourth century A .D . reverted to the H indu fai th .

I n the twel fth century came the Mohammedans,

who conquered i t,and converted i ts temples in to

mosques,and the story goes that Alu- ud-d i n

boasted of hav ing ,h ere alone , destroyed I oooH indu

shri nes .

After 600 years of Moslem predominanceBenares returned to i ts old fai th

,and has s ince

conti nued the sacred ci ty f or excel/once of th eH indu .

I n Calcutta and Bombay—though one cannot fai lto noti ce the enormous predominance of nat ivesover Europeans—yet

,ow i ng to the modern aspect

THE GO LD EN T EM P LE 1 3 1

of the greater part of these c i ti es , wi th thei r wides treets and broad spaces

,and the i r law-abid i ng in

hab itants,the I nd ian populat ion does not impres s

one by i ts vast numbers . To al l th i s the appearanceof crowded Benares forms a stri ki ng contrast . Herei s the very heart of I nd ia . Here , i n th i s fountai n ofH indu fanatici sm

,beats the qu i ck pul se of the

people . To th i s sacred spot , from the utmostcorners of the land

,stream in endless pi lgrimage

thousands upon thousands of devout H indus,who

,

through the narrow al leys and dark passages ofthe ci ty

,constantly course along

,j ostl i ng one

another i n a seeth ing flow,towards the temples

,or

the sacred river, to dri nk or i n bath ing to washaway thei r s i ns

,or to d ie

,i f need be

,i n the arms of

old Ganges,the mother of l i fe .

Here then,above al l other places

,i n th i s swarm

ing mass of human i ty , i s one forced to real i se thedepth and strength of the nat ional l i fe of I ndia .

This was special ly impressed upon u s i n the fi rs tplace we vis i ted the Golden Templ e ded i cated toB isheshwar, or Sh iva , as the Poi son God , thespiri tual ruler of Benares . I n th i s form Shivaappears with a blue throat

,the resu l t of h i s having

magnan imously swal l owed the po i son evolvedin one of the processes of creat ion . But th i sdei ty i s worsh ipped probably by more thanhalf the H indus as the reproduct ive power ofnature

,i n the form of a symbol

,th e l i ngam . I s

there , perhaps , some remote connect ion betweenth is cul t and the cal f and pi l lar worsh ip of theI s rael i tes ! Shiva’s templ e

,th i s hol ies t of holy

1 p B ENA RE S

places i n the sacred ci ty , i s i n the heart ofthe town

,surrounded by a network of narrow

al leys thronged with people , and crowded betweenother bu i ld ings . The roofed quadrangl e where i tstands i s i tsel f crowded wi th worsh ippers , j ostl i ngone another

,spri nkl ing holy water and carryi ng

votive offeri ngs of flowers to hang upon theupright black stone

,taperi ng to a cone shape

,

the symbol of Sh iva . Cows are admitted on equalterms

,and roaming laz i ly along have to be passed

and to pass every now and then a palanqu in comesalong and one has to flatten onesel f against thewal l s of the narrow passages to let i t go by .

Shri nes , figures of cows , shapeless masses- re

present ing Ganesh,Shiva ’s son , the god of good

luck , with elephant’s trunk painted red ( i n one in

stance wi th three h ideous s i lver eyes ,‘

and s i lverhands)—met our gaze on al l s ides , and at everyturn i n a bewi lderi ng confus ion .

One very curious object of worsh ip spec ial lycaught my eye . I t was a s i lver d i sk with a redapron hanging below it , and represen ts the planetSaturn

,an important obj ect i n th i s c i ty of as tro

logers .

The gates or doors of the Golden Temple are ofbeaut i ful ly wrought brass

,but i t takes i ts name

from the fact that one of i ts con ical flame- l i ketowers , and a dome , are covered wi th plates ofgi l ded copper ; we mounted a narrow stai r i n as ide bu i ld i ng

,i n which are kept the great tom

toms , and where temple flowers were being sold,

and looked at these towers,and the red con i cal

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m4 B EN A R E S

i n her hands,and d isclosed j us t enough to Show

a newly born i n fant,which could not have been

more than an hour or two old .

Before dusk we had t ime to explore some high ,narrow streets i n the th ick of the town ; theyreminded me of Genoa

,but are far more p i c

turesque . The r ich colouring (ch iefly a deep red) ,the overhanging storeys

,and an occas ional br idge

thrown over from one s ide of the street to theother

,comb ine al l the e lements wh ich an art is t

cou ld des i re . Every empty space on the brightlypai nted fagades i s occupied by a fantast ic represen tation of H indu mythology

,wi th al l i ts

many- handed,many-headed

,many-weaponed

gods and goddes ses i n endless variety ; and ,bes ides the regular temples and shri nes wi thwhich the town br i stles

,an uncouth image

,or a

squarely-hewn sacred stone,i s set up at every

vacant corner .Whi l s t we were d rivi ng near the cantonment

,we

encountered,i s su ing from a dark grove of trees

amongst which were scattered a few shri nes andnat ive dwel l i ngs— a most picturesque crowd s inging and play i ng mus ic , and in the centre a bamboobier covered with red cloth and t inse l

,and strewn

with yel low flowers . I t was a funeral process ion,

and the body was on i ts way to one of the Ghatsto be cremated .

Early on the morn ing of February 6,we s tarted

to drive to the Temple of Durga,somet imes cal led

the “ Monkey Temple,

”

at the far wes t extremity ofthe town . Durga

,or Kal i the Terrible

,i s one form

IN THE OUTSKI RTS OF THE TOWN

“6 B ENARE S

of Sh iva ’s wi fe,and worsh ipped over the greater

part of the pen i nsula . The Thugs and Dacoi ts,

now happi ly pract ical ly suppressed ,were devoteeso f Kal i

,i n her most horrib le aspect . They wor

shipped her under the form of an axe ; and theJemadar

,or leader of the band

,was usual ly con

sidered to be an incarnat ion of the power andan i nspi red i nstrument of Mai Kal i

,when he

murdered the i nnocent V i ct ims,whom chance

,or

the des ign of the goddess,as he bel ieved

,threw

across h is path . An unfortunate travel ler,once

marked down by them,would be fol lowed—or ac

compan ied on h is journey in the most friend lymanner—for days or even weeks

,before the fi tt i ng occa

s ion for the cl imax offered ; but the Thug never losth i s quarry

,and the fatal noose ended the vict im ’s

l i fe at last .I t i s

,perhaps

,not surpri s i ng that the Government

of I nd ia st i l l has to publ i sh a report from theThugee and Daco i ty Department , when one cons iders that i n 1830 there were few d istricts i n I nd iawithout a res ident band of Thugs

,wi th thei r hey /s ,

or chosen murder and buryi ng grounds , th icklydotted along every h igh road i n I nd ia

,and that

there were i n al l of these professors of murder as a fine art

,roaming unmolested over the

pen insula and earn ing thei r l iv i ng at the rate ofthreemurders a head during the year . The moresuccessfu l leaders commanded wel l -di scipl ined andperfectly organ ised gangs of over a hundred followers

,whowere al l tra ined men , special i sts i n some

one branch of thei r profess ion,conversant with a

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1 38 B ENA RE S

No rel igious fest ival i s so popular i n H induhomes

,especia l ly i n Bengal , as the mi lder Durga

puja i n October . A smal l plan ta i n tree coveredwith straw and clay i s painted with vermi l ion ,draped i n a s i lk saree adorned with t i n sel ornaments

.and

,being consecrated

,i s bel ieved to be

the hab i tation of the goddess . After a solemn process ion to the river

,i t i s brought to the house of the

devotee who had i t made,and is

,for a month ,

venerated and worsh ipped,with fasts by day and

feast i ng at n ight . Final ly,Mai Durga i s said to be

“ going to the house of her father- in - law —l ikePersephone —the image i s again carried on abamboo stage to the r iver s ide

,and amidst shouts

and dancing i s thrown into the s tream . The ceremon ies usually terminatewith drunken bacchanal iaand d isgracefu l scenes .There i s noth ing part i cularly remarkable aboutth i s temple of Durga

,though i ts arch i tecture i s

s imple and graceful,and i t has some fai rly elabo

rate carvi ng round the inner colonnade . I t i spainted red and stands bes ide a tank,

overshadowed

by some fine peepul trees,which

,as usual i n I nd ia ,

are hel d sacred . There are groves of trees i n I nd iaheld so sacred that

,though t imber and fi rewood

are in great request,no s ti ck i s ever cut

,nor i s

even the dead wood p icked up . The sacred character of th i s s i te probably dates back to a dimper iod , when these trees , or thei r predecessors ,

were

venerated , i n connect ion wi th the tree worsh ip ofthe aborigi nal tribes

,as shel teri ng the spi ri ts whose

good wi l l had to be secured,by sacrifices and obla

THE BATH I N G G H AT S 1 39

t ions,to ensure a good harves t . I n these trees the

tribe of sacred monkeys swarms and breeds , andchatters i ncessantly

,descend ing at in terval s to

take thei r share of the offeri ng .

I n the temple al so are numbers of monkeys ,cl imbing and leaping about everywhere ; and asmany beggars and other creatures , worry youto look at thi s

,or that

,or press you to buy food

to feed the monkeys . Though the monkeys are norespecters of persons—the boldestof them actual lyj umped upon us—yet I greatly preferred the monkeys to thei r masters .

After a sketch at the Golden Temple,we made

our way to the Man Mandi r Ghat,close by Raja

JaiS ingh’

s lofty seventeenth- century observatory .

!

Here we embarked i n a barge wi th a house uponi t

,on the roof of which we sat

,and were s lowly

rowed up the Ganges as far as the Ash i Ghat,and

then down again to the Mosque .

The river bank i s a marvel lous s ight . The Ghats,

i n fl ight after fl ight of i rregular steps,descend the

broken precipitous cl i ff a hundred feet to the water ’sedge

,amongst temples and shrines of al l sorts and

s izes . Here and there the steps widen out i nto terraces

,and on them

,at i rregular i nterval s

,are

shrines wi th the everlast i ng old cow or sacredbu l l look ing in at the front door . The cl i ff i scrowned by high houses and palaces

,pierced with

O ld trave l lers te l l us th at th e Brahm ans whose bus i ness i t wasto ca lcu la te th e ecl i p ses of sun and moon ( then as always th e

occas ion for re l ig ious Serv i ces and devotion ) were trai ned inastronomy and astrology i n Ben ares .

mo B ENARE S

deep archways,which give access to the narrow

streets of the town,and culminate i n domes

and slender minarets . The effect i s enhanced bythe sweep of the river

,which bends i n a crescent

THE GHATS

shape facing the r i s i ng sun . Here and there apalace or temple breaks away from the main l i neand

,project i ng forward

,descends with sol i d breast

works of masonry to the water’

s edge , where everyvariety of nat ive craft l ies moored .

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142 B ENA RE S

wewatched. Twogracefulwomen in brigh t- coloureds i lk sari s came down the s teps

,each carrying on

her arm a folded sari of a d i fferent hue . Leavingth i s on the bri nk

,they stepped down as they were

i nto the sacred water and drank and d ipped . Coming back to the step i n the wet garments

,they

wound them off,and s imul taneous ly

,by the same

mysterious movement,c lothed themse lves i n the

fresh S i l k drapery wi th wh ich they had comeprovided . The process of trans formation was aselus ive and complete , as that by wh ich a snowcapped mounta i n i s Changed at the after-glow .

Then tak i ng the strip of wet drapery,and deftly

gathering i t i n narrow folds crosswise i n ei the rhand

,they went back to thei r dai ly occupations .

The worsh ippers , standing waist—deep i n theriver

,pour l ibat ions i nto the water

,murmuring

as they do so the words from the Vedas prescribedby the sacred ri tual

,and al so cast i n wreaths of

j asmine flowers . Thi s beaut i ful scene,however

,

has another s ide to i t , and i t i s a very d i sagreeablepart of the bus ines s that they drink the water too .

Dirty stuff i t looks and must be,and , when one

knows that dead bod ies are constantly float i ngdown stream , one wi shes that the devotees mightbe absolved from dri nking the water of the sacredriver . The natives are not content wi th putt i ngthei r fel low- creatures i nto the river . I came acrossa horse to-day , and have no doubt the sacred cowsend thei r exi stence there too . Fortunately theCalcutta waterworks are provided wi th an excellent system of fi l trat ion .

C EREMO N I A L 143

We spen t some hours on the river sketch ingand reading

,and brought our ti ffin basket wi th

us . I t was qu ite dark before we got back to thehotel .A second day—arrayed in fur coats

,for the

morn ings are b i tterly cold—we embarked oncemore i n our houseboat about and roweddown to the end of the Ghats . There werethousands of bathers at that hour of the morn ing :dressed i n every colou r of the rai nbow

,they

descended and as cended the footworn steps—a

very gay s ight . I spent the day Sketch i ng unt i l4.30, when we wa lked through some of thep icturesque streets . Here and there

,at some con

sp i cuous corner , we came across a yogi , squatt i ngor stand ing with arm upraised

,appeal i ng to high

heaven i n some s trai ned atti tude,and l ivi d wi th

the ashes smeared over h i s uncouth body : loathsome s ight . Or we not i ced a str i ng of low- castewomen , miserable oppressed hewers of wood andd rawers of water

,carry i ng prod igious loads upon

thei r heads up the steep ascen t to the town . Poorc reatures

,thei rs i ndeed must be a hard lot .

From th e begi nn i ng of l i fe to i ts end , everydetai l of the ex i stence of these 2 30 mi l l ions ofH indus I s gripped by the dead hand of ceremonialr i tual . A man may be an athei st or a murderer

,

h i s re l igious statu s i s u n impa i red ; but let h imunconscious ly drink water touched by a manof lower caste and h is doom is sea led . Theconscience i s perverted

,and the true sense of

d i st i nct ion between right and wrong lost . A

m4 B EN A RE S

pious H indu dying in h i s bed at home,would

be cons idered as very s lack in obeyi ng the preceptsof h i s rel igion they decree that he shal l breatheh i s last on the banks of the Ganges or

,i f that i s

out of reach,on the bri nk of some neighbouring

stream or tank . The dying.

man is carr ied on h iss tring bed or charpoy

,at a j og trot , for m i les per

haps , to the sacred stream ,by relays of friends

grunti ng and shouti ng as they go Hari, baribol ;

and there he may l inger for days,i f he i s suffi

c ien tly tenacious of l i fe to survive the repeatedimmers ions to which hi s attent ive guard ians sub

j ect him . Old peopl e have somet imes returnedhome after n ine or ten d ippings

,but more often

means are taken to prevent th i s d i sgrace,and the

pat ient exp i res correctly . The body,swathed i n

red or wh i te,i s then placed on a funeral pyre o f

faggots with sandal wood and ghee,the outcast

Brahman,who alone has the monopoly of sup

plying the cremation fi re,reads the prescribed

formula , and the nearest relat ion sets the pi leal ight . Al l that i s l e ft unconsumed of the body i sthen cas t i nto the river

,i n defiance of municipal

regulat ion s,and the fi re ext i ngu i shed with some

j ars of holy water . !

At the Burn i ng Ghat beyond the Observatory ,we passed several such funeral pyres

,with bod ies

upon them more or less consumed by the fi re . Aman standing by with a long pole raked or poked

Though th e e xpenses of th is ceremon y are under stri ct pol iceregulat ion , yet at t imes many lakhs of rupees are spent in th e

funeral feasts wh ich take place a mon th later.

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CHAPTER VI I

LUCKNOW AND CAWN PORE : THE

M U T INY

LUCKNOW,the larges t town i n I nd ia after the three

capitals , h as a comparat ivelymodern aspect , and thefantast ic bu i ld i ngs , erected during the las t hundredand fi fty years by the vi c ious and i ncompetentk ings of Oude

,are i n keeping wi th the i r bu i lders ’

character. The Nawabs and Kings of Oude ru i nedthei r people with a crush ing taxation

,and laid deso

late a most fert i le country,studded ‘W i th vi l lages

and finely wooded , i n order to spend many lakhs ofrupees on works wh ich min istered so lely to thegrat ification of the King and h i s pleasure- seeki ngCourt . These bu i ld ings cons ist

,to a great extent ,

of tasteless palaces and tombs,i n a most debased

style of arch i tecture,not seldom im i tated from the

worstEuropean examplesof the e ighteenth century ;and

,being frequently of no more durable materia l

than stucco,they are often i n a cond i t ion of ex

treme d i lapidat ion .

From a d istance Lucknow presents a most deceptive appearance of splendour : domes , minaretsand qua i nt ly b izarre pi nnacles lead one to expecta gorgeous ci ty of more than ord inary oriental

148 L U C K N OW AN D C AW N P O RE

magnificence ; but a nearer approach produces ad is i l lus ionment

,and I fel t no des i re to sketch ,

or to stay here longer than was necessary to goover the places made memorab l e by the MutinySO,after breakfast at H i l l ’s Hotel

,we drove

to the Cantonments,some one and a hal f mi les

off we cal led fi rst on Colonel May,who made

an appointment for four o ’clock to take us overthe Res idency

,and then on the General i n com

mand of the Di s tri ct,General S i r ZEn eas Perki ns ,

and h i s wi fe,who asked us to lunch . The General

came in late,i n the m idd le of a hard day ’s in spec

t ion . He is a great friend of Lord Roberts , andwas wi th h im

,commanding the Engineers

,on h i s

memorable march inAfghan istan i n 1878 and 1880 .

From hi s house we drove i n a body— al l exceptS i r fEn eas and h i s A .D .C .

—to meet Colonel May .

Before the Muti ny,Colonel May was a civi l ian

engaged i n su rveyi ng the town he went throughthe s iege , and got h i s commiss ion after i t . Heknows every i nch of the ground

,and i s an exce l

l ent c icerone . He fi rs t of al l showed us,on the

cardboard and plaster model i n the Museum,the

relat ive pos i t ions of the Res idency and surroundi ng bu i ld ings

,explain ing

,and putt ing i nto a nu t

shel l,as it were , a conci se account of events and of

thei r connection wi th the various bu i ld i ngs andwith that usefu l preface

,we went on to the spot

i tsel f, and were much better able to understand i tfrom our prel im inary examinat ion of the model .Colone l May told us many thri l l i ng i ncidentsof the s iege

,which brought the scene more vivid ly

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1 50 L U C K N OW A N D CAW N P O RE

loyal,he had no fear of showing a want of con

fiden ce i n them . He fortified the Residency ,provided an adequate water- supply

,and stored

ammunit ion and food,ample for the needs of the

defenders (even when on September 2 5 the i rnumbers were augmented by the 3000 men underGeneral Havelock) , thus enabl ing the garrisonto hold out t i l l November 17, when S i r Col i nCampbel l rel ieved Lucknow .

The bu i ld ings in wh ich the enemy found shel te rare now cleared away : the Res idency i tsel f i smerely a beauti fu l ru in

,and the whole place i s very

much overgrown with creepers— bougainvi l lea ,bignon ia

,and others—agains t which Colonel May

vowed vengeance . We thought that these , and thetrees wh ich have grown up very th ickly on al ls ides s i nce 1 857, much enhanced the beauty ofthe spot . We made t ime next day

,before leaving

,to

d rive agai n to the Res idency , to see Henry Lawrence ’S s imple grave and moving epitaph . The gardens and cemetery are al l beaut i fu l ly kept

,and one

i s grateful that th i s scene of peace and order shou ldform a foreground for one ’s thoughts of the twothousand brave men and women (amongst whomthe nat ive troops were conspicuous for heroi smand loyal ty) who , led by S i r Henry Lawrence , thebest of the brave

,t r ied to do the i r duty and

la i d down thei r l ives i n defence of the Bannerof England . I n Henry Lawrence

’ s words,

“ Maythe Lord have mercy on the i r soul s .We dined i n the Cantonments

,and spen t a

pleasant even i ng,but I never expected that at

U N F R U I T F U L E F F O R T S 1 5 1

Lucknow we should be going out to d i nnerwrapped i n fur coats and rugs— through a th ickmist l ike a London fog .

Next day,Tuesday , I took a short walk about

e ight,and looked i n at the Church

,where I came

i n for the tai l end of Mat i ns . After breakfast wedrove to the copper and brass bazaar

,a very narrow

street l i ned w i th smal l low shops,supported on

most dainty wooden p i l lars , al l decorated with refined carving .

S ince the c i ty has been under Bri t i sh rule,much

has been done to widen the streets and bazaars,

and to provide for the heal th and san i tat ion ofwhat was one of the most wretched and d i rty townsi n the whole of I nd ia ; but , al though Lucknowranks as the centre of the H indu school s of music

,

of learn ing,theology , and l i terature , and though

trade and manufacture have rev ived,and the nat ive

nobilityof the provi nce have establ i shed themselvesi n the ci ty again , yet the populat ion has apparentlydecreased . Famine and d isease appear to havedefeated al l our wel l- i ntent ioned efforts fort he restoration of prosperi ty to th i s sorely tri ed c i ty .

We had to get to the stat ion by to catch ourtrai n for Cawnpore , which we reached about five ,

and leaving Lobo and the luggage at the station,we

went straight to an hote l , had tea and got the pro

prietor to take us round and Show us the scenes ofthe horrors of the massacre . He i s an old sold ier

,

and came to the rel ief of the place under Havelock

(July 15 , 1857) , arriving j ust too late to save the poorwomen and ch i ldren . He was an extremely voluble

1 5 1 L U C K N OW AND CAW N P O RE

old fellow,and i s now a monomaniac on the subject

of the massacre and the part h e took . He blew h i sown trumpet very loudly on the same note

,and

h i s way of express i ng h imsel f was much involved ;the story was mixed and exaggerated

,and the

spri nkl ing of superlat ives so th ick that i t was noteasy to make head or tai l of what he said . However

,fortunately the i nvaluable Holmes was at

our command , and suppl ied -the facts for h i s topograph ica l i l l ustrations .We saw the scene of the entrenchment

,a

miserably weak place with i ts wel l i n a most exposed pos i t ion ; and we marvel led at the deci s ionwh ich led the veteran S i r Hugh Wheeler—in theface of Lawrence ’s advice

,

—to abandon the wal ledenclosure on the river

,and—givi ng over the maga

z i ne and ammunit ion into the keeping of NanaSah ib and the nat ive troops—to entrench h imsel f

,

w ith on ly three hundred Engl i sh sold iers and sevenor eight hundred non-combatants

,beh i nd four

foot earthworks i n the centre of an open plain .

“ Surely —as Lord Roberts says of th i s i nc identSurely those Whom God has a mind to destroy

He fi rs t deprives of the i r senses .For i ntens i ty of sufferi ng during the MutinyCawnpore stands fi rst

,but there i s noth ing fine

or strik ing to the imaginat ion in the tale of misplaced trust

,nervous fright and confus ion

,and

bad management,which Cawnpore reveals . For

twen ty-one days , without proper suppl ies , andunder the intense heat of the June sun

,S i r H .

Wheeler and h i s company were exposed to the fi re

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1 54 L U C K N OW A N D CAW N P O RE

field of battl e . But the field of battl e ai n ’t no wussthan scenes i n the l i fe of a private party . I t

’s al ldown in that book of mine on Cawnpore . Why ,i t ’s the most i nterest i ng place i n the world i sCawnpore

,the most i ntere st i ng place s i nce God

created th i s earth— talk about Delh i and Agra,

why there ’s noth ing but bui ld i ngs there,whereas

here was the massacre,saw i t wi th my own eyes

man , woman and ch i ld at the breas t s laughteredthe most i nterest i ng place i n the world—youought to stop a week here

, &c .

Aw i ld- looking fanati calYogi was harangu ing anattent ive crowdof natives near theTemple of Sh iva ,on the bank of the river at the Massacre Ghat , andwe were told that he was recounting the storyof the wretched defenders

,decoyed on that fatal

J une 27i nto open boats , under a safe conduct , andthen shot down defenceless from the banks . Wecould not feel then thatMaroch etti

’

s beaut i fu l angelover the Wel l represented the pres id ing gen ius ofCawnpore , but rather that the fiend i sh S pi ri t whichhad an imated Nana Sah ib was on ly smoulderi ng

,

and that fi fty years of Western secu lar educat ion,

as ass im i lated by the H indu,would not protect us

from another outbreak of treacherous fanati ci sm .

The aspect of God and man,of l i fe and i ts

ideal s,wh ich we present to the H indu

,those , who

have stud ied thei r character,te l l us

,does not im

press them as it should,because i t does not fi t i nto

thei r ways of thought . Part of th i s d i fference i nour mental and spi ri tual furn i ture i s the product ofcl imate and nat ional id iosyncrasy

,and part ari ses

H I N D U I D EA L S 1 5 5

from the contrast ing character and pract i ces of theH indu and Christ ian rel igions . But , what a nationbel ieves about fundamenta l th i ngs i s i nd i ssolublyconnected with the form of civi l i sat ion i t exh ib i ts .You cannot separate i nst i tut ions from ideas .And—behind the idolatry , the s lavery of the castesystem

,the immoral H indu pantheon

,and the

dwarfing and degrading H i ndu ceremon ial—theH indu has ideal s

,attracting h im, and con trolling h is

l i fe,which are not ours and no mere contact wi th

European civi l i sat ion or l iberat i ng en l ightenmentwi l l ever real ly remove h im from thei r sway . Deepdown in the heart of th i ngs , i n the sou l o f I nd ia ,i n the region of fi rst pri nciples and foundat ion s

,

there are d i fferences and contrasts,which are abso

l ute : and th i s d i fference prevents the native fromappreciat i ng the l iberty accorded by our admin istration , the j ust i ce of our law courts , or the sel fdenying , s ingle-minded devot ion to duty and thecommon good

,shown by our c ivi l servants and

statesmen . The H indu must have brought hometo him the supreme excel lence of the fundamentalideas concern ing God

,man

,and l i fe

,which Ch ri s

tian ity embod ies , before our efforts to benefit h imand to ra i se h i s status can bear fru i t .I n the H indu ’s V i ew of the Supreme God

(Brahma) , the idea of absolute I ntel l igence andWisdom i s paramount ; i n that of the Chri st ian ,i nfini te Goodness and perfect Wi l l are special lyaccentuated . The H indu , therefore , i n h i s aspi rat ions towards l ikeness to h i s Divine I deal

,i s con

stan tly str iving after perfect knowledge , but the

1 56 L U C K N OW AN D C AW N P O RE

Chri st ian,though asp i ri ng, as he does , to

“ knowas he is known , and accepting with h i s Lordthat eternal l i fe wh ich is to know God

,

yet lays the emphas i s,above al l , on the attainment

of the good l i fe and on character . This i s special lyapparent i n the

.aspects of In carnation which are

proper to the two rel igions . To the Chri st ian thespotless character of the I ncarnate Lord

,and H is

cross,and death are essent ial but Kri shna the in

carnat ion ofVishnu has no concern wi th eth ics,and

comes— not to suffer and give l i fe but— to destroy .

Aga i n,sel f- renunciation and ascet i c pract i ces play

a part i n both the rel igions,but to the H indu hi s

aus teri t ies—when not i n tended to be a means ofacqu i ri ng power over gods and men—are an end inthemselves . He renounces equal ly the mean , vi leth i ngs of earth and the nobles t asp i rations of h i sheart . Even a good deed i s a fetter b inding h imto the “ wheel of c i rcumstance

,and to th i s human

exi stence,which he would be qu i t of as soon as

poss ib l e . To the Chri st ian , sel f- renunciat ion i s ameans to an end . The lower i s forsaken that hemay attai n to a h igher , and the

“ cross of sel feffacement i s the path of the crown of true sel freal i sat ion . Then

,again

,to the Chri st ian

,the ideal

future means lif e ,“ the glory of going on

,and st i l l

to be to the H indu,i t i s a calm blank

,with every

emotion of j oy and act of service swept away .

Th i s att i tude of the H indus has been explai nedby the fact that they have had a hard lot betweena bad cl imate and a worse government ; andtak ing the future l i fe to represent on ly another

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1 5 8 L U C K N OW A N D CAWN P O RE

and hostel s for nat ive and Christ ian students andbes ides th is

,there are an S .P .G . women ’s hospi tal

,

a d ispensary , and orphanages . On the one hand ,encouragement i s to be found i n S i r Al fredLyal l ’s assurance

,that the H indu

,be ing profoundly

spi ri tual,and feel i ng the burden of the mystery of

l i fe and death,needs In the obj ect of h i s worsh ip

someth ing aki n to human sympathy,and in the

fact that the story of the l i fe of Jesus of Nazarethi s beginn ing to form an ideal of l i fe among someclasses ; but , on the other hand , we are assured thateducated converts are now rare

,for I nd ia now

cl i ngs pass ionately to her old faiths wi th nervousapprehens ion

,and never before have the educated

men stood up with more determinat ion for thei r oldideal s . How far we Westerns , with our lack ofsympathy

,which perhaps origi nates i n want of

imaginat i on,are respons ibl e for th i s

,i t i s hard to

say ; but the Western and the Eastern mindsmove on d i fferent planes st i l l

,and whi l e th i s i s

so we shal l cont i nue to hold I nd ia by the sword .

CHAPTER VI I I

AGRA : THE C I TY OF THE GREAT MOGU L

WE rumbled over the i ron bridge wh ich spansthe Jumna immed iate ly north of the Fort

,and

entered Agra s tat ion at 4o’clock i n the morn ing ;

but i t was not t i l l s ix hours afterwards that wefel t in a mood to be i nterested i n our surroundings ;then , as i t was Ash Wednesday , we sal l ied out andmade inqu iries about church servi ces . We foundthat they were al ready over

,so went to leave our

cards on General Pretyman ,who had j ust taken

over the command of the d i str i ct,and proceeded

to the Fort . The beauty of th i s place qu i te exceededmy expectat ion

,and I wished we could have de

voted more t ime to i t than we had at our d isposal .I t i s grand as a whole—a huge p i l e of red sandstone—and the detai l s and des igns of the palaces

,

mosques,and hal l s wh ich i t contains are exqu i s i te

to a degree,and wonderfu l ly refined

,with many

traces of I tal ian workmansh ip .

Agra Fort,from about the t ime of our Henry

V I I I .

’

S access ion ti l l shortly after the date ofCharles I .

’s death,was the centre of the Mogul

Empire ; the bu i ld i ngs here are the glory of thatperiod , when Mohammedan arch i tecture i n I nd ia

160 AG RA

reached i ts cl imax . The Emperor Akbar , perhapsone of the greatest and most l iberal-minded ru lerscommemorated by history

,l ived here during the

early years of h i s l i fe . I t i s to h im that we owethe double l i ne of noble red sandstone wal l s

, 70 feeth igh

,with a ci rcumference of over a mi le ; they eu

close with i n the i r precincts a remarkable group ofpalaces

,mosques

,hal l s of state

,baths

,kiosques

,

bal con ies and terraces overhanging the river,al l

nob ly des igned and exquis i tely decorated by Akbarand h i s successors

,J ehangi r and Shah Jehan .

After a period of th i rty years,passed ei ther i n war

or at the Royal C ity of Fatehpur S ikri—the creat ion of h is un ique gen ius—Akbar eventual ly returned to d ie here i n h i s red palace overlooking theriver . Hisson Jehang irleft few traces inAgra ,

except

perhaps i n the JasminTower, for he travel l ed muchand l ived ch iefly at Lahore

,or Ajmere , where he

rece ived S i r Thomas Roe,James I .

’s ambassador ;but several European travel lers have left glowingaccounts of th i s capric ious and pecu l iar sovere ign ’s court at Agra

,and of the beauty and in

fluence of h i s Afghan wife , Noor Jehan .

To Shah Jehan i s due al l that i s most refinedand most del icately beaut i fu l i n the arch i tecture ofAgra . Fergusson draws attent ion to the immensecontrast between the man ly vigour and exuberantorigi nal i ty of the styl e of Akbar , with i ts r i chscu lpture and square ly H indu construction and theextreme but almost effeminate elegance of thatof Shah Jehan

,and condemns the latter as feebly

pretty ; h i s work , however, i nterested me personal ly

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M 2 AG RA

patron of art,Ludovico i l Moro , Shah Jehan , afte r

a l i fe of the greates t splendour , d ied a pr i soner .Aurangzeb

,hi s son , confined h im ,

i n Imperials tate

,In the Harem here

,h i s devoted daughter

,

“ the humble , t rans i tory Jeh an ira . the servantof the holy men of Chi st

,as she described hersel f

i n her ep i taph,tended h im there for seven years .

I n h is l ast days of weakness,he begged to

be la id i n an upper chamber whence he cou ld seethe Taj Mahal

,the “ dream in marble he had

rai sed i n memory of h i s much loved Pers ian wi fe,

Arjmand Banu,or Mun taz i Mahal

,who died at

Jeh an ira’

s b i rth : 5 0,i n 1665 , ended the pass ionate

l i fe of Shah Jehan ,“ emperor and lover

,devotee

and art is t .After Jehan ’s death the centre of Empire wasmoved to Delh i

,and Aurangzeb

,i n ten t on con

quests i n d i stant parts of I nd ia , d id not return toAgra ; a century of anarchy fol lowed , and term in ated i n 1803,

when Lord Lake took possess ionof the d i strict for the Eas t I nd ia Company .

I do not th ink any bu i ld ings I have ever seencan approach the Agra Fort and Taj Mahal forbeauty and d ign i ty . The Fort extends about hal fa m i le along the right bank of the Jumna

,which

,

pass ing through a waste of land,flat but broken

,

here takes a sharp bend to the east : across i ts darkgreen waters and sandy bed , one gets a gloriousv 1ew of the beauti fu l Taj Mahal

,r i s i ng, i n i ts gar

land of green garden,out of the colourless sand

,

l ike a fai ry palace rai sed by some gen i i i n anA rabian n ights ’ tal e .

NAG I NA M U S J I D 1 63

I t i s imposs ible to enter i nto detai l s on so largea subject

,but one of the p laces whi ch Interested

me great ly i n the Fort was the Nag In a Mq Id ,

or Toy Mosque,where the lad ies of Shah Jehan s

palace said thei r prayers , and close to wh 1ch

he was impri soned by his son . The blackenedcei l i ng of a partof the C lo i sters ,said to have beenused by h im asba t h s

,i s s t i l l

Shown as a traceof h i s long capt i v i t y . T h eMo sq u e i s o fpure wh i te marb l e

,on a ti ny

scale,on the fi rst

floor of the palace , and OV CF ON THE WALL OF THE FORTl ooks the Mina Bazaar

,where j ewel lers used to

assemble to Show their tr i nkets to the lad ies,who

looked down into the courtyard th rough a s tonescreen outs ide the mosque . Through the samescreen the Imperia l pri soner used to watch thewi ld beast fights held below .

Then,on a great bast ion

,there i s the Saman

Burj , or Jasm in Tower , where the ch ief Sul tanal ived , an exqu is i te octagonal two- storeyed tu rretan ethereal bu i ld ing of whi te marble wi th a cupolaoverla id with gold—wh ich command s a gloriou sV iew over the J umna

,or rather down i t

,to th e Taj .

164 AG RA

The P iei rcz D ara work here i s said to be thehand iwork of Austi n of Bordeaux

,a French

craftsman who found asylum with the Mogulsfrom the hand of j ust i ce i n h is own land

,and

i s reported to have been subsequently poi sonedby some native profess ional rival . This del icatemarble i n lay work

,and the low rel iefs i n whi te

marble,are marvel lous ly beaut i fu l they are espe

c ially not i ceable i n the D iwan- i-Khas , or PrivateHal l of Aud ience , where the Great Mogu l usedto settl e h i s domest i c affai rs . He sat underarches of wh i te marble of exqui s i te proport ions

,

with s lender twelve- S ided columns al l i n laid wi thelaborate floral designs

,i n j asper

,agate

,j ade

,cor

nel ian,l ap i s lazul i and bloodstone

,hard ly less

bright than the roses and pans ies wh ich st i l lb loom

,with i n the i r wh i te marble bordering

,

amongs t the vi nes and the cypresses i n the palacegarden below .

These marble gal leries,pavi l ions and terraces

,

i n bewi lder ing complexi ty,crown the summit o f

the vast red wal l overhanging the river, betweenthe two great c i rcular bast ions ; they are rai sedupon a vast series of subterranean gal leri es

,stai rs

and passages,partly explored i n the search for

h idden treasure,and secre t entrances , when the

Engl i sh popu lat ion was concentrated here duringthe Muti ny . Some of these su i tes of rooms hadbeen wal led up s ince the days of Shah Jehan .

The gateways of th i s grand ci tadel,especial ly

the Delh i Gate,are very impos i ng . With in the Delh i

Gate i s a second gate,flanke d by two octagonal

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66 AG RA

immed iate surroundings , except the four sent inelm inarets

,and with no background but the sky

,

sh ines the glorious face of the Taj i tse l f.Before enteri ng we must j ust glance at threesmal l and i ns ign ifi cant objects

,arranged upon a

projecting l edge of the base of the gateway . A diskof battered copper hangs by a leather thong froma horizontal bar of wood fastened to two uprigh tposts of stone : from the same posts i s suspendeda row of twelve large beads by a stri ng

,attached

,

at each end,to the knobs on the tops of the posts

,

and a rude mal let l ies beneath . What i s the meaning of these queer objects ! This i s an old-worldclock , worked by a human agent , who s i ts andwatches below . When a fresh hour arrives he getsup

,passes a bead from one s ide to the other

,strikes

the copper d i sk , or gong , with strokes corresponding to the hour of the day

,and squats down to

awai t the arr ival of the next hour . How he d i scovers what the time actual ly i s

,whether he

guesses it, or whether he keeps a Waterbury i nthe folds of h is lo i n- cloth

,I d id not ascertain .

The sun had set some minutes as we lookedfor the first t ime through the gateway to the greatMausoleum : the garden was al l i n shade

,whi le a

soft pearly l ight was hovering about the domes of'

the Taj—in ten sified by the warm colour of thesandstone arch through which we gazed . I ts s ize

,

i ts completeness,i ts sol emn and d ign ified sur

round ings,and i ts pearly

,opalesque colour i n the

even ing l ight,combined to give th i s most re

markable bu i l d i ng so ethereal an aspect that we

A P R I M I T I VE C LOC K 1 67

approached i t almost wi th awe,which seemed to

demand that here we should take the shoes fromoff our feet and uncover our heads .

A PR IM ITI VE CLOCK

I know my experience i s commonplace and myenthus iasm oiei cx j ei c; i t wou ld be more up todate to take up a fl ippan t att i tude ; but I haveno pat ience wi th the people who cri t i ci se thearch i tecture

, proport ions and des igns of theTaj Mahal . No doubt the Taj stands at the h igh

m8 AG RA

water mark of Mogul art,and i ts immediate

descendants totter on the verge of decadence buti t i s certain ly a wonderful creat ion

,and as Mr .Way

said,the words

,

“ A house not made with hands,

i nvoluntari ly occur to one : I fel t that one oughtnot to speak above a wh i sper when approach ingi t . One remarkable feature of the group i s i tswonderfu l symmetry . Every part has some other

partwh ich exactlybalan ces it ; a j awab or answer ,has even been bu i l t on the east s ide facing thewest

,as an exact pendant to the mosque on the

west s ide . I f there i s a k iosque on one s ide ofthe garden there i s a s imi lar one on the other .I f there i s a turret at th i s angle of the garden therei s another to correspond at that . These bu i ld i ngs ,al l red sandstone , white marble and mosai c , are i nthemselves grand , but here they have to find the i rl evel i n a subord inate pos it ion . The most attract iveviews are where the great wh ite bu i ld ing appearsamongst the cypress trees , and where the fourcorner minarets are somewhat hidden ; for, i f therei s room for hypercri t i c i sm about anyth ing , i t wou ldbe In respect to these m i narets . They i rres i st iblysuggest l ighthouses

,and the bands across do not

tend to carry the eye upwards to the dome,as

flutings—such as there are on the Delh i minarets

would do .

We V i s i ted the Taj several t imes,and saw the

i nterior by the l ight of lamps,and by moonl ight ;

but the subdued twi l ight,which i s al l that pene

trates through the double set of marble latt icescreens i n the daytime

,i s no doubt the best by

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mo AGRA

This even ing we l i ngered for some t ime,and i t

was dark before we left the preci ncts of the Taj . Iwalked back a good part of the way wi th the ChiefJ ust i ce Way ; then we got i nto h i s carriage , whichwas s lowly fol lowing

,and drove back to the world

of prose,and al l d i ned together .

Next morn i ng early,Mr . Way and hi s party

started for Delh i . I wen t to the Fort and spentfour hours hard at work

,putt i ng straight the ac

count i n the Handbook . I came across an in telligent private of the Leinster Regiment who hasbeen three years i n th i s Fort

,and he gave me a

good deal of help .

I was charmed wi th the Mot i Musj Id—the Pearl

MosqueIn the Fort —it i s qu i te perfect In it s way .

I t s tands on a rai sed platform,and I s approached

by a doubl e fl igh t of s tai rs . The exter ior, of roughred sandstone

,makes no pretens ions to effect

wi th i n i s a glorious vi s i on of warm white marble,

del ightfu l ly ve i ned i n d i fferent tones of whi te,

grey,and pal e azure

,and wi th mel low touches of

yel low . No colour i nvades the precinct wi th i tscentral water bas in

,only

,above the seven beaut i fu l

arches of the mosque proper—which faces one wi thi ts n i ne l ight cupolas and three domes—runs abroad Pers ian i nscript ion i n black marble . Eventhe cri t i cal Fergusson al lows , that the moment theeastern gateway i s en tered the effect of i ts courtyard and gracefu l arches i s surpass ingly beaut i ful

,

and hardly approached anywhere for puri ty andS impl ici ty : i t i s a superb house of God , cal l i ng al lwho enter i t to prayer . From the terrace on the top

THE J U M MA M U S J I D 171

of the C l o i sters hard by—when my work was done— I got a sketch

,across the Fort and down the

river to the Taj wi th i ts fai r white domes and minarets reflected in the water .After breakfast on February 13, I walked tothe Great Mosque

,the J umma Musj id , close to

THE JUMMA MUSJ I D

the Fort . The road there i s rather a typi cal one .

There i s much dust— in fact,a general tone of

dust pervades everyth ing ; the scanty grass by theroads ide

,which has not alreadybeen browsed down

by half- starved donkeys and catt l e,i s brown and

dead ; but there i s not much of i t . The road i sl i ned with low one- storied bui ld i ngs— shops

,for

the most part,open to the s treet

,supported by low

carved pi l lars and shel tered by awn ings of straw.

Swarthy people squat among thei r wares,smoking

the i r hookah s (often wi thout mouthp ieces) , and

W1 AG RA

drawing the smoke straight from the bowl . Theroadway i tsel f i s thronged wi th people—many ofthewomen

,carrying brass p i tchers and other heavy

loads upon thei r heads,are clad i n bright colours

,

with rows of bangles round thei r wri sts and ankles ;the men

,i n less bri l l ian t but more motley clothes

,

t rouble themselves les s wi th heavy loads than thegentler sex . Here and there a wel l- l aden camel

,

with superci l ious express ion,comes strid ing

through the crowd,making the gari s and ekkas

look smal l bes ide h im .

The J umma Musj id i s a grand bu i ld ing of redsandstone and marble i n herring-bone courses ;though bu i l t by Shah Jehan in 1644, i t approachesmore n early toth e earl i er vigorous style of h is predecessors . He bui l t i t i n the name of h i s nobl eand devoted daughter Jehan ira, who subsequentlyshared h is capt ivi ty here

,and whose un assuming

tomb wi th i ts touch i ng ep i taph we vis i ted nearDelh i . This mosque has los t i ts great gateway

,

Which was pu l led down by the Engl ish,as they

thought i t threatened the Fort , and m ight be madeuse of to s trengthen an enemy ’s pos i t ion .

Whi ls t s i tt i ng i n the hote l verandah,watch i ng

the constant stream of comers and goers,European

and native ,we recogn i sed , i n the depths of the b i rdcage canopy of a native ekka

,the wel l-known face

of the venerableFath erBen son of Cowley . I say werecogn i sed h is face

,but h is face was the last part

of h i s person to meet our gaze ; i t was hi s f eet thatfi rs t caught our eye down the road

,proj ect i ng be

yond the s ide of the native conveyance . An ekka

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174 AG RA

where the General read the lessons,i n un i form

,

we drove s ix mi les to see Akbar’s magn ificen ttomb at S ikandra . I t s tands i n the centre of alarge wal led garden , with a gateway i n the midd leof each of the fou r wal ls . The one by which weentered i s a splend id bu i ld ing of red sandstone

,

i n laid with marble , and surmounted by four wh i temarble minarets , the tops o f which have been destroyed .

The tomb i s most original,and not l ike any

other tomb in I nd ia . I t i s a four- storeyed pyramidal bu i ld i ng of red sandstone

,ri s i ng i n a step

fash ion to the uppermost t ier of wh ite marble .Thi s cons i sts of a beaut ifu l courtyard

,su rrounded

by a C lo i s ter of n i ne bays on each s ide,and fur

n ish ed with windows of open latt ice-work ofexqu i s i te des igns . I n the centre , float i ng as i twere between earth and sky , i s the cenotaph , andclose bes ide i t a pedestal

,which once held the

Koh - i—nor . The dome , which a travel ler of thes ixteenth century tel l s us was des igned to coverthe central space , was never added . The bu i l d ingbri st les wi th smal l k iosques and pavi l i ons of whitemarble and red sandstone : and the vestibu le ofthe tomb i s r i ch ly decorated wi th frescoes .Here we had our picn ic l unch

,and

,whi l s t

admiring the V i ew from the top , we heard thesound of church bel l s

,and turn ing saw buried

amongst the trees the l i ttle church of the C .M .S .

Orphanage . We descended and went to i t . I t contain ed a large congregation of natives , cons i st i ngch iefly of the orphans ; boys in European dress on

S I KAND RA 175

one s ide,and girls i n a mongrel costume on the

other . The service was of course i n the ver

nacular and as we entered we found them read ingthe even ing Psalms . When the lessons were read

S IKANDRA

they squatted on mats on the floor . They wereal l attent ive

,but we were s truck by a certai n

lack of reverence . No one seemed to kneel duringprayers , but sat or squatted very much at the i rease .

I n 1660 there was a real ly large populat ion ofChri st ians at Delh i . Akbar protected the Jesu i tM iss ion , and they bu i l t a church but Shah Jehan

m6 AG RA

pul led the spi re down,because the cont i nual ringing

of bel l s annoyed h im . Except i n the cemetery th i searly commun ity left no trace .

We drove back by the Muttra Road—theAppian Way of Agra— it i s l i ned the whole waywi th tombs . Along th is avenue , on awet , dark nighti n the early days of the Mutiny

,Mark Thornh i l l

,

the Muttra magistrate,escaped for h i s l i fe

,with

the veryuncertain prospect of reach i ng and gain ingadmi ttance to the Fort at Agra . I t was fortunatefor h im that he possessed true and loyal friends i nthe Seths

,the nat ive bankers at Muttra

,and by

thei r i nfluence he evaded the clutches of the mut in eers at Muttra . With one Engl i shman and Di lwar Khan

,a staunch nat ive officer

,and a handful

of hal f- heart ed n at ive fol lowers , he rode awayfrom the Seths ’ house at n ightfal l

,d i sgu ised i n

nat ive dress . The night was dark , for, al thoughthere was a moon

,i t was constantly shrouded by

heavy rain- clouds,and the fitfu l gleams of l ight

only served to i ntensi fy the shadows of the darkavenue beneath which thei r journey lay .

After proceed i ng some d istance th eybecame consciou s of a myster ious sound which seemed to proceed from the s ide avenue on thei r r ight , and whichresembled the du l l clank ing of a chai n . The darkness was so great they could d ist ingui sh noth ing

,

not even the trees ; the sound shortly ceased ,and they proceeded with caut ion on thei r way .

Soon afterwards they encountered two men ,mounted on a camel

,who turned out to be the

Seths ’ messengers,return i ng to Muttra with the

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178 AGRA

had al ready heard caught thei r ear again ; th i st ime there was no mistaking a clear low clanking of chai n s

,coming from the s i de of the road .

The trees were here th inner,and a fai nt gl immer

of l ight showed a row of dark figures , proceed ing ,l i ke d im phantoms

,i n s i ngle fi le

,closely fol low

ing each other . The ground bei ng soft , the footsteps were not d i scern ibl e

,but wi th every move

ment came the clanking of a chain . They nownot iced a dul l glare along the horizon , whichbecame more d ist i nct as they advanced . I t wasevident that Agra was i n flames

,and the truth

dawned upon them that th i s l i ne of d im formswas a body of pri soners

,escaped from the Agra

gaol,making thei r way to Muttra So close d id

the d ismal process ion pass,that at one t ime they

almost touched Mark Thornh i l l’

5 p arty ; but theyappeared

,however

,to be unconsc i ous of h i s pre

sence and made no attempt to molest h im . For

many mi les the same scene,l ike some inciden t i n

Dante ’s “ I n ferno,recurred conti nual ly ; the groups

of pri soners passed at ever closer i nterval s,unt i l

they came across a ways ide hut with a body of mendri nking . Catch i ng s ight ofEngl i sh saddles on thehorses tethered outs ide

,they real i sed that they

were i ns ide the l i nes of the mutineers , and gal lopedfor thei r l ives . Long before th i s the i r mountedescort had melted away

,and the party was reduced

to three men and a boy . As they rode alonga s ide avenue

,they passed a body of mounted

troopers,one of whom confronted them and bade

them hal t : putt ing thei r jaded horses ‘ once more

A M OG U L T O M B 179

to a gal lop,D i lwar Khan shouted that they were

bearing despatches from the Emperor of Delh i toAgra ,

and theydashed forward . They were not pursued

,but pressed on

,past the smoulderi ng frame

work of the burn ing bungalows . By daybreak the i reventfu l ride came to an end , and they were re

ce ived i nto Agra Fort .Along th is same road we made our way to the

Jumna, and crossed by a bridge of boats to the tombof I tmad ud Daulah—the Prime M in i ster ofJehangir

,and father of h i s ambi t ious and masterfu l

wi fe N001 Jehan , or Normall as Roe cal l s her .I t isa charmingbu i lding— there i s noth i ng grandabout it—but i t i s i n every part pretty ; surroundedby a good garden

,and bu i l t upon the banks of the

river , i t must always be a del ightfu l spot . Thetomb of a great Pathan or Mogul personage wasusual ly erected during h i s own l i fet ime

,on a

square terrace i n an enclosed garden i t was usedas a place for feast ing and recreat IOn In the cool ofthe even ing

,by himsel f and h is friends

,unt i l

the day when h i s body was laid i n the crypt belowthe central chamber under the dome . Then i t washanded over to the care of priests

,who made what

they cou ld out of the garden,and its produce

,and

the alms of those who vis i ted the tomb . Often , i nthe more magn ificent tombs

,the fami ly and rela

t ions are buried under the smal ler rooms whichcluster round the central domed space .

The tomb of th i s great man i s of th i s ki nd,i t i s

bu i l t of yel low marb l e,and stands i n the centre of

a smal l square bu i ld ing of wh i te marble,one storey

1 80 AG RA

h igh,whi l s t smal ler chambers

,round the central

one,contai n minor tombs . At each of the four

angles i s a round tower,about twice the height of

the bui ld ing,surmounted by a cupola

,and in the

centre,form ing a smal l second storey

,i s a pavi l ion

contain ing the cenotaph .

The whole of the bu i ld ing outs ide i s coveredwi th elaborate P ietra D ara work

,of wh ich i t

i s the earl iest example i n I nd ia,and a great part

of the i nterior i s s imi larly decorated . The remainder i s adorned with frescoes of flowerstrees , &c . , the windows fi l l ed wi th marvel louslydel i cate marb l e latt i ce-work

,and in the return of

the doorways overhead i s some remarkably finelow- rel i ef scu lpture .We drove back through the nat ive town

,which

abounds i n “ subj ects . ” On our way we passed amarriage process ion

,the betrothed bridegroom

,

poorlittle fellow—about four years of age—was fast

as leep,being hel d on h i s sadd le by a man who rode

beh i nd h im on the same horse— fast as leep in spiteof the deafen ing sound of tomtoms and pipes . Theday ’s work had been too much of a good th ing forh im at any rate .

The old town i s an amu s ing place .

“ Of coursehe has got into the old town , my friends wi l l say ;so I have

,but these Eastern towns are out and

out more i nterest i ng,and far less d i rty than those

of Europe . I th i nk that even the most i narti s t i cperson would be fasci nated by them. Imagine a tortuon s street of i rregu larflat- topped houses,w ith thedomes and minarets of a mosque towering above

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1 8 2 A G RA

i s a basket containi ng ten spheri cal earthenwarepots

,each one 18 i n . i n d iameter . Amongst them

come bustl i ng along parties of three or four persons in an ekka , a l l engaged i n shouting to thecrowd to clear out of the road ; then towering aboveal l and everybody comes a string of camels wi thhuge burdens on thei r backs . The street i s l i nedwith smal l shops , i nto which the buyer does notenter

,for the shop has no i ns ide to speak of

,i t i s

more l ike a booth or stal l,and al l the goods are

d isplayed i n the street front . The merchant orworkman squats

,or s i ts cross- l egged amongst h i s

wares,at the height of one ’s elbow above the s treet .

They are ful l ofbrigh t colours , these shops , and withawn i ngs above them and sunsh i ne g l i nt i ng throughand intens i fying the shadows of the deep recessesbeh i nd ; they form most p icturesque subj ects .

Bes ides sel l i ng eh ev iden ce ,they make al l thei r

wares before the eyes of the publ ic . I n onepart the people—always men—are al l engaged i nmaking gold lace— in another, s l ippers . Here theyare pol i sh ing b it s of glass ; next door they aremaki ng the t i nsel to set them In

,for tawdry orna

ments . There a colony i s whol ly given over tomaki ng stems for hookahs

,and close by they are

making the bowl s . When i t comes to hard work,

then the men,lazy dogs

,make the women work

,

as I passed along I counted twenty-five womengri nd ing corn i n thei r hand mi l l s , al l together i none place

,whi l s t the easy work of winnowing

,

&c . ,was be ing done by the men . Poor w

,omen

they are terrib le drudges i n th is country !

AN I N T E L L I GEN T A U D I E N C E 1 83

I spent a good part of the next days sketch i ng .

After breakfast one day,wi th a boy to carry my

sketch ing-bag,I sal l i ed forth to explore a part of

the old town whi ch I had not seen before . Therewas l i ttle o f i nterest— the houses most ly of mud ,

but here and there some good doorways . The boywanted to prevent my going , and when I came toa stream about 10 ft . wide , I knew the reason whyThe natives

,l ike h imsel f, having of course no shoes

or stockings to th ink of,had no d i fficu l ty i n cross

ing . I t was d ifferen t wi th me , and they were inclined to laugh ; but I took off my hat and putdown my umbrel la

,and having screwed up my

sti ff o ld l imbs and set my teeth,I ran at i t and

cleared i t,much more eas i ly than I had expected ,

unused as I am to such gymnast ics . I sketched abeauti fu l doorway with a father and two sonss i tt ing i n i t . I had an i ntel l igent aud ience

,and

amongst them a young man who told me he had lefth isArabic l esson to watch me . He said the old mani n the doorway had been the Kaz i of Agra

,that

he had once been very rich,but now he was poor .

I asked,

“Why ! and was met wi th the comprehen sive reply ,

“ Because he drink rum . They wereal l Mohammedans

,but apparently i t was not on ly

i n the matter of rum the precepts of the i r rel igionsat on them l ightly

,for they d id not mind being

sketched as the Arabs do . I once tried to sketchsome Arabs in Algiers : they constant ly evaded me ,and at last an old Moor—with whom we were onthe friendly terms produced by constant bargain ingfor embroidered “ rags — spoke to me on the

1 84 A GRA

matter l ike a father,for my good . I t i s not

,he

said,

“ that any harm wi l l ensue to those whosep i cture you make ; i t i s you yoursel f wi l l sufferi nconven i ence i n the next world . Allah wi l l sayto you : ‘ Fol l owing your own wi l l and pleasure

,

you have made those figures . I now command you :g ive them soul s . ’ And where

,my friend

,wi l l you

be then .

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1 86 THE WINDSOR OF THE GREAT MOGU L

qu i tted Agra was thronged with a motley colouredcrowd

,which gradual ly grew thinner aswe emerged

from the town and entered a long straight avenue,

which,pass ing between fai rly green fields and

through scattered mud vi l lages , extends al l theway to Fatehpur S ikri . The d rive i s a pleasantone

,with plen ty of l i fe

,human and otherwi se

,

along a road,the d i stances on which are marked

by mi lestones fi fteen feet i n height,erected by the

Great Mogul .We pass here and there a camel-caravan restingby the roads ide

,with huge packs of cotton wai t ing

to be loaded up,bright-painted ehh czs crowded with

country folk,bul lock-waggons with pi cturesque

part ies of women and ch i ldren chant i ng strangewi ld songs

,and oxen i n pai rs drawing water from

many wel l s to i rrigate the neighbouring fieldsI n the less popu lous parts of our route we become qu ite i nt imate wi th the many kinds of b i rdswh ich abound i n th i s country

,from the k i te and

the wh i te vul ture to the wagtai l . Doves fly aboutus or run across the road before the horses

’

feetl ike ducks i n a country lane . Countless greenparrots

,with bright red beaks- always i n a hurry

- fly swiftly past us , or chase one anotherscreaming among the branches of the tamari ndtrees

,which form a leafy arch above our heads .

Here we put up a partridge and there a junglecrow

,or s tart a blue jay , whose wings gl i sten i n

the sun l ight as he fl ies away to a l i tt le d i stanceand perches on a Pers ian wheel to see us pass .

Then there are hoopoes and hooded crows,minah

AKBAR’

S M I L E STO N E 1 87

b i rds,and others too numerous to name . As for

the t i ny palm squ irrels,they are as plenti fu l as

fl i es,and so tame that they seem to th ink i t hard ly

necessary to get out of our way .

ONE OF AKBAR'

S MILESTONES

Fatehpur S ikri i s bui l t on a low ridge commanding extens ive views over the surrounding plain .

We cl imb the j ungle—covered ascent,drive pas t

tenantless pa laces and through empty squares,and

draw up before the Record Office,now converted

into the dak bungalow,or rest- house

,for travel lers .

Here we are rece ived by the sa laam ing attendant

1 88 THE WINDSOR OF THE GREAT MOGU L

i n charge of the house,and en ter to take up ou r

quarters .During the greater part of the t ime between theyear 1 569 and 1605 the EmperorAkbarwas makingconquests i n I nd ia far andw ide

,but i n the in tervals

of fight ing he found time to plan and bu i ld th i sremarkab l e c i ty

,with al l the e laborate arrange

ments necessary for the admin istrat ion of a greats tate

,the l i fe of a d ist i ngu ished Court

,and the

support of an extens ive armed ret i nue . I n formerdays the west s ide of th is red c i ty— for i t i s bu i l ten t i rely of red sandstone—was bounded by a vastlake

,which has now disappeared . I ts other s ides

were surrounded by embattl ed wa l l s,of which the

greater part st i l l remains,enclosi ng an area of some

two or three square mi les . These wal l s are piercedby seven gateways

,flanked by grim semi- C i rcu lar

bastions,and one of these gateways i s supported

by two giganti c s tone elephants,now much mut i

lated,which rai sed and uni ted thei r trunks over

the archway,givi ng the name of Hath i Pol

,or

E l ephant Gate , to th i s approach to the ci ty .

We had the good fortune to bear an i ntroduct ionto Mr . E . W . who

,as archaeologi st and

arch i tect,was then at work for the Government

,

measuring,mapping , and drawing the ci ty and

i ts pa l aces . He has s ince,under the ausp ices

of the I nd ia Office,brought out a most important

book on the subject i n fou r volumes . I cannot dobetter than quote some of h i s i n troductory wordsabout the ch ief bu i ld i ngs

Mr. Smi th,I regret to learn , h as s i n ce d ied .

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1 90 THE WINDSOR OF THE GREAT MOGU L

Several of the bu i ld ings have enormous frontages

,extend i ng to 35 o ft . and 4oo ft .

,whi le others

are so heavi ly laden wi th detai l that hardly a squarei nch remains uncarved . Fergusson

,i n speaking of

them,says : ‘ I t i s imposs ib l e to conceive anyth ing

so pictu resque i n outl i ne,or any bu i ld ing carved

to such an extent , without the smal lest approachto be ing overdon e or i n bad taste .

’ The bu i ldi ngs cons i s t of two classes

,rel igious and domest i c

,

and for beauty and richness of des ign rank amongthe fines t i n I nd ia .

” After enumerat i ng many ofthe bu i ld i ngs , Mr . Smith cont i nues :

“ There aremany other importan t structure s fu l l of i n terestto the student of I nd ian arch i tecture , the art i s t ,and the antiquarian , and rank i ng among the foremost are the Turki sh baths . They are bu i l t ofrubbl e masonry

,and the i nter ior wal l s are coated

i n stucco,panel l ed

,and profusely decorated wi th

inc i sed geometri cal patterns,the dados being

pol ished and pai nted . No two bu i ld ings are al ikei n design . The great Masj id , a copy of one atMakhéi

,and extens ively i n laid with marble and

enamel,i s second to none i n the country .

The Buland Darwaza,or Gate of Victory

,which

forms the southern entrance to th i s mosque,i s

the loft ies t bu i ld i ng in Fatehpur S ikri , and i sapproached by a state ly fl igh t of steps . On ther ight s ide of the entrance i s the fol low ing in script ion i n Arab i c

,

“ Sa id J esus,on whom be peace !

the world i s a bridge,pass over i t but bu i ld no

house there . With in i s the last res t i ng-place ofSha i k Sal im Ch i st i

,a fak i r who l ived an ascet i c

B EA U T I F U L D E T A I L S 1 9 1

l i fe i n a cave hard by and exerci sed an extraordi

nary influence over Akbar. This l i tt le tomb ,.

beau

t ifully des igned and intricately scu lptured , Is oneof the most perfect specimens of Mogul arch itecture

,and l ies l ike a j ewel of white marble i n i ts

red sandstone surroundings— i t i s,i ndeed , the only

bu i ld ing i n the whole ci ty wh ich i s not of thecoarser materia l . There are several other noteworthy tombs i n the courtyard of the mosque , andj us t i ns ide i s that of Sal im Ch isti

’

s i nfant son ,a d iminutive but nevertheless much-veneratedshri ne

,where a l ight i s always kept burn i ng .

As we left the sacred spot the sun was on thehorizon

,and from a high minaret we heard the

summons of the fai th fu l to prayer,a cal l to wh i ch

there were but few to respond . One of the most remarkablebu i ldings i n the c ity is the Diwan- i-Khas ,or private hal l of aud ience i t cons i sts of a s i ng lesquare chamber with an entrance i n the middleof each of i ts four s ides . From the centre of thefloor a large octagonal p i l lar ri ses to the height ofthe s i l l s of the upper wi ndows

,where i t i s sur

mounted by a huge c i rcular capi tal . Thi s capi talcarries no weight

,but i s connected with the fou r

corners of the bu i ld ing by four stone causeways,

or gal leries,rad iat i ng from i t

,and approached

from the ground on the north-west and south- eastcorners by narrow sta i rcases i n the th i ckness of thewal l . The defini te purpose of th i s arrangement i snot absolute ly known

,but trad i t ion asserts that

Akbar’

s throne occupied the centre of the platformupon the capital of the pi l lar

,and that a corner

1 9 1 THE WINDSOR OF THE GREAT MOGU L

of the bui ld ing was ass igned to each of hi s fourMin i sters

,who approached h im along these cause

ways .Another very str iking bu i ld ing i s the PanchMahal

,which ri ses i n an i rregular pyramidal form

to a very cons iderable height,i n five t iers

,each

storey being smal ler than the one below i t . Thelower t ier supports the one above with e ighty- fourcolumns

,whi l e the uppermost cons i sts merely of

a kiosque supported on four s lender shafts . Thepurpose of th i s bu i ld ing i s al so somewhat Obscure

,

but i t i s supposed to have been a pleasure resortfor the lad ies of the pa lace

,where they could enjoy

the ai r without being seen,for the bu i ld ing

,though

open to the winds on al l s ides,has carved stone

screens on each s torey ; these are sufficient to protect the inmates from the rude gaze of passers-by,

whi le at the same t ime al lowing them to watchwhat was going forward in the world around . Oneof the pecu l iar i t i es of th i s Panch Maha l i s thathard ly any two of the many p i l lars i n i ts cons truct i on are of the same des ign or ornamentedal ike . Close by i s Akbar’s own private s leepingapartment

,cal led the Khwabgh ar, or House of

Dreams,a smal l but elaborate ly frescoed bu i ld

i ng,with conven ien t access to al l other parts of

the palace .

To descr ibe the other important bu i ld i ngs i nthe c i ty would be weari some

,even i f space permitted i t . I can mere ly attempt to refer to a few

of them .

One of Akbar’s most trusted dependents was

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1 94THE WINDSOR OF THE GREAT MOGU L

B i r Bal,original ly a H indoo minstrel

,who Ingra

tiated h imsel f wi th the great Mogul , occupied apos i t ion s imi lar to that of a poet laureate at h i sCourt

,and eventual ly became hi s Prime M in i ster .

For th i s man h is patron bu i l t a magn ificent house,

which,together wi th the Turk i sh Sul tana’s smal l

dwel l i ng,Fergusson cal l s “ the ri chest and most

beauti fu l , as wel l as the most characteri st i c , of al lAkbar

’

s bu i ld i ngs . They are minutely carved fromtop to bottom with in and wi thout . Then there i sthe house of M i r iam

,the mother of the Emperor

J ehangi r,a bu i ld ing wi th curious frescoes

,i n wh ich

an angel i s depi cted i n s tyle and treatment so muchl ike those w i th wh ich we are fam i l iar i n FraAngelico

’

s pi ctures of the Annunciat ion that i thas g iven rise to the erroneous bel ief that th i sMi r iam

,wife ofAkbar

,was a Portuguese Chri s t ian .

Mohammedans are usual ly fond of b i rds,and i t

i s i n teres t i ng to observe that i n many of the ch iefbu i ld ings the upper parts are p ierced wi th smal larched recesses for the accommodat ion of pigeons .Bes ides al l th i s there i s an e laborate system forrai s i ng water and d i spers i ng i t to al l parts of thepalace ; mysterious viaducts , aqueducts , and passages abound in al l d i rect ions

,as wel l as stab l es

for horses and camel s,with the stone rings by

which the an imal s were fastened st i l l attached tothei r mangers .

I n one of the state ly courts of the palace thepavement i s marked out somewhat i n the fash ionof a giganti c chess-board ; th i s i s the Pach i s i Court ,where the Emperor used to play the game wh ich

PA N C H MA H A L 1%

gives the court I ts name . The game presents muchresemblance to chess

,and

,i n th i s case , was played

wi th l iving pieces,men and women dressed 1n

character.Of the gardens , which must have been

very large,scanty traces remain .

The sub- structures of the palace bu i l d i ngs aremass ive and extens ive

,and are in fested with bats

and porcupines,whi le panthers find covert among

the dense,scrubby j ung lewhich surrounds the ci ty .

Not long before our arr ival Mr . Smith’

s ch i l drenhad a narrow escape from a panther wh ich sprangout of the bushes close to them . Fortunately i twas a stray goat

,and not the ch i ld ren , which had

attracted the brute,and with the aid of the dogs

they were able to make good thei r escape .

Although to the ord i nary observer FatehpurS ikri appears fai rly i n tact

,a close i nspect ion wi l l

show that much of the fabri c i s tottering to a fal l,

and , i ndeed , some of the bu i ldings have actual lycrumbled i nto ru i ns . Thi s i s unfortunately the casewith many of the arch i tectural monuments throughout the Empire

,and i t i s d i stress ing to see bu i ld

i ngs notab le for the i r h i s tor i c i nterest,as wel l as

for the i r art i st i c beauty,van i sh ing before our eyes .

The monuments of I nd ia have,i n fact

,passed

through many vic i ss i tudes,and have suffered much

from diverse causes,from the fanat i cal rel igion ist

,

the ruthless conqueror,from the wel l- i n ten t ioned

but ignorant restorer,and from the less ignorant

but too pract i cal engineer ; from the nat ives ,who use them as quarr ies for the i r own meanbu i ld ings ; from the j ungle growth , which i n the

1 9 6 THE WINDSOR OF THE GREAT MOGU L

course of a few years may,by ins i nuati ng roots

and tendri l s,upheave mass ive masonry and tear

down wel l bu i l t wal l s ; from the monsoon rains ;and last

,but not least

,from the archaeological th ief,

who has been permitted to carry off wi th impun i tycountless treasures to enrich h i s own or h i s nat ion

’

scol lect ion .

Buddhist temples were destroyed by H indus ,and H indu bu i ld ings rece ived the roughest handl ing at the hand of the Mohammedan . I n our ownt ime

,treasures of art have d isappeared on the excuse

of modern improvement,or

,perhaps

,to make room

for a rai lway stat i on ; temples and palaces havebeen converted to uti l i tarian purposes , and amongstother acts ofwidespread vandal i sm was the smashi ng up of numberles s Pathan tombs

,i n clud ing the

pri ce less encaust i c t i l es wi th wh ich they wereadorned , to form bal last for 2 00 mi les of rai lwayl i ne .

Col lectors have been permitted to pi l fer and carryaway sculptu re and other works o f art . Notor i ousinstances i n point are the abduct ion of Shah Jehan ’ 5bath at Agra

,and of the celebrated Orpheus panel

from the Delh i Palace,andw ith in recent years there

have appeared i n celebrated Eu ropean museums aser ies of I nd ian frescoes and a most valuab l e fr iezeof encaus t i c t i l es stolen from bu i ld ings i n thepen insu la . For these d i shonourable but en terprisi ng acts the perpetrators have been decorated bythe i r sovere ign . I n the meanwhi le

,many pra i se

worthy attempts have been made by i nd iv idua lEng l i shmen to arouse pub l i c feel i ng and to stimu

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1 9 8 THE WINDSOR OF THE GREAT MOGU L

glories of the land—wi l l be preserved for the joyof many generations to come .Thi s being the case

,the country i s to be con

gratu lated i t was h igh t ime that England shouldawake to the respons ibi l i t i es Of her trust i n respectto the monuments of wh ich the nation shouldproud

,and which as yet i t has taken

steps to preserve .

ON THE ROAD TO FATEHPUR

CHAPTER X

GWAL I OR : S INDH IA’

S CAP I TAL

W E had heard so much about Gwal ior Fort , thecentre of a rich native State , that we determined tomake a detour from Agra to see i t for ourselves ;and when one day

,early i n February , we arrived i n

the moonl ight,we found i t was i ndeed a wonderfu l

lace .pA huge rock of sandstone

,capped wi th basal t

,

one- and-a—half mi les long ,rises stern ly and maj esti

cal ly,l i ke a wal l

,out of the pla i n

,and i s crowned

wi th a fantastic l i ne of palaces and temples .

The authenti c h i story of the Fort goes back tothe second centu ry A . D .

,when i t was i n the posses

s ion of Toramana,who ru led over the country be

tween the Jumna and the Nerbudda ; but trad i t ionplaces the found ing of the ci ty many centuriesbefore Chri st . No doubt

,the rock- dwel l i ng anchor

i tes and yogi s who have a lways abounded in H indulands as they do in Tibet now, had thei r dwel l i ngsin the caves here from the very earl ies t days

,be

fore E l ijah fled to the wi lderness to serve God i nsol itude or Jacob reared h i s lath at Bethel .The Kachawa dynasty of e igh ty- four Raj putprinces held the fortress t i l l 967, and a second

2 oo GWA L I O R

l i ne of n i ne H indu princes then reigned here for2 00 years

,unti l Ku tub-ud—d in

,of Delh i fame

,

wrested i t from them for h i s Mohammedanmasters

,and for another 2 00 years the Kings of

Delh i used Gwal ior as a state pri son . So also d idthe Mogul Emperors

,confin ing here poss ibl e

aspi rants to the throne , whom they compel led todr ink an infus ion of opium

,which acted as a s low

poi son . I n the early middle ages , another H indudynasty

,the Touar Raj poots

,were again i n posses

s ion of Gwa l ior,and they are the pri nces who have

left the deepest mark on the rock- fortress i n thebeauti ful palaces of Man S ing

,and the very re

markable series of Jain rock-carvings,on the west

and south-east faces of the cl i ffs . At the t ime ofHenry the E ighth the Moguls came back

,and , on

the d ismemberment of thei r empi re,Gwal ior was

seized fi rst by the Jat Rana of Gohad and then bythe great Mahratta chiefs of the house of S indhia

,

who are descended from an offic ial of the Peshwa ’scourt at Poona . With the except ion of severali n terva ls duri ng wh ich i t was in our hands

,they

have been i n possess ion of i t ever S i nce .

During the Mutiny,al though Sindh ia and hi s

min i ster,S ir D inkar Rao

,remained loyal with

men,a cont i ngent muti n ied

,and defeated

S indh ia’

s troops near Morar . He took refuge i nAgra , and i t was left to S i r Hugh Rose andLord Napier of Magdala to regai n the fortress .Thi s they d id after five days ’ desperate fight ingagainst that i nterest ing Amazon

,the Ran i of

Jhans i , who , i n counsel and on the field was

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2 0 2 GWA L I O R

Khana,i n which the Res ident at Gwal ior kind ly

arranged that we shou ld put up .

I t was an i nterest ing experience to find,on arriv

i ng,abuge elephan twaiting i n themoon ligh toutside

the Station,amongst the ekkas and ticcag harries .

He was kind ly placed at our d i sposal by the Maharaj a

,and was a splend id fel low , about ten to twelve

feet high I n h is stock i ngs,andwearing si lverbangles

round h i s tusks . Ten minutes took u s to the Musafir Khana

,a large and new stone bu i ld ing ; i t was

very comfortable,with good furn i ture and a cook

of varied accompl i shments,who played to us

,after

d inner,on a s i tar

,resembl i ng a very large mando

l i ne . He played with a p iece of wi re bent i nto atriangu lar shape

,an end less

,featureless tune

,

cal led The S n akecharmer’s Song after enduringi t for nearly half an hour we fled to bed . I t m igh thave sounded wel l out of doors i n the moonl ightat a l i tt l e d is tance , but at such close quarters i tnearly drove us wi ld .

When I looked out of my window,a quarter of an

hour before sunri se next morn ing,the great rock of

Gwal ior,ri s i ng from the plai n l i ke the hu lk of a

gigant i c battle- sh ip,looked very fine

,as i t was j ust

being touched by the rosy finger of dawn,i ts crown

ing wal l s,palaces

,and the i rregulari t ies of i ts prec i

p itous s ides art icu lated by the rays of the ris ingsun . I t was overspread wi th a deep red flush fromthe glowing Eastern sky

,and though the base be

n eath was st i l l i n a gloomyObscuri ty of shadow,th e

b road features of the landscape , the bare ground ,the trees ,and the partly ru ined tombswere d i stinctly

A P O L I T I CA L S A I N T 2 03

vis ible i n the clear sti ll ai r . I n the foreground wasa square tomb with a Pathan dome , which gaved istance to the background , and between me andi t occas iona l figures noiseless ly passed . I lost not ime i n gett ing outmy sketch-book and attemptingto make a record Of the scene , which to me possessed an unusual charm , and fi l led me wi th animpat ient desi re to see more of th i s h i stori c place ,and to become more closely acquai nted wi th theittering and fantast i c bu i ld ings wh ich markedthe sky- l ine .

At a quarter to n ine we set off to explore theFort and i ts palaces and temp les

,stopping on

our way to see the splend id tomb of MuhamadGhaus , a holy man , but w i ly, sai nt and poi sonerfed with bribes

,deep versed i n every trait’rous

plan ,” who was the author of the stratagem by

which Akbar got possess ion of Gwal ior . This i sone of the best specimens of early Mohammedanarch itecture of the t ime

,and cons is ts of a square

bui ld ing with a large Pathan dome and angletowers , standi ng on a square platform with apavi l ion in the centre of each s ide . The centre ofthe bui ld ing is occupied by the cenotaph : i t i ssurrounded by a lofty verandah

,enclosed with

screens of the most del i cate t racery,very much l ike

those at Fatehpur S ikri,but

,l ike the rest of the

neglected bui ld ing,te rr ibly choked with wh ite

wash .

The main road,which ascends from the old town

at the north -east of the rock to the top of the Fort300 feet above , i s very steep . Arrangements had

2 04 GWA L I O R

been made beforehand,and we found the Mahara

j a ’s elephant,brightly arrayed In a red and yel low

howdah cloth,wai ti ng outs ide the lowest gate

,

ready to take us up and convey us about the Fort .On our arrival the great beast

.

knel t down,and

ONE OF THE MAHARAJA’S ELEPHANTS

we got ; then , after pass ing through the decayingold town with i ts crowded mass of smal l flat- roofedstone houses

,he proceeded to shuffle up the h i l l

with a k ind of two forward and one back motion .

Among trees on our right gleamed the blue t i le sof the stately Gujari Palace wh ich Man S ingbui l t for h i s queen close under the rock . I t i s animmensely steep

,hot cl imb up to the top of the

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2 06 GWA L I O R

convent ional patterns,which have a very pecu l iar

and origi nal effect . I t i s palace and rampart i n one,

and as i t overhangs the s ide of the cl i ff i s certain lythe most original ly decorated house I ever saw .

There i s a b road ribbon of blue along the facadewi th a brigh t yel low row of Brahmz'i ’s geese uponi t

,and be low i s another dado of blue

,about five or

s ix feet h igh , with convent ional vivi d green mangotrees growing i n panel s . Quite above

,again st the

sky,the wal ls are pierced by latt i ced screens

wi th great elephants set i n to them,picked out

wi th blue . I t was almost imposs ib le to d istingu ish between the sky, showing through thepierced work

,and the b i ts of blue pottery set i nto

the stone elephant . Some of the other t i les represent candelabras , e lephants , or peacocks i n b lue ,rose colour, green and gold and when the cornerunder the elephant gate i s turned

,the great wi n

dowlesswal l overhanging the narrow street i s foundto be almost completely h idden under th i s blaze ofbri l l ian t but del icate colour . Even the columnsenci rcl i ng the l ower storeys had a blue ribbon oft i le work twined round them .

This las t gateway,the Hath iya Paur , had

brought us to the summit of the cl i ff and theentrance to the Fort

,where a sold ie r of the Maha

raj a’s army in the old red tun i c of a cast- off Bri t i shun i form

,a red turban and s l ippers

,was on sentry

duty . The elephant here went down on h i s knees ,and we got off to see the i nterior of the palace andmake a sketch .

I t was usual ly the Mohammedan bu i ld ings i n

J O H AR S AC R I F I CE 1 9 7

I ndia which took my fancy for sketch ing purposes .The bu i ld ings of an earl ier period , and the H induarch i tecture especial ly

,seemed too grotesque and

clumsy,and in many cases too profuse i n orna

ment,for the purpose ; but the Rajput Man

S ing Palace i s an exceptional bu i ld ing,and

,part ly

from its pos ition growing out of the top of the rockand dominat ing the approach to the Fort , struckme as being wel l su i ted to art i st i c treatment . Imade a sketch

,not of the mai n fagade looking

down upon the plain,but of th i s shorter face

which turns inwards at the angle where one of themany gateways spans the ascending road . Semici rcular bast ions

,crowned by cupolas

,flank

,at in

tervals,the pa lace wal l s

,and along them run the

horizontal bands of b lue and yel low,and the

sculptured arches . Through the gateway came astately elephant

,and beyond I could j ust get a

gl impse of the plai n far below .

Gwal ior Palace i s connected wi th many tragicstories . When the Moslems fi rst stormed Gwal iorthe Rajpoots

,bes ieged wi thout hope of rel ief

,i n

the last effort of despai r put al l the i r womenkindto death

,rather than al low themto fal l i n to the

enemy’

s hands,and then

,drunk wi th b lood and

opium , the warriors , clad i n saffron robes , rushedforth to i nevi table destruct ion i n a last desperateencounter . This wholesale an n ih i lationwas knownas the solemn sacrifice

,Johar .

”

The palace of the Kings of Gwal ior covers agreat part of the east s ide of the plateau , and wasthe work of more than one of the d i fferent

2 08 GWA L I O R

dynast ies wh ich ru led here . Each dynasty addedto i t

,and the Moguls en larged i t cons iderably . The

d ifferent storeys,with the i r rows of square pi l lars

,

over look large paved courtyards of the eleventhcentury . The carving looks better i n th i s n iceyel low sandstone than in Akbar’s red

,and I fancy

too th i s i s rather h igher taste,not so fin icking ,

andwith a better sense of proport ion .

The fi rst of these ha l l s,we were told by our

gu ide , had been a temple . I ts wal l s are coveredw i th a d iaper pattern in low rel ief

,and here and

there sma l l square holes open from it i nto anarrow passage wh ic h surrounds i t on three s ides .

The s ide facing the court i s open,broken by

sculptured pi l lars,abovewhich are e laborate corbe l s

support i ng stone eaves . The corbel s over thesecond hal l represent peacocks with thei r ta i l stwi sted upwards . Most of the rooms were low andwith slabbed cei l i ngs . Fergusson says of th i spalace that i t i s the most remarkable and i nteresti ng example of an ear ly H indu palace i n I nd ia .

We wen t i nto two other palaces— the VikramPa lace

,where l i tt l e remains bes ides a square ha l l

mass ive ly bu i l t,with flat-groi ned roof

,and the

Karam Pa lace,which does not conta i n much of

interest . The smal l rooms are l i ned with stucco,

w i th vest iges of fresco decorat ion,as i s al so the

Hammam beneath,where i n the domes remain

some del i cate des igns in plaster work .

Then we mounted our elephant again,and the

b ig beast flopped le i sure ly a long the ridge to thesouth . Unfortunately

,when the Bri t ish occup ied

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2 10 GWA L I O R

sculpture i n deep rel ief. The interior cons i st s ofone comparat ive ly smal l chamber

,out of al l pro

portion to the bu i ld ing . I t dates from the tenthcentury

,and i s supposed to have been ded icated

original ly to Vi shnu,but afterwards adapted to

THE URWAHI VALLEY

Shiva worsh ip . There i s a col lect ion of fragments ,made by Major Kei th

,set up round the base .

From the Tel i Ka Mand i r we made our way , by aroad on the west s ide of the ridge

,down i nto the

rocky U rwah i val ley,to see a marvel lous seri es o f

Jai n scu lptures ; giganti c figures cut out of the s ideof the rock

,which i s almos t perpend icular . We fel t

as though suddenly transported to Egypt andamongst the Sph inxes . A deep and narrow gorge

J A I N T IRTHANKERS 2 1 1

here spl i ts the steep rock i n two for some d i stance .

When M . Rousselet fi rst V i s i ted Gwal ior i n 1864,

he approached them from below, and was muchimpressed by the grand mysterious aspect of thedark rav ine ,where these colossal figures , ranged thewhole length of the chasm , were d imly d i scern ib leamongst the tangled creepers . But i n 1867he foundthe Bri t i sh blasti ng a new road from the fortress

,

down the ravine . Thi s road , down whi ch we came ,has considerably lessened the impress iveness of thescene

,and has also des troyed and h idden some of

the sculptures .For a d i stance of eight or ten mi les

,the whole

face of the precipi tous rock of the Fort i s honeycombed with caves

,temples

,cel l s and n i ches

,con

taini ng figures of the twenty- four Tirthankers,the

Jai n holy men , pont i ffs or deified sai nts thegroup i n th i s ravi ne— known as the U rwah i

group—appears to be the most remarkable . Thecaves were , no doubt , the abode of anchori tes ,and the figures have been carved by the devout ofprobably many generat ions for though the greaternumber appear to have been carved during a periodi n the latter middle ages

,when the Raj poot ch iefs

had again for a t ime possess ion of Gwal ior( 1 2 2 5 yet some have been found wi th dates ofthe second century .

The Jain rel igion flouri shed i n I nd ia beforeBuddhism and Mahavi ra

,the last of the l i ne of

Tirthankers, i s bel i eved to have been Sakya Mun i’s

guru or teacher . Early Buddhi st art contain s manyof the same symbol s and emblems that are met

2 1 2 GWA L I O R

with i n Jai n art— the serpent,the sacred tree , the

svast ika—and the fam i l iar cross- legged repre

scu tat ion of Buddha i s almost i nd i st i ngu ishablefrom that of some of the Tirthankers .

After Buddhi sm i n I nd ia peri shed i n the face ofthe Brahman ic revival i n the seventh and e ighthcen turieSA .D .

,th e Jai ns recoveredth eir ancient pos i

t ion to a great extent and became the great templebu i l ders of I ndia . They seem

,more than any other

sect,to have been imbued wi th the idea that to

bu i l d a temple,or carve a sacred figure

,was an act of

rel igious value i n i tsel f,qu i te i rrespect ive of any

idea of worsh ip being offered i n the temple . Tobu i ld or restore the templ e was to them an act ofprayer

,which would enable the bu i lder to acqu i re

meri t and would bring down on h im present andfuture rewards . They seem often to have aimed ats imply repeat i ng the figures of the i r twenty-fourTirthankers, usual ly wi th i n a cel l or temple , buthere there i s more variety i n the s ize and atti tudethan in some of thei r sacred places . These statuesare of al l s izes

,from minute foot-h igh cross—l egged

figures tocolossal upright monol i ths of n earlys ixtyfeet . They represent most of the l i ne of ponti ffsfrom Adinath

,the legendary founder of the i r fai th ,

to the twenty- fourth and las t Mahavi ra,and a l so

scenes represent i ng h i s b i rth and parents . EachTirthanker has a d i st ingu i sh i ng emb lem near thefoot of the statue . The statue of Parasnath i sthe largest . The figures e i ther stand sti ffly , w i ththe i r arms hangi ng by the i r s ide or are seated i nthe fami l iar Buddha att i tude . They are total ly

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2 14 GWA L I O R

before,and al l the official s of the North-West were

i nvi ted to the fes tas given to celebrate the event .His wife

,I am told

,was very fai r and pretty and

very bright,i n sp i te of her secluded harim l i fe she

i s however al lowed more l iberty than many purdahlad ies . She i s said to wear her sari i n a pecu l iarway

,t ight round the legs with a long tai l hanging

out at the back . Parts of the town were st i l l gaywith wedd ing decorat ions gaudy triumphalarches of looking-glass and coloured paper . Therewere elephants and palanqu ins about everyw here ,and I met a caval cade of S indh ia’

s guests dashingdown to catch the trai n . Fi rst , a l i tter covered withbright stuffs contain ing

,I imagine

,the lad ies of the

party ,th en a barouche with fine horses , and , stol id ly

s itt i ng i n the middle,one stout gentl eman in violet ,

gold- embroidered sat i n,weari ng the red turban of

the pecu l iar three-cornered Mahratta shape ; anescort of horsemen armed wi th swords

,and a trai n

of syces fol lowed , runn ing after the carriage . Imet several gorgeous ly att i red gentlemen d rivingthemselves

,or being carried i n palanqu ins

,with

runn ing footmen armed with coloured staves orspears

,c leari ng the way before them .

The nat ive court appears to bring prosperi ty,for

there seemed to be a great many more wel l- to-do ,wel l—dressed people here than i n the Bri t i sh towns ,and we were conti nual ly see ing ekkas

,with long

red or yel low curtains,bearing vei led women i n

real ly beaut i fu l s i lk sari s and the people seemedto be covered with more than the usual amount ofs i lver and gold ornaments . But the pol i ce arrange

F LY I N G FOX E S 1 1 5

ments appear to leave someth ing to be des i red,for

the authori ti es thought i t necessary to provide mewith an armed escort when I went out to sketchand the n ight of our arrival a wealthy Hindu , withan escort of two sepoys , coming from the train ,was set upon by eight men armed with st icks

,j ust

outsideourrest- house . The sepoys at lastbeat themoff

,whi l st the H indu h id h i s head i n the d itch .

I went ou t for a short walk about dusk,and en

countered a gian t elephant,bowl i ng along from the

station wi th two very smart H indus on h i s backattached to e i ther s ide of h is bright howdah-clothwere bel l s of cons iderable s ize . They sw i ng s ideways as the beast walks

,and r inging in success ion

sound rather wel l .Jus t then a fl ight of some hundreds of great batsor flyi ng foxes— fou r feet across the wing at leastl ike a fl ight of rooks

,came flying heavi ly over my

head ; they were coming from the neighbouringtrees

,where they hang duri ng the day

,on the way

to thei r hunti ng—ground i n the fru i t gardens . I twas a curious s ight . Next morn i ng we got up bycand lel ight and left for the stat ion at five o ’clock .

Lucki ly i t had grown much warmer the last th reeor four days

,so i t was not as tryi ng as i t m ight

have been .

NOTE—S ee p . 2 0 1 . La shkar is th e term ori g i n a l l y appl ied toan army , and then , in abbrev iat ion o f Lashkar-gah , to a camp orplace occup ied by an army . I t then came to be appl ied to town s ,such as Agra and e s pecia l l y Delh i

,w h i ch i n Mogu l t imes were to

a great e x tent mere camps occup ied by th e fol lowers of th e S u l tan .

In th e case of Gwa l ior th e term h as been re ta ined,al though th e

camp h as become s tereoty ped in to a permanen t ci ty .

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2 1 8 D E LH I

w i th a new place or idea ; and certa in ly the c ir

cumstan ces i n which we found ourselves onarrivi ng at Delh i were not conducive to the mostfavourab le impress ions . The day we arrived

(February 2 0) was cloudy—the fi rs t du l l day we

had had s ince arriving i n I nd ia—a h igh wind wasblowing

,and the dust

,which Bern ier found in tol

erable i n 1670 ,was whi rl ing about i n al l direc

tion s,t ransforming everyth ing to i ts own co lour ,

and making everyth ing abominably gri tty . Thebheest i e or water- carr ier s lu i ci ng the dry streets ,with water from h i s goatsk i n bag

,made no im

pres s ion on the dust i t entered our windows andcovered the tables and chai rs

,even i n the unusual ly

h igh fi rst storey over the stat ion where we hadtaken up our quarters . These rooms , furn i shed byKel lner (the Spiers and Pond of I nd ia) fortravel lers

,were very fai rly comfortable

,though we

had to d ine below i n the stat ion restaurant,and I

bel ieve that wi th al l d rawbacks and shortcom ingsi t was a much better place than any Delh i hote l .Certain ly

,we were better off than Baron Hubner

,

who stayed i n Delh i i n 1884and was obl iged to putup with a dungeon- l ike room in a native hotel

,i l l

l ighted , damp , and feverish . We were perhaps al sofortunate , had we real i sed i t , i n being bothered bywind and dust rather than by fl ies : at t imes I bel i eve they are a perfect pest i n Delh i

,and go far

to make l i fe a burden .

The modern c i ty—more correctly cal l ed ShahJ ehanabad—was founded by that notab l e andmagn ificent bu i lder

,Shah Jehan

,i n 1638 ,

when he

THE S I EGE 2 1 9

l eft Agra,i t was said , i n search o f a more temperate

cl imate.He bui l t th i s new capital wi th material s

taken,to a great extent , from the part ly deserted

ci ties of Feroz Shah Tug lak and Sher Shah . I tstands on a low rocky sandstone range , by the rightbank of the Jumna

,and is surrounded by a sol i d

stone wa l l of cons iderable height , on al l s ides exceptthat abutting on the river . From the time the snowbeg i ns to melt on the h igher h i l l s t i l l after therainy season i s at an end

,the Jumna washes the

wal ls and i ts stream i s unfordable . This wal l,after

Lord Lake took possess ion of the town i n 1803,

was modern i sed and cons iderably strengthened bythe Engl ish more than once

,

” to thei r own hurt,as

was proved by the s iege of 1857. The nat ivetroops here

,mutin ied May 1 1

,immed iately after

the outbreak at Meerut . The Engl i sh authori tycol lapsedwith amaz ing rapid i ty , and though troopswere sent from Amballa to restore order

,the

mutineers held the town against S i r Harry Barnard and General Archdale Wi lson from J une 8t i l l September 2 1

,i n spi te of a perseverance

,

splend id stol id endurance,pluck and h igh courage

on the part of our troops,which Lord Roberts

says were qu i te beyond praise . We lost more menbefore Delh i than i n al l the rest of the Mutinycombined .

On the even ing of our arrival we tried to get somegeneral idea of the l ie of the country

,near at hand ,

In 1805 after th e attack by Holkar,aga i n i n 1 8 2 3, and fina l l y

( by th e future Lord N apier of Magd a l a ) , a few years be fore the

Mu t in y .

2 2 0 D E L H I

by a drive :we went fi rst to thehouse of the DeputyCommiss ioner

,Mr. R . Clarke , who l ived close to

the h i stori c “ Ridge —the l i nes which we held atthe t ime of the s iege—about a mi le and a hal fnorth of Delh i . Here are the cantonments wherethe Engl i sh l ive

,but there are not many res idents

i n De lhi—far fewer than I had expected—and thegarri son i s extremely smal l

,as the fort i s not con

sidered heal thy . Mr . Clarke showed us a good mapof our pos i t ion on the red rocks of the Ridge

,of

wh ich General Barnard was able to take possess ionafter h i s vi ctory at Badl i-ki- sara i on J une 8 ; i tri ses s ixty feet above the c i ty , at a d istance increasing from a thousand yards to two and a hal fmi les , and , with the c i ty wal l and the river , encloses a triangle of low- lyi ng woodland .

We drove past the Memorial Monument—a

Goth ic sp i re— to H indu Rao ’s house,on the h ighest

po int of the Ridge,to the Mosque

,the Flagstaff

,

and the old Observatory ; these were the fourpoints where General Barnard establ i shed pi cketssupported by guns . But l i tt le .of the ci ty i s to beseen from here now

,as t rees i n tervene . I t was a

wonderful ready-made posi t ion both for attack anddefence . On the left i t was defended by the river,and though on the right there was cover for theenemy on the broken ground— covered wi th brushwood—and i n the deep sunk roads and d itches

,

clumps of trees and low rocks,yet the enclosed

nature of the ground prevented any attack i n forceon our flank or rear

,and i t covered the l ine of

commun ication to Amballa and the Punjab , which

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2 2 2 D E L H I

past Shah Jehan ’s Fort . The Fort , though not sopicturesque

,bears a great resemblance to that at

Agra,with i ts impos ing and extens ive l i ne of rosy

red battl ements ; the l ight and gracefu l cupolasand kiosks

,rai sed on s lender p i l lars , are i n strong

contrast to the sol id masonry of the wal l s . I tal so stands above the J umna i n a pos it ion somewhat s imi lar to that of the Agra Fort . The Jumna ,l ike many Eastern rivers , overflows i t s banks considerably at the t ime of the mel t i ng snow and therai ns

,but unfortunate ly the reced ing waters do not

always— l ike the Ganges— l eave beh ind them anyferti l i s ing influence

,but frequently destroy rather

than promote vegetat ion . The whole space betweenthe h igh banks and the stream i s

,at th i s t ime of

year,a barren waste of sh i ft ing sand ; over th is the

Fort looks on two s ides . Here , i n the days of theMogul emperors

,took place the elephant combats

and reviews , i n s ight of Shah Jehan’s Palace win

dows . The south and west s ides of the Fort wereprotected by a moat

,now dry .

At the south-western corner of the Fort i s theDelh i Gate

,whence we looked across the Maidan

to the great Mosque , the Jumma Musj id , the grandand simplebu ildingw ithwh ich S hahJeh an en nobledh i s creation , modern Delh i . Curiously enough , noplace of prayer was provided by Shah Jehan in thePalace here as at Agra and at Fatehpur S ikri .I t was towards sunset when we fi rst saw th isg lorious Mosque

,the masterp iece of rel igiou s

arch itecture i n I ndia , and most sacred to al lMohammedans here and i n Central As ia . I t i s

THE J U MMA M U S J I D 2 2 3

rai sed on a high platform , and approached onthree s ides by grand fl ights of steps . I t i s oneof the few mosques where i t i s d i st i nct ly evidentthat the arch i tect has aimed at producing a pleas ingeffect to the eye from without . The lofty basementi s bu i l t round an outcrop of the sandstone rock , i nthe same way that the Mosque of Omar , at Jerusalem

,covers and crowns the rock of Abraham .

From this platform rises a finely composed groupof domes and minarets

,cupolas and gate-ways ,

chiefly of the usual fin e- coloured red sandstone ;the domes , however , are of wh i te marble , and thetal l minarets—which are a strik ing featu re of thebui ld ing

,and the most gracefu l I have so far seen

—are striped i n alternate vert i cal l i n es of red sandstone and whi te marble .The setting of the Mosque i s now very d i fferent

from that wh ich surrounded i t before 1857 then i tlooked down on the flat roofs of a densely populated network of houses coveri ng the space betweeni t and the Fort . Here

,many of the b ig-W igs

,ri ch

merchants , and nat ive noblemen had thei r palacesthough the greater number of the latter l ivedoutside the town , near the water— and here wasone of the bazaars which B ishop Heber describes asbeing l ike the Rows at Chester . Al l th i s quarterwas destroyed after the Mutiny

,and to-day the

Mosque ri ses over a wide- spread ing open space,

carpeted with coarse turf,which i s dotted here and

there wi th stunted trees shel tering some temporary native booths and shant ies from them thesmoke of the even ing fires pervades th eatmosphere ,

2 24 DE L H I

carryi ng with i t the pecu l iar , pungent smel l so characteristic of the land and hour . The sun , sett i ngi n the bri l l iant cloudless sky

,made thewh i te marble

domes,s i lhouetted against i t

,appear qu i te dark

,

and the sharply al ternat ing forms of rounded domeand upjutting minaret looked l i ke an Arabic inscription a long the horizon .

Th e sun goes dow n as i n a sphere of gol dBeh i nd th e armof th e ci ty

, wh ich be tween ,With a l l that len g th of domes and m in arets

,

Athwart th e sp lendour,b lack and crooked run s

L ike a Turk verse a long a scimitar.I t was Friday when we vi s i ted i t and the hour , thatof the week ly even ing prayer so , the Mosque wascrowded with a large concourse of fai thfu l sayi ngthei r prayers— a most impress ive s ight . I t canhardlyhave been surpassed i n impress iveness i n theold days when Aurangzeb attended prayers i nstate . He came from the Fort

,every Friday

,under

a gi lded canopy,borne aloft on the back of an ele

phant , which was bedizened with red pai n t andri chly decorated wi th gorgeous j ewel led trappings

,

and s i lver bel l s and chain s,and wi th wh ite Tibetan

cow- tai l s hanging from its ears l ike immensewhiskers or e lse he was carried by eight men

,on

an azure- and-gold throne,with a bodyguard of

official s with s i lver maces,and attendants wi th

peacock feather fans,and fol lowed by a train of

rajahs on horseback or i n palanqu ins .

N0 one who has ever watched a congregat ion ofMohammedans at prayer can have fai led to be immen sely struck by thei r i ntense concentrat ion and

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2 2 6 D E L H I

al leys of Delh i . A gl impse up a s ide street fromthe Chandn i Chauk reveal s another attract ive V iewof the Jumma Musj id

,i ts domes and minarets

ranged i n perspect ive,ri s i ng above the ragged ,

many-coloured houses at the i r feet . The vi sta i sc losed by a bi t of the h igh enci rcl ing red wal l ,pierced at th i s poin t by i ts northern gateway .

Through i t,and up and down i ts many- s tepped

approach,the s i lent- footed Mos lem crowd for ever

come and go .

The Chandn i Chauk and other mai n streetsare fine thoroughfares , shaded w i th trees , but onthe whole we d id not th i nk the Delh i lanes lookede i ther i nvi t ing or p icturesque , but decided lyd i rty . Everyth ing was covered th i ck with acoat ing of drab- coloured dust . I t brought beforeus the squal id s ide of I nd ian l i fe : mean , l ow ,

flat- roofed houses,often out of the perpendi cu lar,

and need ing here a fresh coat of pai nt,there

a renewal of the stai ned and peel i ng stucco . I nold days , many of the houses were of bambooand roofed wi th cane or thatch

,and at the season

when h igh winds prevai l d i sastrous conflagra

t ions,sweeping away thousands of houses

,were

not unusual , and were so rapid i n thei r advancethat the horses i n the stab le and the women in thezenanas frequently peri shed and th is i n sp i te ofthe water- courses wh ich then flowed down al l theprincipal streets of the town

,bringing pure water

from the Jumna at a spot one hundred mi lesnorth of Delh i . These channels of water i n thetown were however closed i n after the Mut i ny ;

D E L H I C I T Y 1 1 7

origina l ly,after flowing through the town between

ra i sed stone walks,they were led to the Emperor ’s

Pa lace,and there i rrigated the oranges and roses

i n the Sultana ’s garden fi“

There was,at the t ime of our vi s i t

,a ta lk of the

advisab i l i ty of pul l i ng down the wal l s of the ci ty ,so as to al low a freer ci rcu lation of ai r i n thecrowded streets . The natives were s trenuous lyobjecting

,and the authori t i es fe l t therefore more

than ever convinced that there was wi sdom in theproposal .We were not very favourably impressed withthe appearance of the peopl e here

,and thei r att i tude

towards us d id not seem very cord ial : I couldquite appreciate B i shop French ’s feel ing i n 1883,that to l ive in Delh i was l ike l ivi ng on a volcano .

I n spi te of al l one hears at t imes to the contraryI fear there i s st i l l amongst the Mohammedannatives

,a smouldering feel ing of pol i t i ca l an imosi ty

towards us : many of the men are not yet deadwhose hands were dyed i n our b l ood . A sect ionof the vernacu lar Press helps to foster th i s feel i ng

,

and rel igious fanatics are doubtles s busy,i n many

quarters,st i rri ng the embers .

A certa in Nawab Shams-ud-d i n was executed

There are s ti l l two can a ls—th e Ea s tern and Western J umn aCanal s , orig i n al l y th e work of th e ben eficen t Feroz S hah Tug lakwh ich irrig ate th e di s trict and now divert s uch a body of w ater fromth e Jumna , be fore it reaches Delh i , th at, e x cep t duri n g th e ra i ns

,

the ri ver-bedmay , i n p l aces , a lmost be crossed dryshod . Th e

di s trict is not very fert i le , and on e of th e gre a t benefits Bri t i shrule ha s con ferred on th e popu l at ion h as been that of re s tori ngand addin g to th e old irri gation sy s tem .

2 2 8 D E L H I

i n Delh i i n 1835 for the coward ly murder of Mr.

Wil l iam Fraser here,and for long years after

wards h is tomb was venerated as that of a martyr,

though he was an acknowledgedmam/a is S i c/ct ,with noth ing to recommend h im but having shedthe blood of an unbel iever. This I s not a sol i taryinstance

,and we were assured that th i s att i tude

has not real ly changed —in fact,during our stay

,

an Engl i shman was attacked by a fanat ic i n thestreet .Fortunately for us

,perhaps

,there exi sts great

rel igious an tagon i sm between Mohammedan andH indu —there I s no possibi lityof permanent un ionbetweeh the two . Mohammedani sm ,

with i ts hardconception of a God aloof from the world

,but

personal with i ntense d ist i nctness,i s i rreconci lable

wi th H indu ism,and i ts vague sh i ft ing ideas

,i ts

enmity to al l that i s personal and i nd ividual,i n

human or d ivi ne l i fe . Delh i has been comparative lylately the scene of b i tter feuds between theMohammedans and H indus the Governmentoffic ial s usual ly succeed i n calming the outburstsof fanati c i sm

,and have sometimes cal led i n the

Cambridge Brotherhood to help i n reconci l i ng thecontendi ng part ies . We may hope that in processof t ime , the patient sel f-sacrific ing love and devot ion of the miss ionaries

,combined wi th the j ust i ce

and zeal for duty of the civi l admin is trators,may

awaken,i n the minds of the nat ives , a sympathet i c

response towards thei r wh ite rulers,which wi l l

sweep away pol i t i cal enmity,and bridge the gul f

between East and West .

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2 30 D E LH I

where they took the i r feed , and where the i r masterssquatted and goss iped i n the day—t ime andmounted guard at n ight . Down the centre ran thewater- course wh ich i rrigated the c i ty . Thiscovered street has an octagonal court m idway

,

where the sun l ight streams in,and whence pas

sages d iverged to the zenana and courts of j ust i ce .

Bishop Heber,when he came , i n 18 2 3, to have an

aud ience of Akbar Shah—the King of Delh i of theday— found h imsel f

,immed iately on leaving th i s

magn ificent entrance,i n a ru inous and exceed ingly

d i rty courtyard . Here,to h i s cons iderabl e d i s

comfiture ,he was made to d i smount and p ick h i s

way , i n th i n shoes , gown and cassock , through themud , to the Hal l of Audience at the eastern s ide ,amongst pesteri ng swarms of beggars

,i n to the

royal presence of the King—the “ poor old man ” (ofth i rty-five)—on whom he bestows much rather i l lmeri ted commiserat i on . When Lord Lake tookposses s ion of Delh i i n 1803 he found the GreatMogul under the thumb of S indh ia and h i s vorac ious French troops

,l ivi ng i ndeed i n h i s Palace

wi th a semblance of royal ty,but a lmost l i teral ly

starved a great deal of the beauti fu l i n laid workand the flowers and leaves of green serpent i ne

,

lapi s lazul i,agate and porphyry

,wh ich adorned

the Palace wal ls,had been gouged out of thei r

wh ite marb le sett ing and sold to buy food for h imand hi s fami ly . The Palace had al ready beenlooted

,more than once

,s i nce the memorab l e day

i n 1739 ,when the Pers ian Nad ir Shah swept back

to Teheran wi th bootyworthmanymillion s sterl i ng ,

THE LAST M OG U L S 2 31

i ncludi ng the Peacock Throne from the Dewani-Khas and the Koh- i- noor . Delh i was cont i nual lyat the mercy of Afghans and Mahrattas , who madesuccess ive incurs ions

,and the King was fortunate

i ndeed,in securing our protect ion , with an assured

income of fifteen lakhs of rupees and as muchpanoply of state and ceremony as he cared to d isp lay in the Palace of h i s ancestors

,wh i l st we ruled

and kept order i n h i s name . The state and ceremonywi th which he surrounded h imsel f, and the spl end id income at h is d i sposal

,d id not apparen tly i n

vo lve any obl igat ion to keep the marvel lou s bu i ldi ng in decent order

,for

,when B ishop Heber

vi s i ted i t,al l was d i rty

,desolate and forlorn the

doors and windows were i n a state of d i lapidat ion ; the baths and fountains dry , the hal l s wereencumbered with pi les of old d iscarded furn i tu rethe in laid pavement was covered with gardenerssweepings

,bats and b i rd s had befou led what remained of the beaut i fu l p ietra dura work and

,even

the Emperor ’s Throne and peepul trees werespringing from

,and burst i ng asunder

,the marble

wa l l s . But an Eastern Sovere ign with no k ingdom but a palace

,and no duties and no scope for

action outs ide i ts wal l s,could not fai l of bei ng a

despicable obj ect,a centre of evi l pract i ces wh ich

varied from i l l- treat i ng wretched s lave gi rl s to emp loying the old Mogu l Sultans ’ seal s to forge t i t ledeeds of every k ind . The outward decay was buta symbol of the corruption and the wretchednessthat prevai led

,where a weak

,sel f- centred autocrat

B ishop Heber’s Journa l , p . 2 94.

2 32 D EL H I

i ndulged h i s every fancy wi thout restra int,pro

tected from the resu l ts of h is act ions by theimpl ied sanct ion of the East I nd ia Company .

That so corrupt a system should have been ableto exis t unmolested , by the protect ion of theBri t i sh

,seems

,i n some degree

,an explanat ion of

the awful retribut ion which,i n the end

,fel l on the

gui l ty and the i nnocent al ike .I n the Fort there i s not now much left of ShahJehan ’s once splend id Palace and i ts beauti fu lgardens—though the conscient ious care of England has lately

,wi th commendable zeal , replaced

al l that i s recoverable of our pi l ferings,such as

the Orpheus Mosai c carried away by S i r JohnJones i n 1857

—but what there i s, i s decentlyordered and arranged

,with

,perhaps , rather dead

al ive and Museum l ike preci s ion . Those who arei nterested can study i t

,as Ferguson says

,to

understand what the arrangements of a completePalace were

,when del iberately undertaken and

carried out on a un i form plan . There i s the mass ive

,plai n

,expanse of the Diwan- i-Am

,or Hal l of

Publ i c Audience,a great square one-storeyd hal l

supported by three rows of n i ne red sandstonepi l lars and Open on three s ides i t i s very l i ke thatat Agra : there i s the beauti fu l Diwan i Khas ,stand ing on a platform look ing east across thecurv i ng river

,now low and at some d istance

,but

i n flood t ime,wash i ng the foot of the high bank

—faced wi th stones and overhung by the projecting caves of bal con ied pavi l ions and latt icedsummer-houses—which forms the eastern defence

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THE PA LACE 2 33

of the Fortress Palace . The spot commands aview of the low rocky h i l l s , at the foot ofwh ich l iesOldDelh i ,and across wide plai ns , fad i ng away toth efaint blue horizon

,where l ie Oude and Lucknow .

I n th is bui ld i ng once stood the celebrated PeacockThrone

,now at Teheran . To the south of th i s court

i s the Zenana , and on the north the Hamman ;both are separated from i t by a wh ite marb le courtyard

,through which from north to south runs a

shal low watercourse,righ t beneath the D iwan- i

Khas . This Pr ivate Ha l l of Aud ience i s open onal l s ides

,and consi sts of a central hal l surrounded

by a double co lonnade : the Hal l once had a s i lvercei l ing . The whole bu i ld i ng 15 of beauti fu l whi temarble

,profusely decorated with gi ld ing (restored)

and painted flowers and other des igns above,below

is the p i etra dura work of the pup i l s of Austen ofBordeaux .

The whi te marb le Baths have fine p ietra durapavements

,the firs t I had seen—as wel l as decora

t ions of the same nature on the wal l s the beaut iful marble Palace of the lad ies i s al so decoratedwith i nla id work below and fresco above . I t wasnot pleasan t to see s igns that the j asper and otherstones had been qu i te recent ly p icked or ch isel l edout .Close by i s Aurangzeb

’

s whi te and grey marbleMot i Musj id , of smal l prOportion s ,wh ich i s enteredby a l i tt le bronze door of del icate workmansh ip

,

covered wi th des igns In low rel i ef. The courtyardi s su rrounded by a h igh wal l of wh ite marble , alsodecorated wi th patterns and flowers i n low rel ief.

2 G

2 34 D E L H I

The Mosque proper i s ornamented i n the samemanner

,and i ts Saracen i c arches S how shgh t S igns

of H indu influence .

There i s a l l th i s,and more : but Delh i Palace , I

must confess,d id not appeal to me . Perhaps i t

showed s igns of having been i n the pas t too com

plete, or perhaps i t i s at present too much pervadedwith an atmosphere of pipeclay ; for there i s someth ing to be said

,from the arti s t ’s poi nt of v iew

,for

the fine regal contempt of the old reg ime for bourgeois clean i ng and mend ing , as al l wi l l agree whohave vi s i ted a Fren ch chfiteau after i t has passedthrough the hands of V iollet- le-Duc . Certain ly thebeaut i fu l old Delh i Palace left u s cold and—shal lI say itP—s l ightly bored : and one turns for refreshment

,from the actual

,presen t facts

,to the graphi c

pictures of the Mogu l Emperors and thei r Court,

l eft us by the old French doctor and h i s compatriot

,the jewel ler

,i n 1670 .

I n the i r days,the great Maidan before the Palace

was fi l led wi th the encampments of those of thegreat Rajput nobles whose week of “ wait ing i twas . They and thei r fol lowers p i tched thei r tentshere

,outs ide the wal l s ; i t was i n the i r terms of

service wi th the Emperor that they were never todo duty or mount guard with i n the wal l s of a fortress . I ns ide the Palace

,the Mogul ’s Afghan or

Pers ian Emirs,of the regu lar army

,mounted guard

i n rotat ion . The arcaded courts they ‘ occupiedwere gay with gorgeous awn ings of brocade , withflowery gardens and sparkl ing watercourses andfountain s ; amongst them s tood booths of reed ,

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1 36 D ELH I

with the King ’s purveyors i n the Palace , and tobuy

,from them

,the portions i ntended for the i r

master ’s household and guests . Then , i ndeed , hesecured a plent i fu l provi s ion of del i cacies

,not to

be obtained i n the bazaars of the town : fresh fi sh ,tender k ids

,and cages of partridge

,duck , or hare ,

sweetmeats of the best,and—in winter—black and

whi te grapes brought,i n dai n ty cotton pack ing ,

from Pers ia or Bokhara,or apples and pears

,dried

rai s ins,apricots

,and prunes from the same coun

tries wh i le h i s lemonade was cooled with i ce ,art ificial ly made i n a manner which

,with h i s usual

exactness,Bern ier describes i n accurate detai l .

Unquestionably,he says

,

“ the great are i n theenj oyment of everyth ing ; but , i n Delh i , there i sno midd le state—a man must e i ther be of thehighest rank or l ive miserably .

The Emirs and Rajahs i n wait ing were al l summon ed under penal ty to attend the Emperor’saud ience-chamber tw ice a day

,at e leven

,and again

at s ix,by strangely wei rd musi c from the Naubat

Khana : there,twenty- four enormous instruments of

mysterious construction sounded at stated t imes ofday and n ight

,with an almost insupportable roar

,

which d is tance,however

,appears to have mel lowed

to a solemnly impress ive and even melod ious harmony . The wi ld notes proceed ing from un ivalveshe l l s used as trumpets may be st i l l heard resounding fromH indu shrines at sundown ; th eyemitwhatheard at close quarters i s an i ntolerab l e d in

,but

sounds from afar very impress ive . At a balcony , orlarge window in the seragl io wal l overlooki ng the

THE G REA T M OG U L 1 37

Diwan- i-Am,the Great Mogu l appeared

,robed in

white,for two hours at noon

,surrounded by h i s

fami ly and personal attendants waving large fan sand peacocks ’ tai l s . Below

,on a square dai s

,with i n

a s i lver rai l,hung wi th deep gold- fri nged brocade

,

are the court iers and those who have the eh tre‘e,

ly apparel led , with wh ite herons’ tai l s

from the i r head-gear ; they stand i n attitudes of deep humi l i ty

,and do not venture to rai se

thei r eyes to the royal countenan ce,but echo every

word he utters wi th a chorus of “Wonderfu l,won

derful ! l i ke the courtiers i n Andersen’s tale of the

Emperor ’s new clothes,they act up to the precepts

of the Pers ian proverb :

I f th e K i n g shou ld ch an ce to say it’

s n i gh t,

at noon,

You w i l l cry ,

“ I see th e stars and moon .

”

Having rece ived the homage of those classes ofh is subj ects whose day i t was to come to courtand who

,unless special ly summoned

,remained on

the further s i de of the watercourse,s ix i nches wide

,

which traversed the court,the King revi ewed the

cavalry of one or two of the Emirs . The horses i nfantasti c armourw ith plumes on the i r headswere al li ngen iously branded wi th mark and number

,to

prevent the same mount doing duty on d i fferen tregimental review days . Then he i nspected a se lect ion of the royal s tud

,to assure h imsel f they were

in good cond i t ion , and al so a l ong process ion ofan imal s kept for the chase or for wi ld beast combats . Fighting elephants and antelopes , buffaloeswith immense horns which fought with l ion s and

2 38 D E L H I

t igers ; tame leopards and panthers trained for thechase

,every var i ety of dog for sport , al l In red em

broidered coats ; hawks and b i rds of prey , withhood and bells

,employed to bri ngdown partridges ,

cranes,hares and even antelopes

,after they have

fi rst bewi ldered them by repeated buffets of thei rpowerfu l w ings and then bl i nded them with sharpta lons . On great fest ival s , the courts were com

pletely covered in with a gold—embroidered , redvelvet awni ng , supported on great masts coveredwith plates of gold or s i lver

,and the poss ible mono

tonyof the pageant was varied byvaluable offeringsof gold or j ewel s from the court i ers

,carefu l ly

graduated In value accord ing to the rank of thegiver The pearl s

,rubies

,emeralds

,and d iamonds

used i n the decorat ion of the Peacock Throne weree i ther presen ts sent by d istant sovereigns , whodes i red an al l iance wi th the Great Mogu l

,or e l se

they were offeri ngs from ambitious or gui l ty nobles .The Koh- i- noor was an offeri ng from Amir J umlato Shah Jehan . When the Prince ofWales vi s i tedI nd ia in 1876 some d i fficul ty was experienced i ndecid ing whether the great nat ive princes shou ldbe al lowed to fol low thei r trad i t ional i nst incts andpresent h im

,i n the same way

,with some treasured

and pri celes s j ewel from amongst thei r he i rlooms .I t i s amus ing to find

,that the wives of the cour

t i ers had thei r revenge i n a sort of fai r held onthese occas ions i n the Palace seragl io : then thesegreat lad ies sol d to the King and the royal princesses

,brocades and embroidered mus l i ns and

other valuable fabri cs,at sums proport ionate to the

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240 D E L H I

cleavage between the Mohammedan governmentand i ts H indu subjects and i naugurated a fatal process of separat ion . The nobles had los t the characteristics of the early northern conquerors and sunkfar towards the effeminacy and s loth wh ich laterd is t inguished them . Thei r equ ipment for the fieldwas an i ndex of thei r i nefficiency . The coats ofthick wadd ing

,covered wi th chai n or plate- armour

,

the showy horses wi th huge sadd les and velvethousings flutteri ng with many coloured sat i nstreamers and wh ite Tibetan yaktails, the plumedharness weighted with bel l s and j ewel led chai nsthese no doubt formed a cava lry “ fi tted to prancei n a process ion

,

” but not to endure much exert ion,

nor to emulate the explo i ts of the hardy horsemen Of Timur

,Babar or Akbar . To inefficiency

was added corruption and a total re laxation of al ld isc ipl i ne . I n sp i te of Aurangzeb

’

s V igi lance thegrosses t abuses had crept i n . Aurangzeb wascourageous and wise

,but he was suspici ous

,d i s

trustfu l and cold hearted ; and as great a contrastas can be imagined to the noble Akbar or to Babarwith h i s easy sociab l e temper

,love of s imple plea

sures and kind affect ionate heart . I n spi te of thealmost d ivi ne honours paid h im by hi s entourage

,

no k ing was ever so cheated or worse served .

Aurangzeb was a clever,energet i c

,astute ru ler ;

i n rel igious matters—though not superst i t ioushe was of the s tri ctes t sect of the Phari sees

,and

,

i n the middle of the l uxury of h i s court , he l iveda l ife of sel f-den ial and abst i nence . But

,i n h i s old

age,he wrote th i s patheti c summing-up of h i s long

A U RA N GZE B 241

reign,Th e in stan t which passed i n power has left

sorrow beh ind i t . I have not been the guard ianprotector of the Empi re .

” He real i sed that hemi ssed the ideawh ich i s the sal t of domin ion

pathet ic sel f- sacrifice and devotionof the commun i ty wh ich form thecat ion for imperial ru le .

242 DE LH I

LIST OF SOVERE IGNS WHO RE IGNED AT

FRO M 1 1 93 TO 1 837.

The Glzorz Turhz and P athan n s ofH i ndustan who reig ned at B ell a

A.H .

M uhammad b in Sam, GhoriKutub ud d in

,I st Dy nasty of S lave (Turki) Kings

Aram Sh ah .

Sham s -ud-d in AltamshRukn -ud-u -d in F iro zS u ltan a Raz iyahBalban .

Ka ikubadJ e lal ud din F iroz Shah Khilj i , 2 nd Dy nasty , PathanAla ud d in M uhamm adShah ab ud d in ’UmarKutab ud d in MubarakNa s ir ud d in Kh u sruGhia s ud din Tugh lak, 3rd Dynasty , PathanM uhammad bin Tugh lakF iroz Shah Tugh lakM uhamm ad ShahKh i zr Kh an S a iy ad

,4th Dynasty , S aiyadM ubarak Shah I I .M uh amm ad Shah’Alam Shah .

B ahlol Lod i , 5 th Dy nasty , PathanS i k andar Lod iI brah im Lod i

Th e Mug hal Emperors ofB abarHum ayu n !AkbarJehangirShah J eh anAuran g zebB ahadur ShahJah andar ShahFarrukh siyar

M uhamm ad Shah’Ahm ad ShahAlamgi r I I .Shah Alam 175 9Akbar I I . 1 806

B ahadur Shah 1 2 5 2 ! iggyTh i s re ign include s th e Pathan Interregnumof Sher Shah ( 1540

S alim Shah, and other Sur Kings up to 1 5 5 5

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144 N E I G H B O U RH OO D OF D E L H I

by flat domes,held together s imply by the extreme

strength of the cement used a special note of theMohammedan- I nd ian bu i ld i ngs of th i s date wh ichhad impressed me at B ij apur . This was probablythe town Mosque of Fi roz Shah Tugh lak

’

s c i tyFerozabad . The s ite of the imperial c i ty of thatmost enl ightened prince l ies between the Ridgeand the river

,s tretch ing away beyond the south

gate of Shah J ehanabad,which now part ly covers

i t . The ru ins of i ts ci tadel , or Kot i la , may be seenon the river bank al l that now remai ns of FerozShah ’s Palace

,with i ts blue enamel l ed domes and

golden spi re,i s a curiou s rui ned pyramidal struc

tu re,cons i st ing of fou r square terraces

,of d imin

ish ing s ize , placed one above the other, and crownedby the Lath of Asoka . They remind one of thedescript ions of Babylon ian and Assyrian palacesand hangi ng gardens . This Lath i s a stone p i l larth i rty- seven feet h igh—origi nal ly erected byAsoka near Meerut—which Fi roz Shah broughthere , triumphantly , with i nfin i te care and pai ns , athousand years later

,and

,unconsc ious of i ts real

i n terest , covered wi th a golden sheath . I t bearsfour of the oldest i n script ions i n I nd ia (th i rd century ed i cts i n the Pal i d ialect referr ing tothe new rel igion—a form of Buddh i sm—whichAsoka wi shed to promulgate . A s imi lar Lath ofAsoka which Fi roz Shah transported from theAmballa d i stri ct

,he erected at the other ex

tremity of h i s town , on the Ridge ; i t was damagedby an explos ion i n 172 0 . A thi rd i s to be found i nthe Fort at Al lahabad .

KALAN MU SJ I D , DELH I

246 N E I G H B O U RH OO D O F DE LH I

I n the afternoon we drove ou t of Delh i , south ,about two or three m i les beyond the Koti la toIndraput , over the hard uneven ground , formed ofthe remains of Fi rozabad . Indraput i s a ru inedfort ified town

,bel i eved to occupy the s i te of the

fi rst of the great ci t ies wh ich , ever s i nce the daysof the earl iest Aryan settlement in I nd ia , have i nturn marked the place where the last outlyingridges of the central Raj putana H i l l s abut on thea l l uvia l pla i n of the J umna val ley .

I n the Mahabharata we find,d imly outl i ned

,

the hal f myth ical trad i t ions of the found ing ofI ndraprastha (fi fteenth century B . C . ) i n a cleari ngamid the j ungles of the J umna val ley . The snakeworsh ipping aborigines receded before the Pandavas

,

! the five brothers who led these Aryaninvaders

,and the kingdom thus establ i shed lasted

some thousand years,covering the period of the

wars which form the main theme of th i s H induclass i c . The succeed ing dynasty was that of theGautamas namesakes of the great teacher SakyaMuni

,a Raj put pri nce whose father ruled at the

t ime of Nebuchadnezzar over a d istri ct furthersouth-east on the borders of Oude . From hisphi losoph ical system and the attract ive example ofh is beaut ifu l l i fe sprang the Buddhist fai th wh ichAsoka , the contemporary of the Greek Antiochus ,was so large ly instrumental i n popu lari s ing i nI nd ia . The Gautamas were d isplaced about B . C . 57by Raj a D i lhu

,and the name of Delh i fi rs t

appears then . Soon after,the h i story of Delh i

was merged i n that of Upper I nd ia and wi th i tS ee p . 3 18.

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248 N E I G H B O U R H OO D O F D E L H I

Sher Shah ’s very fine red sandstone Mosque

( 134o)— stern and severe , but b ig and bold , withhuge arches

,and sharp

,fin ely

- cut mould ings andreturns to the masonry

,which looks as fresh as i f

i t were on ly j ust bui l t . The struts supporting thes ide bays of the Mosque , which are oblong i n planand not square

,are curious . I n the angle towers ,

of much later date,are pavi l ions ri chly ornamented

with exqui s i te des igns in sandstone,l i ke those at

Fatehpur S ikri . I t was qu i te dark before we gothome again

,and the smoke

,ming lingw ith the even

i ng mist,was hung about l ike a cloud

,soften ing the

sharp outl i nes,and fi l l i ng the ai r with the strange

,

pungent smel l pecul iar to an I nd ian even ing .

February 2 3 was a perfect day, and we made anearly start for an exped i tion to Kutub

,ten mi les

d i stant . The road l ies d i rect south from Delh i ,beneath an avenue of feathery acacias now onlypart ly out i n leaf. The throng of passengers alongthe road i s very picturesque . Men

,women and ch i l

dren,cows

,camel s and donkeys

,al l more or less

laden,driv ingor being driven towards the ci ty . N0

where,except i n I nd ia

,have I seen bul locks , buffa

loes, &c . ,

carrying such heavy weights upon the i rbacks . They seem to get along with them very wel l ,however

,and have often thei r burden crowned , i n to

the bargain,by a human being at the top . Some

t imes i t i s on ly a l i ttle ch i ld wi th a rope i n h i s hand—attached to the nose of the beast ; he tugs at i tvio lently to get the brute out of the way of a gharry ,which comes bowl ing along

,the syce runn i ng in

front , crying Hat-jao , Hat-j ao ! at the top of h i sAcacia arabica.

KUTUB M INAR,DELH I

1 5 6 N E I G H B O U R H OO D OF D E LH I

voice,whi sk i ng a cloth wh ich he holds In h i s hand

,

and giving a shove on th i s s ide and anotheron that,

to some an imal or man who 15 too tardy In makingway . Bes ides these , there are swift-goi ng ekkashurrying past at the rate of ten mi les an hour—a

wonder when one sees the rats wh ich draw themand numerous ponderous and creakingbullock-cartsmeanderi ng s lowly along, from s ide to s ide of theroad

,and steered

,part ly byth e cord attached to the

long- suffering an imal 5 nose, partlyby its sti l l more

long- sufferi ng tai l . Th e truen at1ve bu l lock cart i s acumbrous mach ine

,w i th two sol id stone or wooden

wheel s but the hakkery ,

”— a s imple frame,put

together wi thout nai l s— i nvented,I am told

,fi fty

years back by two Bri t i sh officers,meets the native

requ i rements,so exactly, that i t has been un iversal ly

adopted . The pole is attached to the axle- tree ; at i tsfurther end i s the yoke

,rest i ng on the bul locks ’

n ecks,and midway i s a plank for the driver

,from

which he,s i tt ing astride

,can man ipulate the tai l

and d ig h is toes i n to the an imal ’s s ides . I n the artof bu l lock-driving

,one important i tem appears

to l ie i n knowing the preci se degree to which i t i sposs ible to twist the long th in ta i l

,without i ts part

ing company with the pat ient beast , and thus depriv ing i t of i ts steer i ng gear : another cons i sts i nhaving at command a large vocabu lary of strangesounds

,

“ pops l i ke the Open i ng of a soda-waterbottle , checks , ch i rrups , gurgles , and appal l i ngroars

,

” i“otherwise the stol id,imperturbab l e crea

! S ee an article by Mr. Ai tken on“The By le , i n th e Monthly

Review,1905 .

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1 5 1 N E I G H B O U RH OO D OF D E L H I

discipl ined force,and

,gain ing possess ion of Delh i

at the deci s ive battle of Pan ipat founded theMogul dynasty

,which lasted In unsurpassed power

and splendour nearly two centur i es . Babar was anadmirab l e rul er

,and a man with a del ightfu l del i

cacy of taste,kindness of heart , and keen sens i

bi lity to the s imple pleasures of nature and l i fe ,which make h im one of the few sympathet i c characters in I nd ian h i story . He l ived ch iefly at Agra

,

but h i s son Humayun brought the seat of government again

,for a wh i le

,to Delh i

,where i t remained

under the Afghan usurper Sher Shah,unt i l Babar’s

grandson Akbar regained the throne in 1 5 5 5 .

I t was not long before we caught s ight againthrough the tamari nd trees

,which C l ustered round

a V i l lage,of the great Kutub M inar

,five mi le s

ahead i n the d istance . I t i s rather a l ibe l to l ikeni t to Doul ton ’s ch imney

,but , at fi rst s ight , i t cer

tain ly suggests i t . On closer acquai ntance i t grewupon us

,and i t i s

,without doubt , a most original

bu i ld i ng—a tower two hundred and th i rty- e igh tfeet h igh , i n five d imin i sh i ng storeys- with manypoin ts of beauty : my compan ion wished to knockoff the two top storeys

,I th ink probably rightly

,as

i t turns out that the original des igners had noth ingto do with them

,and they were the work of Feroz

Shah Tugh lak,the great restorer

,i n 1368 . The

Kutub stands on a gentle s lope,i n a beaut i fu l ly

shady oas i s of th ick groves of fine trees,contrast

ing most gratefu l ly wi th the prevalent dark red hueof the plain wh ich they overlook . We were veryglad to reach th i s cool and peacefu l Spot

,and or

TH E I RON P I L LAR OF RA J A D H AVA 1 5 3

dered our lunch,at the Dak bungalow , before turn

ing to examine the groups of remarkable bu i ld i ngs ,which ri se from amidst pomegranate and j asm inebushes

,round the base of the great tower .

We are here i n the midst of the memorial s of theso- cal led Pathan conquerors , who fi rs t broughtMohammedanism to I nd ia

,and here was the seat

o f empi re from 1 19 1 , when Shahab-ud-d in,or

Mahmud of Ghor , and h i s V i ceroy , Kutab-ud-d in,

possessed themselves of the capi tal of the celebrated Pri thvi Raja (the Raj put ruler of Ajmereand Delh i

,and the last champion of H indu inde

penden ce i n Upper I nd ia) . I t remained the cap i talunt i l the t ime of Ala-ud-d i n Kh i lj i

,the parri c ide

,

who died leaving h i s great minaret un

fini shed . But , i n the midst of these traces of thefirs t Mohammedan ru lers of I nd ia

,stands the won

derful i ron pi l lar of Raja Dhava—second or th i rdcentury A .D .

—which no European foundry wouldhave been able to produce t i l l abou t fi fty years ago .

I t supported,probably

,an emblem of Vi shnu

,and

its deeply-cut Sanscri t i nscription gives the earl ies tauthenti c i nformat ion about prim it ive Delh i .The Ghazn i dynasty

,

— to whose empi re i nKhorasan Mahmud of Ghor had succeeded

,

—notinfrequent ly rai sed minars or towers of V i ctory onthe s ites of thei r battl efields : they are found inGhazn i , and as far west as the roots of theCaucasus— and to th i s class of tower the KutubMinar evidently belongs . I t i nterested me verymuch : to begin with

,no European monument ri ses

sheer, to i ts fu l l height , i n such i solated grandeur ;

N E I G H B O U RH OO D O F D E L H I

i t d i ffers i n shape,des ign , and detai l from any other

tower I had ever seen,and i ts surface 15 most curi

ously covered wi th perpend icu lar , angu lar , andsemi - ci rcular flutings i n the red sandstone ofwhich i t i s bu i l t . The origi n of these ‘angular fluti ngs seems unknown , but whether i t i s to be foundi n the pecu l iar form of the Ghazn i Mi nars i nKhorasan

,or to be traced to the starl ike shape

of some Ja i n monuments,they certain ly p roduce

a very beauti fu l effect . Each storey , covered al termate ly wi th these round and angular flutings , i ssurrounded by a broad band ofArabic i nscription

,

support i ng a mass ive balcony,which stands out i n

strong rel ief from the tower . !

Close to,i n fact surround ing

,the Kutub i s a

very i nterest i ng Mosque of the fourteenth century,

but i t cons i sts,almost ent i rely

,of earl ier H indu

workmansh ip,and i s greatly made up of the pre

exi st i ng Jai n temple , which the bu i lders of theMosque used as a quarry

,ju st as the church bui lders

at Avalon avai led themselves of the columns andornaments of the old Roman bu i ld i ngs

,i n the i r

neighbourhood . I t cons is ts of two enclosures . Thelarger and outer one—bu i l t after the i nner— contains the Kutub

,and is entered by a splend id gate

way,bu i l t by Ala—ud- din

,of red sandstone rel ieved

with bands and stripes ofwh ite marble , and coveredw i th the most del i cate des igns—arabesques andd iaper patterns— carved and inlaid

,much l ike those

”Th e lowest store y d ates from 1 190, th e two ne xt bear th e

n ame of Altamsh ( 1 2 1 1 and th e u pper p art is of th e t ime of

Firoz S hah Tugh lak ( 135 1

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2 56 N E I G H B O U R H OO D O F D E L H I

We lunched near the l i t tl e dak bungalow,where

those may stop who get permiss ion from theSuperintendent o f Pol i ce i n Delh i not far off i s adeep wel l

,with a drop of s ixty feet -and a depth of

twenty feet of water . I nto this , with the prospectof gain

,the nat ives del ight to jump four of them

were stripped and al l ready for us on our arrival,

so we al lowed them to go through thei r performance

,and then we were let i n for e ight annas

apiece,which they demanded— strengthen i ng thei r

c laim i rrefutab lybydeclaring that“ the Gu ide book

says so ! The wel l I s narrow,and too vigorous a

leap forward would throw the creature aga i nst theoppos i te wa l l

,where he would probably be dashed

to pieces . But they never fai l to get down feetforemost . and walk up agai n by a stai rcase fromthe surface of the water sh iveri ng

,however

hot the day,to i ntens i fy one ’s feel ings of com

passIon .

Early i n the afternoon,we left the cool oas i s and

started on our way back by Tughlakabad,a grand

o ld fortress,which Tugh lak Shah bu i l t i n 132 1 ,

when the restles sness,so usual to I nd ian ru lers

,

drove him from the Kutub at the foot of the h i l l s,

to bu i l d a capi tal of h i s own,four mi les to the

east nearer the Jumna . I t stands h igh , on a chainof rocks , and looked over an art ificia l l ake , formedby a great s tone wal l bu i l t across a ravine i n theh i l l s

,th i s i s now dry

,except i n the rainy sea

son . Huge and impos i ng round towers , of a veryhard , b l u i sh crysta l l i ne rock , ri s e from the base ofthe h i l l , to support the cyclopean wal l s , and give

T U G H LAKA BA D 1 9

a look of severe grandeur to the long l i ne offort ificat ions . We were reminded of some greatsol id E truscan , or Egyptian bu i ld ing . Althoughi t was deserted forty days after Tugh lak Shahd ied

,no vegetation b lurs the outl i ne of the s loping

turrets,th ick wal l s and narrow doorways , and

enough rema ins of i ts four-mile ci rcumference andfi fty—two gates to show what a formidable strong

ho ld it formed ; i t was i ndeed , as Mr . Wil l iamFinch said of i t i n 1610 a th ing of surpass ingglory and statel i ness .A stone causeway

,rai sed on low arches

,stretches

out into the lake,and at the end of i t i s a curiou s

enclosure surrounded by very mass ive wal l s,i n

the form of an i rregular pentagon,s lop ing i nwards

from the base,i n the pecu l iar style of the Tugh lak

Sul tans . I n the centre of th i s smal l fortress,wh i ch

is i n a far better state of pre servat ion than thecastle

,stands the fi t and appropriate tomb of two

of the warrior k ings of the Tugh lak l i ne . Thisbui ld ing

,of white marble and red sandstone

,su r

mounted by a white marb l e dome,i s the tomb

where the generous benefactor and restorer Fi rozShah Tugh lak,

—who endeavoured so nobly torepai r the ravages of t ime and the resu l ts of pasttyranny

,

— placed the s igned deeds of ful l pardonwhich , with i nfini te pains , he had obtained fromal l those whom h i s bri l l iantly clever

,but probably

sl ightly deranged,predecessor had i nj ured . There

i s someth ing d ist i nctive i n the character of th i sshort l ine of Tugh lak Sul tans ( 132 1 andthei r refined

,severe taste and pit i l es s sternness

2 5 8 N E I G H B O U RHOO D O F D ELH I

appear to have stamped themselves on the t i tan icmonuments of the i r t ime .Here we joined

,and drove back by , the Muttra

road . I n th i s d is tri ct , amongst the tombs and theru i ns of bygone ci t ies , there are l i ttl e commun it iesof low caste Chri s t ians , s i nging thei r curious songsas they lead thei r flocks and herds to graze , on thescant herbage .

The Cambridge M i ss ion to Delh i—thoughch iefly devoted to work among the educatedclasses i n the c i ty

,where they have a complete

ladder of educat ion— i s respons ible for th i s worktoo

,and th eyperambu late the v illagesw ith in a ci rcl e

of twenty mi les,preach ing

,teach ing , catech i s i ng

and convers ing .

The Delh i Brotherhood was founded,i n conse

quen ce of a strong appeal made by S i r Bartle Frereto the Un ivers i ty

,to send men to carry on the work

oe . and Mrs .Winter in Delh i . S i r Bartle Frerehad vis i ted Delh i

,with the Pri nce of Wales i n

1876,and wrote of these devoted peopl e that they

were both much overtaxed . Mr . Winter was a manof great powers of organ isat ion

,energy

,and en thu

siasm,who had laboured here for eleven years

wi thout rest,and he could not be persuaded to

leave t i l l i t was poss ible to supply h is place . S ir

Bartle Frere wrote,I am much mistaken i f you

have not a larger Tinnevel ly at Delh i i n the courseof a few years

,but they requ i re more money and

more men . Delh i seems qu i te one of the mosthopefu l open i ngs I have seen . Mr . Bickersteth(afterwards B ishop of Japan) responded to th i s

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2 60 N E I G H B O U R H OOD OF D E LH I

presented to the natives of I nd ia as concern ing thei nd ividual relation of the separate soul to Godalmost exclus ively

,whi l st the complement to thi s

essen tial foundation ,—the un ityof the whole as onebody in Chri st

,—had hardly been brought home to

them at al l . They bel ieve that the marvel lou s sol icl ari ty of native l i fe

,which i s one of i ts most

marked characteri s t ics,i s not al l evi l

,and that i t

behoves the miss ionary to show,i n deed as wel l as

word , that that principle i s , i n the h ighest degree ,congen ial to the fai th of Chri st . They hold

,

therefore,that the obj ect- l esson of a corporate l i fe

,

based on pure rel igious principl e,such as a

Brotherhood presents,i s of the utmost value

,i n

the task of commend ing to the H indu mind a tru lycathol i c and not exclus ively Engl ish

,oreven Euro

pean type Of Chri st ian i ty . The characteris t i c andimpress ive note of the Delh i M iss ion seems to bei ts complete organ i sat ion of act ive work . I t d i scovers various practi cal advantages arising fromtheBrotherhood l i fe— such as economy ; the absen ceofi solat ion

,which i s one of the greatest trial s of the

ord i nary miss ionary and the cont i nu i ty of work ,resu l t ing from the fact that

,th emethods of the older

and more experienced men can be learned , by thoseworking with them

,before they are cal led away .

Both th is,and the road we went out by

,are l i ned

i n p laces wi th tombs of al l descript ions,some

covered by del i cate bright coloured t i les . Thenumber of fine tombs which we met with i n I nd iarather perplexed us

,but

,to any one with a know

ledge of the h i story of Mogul courts,the explana

N O B I L I T Y O F O F F I CE 2 61

t ion i s not far to seek . Amongst the Mogul s therewere no noble fami l i es : the King was the proprietorof al l land and the source of al l honour . The sayingof the Emperor Pau l of Russ ia , “ the only mannoble in my domin ions i s the man to whom I speak

,

for the time that I speak to h im,expresses pre

c isely the att i tude of a Mogul Emperor to h i s owncourtiers and high officers and they succeeded i nbreaking up

,i n I nd ia , al l the ancien t ari stocracy ex

cept that of the Rajpoots . Th e courtiers and emirswere usual ly adventurers from outs ide

,or slaves

,

and they formed s imply a nobi l i ty of office whichn ever succeeded i n found ing a fami ly

,and never

bui l t a spacious palace . They l ived i n temporaryhabi tations

,and spent much of thei r t ime i n the

Emperor ’s palace he was the i r hei r , and had noscruple i n bestowing thei r possess ions on thei r successor in office

,as soon as they d ied

,and transferri ng

thei r weal th to h is own coffers . Th e irfamilies were,

at once,turned out to sh i ft for th emselves

,and th eir

sons had to begi n a’e nor/o. Consequently,they left

noth ing to commemorate thei r n ame,un less i t were

a bridge or a canal bui l t for the publ i c good,or a

col lege,except the tombs wh ich meet our view on

every s ide .

We stopped en route at the Tomb of Akbar’sfather

,Humayun

,the firs t great Mogul bui ld i ng

i n I nd ia and probably the finest . I t i s certain ly themost beauti fu l tomb near Delh i

,and i t looked par

t icularly solemn and grand as we saw i t , j ust afterthe sun had set . There can be no doub t that th econtour of the dome i s finer than that of the Taj Where

2 62 N E I G H B O U R H O O D O F D EL H I

bulbousness hasalreadybecome rath ermarked. Thedes ign of the bu i ld ing is pecu l iar . A white marbledome ri ses above the central chamber, which i san i rregular octagon

,with four i rregular octagons

at al ternate s ides,surround ing i t , and between

them smal l square or oblong chambers with deepportal s i n each . The body of the bu i ld i ng i s ofred sandstone and white marble , and stands , i nthe centre of a garden

,on the top of a square

platform,looking down on the surrounding trees

,

and,away north

,to the rugged

wal l s of Indraput . The gardeni s surrounded bywalls ,

enteredby stately gateways . I t was toth i s bu i ld i ng that Hodson

,of

Hodson’

s Horse , came , i n5 16 1 1 6 11 ru

ng;116 11 1 1 1111 9 search of the las t King of

Delh i,and wi th a smal l band

of horse brought h im away,i n the teeth of hundreds

of the enemy . He sti l l further d i st i ngu ished himsel f by return ing for the two sons of the King

,and

having l ed them out of the i r h id ing-place,shot

them with h is own hand . H is act ion was muchcri t ici sed , but acts of boldness such as th i s seemto have staggered and paralysed the nat ives .On leaving Humayun ’s tomb i t was growing sodark we were

,obl iged to give up going to see that

of N izam-ud—d in . And next day we left Delh i .I t had been very i nteresting to trace the growthof the tomb i dea

,which culminates i n the Agra

Taj , but one can have too much of everyth i ng , andI thi nk we had of s ightseeing at Delh i . Neverth e

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2 64 N E I G H B O U RH OOD O F DE LH I

always honoured him,as one of the l ights of the

profess ion . With Tugh lak Shah , he seems to havebeen at cross purposes , and the trad i t ion goes thatthey i nterfered with each other

’

s bu i ld i ng operat ions and showered on them mutual recriminat ionsand curses .

N izam-ud-d in d ied at the age of n i nety- two,

the year before h i s opponent , who was murderedi n 132 5 . His devoted friend and fol lower , Khusru ,the renowned poet of Tugh lak

’

s C0urt,

- whosesongs have notbeen forgotten by the people throughthe five hundred years which have passed by

,

refused to survive h im , and d ied soon after ; hel i es buried with i n the same enclosure . Thi s peculiarly Oriental habi t of dyi ng at wi l l—with no apparent phys ical cause except that of refus i ng totake food— has often been a real d i fficu l ty to theEngl ish Government . I nstances are wel l known i nwhich i nd ividuals , or , i n some cases , groups ofpeop le

,have al lowed themselves to d ie

,s imply as a

protest against someth i ng they obj ected to : i t i susua l ly as an act of impotent revenge and i n orderto heap obloquy on the man who drove them to i t .Pol i t i cal prisoners

,i n Russ ian pri sons

,Leo Deutsch

says,wil l revenge themselves on the official s i n

much the samemanner . “ S itt ing dh arna ,

”

or takingup a pos i t ion at a man

’

s gateway,and refus ing to

take food,i n order to enforce compl iance wi th

some demand,i s now a criminal offence i n I nd ia .

Babar appears to have ended h i s days i n someth ing of the same manner as Khusru : he devotedh i s l ife to save that of h is s ick son

,—the son re

covered,and Babar d ied .

THE TOM B O F JEHAN IRA 2 65

Here also l ies Jehan ira,the devoted compan ion

of Shah Jehan ’s captivi ty i n Agra Fort . She surv ived her father for s ixteen years

,and was said to

be a great benefactress of the poor and rel igiousmen , and to have d ied with the reputat ion of asaint , which ,— though the part of the devi l

’s advocate was not left out

,and there are two vers ions

of her story,— Bishop Heber seems i ncl ined to

a l low her . Her tombstone cons i sts of a whi temarble slab

,carved wi th flowers

,and hol lowed

out , so as to contai n earth , on whi ch grows freshgreen grass

,i n obed ience to her wish that on ly

things frai l and evanescent should mark her lastrest ing-place : the epi taph inscr ibed on the headstone i s said to have been composed by hersel f

Let green grass on ly conceal my grave,grass

i s the best covering for the grave of the meek,the

h umble,trans i tory Jehan ira,

the d iscip le of theholy men of Ch i sht .On the right

,on entering the fi rst courtyard

there i s a Mosque,with a very fine domed ce i l i ng

— ri s i ng,before the dome i s commenced

,from a

square to an octagon and from that to a s ixteens ided figure . To the eas t i s an assembly hal l ofwh i te marb l e

,with fine latt i ce screens (restored) .

Two of the tombs have beauti fu l wh i te marb l edoors

,elaborate ly ornamented i n low rel ief.

The great tombs ofN izam-ud- d in and of Khusruform two separate bu i ld ings , of wh i te marb l eencased i n latt ice screens of the most exqu is i tecarved work . The shr ines themse lves are coveredwith bright s i lk pal l s wi th canopies over them and

2 L

2 66 N E I G H B O U R H OOD OF DE L H I

ostrich eggs and gewgaws hang from the canopies .Al l important Mos lem tombs have

,bes ides the

Mosque,an endowed coll ege of Moolahs attached :

they say prayers at stated t imes,read the Koran

over the grave twi ce a day,and spend the i nterval s

i n teach ing the youth of the neighbourhood toread the Koran and hate the unbel iever . The resu l ti s

,no doubt

,not very conducive to l ivi ng peaceably

with your n eighbour,but the process pleases the

eye . Picturesque groups of figures s i t about onthe marble pavement . Here i s a very smal l boybe ing taught to read out of a great tome ; there avenerable patriarch i s i n structi ng a lad out of theKoran and i n another part a young man i s carefu l ly copying a manuscript

,with h i s “ style —the

floor forming h is desk,and he laboriously lean ing

over and s lowly drawing out the letters .Bes ides the large tomb

,there are i nnumerable

smal l ones,many of which would be wel l worth

studying anywhere el se . Some of these are overhung by great shady trees , and i n the shady orshel tered nooks s i tmany old men

,i n various

stages of decrepi tude . They,and the cats , which

seemed to haunt the place,reminded me of the

Algerian marabouts,where the ol d people

,who

have come to end thei r days In the holy preci ncts,

s i t huggi ng cats to keep them warm . The wholegroup i s wonderfu l ly beaut i fu l

,and the place i s

certain ly one of the most attract ive near Delh i,

the qu iet l i fe about i t adds an indescribable charmnot easi ly forgotten .

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2 68 AMBALLA

d istri ct came into the hands of the Bri t i sh in 18 2 3.

Then,i t was chosen as the stat ion for the pol i t i cal

agent of the provi nce,and i n 1843 a cantonment

was estab l i shed a few mi les south of the now wel ln igh van i shed unwal led ol d town . I t i s the headquarters of a d istri ct lying between the Sutl ej andthe Jumna— the H imalayas and the native state ofPat ia la—which i s the sacred land of the misty daysof H indu ep i c romance and the las t home of thefive demi-god brothers

,the Pandavas

,before they

left the pla ins to bury themselves in some unknownspot amongst the eternal snows of the H imalayas .There i s

,however

,l i tt l e t race of mystery or poetry

i n the cri sp,bri sk mi l i tary atmosphere of the busy

l i tt le town : i t l i es on the Grand Trunk road , thatmost fasci nat i ng of h ighways— the “ broad smi l i ngriver of l i fe ” w i th new people and new s ights atevery stride, endeared to us al l by the days spenton i t by Kim

,the “ l i ttl e fri end of al l the world ”

and his Lama . I ts double avenue runs fi fteen hund red mi les acros s I nd ia

,and Amballa i s close to

the place where the road to S imla and the H i l ls tat ions turns off

,and has long been a centre of

supply for the Europeans up there . I t i s i n a capital ly heal thy s i tuat ion

,and though no doubt very

trying in the hot weather,i t was fresh enough then .

The temperature was cooler than anyth ing we hadh i therto enjoyed i n I nd ia : experience warned usthat i t wou ld be cons idered rather tactl ess to congratu late any of our friends i n I nd ia on the cl imateof the place they l ived i n

,but i t was unden iable

that a good deal of rain had fal len here,whereas

A N AT T RAC T I V E STA T I O N 2 69

we had met wi th none el sewhere,and that there

real ly were refresh ing i nd icat ions of green grass .The neighbourhood of the h i l l s

,with thei r snow

and roar ing torrents,gives to the atmosphere a

dampness that lends beauty to the land scape ; and

OUTS IDE THI‘

. CAN TONMENT

the surround ing d i stri ct i s wel l wooded wi th finedark green groves of mango

,with s i ssoos

,mul

berry,banyan

,and the ubiqu itous peepul tree .

The attract ion of th i s stat ion i s that i t i s so closeto the h i l l s that wives and ch i ldren can eas i lyescape

,for the hot weather

,to Kasau l i

,s ix thousand

fee t above the pla i n s,and over looking the Kalka

val ley,where

,when the ra i lway then projected was

Opened , a run of three hours would enable the men

1 76 AMBAL LA

to joi n them for the week end . At Kalka the S imlapeopl e used

,i n old days

,having passed the ford

over the Ghaggur r iver hal f-way, to l eave the i r dakgharry from Amballa and take to the tonga . I nflood- t ime that ford often i nvolved cons iderabledelay for passengers

,and the mai l s were carri ed

over by an elephan t . Al l these romant ic i nc identshave faded i nto the past now

,and by a l ight rai l

FROM THE MA I DAN

way to S imla one i s very prosai cal ly “ wheeled toreach the eagles ’ haunt ” i n no t ime .

Amballa i s said to be a very good specimen ofan Engl i sh cantonment : at the t ime of our vis i tthere were five thousand troops there

,in cluding th e

7th Dragoon Guards , zud Battal ion Queen’s West

Surrey,14th West Yorks , King

’s Own Scott i shBorderers

,2 nd Battery Royal Horse Art i l lery

,

2 nd Mounted Battery (part ly native) , l oth BengalLancers

,and the 2 3rd Pioneers . I t stretches out on

a vast flat plai n about seventy mi les south of thefi rst s lopes of the H imalayas and i s planned uponrectangular roads . The central part i s occup ied bythe bungalows of the officers

,the shops

,the club

,

and the church , al l surrounded by large compounds . To the West are rows of barrack bu i ld ingsseparated from the centre by smal l maidans—flat

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272 AMBALLA

open commons,green i n favourable CIrcumstan ces

and dotted with trees—and beyond are much largeropen spaces stretch ing for mi les around the cantonmen t . These form parade-grounds , grounds formil i tary manoeuvres

,and are avai lable for polo and

cri cket . To the North i s a gol f l i nks,and there

,

qui te at the extremity of the cantonment near the

gymkana or recreat ion-ground , i s Paget Park ,where was our host

’

s house . I t i s attached to thepost wh ich he holds

,and i s said to be one of the

best i n Amballa and the on ly c ivi l ian ’s house i nthe mi l i tary l i nes

,the c ivi l l i nes being away to th e

West . I understand i t was rather a Naboth ’s vineyard and regarded . with covetous eyes by thegeneral command ing the d istri ct . I t stands i n agood garden with the usual l i tt le water- channel ssurround ing the flower beds ; they are fi l l ed from thedroning Pers ian wheel

,where a drowsy boy

,curled

up beh i nd the pat i en t oxen,sends them circl i ng

round the wel l,and turn ing runnel s of clear water to

freshen the lemon and rose bushes ; the garden i nthei r season abounds i n roses

,but the t ime of roses

i s not yet . Close by i s a tank with a picturesquetemple

,where I sketched ; th i s i s one of the few

remain ing fragments of o ld Amballa,and I had to

make the most of i t,and of some wonderfu l ly big

banyan trees,and another tank

,surrounded by

rui ned temples . I was al so fortunate enough tosecure

,for the morn i ng

,a splend id camel sowar of

the 10th Bengal Lancers,who came and sat to me

on h i s camel,i n i ts scarlet Marie Stuart cap and

sadd le- c loth,outs ide the verandah of my bedroom .

THE TO U T 1 73

Unfortunately our conversat ionwas l imi ted,but an

obl igi ng Moon shee glorified my sketch by wri t ingShams ud-d in Khan ’s name and status i n splend idpi cturesque characters below i t .I t was a res t to be free from that most impertinent , pers i sten t i nd ividual , the Delh i tout , w hohad been bori ng us to death for the last few days

,

H is name i s legion,he lay i n wait at every corner

,

and wi th h i s confreres crowded round us i n the

THE HOUSE OF THE D IVI S IONAL JUDGE

street,and cl imbed

,uni nvi ted

,on to the carriage

,

thrust i ng h i s employer ’s cards i nto h i s vict im ’sface . We were bes ieged by him at the hotel doorand even stormed in our bedrooms . I t i s veryd i fficu l t to maintai n an ai r of i nd i fference to a l lthis persecut ion

,and at last I got so exasperated

that I th reatenedviolencewith st icks and umbrel lasnoth ing short of th i s wi l l keep the tout at bay .

I t was good al so to be i n a comfortable housewith decent food

,after the very i nd i fferent fare at

I ndian hotel s and to get mi lk whi ch one knew wasnot contaminated with typhoid germs . I t i s not

2 M

1 74 AMBAL LA

safe todrinkmi lk i n I nd ia un less one has a tolerablyi nt imate acquai ntance w i th the i nd ividual cow andi ts ways . The real wh i te brahmi n i cow—with i tsblack points , wide muzzl e , and long droop ing ears—who suppl ies the mi lk for Engl i sh

,or native

domest i c use , i s aP ara’ah l ady

,sec luded for l i fe

,and

BANYAN TREE

she never strays beyond the stable or the courtyard,

separated from the neighbouring domain by alow mud wal l ; she i s fed by her own attendant ,who i n t imes of scarci ty wi l l wander far afield

,

seek ing fodder for h i s Charge . The other cows,

who supply the mi lk of commerce,are those one

sees at large,pick ing up a doubtfu l l iv ing i n the

s treets and bazaars the ord inary mi lk i s thereforea fru i tfu l source of i nfection .

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1 76 AMBALLA

commanding the R .H .A . here and S i r J ohnJ ervi s White Jervi s and h is wi fe .

We went to see one of the polo tournamentmatches—they were playi ng off the finals— 1 s tWest Yorkshi re (quartered here) against Bare i l lyand Jallunder Rifle Brigade teams . As the RifleBrigade teams had each s ix or e ight good pon iesaga inst the West York two apiece

,i t seemed a great

THE CROWD

tr iumph of good play when they won the final . Onthe ground I met Major Noyes

,who commands

the I s t \Vest Yorks here he was very keen aboutthe game

,and the enthus iasm of the Tommies was

immense . Major Noyes had come out wi th us asfar as Aden and was expecting h i s Colonelcy dai ly .

The tent-pegging amongst native officers ofBengal Cava l ry Regiments was one of the prett iests ights I had seen i n I nd ia . I t was a lovely day anda lmost the firstwe had had anysun s i nce we arrived .

After breakfast we went to the maidan close by to

T EN T PEGG I NG 1 77

the N .W .,and the wide plain formed a very pretty

p ictu re,with the tents and sh ift ing kale idoscope of

gay- coloured crowds

,i n whi ch every figure was a

study in colour , agai nst a background of blue H ima

A COMPE I’ ITOK

l ayas , capped wi th snow . The brightly dressedn at ive aud ience

,on lookers and compet i tors

some of them wi ld look ing Pathans and front iertribesmen In gorgeous c loth es—weI e ranged In twolong rows , on e i ther s ide of the course , eagerlywatch ing each rIderas wi th bodyben t low andpoi sedspear, he comes gal lop ing down ,

shouti ng wi ld ly

178 AMBALLA

t i l l he e ither m isses the peg or h i ts i t , and swingsi t

,on the poi nt of h is lance

,round h is h igh- coned

blue turban with the flash ing stee l quoi t— then amurmer of excited approval passed through thecrowd . Al l th i s i n bri l l i an t sunsh ine , with a back

ground of trees and grey-bluemountai n s and far off snow-peaks

,

was a scene never to be forgotten .

I t was a grand opportun i ty forstudying variety i n the dres s ofthe people ; some were gloriouslyapparel led i n the i r own nat ive costume

,and others were i n brigh t

un i forms . The un i forms of the10th Bengal Lancers , many ofw hom are S ikhs

,with thei r

b lue and red lance-pennons,blue

05-1; 6 1 1 11 11 6 116 11 6 kurta or long coat , white breeches ,

red cummerbund,and the blue

cone- shaped lungi,or turban

,part i cu larly pleased

my eye . I was i ntroduced to several d i s t i ngu ishedpersonages

,and special ly remember a gentleman

i n dark green s11k,who was sa i d to trace h IS

descent to the t ime of Abraham—or rather that i thad been done for h im . I was immensely glad wehad not mi ssed i t al l

,though i t i nvolved our fore

goi ng a vis i t to Peshawur .The n ight of March 3 found me at Amballa s tat ion , start ing , with my boy Lobo

,on an exped i

t ion to the North-West . My compan ion was notwel l and preferred a few quiet days at Amballa ;but , besides my des i re to see Lahore and Amritzar,

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2 80 AMBA LLA

to a fe l low travel l er,whom he chanced to know he

shared my compartment al l the way to Lahore,

Where he l ived . Perhaps he was a cyn i c who , havingseen much of the seamy s ide of men and in stitut ions , took a g loomy V i ew of l i fe and i ts ameni t ies ,at any rate , he spent the n ight most uncomfortably ,

SWEET-SELLER Sand

,before leaving

,told me he was busy and cou ld

do noth ing for me . I had experienced a good dealof the k ind and sociabl e ways of Engl i shmen i nI nd ia

,and no doubt I had had more than I de

served,of gene IOus hospi tal i ty In other places .

Soon aftera ch i llysun rise I found mysel f d rivi ng ,along a wind ing road l i ned wi th casuar i nas , toNedou

’

s hotel ; S i r James Lyal l , with whom wewere to have stayed

,had been obl iged to go in to

camp,j ust at the t ime of my vis i t to Lahore .

CHAPTER X IV

LAHORE—THE NORT HERN GATE

IN old days,he who held Lahore hel d I nd ia

,for

i t stands at the s lu i ce-gates through which,from

the north-west—s ince the t ime of Alexander— theflood of many success ive generat ions of I nd ia ’sconquerors has swept . I nto Lahore poured thefi rst Mohammedan i nvaders at the end of theseventh century

,and looted the great Brahmin ical

ci ty of wh ich,years before

,the Chinese Buddh i st

p i lgrims, Fo-H ian and H iuen -Tsiang

,had de

scribed the splendour . Again , three centuri eslater

,the ten thousand p icked horsemen of Mah

moud of Ghazn i burst,

“ l ike a foaming torrent ,”

through the barriers and overwhelmed J ai Pal,the

Rajput k ing of Lahore , at Peshawur . He was

carri ed off,with ri ch spoi l s , i nto captivi ty , but re

l eased on promis ing a tribute the d i sgrace,how

ever,broke h is heart

,and mount ing a pyre

,he had

had constructed,he appl ied the torch w i th h i s own

hands,and peri shed i n the flames . The burden of

the tribute passed to h is son , An’

ang Pal,who was

true to h i s i nher i ted engagements , though othersubjugated Rajah s

iwere l ess loyal , and the northernSultan returned i n wrath and—defeating th e largest

2 N

2 8 2 LA H O RE

army I ndia had ever mustered—ga ined a fi rm footi ng i n H indus tan . He occupied Lahore , whichremained the cap i tal of the Musalman Empireunt i l 1 194, when Mohammad Ghori , or Shahabud-d in

,whose domin ions ex tended from Tibet to

the Casp ian,transferred the metropol i s to Delh i .

I n the last years of the fourteenth century Lahore fe l l before the invas ion of the lame Timur

,and

when another 140 years had elapsed , i t was onceagai n sacked and plundered by the great Babar i n1 5 2 6,

who pushed h i s i nvas ion further,and

,after

the victory of Pan iput, founded the Empire of theMoguls . From that t ime Lahore ranked as one ofthe great cap i tals of the East

,and M il ton

,no doubt

bas ing h i s est imate on Mr .Wil l iam Finch ’s remark ,This i s wi thout doubt one of the greates t c i t i es ofthe East

,coupled i t with Agra— in the wel l

known l i nes

S amarckand b y O xus , Timur’s throne ,To Pek in , of S imoean kings, and thenTo Agra and Labor of Great Mogu lDown to th e golden Chersonese .

The Mogul Emperors l ived here at i nterval s,

and the four great bui lders of the dynasty areal l represented i n Lahore : Akbar by the mixedSaracen i c and H indu arch i tecture i n the Fort andwal l s

,Jehangi r and Shah Jehan by thei r splend id

palaces,and the fanat i cal Aurangzeb by the great

Mosque . Subsequently the ci ty became the sceneof perpetua l p i l lage and loot unti l the estab l ishment of the S ikh kingdom under Ranj i t S ing

,a

magn ificen t figure,who welded the S ikhs , under

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2 84 LA H O RE

Mohammedans anddieda pri soner i n Lahore underJehangi r . I t was Arj un who compi led the Granth—or Holy Book—an obj ect of immense venerat ion amongst the S ikhs : the sayi ngs and doctri nesof Nanak are comprised i n one div ision of the book ,cal led the Japj i ,

” which the true S ikh is d i rectedto read every morn ing

,as contai n i ng the key to the

teach ing of al l the Gurus . I t i s said to be “ nobl ei n spi ri t

,poet i cal i n form

,and worthy to be classed

with some of the noblest of the Hebrew Psalms ,and to express a mysti c i sm comparable to that ofWordsworth

’

s Tintern Abbey— fu l l of

a sense sub l imeO f some th i ng far more deeply i nterfused ,Whose dwe ll ing is th e l ight of setti ng su ns

and i n th e mind ofman .

Nanak dwel l s special ly on the character of God,

as a sel f- conscious Being,who loves and cares for

H i s creatu res,who hears thei r prayers and enters

i nto personal relat ions wi th them . He taught thatthe royal road to the knowledge of God and toi ntercourse with H im , was nei ther by i ntel lectualknowledge nor ri tual “ good deeds

,but through

remembrance of the Name —or meditat ion onthe character of God—conform ity to H i s Wi l l , andright conduct ; al so that the Immanent Spi ri treveals H imsel f amidst the bus i ness of l i fe—aswel las i n the sol i tary places—i f the heart be i ntent onhearing H i s voice and doi ng H is Wil l . Themoral standard of the fi rst S ikhs was a h igh onegambl i ng andimmoralitywere pun ishable offences ;fal sehood

,s lander

,and forn i cat ion were branded

G URU GOV I N D 1 85

as deadly s ins ; truthful ness , honesty , and kindnesswere incul cated . And by Nanak

’

s doctri ne,

“Therei s no H indu and no Mussalman

,allcaste d ivi s ions

were swept away i n the brotherhood . The laterGurus

,however

,preached the duty of destroying

the enemies of the fa i th,and soon

,the origi nal aim

of the founder was frustrated and forgotten .

Under the later Moguls,the S ikhs endured bi tter

persecut ion,but th eygain ed In strength , and gradu

allydeveloped from a rel igious order i nto a mi l i tarycommuni tyknow n as th eKalsa

,orelect . Though con

stan tly at war wi th thei r Mohammedan rulers , andrepresent i ng—l i ke the Mahrattas i n the south—theH indu react ion

,and formingon e of the main causes

of the internal d i s i ntegrat ion of the Empi re,yet

they const i tuted a protection against attack fromouts ide , and for many years kept back the t i de offurther Afghan invas ion . The las t Guru who hadanypreten sions to beinga spiritual l eader was GuruGovi nd He estab l i shed the pol i t i cal i nde

penden ce of h i s fol lowers , and , after h im ,the rule

of the Guruship was abol i shed and only mi l i taryleaders were elected . The contrast between th i slater h i story of the S ikhs—when they l ived on lyfor the holy war , wi th i ts tale of slaughter andb loodshed— and the precepts ofNanak

,I s absol ute .

I n the eighteenth century the mi l i tary prowes sof the S ikhs reached i t s zen i th

,for

,after a long

struggle wi th the Afghans,they final ly won the

supremacy of the Punjab In a battle near AmritzarIn 1764. They then establ i shed themselves fi rmlyi n Lahore ,which became themilitarycen tre of thei r

2 86 LAH O RE

kingdom,but was constantly robbed to glori fy the

re l igious centre,Amritzar. They ruled the north

west for a century , and became a nat ion of freebooters, sweep ing down and Over- runn i ng the adj acent country l ike locusts . They destroyed thecrops and the fine groves of trees

,the legacy of the

p iety of past generat ions ; and they massacred thepopulat ions . They were then said to be “ false

,san

gu inary,fai thless

,and addicted to plunder and the

acqui rement ofweal th by any means however uefarious . After Ranj i t S ing

’

s death they i nvadedBri t i sh terr i tory i n 1845 , and began the fi rs tS ikh War

,which led u l t imately to the annexat ion

i n 1849 . Then they were en l i s ted i n smal l numbersi n the Sepoy regiments . On the outbreak of theMutiny Lord Lawrence enrol led many more

,and

they behaved with such conspicuous loyal ty as tohave j ust ly earned the reputat ion of the mostgal lant and fai thfu l so ld iers of the I nd ian Empire

.

The S ikhs d i ffer from al l the H indu sects i n thatthey are “ not born but made they are not idolaters

,and welcome al l castes i n the commun ity .

L ike the Nazarite of old,the i n i t iated S ikh never

shaves or cuts h i s hai r ; and tobacco i s forb iddenh im . His beard i s d ivided i n the middle , and passi ng beh ind h i s cars i s twi sted i n a coi l with h is hai r

,

under the dark blue h igh—coned turban i n which hewears a min iature s teel quo i t .When the kingdom o f Ranj i t S ing came i ntopossess ion of the Bri t ish at the end of the secondS ikh War ( 1849 ) the d istr ict was taken by theEast I ndia Company from Maharajah Dhuleep

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2 88 LA H ORE

shrubs flouri sh the roses , I bel i eve , are someth ingto rave about

,and mulberry

,guava

,orange

,vine

,

and peaches and plums bear splend id crops—thescarlet-flowered pomegranates i n the gardens

,and

the green meadows of the Champ de Mars , near thetown

,form a del ightfu l foreground to the d istant

views . On very bright days,when the ai r i s not too

much charged wi th dust,the snow-clad H imalayas

come into s ight,far far away

,stretch ing thei r mas

s ive,gigant i c

,and noble forms proud ly

,above the

clouds , i nto the blue heavens . The middle d istancei s perfectly flat : i t i s fert i l e

,but depends much on

i rrigat ion , and when not i rrigated by canal water ,tends to become a mere barren desert or s teppedotted with stunted camel-broom and wormwoodand other shrubs ; clusters of mud or reed hutsoccur here and there

,by the s ide of a muddy pond ,

and are d ign ified by the name of vi l lage .

I found a great deal to attract me i n the wonderfu l wal led ci ty of Lahore though the bu i ld ingsal l recal l Delh i and Agra

,and seemed on rather a

lower level of i nterest,yet there are certain th ings

wh ich are un ique and essent ial ly characteri st ic ofthe place

,and these

,i n themselves alone

,are wel l

worth coming here to see—they help one to imaginewhat the town was l ike i n the old days of its splendour

,when the Pers ian poet used i t as an i nstance

of transcendent attainmentGod h as made by His own power

,

On e ci ty great,on e c ity sm a l l

,

Not every town becomes a De lh i or L ah ore .

My fi rs t care was to get the Handbook descrip

THE F O R T 2 89

t i ons as correct as poss ible I found i t no easy task,

and i t occupied the whole l ivelong day,as there was

no one to help me , and the on ly book relat ing tothe place sh i rked al l the d i fficul t ies and swal lowedal l the old bl unders . Immediately after breakfas t

,

I d rove off to see the s ights . The Fort i s oneof the ch ief obj ects of interest ; but owing tothe absence of a rel iable gu ide I was much put toi t to understand and unravel i ts i n tri cacies . Thereused to be an i ntel l igent non- commiss ioned officerthere

,who knew somethi ng about the place

,but

he with the whole garr ison had gone,on ly two

days before,and had been replaced by a new lot

,

who were more ignorant of the p lace than I wasmysel f.Lahore Fort i n i ts pahn y days must have beena splend id place , perhaps equal , or approach i ng i nbeauty to that at Delh i . But vanda l i sm

,Brit i s h

and other,has robbed i t of most of i ts splendour .

The outs ide of the Palace of Akbar,which faces

the deep d itch and overlooks the outer wal l,i s

profusely decorated with incaustic t i l es and themosaics of t i l e work , cal led Kash i or Nak Kash iwork

,i .e . ,pottery made of the same material as

t i les,but i n al l k i nds of odd Shapes and repre

sent ing differen tquain t subj ects—combats betweenanimal s

,t igers and bul l s , elephants , dragons . I n

the spandri l s of some of the window-arches thereare splend id flying angel s , with gi rd les and longtasse l s

,each bearing i n i ts hand someth ing wh ich

,

from below,l ooks l ike a lamb or poss ibly a b i rd .

This very unorthodox decorat ion— accord ing to2 o

2 90 LA H O R E

Mohammedan doctri ne— i s attr ibutable to the t imeof Jehangi r

,who preferred to l ive here rather than

at Agra and contributed much to the splendourand prosperi ty of Lahore ; even i n the t ime ofAkbar i ts bazaars stretched far over the now desolate tract beyond the wal l s . J ehangi r i s said tohave given so much encouragement to the Portu

guese Miss ionaries that he al lowed a figure of theMadonna to appear on one of h i s bu i ld ings andused a rosaryon wh ichwerefiguresof Chri s t and theVi rgin . I t i s said that with h i s fu l l approval severalmembers of h i s fami ly were baptized : there i s ,however

,cons iderable doubt as to the real extent

of Chri s t ian i nfluence at the Mogul Court . Certain ly i n J ehangi r

’s case,the i nfluence does not

appear to have affected i n anyway h i s l i fe and moralcharacter . S i r Thomas Roe—th eAmbassador fromJames I .

—bears wi tness to the drinking bouts towhich he was addicted i n private

,and to the brutal

feroci ty of h i s treatment of those who incurredh i s d ispleasure . Prince Khusru

,hi s eldest son

whose tomb we saw at Al lahabad—for a short t imeheld Lahore agai nst h im

,but

,with h i s supporters

,

fel l i nto h is father ’s hands : Jehangi r caused sevenhundred of Khusru ’

s fol lowers to be impaled i n al i ne outs ide the gate of Lahore Fort

,and he had

the unfortunate Khusru,loaded with chains

,and

carried on an elephant,down the l i ne , to wi tnes s

the terr ible spectacle of the i r prolonged sufferi ngs .Khusru

,who i nheri ted someth ing of Babar ’s tem

peramen t , was much affected , and for years re

mained a prey to the deepestmelancholy f hi s

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2 9 2 LAH O RE

and Aurangzeb— though i n more or less perfectcond i t ion

,has been encrusted by Ranj i t S ing

,

who used to hold h is Durbars there,with a mosai c

of looking-glass , more i n harmony with modernoriental taste than wi th ours and qu ite out of keywith the feel ing of the bu i ld i ng .

From the windows of th i s hal l northwards therei s a beaut i ful view over the Almond Gardens andplain beyond to the Ravi

,a mi le or two away .

Before Aurangzeb’

s too success fu l attempt to prevent i nundat ion s by d ivert i ng the course of thestream

,the river ran j ust below the Fort . Where

i ts broad bright blue stream now flows to j oin theI ndus

,stands Jehangi r ’s beaut i fu l tomb

,on the

S h ahdera , wh ich Ranj i t S ing robbed to form theBara Darri

,a ri ch and fanci fu l gem of a marb l e

pavi l ion standing in the tangledgarden—the HazuriBagh—which separates the Fort from Aurangzeb ’s great cathedral mosque .

Near here are the sacred places of the S ikhs ;amongst them the humble shrine of thei r fi fthGuru Arj un Mal l

,the compi ler of the Granth

,

who i s bel ieved to have peri shed as a martyr,i n the

Ravi,on th i s spot— and the S anadh of Ranj i t

S ing,a much more pretent ious mausoleum

,with

i ts round roof and proj ect ing balcon ies . Above h i sashes

,i n the centre of a marb l e platform , i s a large

lotus flower carved in marbl e and surrounded bye leven smal ler flowers : the central flower covers theashes of the great Maharaj a and the others coverthose of h i s w ives , who became sati and underwent cremati on with thei r husband .

THE G REA T M O SQU E 2 93

Aurangzeb’

s mosque , the Badsh ah i Musp d,as

i t I s cal led,i s a fine and stately example of that

not by any means the best— period ; i ts generaleffect i s marred by the absence of th e crown ingcupolas to the red sandstone minarets ; beingdamaged in 1880 by an earthquake , the tops weretaken down

,l eaving theminaI ets look i ng , for a l l

th eworld,l ike factory ch imn eys , though th eyappear

mass ive and Impos ing as they r i se above the large

'I HE PORT AND JUMMA ML'

SJ ID

and shady trees of the mosque courtyaI d . Themosque was bu i ltbyAurang ,

zeb with the confiscatedfunds of h i s elder brother

,DaI a S h ikoh ,

whomhaving safely d isposed of hi s father

,Shah Jehan

,i n

Agra Fort— h e murdered i n order to secure the success ion to the throne . After a long pursu itAurangzeb had captu red Dara nearAhmedabad and bri ngi ng h im to Delh i paraded h im through the streets

,

amid ci rcumstances ofgreat i nd ign i ty ; he then submitted h im to a mock trial , and ,fin ally by the hand

of hi s personal en emy,sent and murdered h im i n

pri son . H is body was exposed to the populace onan elephant

,and the head was then brought on a

2 94 LAHO RE

s i lver d i sh to Aurangzeb . I t i s hard ly surpris ingthat the mosque should never have been afavouriteplace of prayer .When the S ikhs had the upper hand i n Lahorethey

,i n the i r turn , persecuted the Mohammedans ,

and desecrat ing the mosque made a magazi ne ofi t : i t was not t i l l 185 0 that the Mohammedans obtain ed permiss ion from the Bri t i sh Government toI estore the mosque to i ts original use , and theycol lected large sums of money wh ich they spent oni ts cleans i ng and restorat i on

,i t has unfortunately

suffered terribly again from the earthquake of 1905 .

I n a chamber above the gateway are kept somesacred rel ics of the P I oph et and of Hasan andHusei n which used to be In the Fort . I t took thepriest i n charge five minutes to Open the pad locksto the various doors enclos i ng them

,and then ,

before showing them off,he made us wait whi l st he

saida tedious andmonotonous prayer . Thenwe sawthe pugaree and s l ippers of the prophet and a hai rof h i s beard

,and var i ous specimens of h i s hand

wri t i ng . Dusty,fusty th i ngs they are

,but the old

priest,who showed them to us

,was very anxious

to impres s upon us thei r beauty and un ique value .My second morn i ng atLahore

,I started before the

sun was up for a drive of s ix mi les to S hahdera .

I t was b i tterly cold and frost covered the grass ,unti l the fi rs t horizonta l rays of the sun were fel t ,and then the frost suddenly d isappeared and by8 .30 i t had become qu i te hot . Lahore i s very hoti n summer

,but In w i nter the frost 1s qu ite severe ,

and the nat ives used,I am told

,to col lect ice to

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1 96 LAH O RE

A friend described to me another original methodof river navigat ion wh ich they pract i se . S ix ore ight chatties with large open mouths are lashedtogether on the unders ide of a charpoy—or woodand stri ng bedstead—in such a manner that themouths of the chatt ies open downwards . Thiscontrivance i s then carried to the water and careful ly lowered

,so that each chatty remains fu l l of

a i r . Th is forms a raft of sufficient buoyancy to carrya passenger

,and i t i s manoeuvred by the fisherman

seated astride on a net- ful l of empty gourds thushe rides through the water , be ing above i t fromthe wai s t upwards , and control s and d i rects theprim it ive craft .S h ahdera ,

which I reached at about e ight o ’clock,

i s a low square bu i ld i ng of red sandstone andmarble

,raised on a platform wi th a big minaret at

each of the four corners , a widemarble terrace abovei t forms the roof. The cenotaph , beaut i ful ly decorated with pietra-dura work , i s i n the centre ofthe bu i ld ing , i n a smal l octagonal chamber withpierced marble screens on each s ide a large tangl ed garden , contain ing a few stray flowers

,sur

rounds it al l . This was once the Di lkusha gardenor ple asaunce of J ehangi r

’

s beauti fu l and capablewife

,Noor Jehan , who wi th her father and brother ,

Asaf Khan,completely dominated the cruel

,but

pleasure- loving Jehangi r and h is empi re towardsthe end of h is l i fe . Noor J ehan was the daughterof a needy Pers ian refugee ,whowith h is son obtainedemployment and rose to wel l deserved honour atAkbar

’

s court . J ehangi r fel l i n love with the grace

S HAHDERA 2 97

fu l and accompl i shed girl whom he saw i n h i sfather ’s harem—perhaps at one of the fai rs Bern ierdescribes— and though they married her to SherAfgan

,a Pers ian

,to whom Akbar gave the gover

norsh ip of Burdwan in Bengal , J ehangir d id notres t unt i l he had had Sher Afgan murderedand Noor Jehan brought back to Agra . I t wasnot

,however

,t i l l he had been s ix years Emperor

that she consented to marry h im ; then . she ob

tained an ascendency over h im unparal l eled i nthe East . Her name appears with Jehangi r

’s oncoins and her wi l l was law i n al l affai rs of state .Her father became prime min ister and her brotherreceived some other h igh appointment her n ieceMun taz Maha l she married to Shah J ehan . Fortun ately the fami ly were wi se and upright and the i rswaybenefic ial to the Empire . She survived Jehan

g i r’s death—of asthma—for twenty years

,but l ived

i n obscuri ty and,i n s ign of mourn ing

,never wore

anyth ing again but white . Her tomb,near Jehan

g ir’

s at S hahdera ,was completely ru i ned to adorn

Amritzar : that of her brother Asaf Khan , the fatherof Mun taz Mahal stands i n the m iddle of anothergarden to the west of the Serai

,and was most

sad ly treated by Ranj i t S i ng and robbed of al l i tsveneer of marble and stone there i s st i l l

,however

,

a good dea l of beaut i fu l Nak Kash i work st ickingto the portal ce i l i ngs .Return ing to the c i ty to breakfast

,I went to

sketch about ten— having intervi ewed my denti s tagai n—and hoped to have a fie l d day of i t , i n theun ique native streets .

m8 LAH ORE

The o l d town i s del ightfu l ly picturesque , andqu ite a. treasure-house for sketch ing . I t cons ists ofa networkof narrow

,tortuous streets of h igh

,brown

brick,flat- roofed houses wi th the usual hot and gay

bazaars below . Here bu l lock carts and the hugemouse-coloured bu l l s shoulder the i r way throughthe variegated crowd of many tribes and nat ionswhich throng th i s northern front ier town

,and by

thei r warl ike bearing,and more sympath etic ,warm

hearted aspect , are a contrast to that of the nat ivesfurther south . Look ing down upon the streets arethe most fasci nat i ng orie l wi ndows

,and beaut i ful ly

carved balcon ies , of al l manner of unexpectedshapes ; they st ick to the s ides of the wal l s l ikenests of swa l lows or bees

,and make the narrow

Lahore lanes , often end ing i n cats de sac , some ofthe most taking i n the world . There i s an i nfin i tevariety i n the end less crowded rows of picturesqueproject ions . Al l the windows are ornamented , andshut i n

,with wooden screens of del icately beaut i

fu l latt i ce work,and the overhanging wooded bal

con ies,onwh ich they Often open are not on ly carved

with elaborate des igns , but painted with bold blueand red devices

,so that no space fai l s to make i ts

appea l to the eye . I n the centre of the Old town i sthe mosque of Viz i r Khan

,a beaut i fu l bu i ld i ng

,al l

in laidw ithmosaicsof in caustic t i l e work,and ablaze

wi th glorious colour gl i tteri ng i n the sun i n andabout i t

,i n the ceaseless play of l ight and shade,

are throngs of nat ives of the most p ictu resquedescript ion

,i nclud ing many Pathans

,fel low

countrymen of Kim ’s al ly Maboub Al i,who come

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366 LAH O RE

I t was as good a subj ect as I could have wi shed tohave before me was a mass ive archway spann ingthe street—i ntensely dark In I ts cavernous recessesand under i t

,a jostling crowdwas pass ing and re

A STREET \V INDO\«V

pass ing in garments of every V ivid colour—thoughthe b lue

,the S ikh colour

,predominated— l ooking

bri l l iant,by contrast

,as they stepped i nto the sun

l ight from beneath the shade . On either s ide wereshops and stal l s

,buyers and sel lers : and the ai r

was ful l of many voices . Above the heads of thecrowd , through the archway , I cou ld see one of

THE M U S E U M 36 1

many coloured minarets of Viz i r Khan’

s mosquesoar ing up i nto the blue sky ; and , w hi le I was atwork

,a superb figure— huge , and with the bearing

of a pri nce— came strid ing towards meand seemed to give a central andcomplet i ng touch to th i s gay scene .

Encompassed by these narrowstreets i s a S ikh temple wi th a finewel l . To get at i t I entered a courtyard from a back lane ; there I encountered an old man who could notmake out why on earth I wanted tosee the wel l . The door to the stai rcasewas locked

,and he put so many diffi

culties i n the way of gett i ng the key,

and was so mysterious al together,

that I was at last—having no t ime tolose—obl iged to give i t up as a badjob

,and go on to the Museum , where

i s the finest col l ection of Buddhistsculptures i n existence . Some of them are real lymost art i st i c

,and d isplay curious traces of Greek

i nfluence i n the fee l ing and execution.They

come from the Buddhis t sacred places i n thenorth

,and the crowded friezes once covered the

brick s tupas , with endless series of representat ions of the beaut i fu l tale of Sakya Mun i ’s l i fe anddeath and miracles— the fami l i ar s cenes i n whichhe i s represented with the begging bowl

,or seated

under the bo- tree i n med itat ion,or on a lotus as

the object of adoring venerat ion . One curious andquaint obj ect which attracted my attent ion was a

A CUR IOUS COLUMN

30 2 LAH O RE

red sandstone Buddhist column about ten feet h igh,

which came fromnear J helum : i t had a large andsolemn head carved upon i t and proj ect i ng from i t

,

near the top,some five or s ix i nches .

Unlucki ly,I had no t ime to vis i t the famous rose

gardens,five mi les out at Shal imar '

Where S ul tan a fter S ultan , w ith h is pomp ,Abode h is hour or two and went h is way .

Iram , i ndeed, is gone w i th all i ts rose ,And J amshy ’d ’s sev

’n-ring’

d cu p, where no on e knows

But sti l l a ruby k indles i n th e v i ne ,And man y a garden by th e w ater b lows .

Great groves of mango and gigant i c fig and orangetrees

,over two hundred years o ld

,sti l l spread round

the old palace , and they and the beaut ifu l marblebordered lakes swarm with b i rds and squ i rre l s .I n Lahore , as i n most other places i n I nd ia , i n thetown and country al ike

,are countless numbers of

b i rds wh ich,never mol ested by the nat ives , are as

tame as poss ib le . The blue rock p igeons comedown on the roofsand courtyards i n clouds

,making

the place where they al ight , qu i te blue . I n the oldbu i ld ings al l the holes and corners are i nhab itedby green parrots

,with red b i l l s , who poke out the i r

cheeky noses at every turn,and fly fuss i ly about

over one ’s head—chattering as voci ferous ly as thenat ives below . Along the country road the mostcommon b i rds are the m inah and the turtl e-dovethen there are huge cranes , al l tamer than barndoor fowl s at home . As to noxious beasts I metnone anywhere i n I nd ia . The snakes were al lunderground

,except those i n the possess ion of

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CHAPTER XV

AMRITZAR : THE POOL OF IMMORTAL I TY

ON my way back to Amballa to p ick up my companion I stopped at Amritzar

,and spent twelve

hours there . Twelve days would not have been toomuch

,for i t i s a parad i se for sketch Ing ,

but I d idhard ly anyth i ng there

,or at Lahore

,on account of

the Handbook work . I found the days were al ltwenty—four hours too short : what t ime I had tosketch only resu l ted i n fai lure

,which was a sad

pi ty , for i t i s a qu i te un ique place . I n sp i te of i t sbe ing such an extremely modern ci ty—and a placeof to-day

,rather than of yesterday— i t s sol i d pros

perity was al l of a purely nat ive and lei surelycharacter , with hard ly a touch of the West abouti t

,and the town and the people a lone are al l most

p icturesque i n themselves . Noth i ng , however , thatI have ever seen can compare with the GoldenTemple , i n i ts own part i cu lar way , and i t i s qu i teas imposs ible to describe adequately i ts towers andminarets and other sacred spots and th ings

,i n and

around its precincts,as i t would be to describe a

beauti ful d ream . The whole th i ng i s l ike a dream,

too strange and i n some ways too beaut i fu l todescribe .

306 AMR ITZAR

Amritzar i s the rel igious headquarters of theS ikhs ; and the centre of the town , towards wh ichsets the t ide i n the crowded streets

,i s the celebrated

Golden Temple,s tanding on an i s let i n the midd l e

o f the great Sacred Tank ; th i s gives i ts nameAmri tt-sar , or Pool of the Water of L i fe , to thetown . I t takes some t ime for a VV estern Chri stian—i nto whose rel igious l i fe water

,with al l i ts sym

bolism,only enters i n the very elementary sprink

ling bestowed i n the in i t ial bapti smal ri te—to graspful ly the immense part water and bath ing p lay i nthe rel igion and worship of the Oriental

,and more

especial ly i n that of the H indu . The sacred tanki s real ly as important as the Temple

,and perhaps

more essent ial to the i r devotion . Prayers may besa id i n th e most rud imentary shri ne—in a dumpyb lack temple under a banyan tree , or i n a sacredgrove ; before a tree or amarigold -wreathed blackstone bedaubed with red paint

,or ch ipped rudely

to a blun t po int ; i n the open under the horizontalrays of the ri s i ng sun : but al l acts of ceremon ia lworsh ip—and even the morn ing prayer from theVeda

,prescribed to al l h igh- caste worsh ippers

demand a preced ing ceremon ial bath ing i n the

c leans ing stream or tank . I t matters l i ttl e that thewater i s anyth ing but clean , strewn with floatingflowers and leaves from the worsh ip of past days

,

and,as at Benares

,contaminated i n many other

ways —the idea i s there . I t i s a curious fact , soclosely i s wash ing bound up with thei r rel igion

,

that H indu converts,i n leavi ng thei r o ld fai th

,

l eave off the usefu l hab i t,and want of Clean li

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368 AMR ITZAR

sh immering glory sh i nes i n the sun l ike a blaz ingal tar

,and i s then reflected i n the dancing grey

green water of the oblong pool , i n the centre ofwh ich i t i s set

,and i s made more bri l l iant by the

beaut i fu lwh itemarble terrace—i n laidwith colouredmarble from Jaipur—framing the sacred tank

,

whence steps,every here and there

,descend to the

water’

s edge . A marble causeway leads across thepool to the i s land platform of the l i tt le temple

,a

marble balustrade on ei ther hand,and tal l columns

with gi l t lamps surmounting them,r i se above the

crowd of flower- laden pi lgrims that cont i nual lystreams across . Around the marbl e pavement

,bor

deri ng the pool,are the Bunggas or palaces and

chapel s of S ikh chiefs—Rajas and Maharajaswho come

,from t ime to t ime

,to pay thei r devoi rs at

the shri ne : and s i tt i ng on the wide footway of theterrace wh ich ski rts the palaces below

,under tem

porary she l ters , are sel lers of flowers , charms , androsar i es , and S tich l ike gauds . I n old days , everyS ikh carr ied a formidable spear- head or quoi t i nh i s head dress ; but now they content themselves ,as a ru le , with min iature copies i n thei r pugareeson ly fanat ical Akal i s go about crowned wi th fu l ls ized chakkas . The min iature weapons are al sofor sale bes ide the marigold and jasmine flowers .The Golden Temple i s a small

,square

,rather i r

regular bu i ld i ng,that has been compared to St .

Mark ’s at Ven ice,and certain ly there I s a resem

blance In the manner that the fi rs t s ight of i t,across

the wide square , bursts upon one , and in the wayi t i s en rich ed with the spoi l s of older generat ions

THE H O LY O F H O L I E S

and ci t ies s ix or e ight fee t from the ground , thesheets of gold give way to an encrustat ion ofmarbles

,carved and inlaid with flowers and b irds i n

precious stones,that come from Jehangi r

’

s palaceand tomb and other Mohammedan bu i ld ings .

No shoe i s a l lowed to enter the temple prec incts .

My yel low- l egged pol iceman-guide took my bootsoff at the outer gate

,and had my feet swathed i n

vo luminous coverings of red cloth,t ied about my

ankles ; but even with these , one must not ventureto enter the temp le

,except by one part i cular door

,

and then , must not penetrate beyond a few paces ,for fear of desecrati ng the holy place . Thi s concess ion even would not be granted by the S ikhs toany one but the i r conquerors . I found I must notso much as rest my foot

,on the edge of the door

ways , in the other three s ides not even to stretchi nwards , and copy a pattern upon the s i lver doors .

I t i s a picturesque s ight wh ich greets one 0 11 enteri ng the precincts by the permitted door . The interior of the temple i s a smal l square chamber ,surmounted by a dome and profuse ly decoratedwith paint ing and gi ld i ng . Under a canopy

,on the

east s ide s i ts,on the floor

,the venerable h igh pries t

i n whi te robes,with a great cush ion

,or ottoman

,i n

front of h im . Upon thi s he res ts the Granth , orSacred Book— when he has taken i t out of variousembro idered wrappings— and he reads a l oud fromth i s from time to t ime

,or el se rece ives i n s i lence

the offeri ngs of the pi lgrims : they come i n a constant stream , and , i f they do not give d i rect ly toh im , cast thei r offerings of cowries , coins , or flowers

3 10 AMR ITZAR

—for the temple— i nto a sheet spread out , to rece ive them ,

i n the centre of the floor . Then,tak ing

thei r p laces amongst the crowd , they squat downaround the sheet i n a ring and chant verses out ofthe sacred book

,to the sound of stri ng mus ic from

quaint c i tharas , played by four or five old musi ciansseated i n a corner at one s ide

,whi l s t other priests

wave fans above the Sacred Book . Under the domeabove is a chamber where i t i s said the Guru

,the

founder of the temple , and h i s successors , used to s i tand med itate : th i s l i t tl e place

,l ike the other sacred

spots,i s swept out wi th a broom of peacock ’s

feathers,which was the on ly movab le obj ect i n th i s

shrine on my vis i t . The marvel lous treasures ofgold and s i lver poles and maces and j ewel l ed canop i es

,and pearl and d iamond ornaments , used when

the Book Is carr ied In procession,are kept above the

entrance gateway ; and the gi lded sacred ark , contain ing the vessel s for the i n it iatory ri te and thesword ofGuruGovind

,are laid by in another shri ne

,

where the neophytes are baptized and in i t iated i ntoth ebroth erh ood

,by a quai nt symbol i c ceremon ial i n

wh ich water and steel,bread and honey , play a part .

I made a sketch of the temple from the causewayl ead ing to i t

,but I was somewhat hand icapped i n

my work by the fact that I was not al lowed to s i tdown except on the pavement . I had providedmysel f with a campstool

,but

,on attempt ing to make

use of i t,several persons i n authori ty at once rushed

to me and remonstrated . I t was too great a l ibertyto take

,i n so sacred a spot

,and was cons idered an

act of desecrat ion,so I had no course but to sub

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3 1 1 AMR ITZAR

granate,and other tal ler trees

,and i n them were

clusters of great bats , or flying foxes , hanging fromthe branches . My guide told me that the peoplebel ieved these creatures were the ghosts of departedpriests

,because they hang about al l day and do

nothi ng .

Apart from the i nteres t of the temple,I was glad

to see the S ikhs i n the i r headquarters—at home soto speak but somehow I was a l i tt le d i sappoi ntedwith thei r appearance : for they do not al l Showevidence of the s tately

,manly character

,which has

carried thei r name far and wide,as do the p icked

specimens one sees el sewhere . Amongst them therewas a great sprinkl ing of Pathans

,and rough

,

hardy,picturesque- looking men from the moun

tai ns,clad i n coarse garments and furs . They were

usual ly traders from the north—Kashmi ri s,Afghans

,

Bokhariots, Beluch i s , Pers ians , Tibetans , Yarkandi s— who bring down the raw material s of theshaw l s and carpets for wh ich Amritzar i s famous ,and al so fine specimens of thei r own nat ionalmanufactures and embroideries . I spent an hourbargain ing for some praying carpets and a bi t ofcrimson s i lk

,embroidered wi th rows o f blue and

orange peacocks,which took my fancy

,before

,late

at n ight,I tore mysel f away from Amritzar.

CHAPTER XVI

THANESAR : THE CRADLE OF THE

H INDU RACE

LES L IE SM ITH had given me such an i nterest ingaccount of Thanesar

,where last year he spent some

t ime as Deputy Commiss ioner,that I determined

to stop there on the way from Amballa to Delh i .I t requ i red a l i ttl e arrangement to manage th i s

,as

,

though Thanesar was on a new d irect ra i lway l i ne,

the trai ns d id not run conven ient ly . Fina l ly wedecided to go by road my host d rove me th i rteenmi les i n h i s tum- tum

,or dogcart

,and then ,

fol lowing Father Benson’

s example,we took to

nat ive ekkas .I t was very cold when we left Amballa at

A .M. by the grand trunk road which l inksCal cu tta to Peshawur . Thi s road

,for the greater

part of i ts one thou sand five hundred mi les,runs

under a doub l e avenue of mango,s isso i“or acacia

trees ; quaint old-world veh icles creak and g IOanalong i t i n a cont i nual s tream

,and perpetual ly

changing groups of strange , i n terest ing wayfarerspass across the fl i ckering l ight and shadow of i tsdusty track . Along th i s great avenue we drove

,i n

the early morn ing l ight,i n many places on an em

D alberg ia s isso Roxb.

3 14 T H AN E S A R

bankmen t,a protect ion against the floods ; between

the bol l s o f the acacia or tamarind trees , we hadgl impses of the sky- enci rcl ed p lai n , with widestretches of waving green wheat , from which rose ,l i ke dark i s lands , the l i t tl e mud vi l lages : theystand on low mounds

,i ns ide h igh stone wal l s that

serve as a defence from outs ide attack and an eu

closure for th ecattle . Bes ide thevi l lage l ies th epondor tank

,excavated to form sun-dried mud wal l s

here come the women,with ch i ld ren astride the ir

hip,for the day

’

s supply ofwater,which they fi l ter

through a corner of the i r vei l s i nto the bras s waterpots

,before they set them on the i r stately heads .

John Lawrence once overcame one of thesewa l led vi l lage commun ites which had too longobst i nate ly refused to pay arrears of land tax ,by the peacefu l expedient of post i ng on the trackslead ing to the pastures smal l knots of pol ice

,who

turned back i nto the vi l lage the lowing cattl e , asthey i ssued from the gates at dawn . Before m iddaythe i nhabi tants capi tu lated

,and

,w ithout h is having

to bri ng the guns i nto act ion— always with h im thelast resource—the long overdue taxes were paid .

I t was i n th i s d i s tri ct that John Lawrence laidthe foundat ions of h i s i n t imate acqua intance withthe needs and character of the agricu l tural nat ive .

For two years he l ived here,as Acting Col lector

Mag istrate , almost conti nua l ly i n the saddle , and onterms of great i nt imacy with these sturdy farmersand nat ive gentry he adopted much of thei r habi tsand costume and acqu i red an extraord inary degreeo f i nt imacy with the i r language

,which he used so

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3 16 T H A N E S A R

fi rs t s ix months of 1905 one i n every seventy-fiveof the popu lat ion succumbed to the ravages ofth i s terrible s courge . I am assured by a h ighauthori ty that no such devastat i ng epidemic hasoccurred s ince the fourteenth century

,and that

Whereas during the fi rst year of the outbreaks i nI nd ia

,Sept . ’

96 to Sept .’

97, the deaths amountedto the fatal cases i n the first s ix months of1905 often exceeded a wee/e. The tota lmortal i ty i n I nd ia from plague i n 1904 was

whi l e i n 1905 from Jan . 1 to Apr . 2 9deaths from plague were registered .

At Shahabad we left the tum- tum,got a frugal

breakfast at the rest—house,and having stowed our

legs away i n the two ekkas await ing us,drove off

at a rattl i ng pace . The pon ies wh ich draw theseekkas are weedy

,unpromis i ng- looking brutes

,with

no chests , but , with l ight loads and for short d i stances

,they are very fast . The seat of an ekka i s

of canvas,laced together near the front : i t i s ideal

for the cross- l egged nat ive , but not sat i s factory tothe European for him

,one would suppose

,there

could be no more uncomfortable conveyance . However

,my host i ntroduced me to a capi tal dodge

,

which cons i sted i n gett i ng part of the canvas n ul aced , and hanging one

’

s legs down ins ide : theresul t was eminent ly sati s factory .

\V e started bri skly and seemed to fly past themi lestones

,cover i ng the whole s ixteen mi les at

the rate of ten mi les an hour . The last part of theway , when we left th e trunk road and struck i ntothe old Mogul road to the west , i s very rough ,

THE MAHABARATA 3 17

for,though Thanesar i s one of the oldest

,most

famous towns i n I nd ia,and was once a centre

,not

only of rel igious i nterest but of trade wi th thenorth

,the main stream of modern I ndian l i fe leaves

i t on one s ide . I t was,however, very amusing to

watch the game in the j ungle,on ei ther s ide of the

road,and the number and the variety of the b i rds

we saw as we passed along was qu ite extraord inary .

Saras,great grey cranes

,paddy-bi rds

,parrots

,

doves,king -crows

,etc .— these were i nnumerable

and al l as tame as poss ible : even the jackal s cameclose up to the roads ide

,and sat down complacently

to watch us pass .Thanesar l ies i n the centre of Kurakshetra thegreat plain between the two “ d ivi ne rivers

,the

Saraswat i and the Ghaggar,where the battles

described i n the Mahabarata took place . I t i s theHoly Land of the H i ndu fai th

,and i t teems w i th

trad i t ion s of the great confl i cts of the five Pandavabrothers and thei r cous in s the Kauravas i n thefourteenth century B .C .

The Mahabarata i s an immensely long epicpoem record ing the exploi ts o f those H indu heroesof ant iqu i ty

,and

,l i ke the I l iad

,i t i s the source to

which many tribes and chiefs endeavour to tracethei r ancestors i t has a lways exerc i sed great influen ce over the masses of the H indu people , andi s sti l l often i n the i r thoughts from its pages aredrawn many of thei r rel igious ideal s . I ts presentform i s evidently not that i n wh ich i t or iginal lytook shape

,as i s i nd icated by the name V y asa

the arranger,given to the trad i t ional au thor

,and

3 1 8 T H A N E S A R

i t has probably been worked over,more than once

,

by Buddhi sts and Brahmans—to make i t squarewith thei r own ind ividual doctri nes and customs

,

for grotesquely wi ld episodes occur , s ide by s idewith passages fu l l of gracefu l pathos

,and contrast

s trangely with the romant ic love for fine scenery,

and wi th the tender appreciat ion of love and devot ion

,mercy and forgiveness

,which characteri se the

whole .The heroes of the poem

,the five Pandava

brothers,having been d ispossessed of thei r grand

father ’s domin ions by thei r cous ins the Kauravas,

establ i shed the k ingdom of Delh i the King,

the eldest brother , subsequent ly los t the kingdomover a game of d ice ; and as a penal ty he ret i redfor twe lve years i n to the forests . H is return topubl i c l i fe was fol lowed by a series of fierce battles

,

end ing i n the ann ih i lat ion of the Kauravas . ThePandavas

,however, found the game of l i fe had not

been worth the candle and the king,with h i s four

brothers,accompan ied , l i ke Tob ias , by a fai thfu l

dog,set out on a p i lgrimage to Mount Mesu

,

I ndra ’s Heaven , hoping that there , at any rate , hewould find ful l sat i s fact ion . Before he reached thegates

,however

,al l had dropped back and given up

the quest except the fai thfu l dog,and he was re

fused admi ttance . The Pandava would not enterwi thout h i s fai thful fol lower , or h i s brothers , whowere expiat ing th eirsin s i n the nether world . U l t imate ly I ndra relented

,and they were al l admitted

to eternal b l i s s i n a Parad ise among the h iddenrecesses of the H imalayas .

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32 0 T H A N E S A R

c i ty,on i ts mound

,and the far- famed Sacred

Tank .

There are now no H indumonuments left . TheMohammedan town andfort are i n ru ins

,but once i t

was clearly a place of cons iderable importance . Themost conspicuous and perfect bu i ld ing now i s theoctagonal tomb of Shekh Ch ih l i—of cafe-a h -tazt

marb l e,with a wh i te marb l e dome and latt i ced

windows . This stands upon a smal l octagonal p lat.form

,wi th a low parapet

,rai sed on a high square

terrace ; smal l domed pavi l ions , formerly coveredwith Naksh i work stand

,one at each corner and

two on each s ide 0 11 the west s ide,however , they

give place to another tomb,an oblong bu i ld ing of

drab sandstone,with deep eaves or drip- stones .

To the south of the rai sed terrace i s a smal l brickcourtyard and mosque

,and

,with i n a ston e ’s throw

,

a beauti ful l i ttle red sandstone bu i ld i ng— the LalMusj id . Here the eight carved columns , with flatdomes between and the south window are al lbeaut iful ly carved

,and reminded me of the work at

Fatehpur S ikri . Some of the arch i traves of thehouses

,i n the rather squal id town

,are beauti fu l ly

carved ; otherwise there i s noth ing to see—W i th theexception

,perhaps

,of a large house

,near the en

trance to the town , covered wi th H indu frescoes ,some i n l ow rel ief and very rude and uncouth .

The ra isorzct’etre of the whole place , however , i sthe famous old H indu sacred tank ; th i s s t i l l ex i sts ,and

,on the occasion of an ecl ipse

,cont i nues to be

- as i t has been from the earl iest t imes—the rendezvous o f thousands of devout H indus , seek ing

P I LG R I M S 32 1

purificat ion from past transgress ions by bath ingand prayer . Thi s shal low lake , measuri ng about

3500 by 1900 ft.,i s fed by the sacred waters of the

Saraswat i river,the fi rst sacred river venerated i n

Ind ia . No crime was too black to be washed wh itei n i ts waters . I nto th i s lake , so runs the legend ,flows at the t ime of the ecl ipse the water of al l othersacred pools and rivers i n I nd ia . He , therefore , whothen bathes i n i ts waters obtai ns the vi rtue andmeri ts wh ich would be acqu i red by bath ing i n al l .At an ecl ipse not long ago

,i t was computed that as

manyas peop le had V i s i ted these miracu louswaters of cleans ing some of these trust ing soul s

,

come from places at as great a d istance and asfar apart as the H imalayas and Cape Comorin .

Thousands of fami l i es come in rai lway cattletrucks

,many i n bul lock waggons—but the greater

number of these pat ient saffron- clad pi lgrims,de

s irous to save thei r sou l s al ive,st i l l t rudge the

weary mi les on foot,i n priest- l ed procession s ,bear

i ng bamboos with flutteri ng flags ,and chant ing thesongs thei r fathers sang as they toi led along thesel fsame road to Thanesar. The twice-born Brahmans and yogi s

,of course

,reap rich harvests

,

as an offering i s an essent ial part of the purification , and every p i lgrim leaves ,

someth ing ofvalue behi nd the rich Raj a may leave a wi fe

,the

poor man an art i cl e of cloth ing , and the womenfl ing thei r j ewel led bracelets far i nto the waters ofthe sacred pool

,where

,no doubt , they do not long

remain !The authori t ies watch over the pi lgrims wi th

2 5

32 2 T H A N E S A R

minute and detai led care ; special trai ns are run ,wel l s are dug

,roads are made

,even turfed over

,I

bel ieve,to save them from the dust

,and lost and

straying ch i ldren are herded and cried by a bel lman .

As the t ime of the ecl ipse draws near , expectantmul t i tudes col lect on the bri nk—l ike the throngsat the poolofBeth esda— pat iently but eagerlyawa i ting th e fatefu l,mysteriousmomen t , to s tep down andbe cleansed . I n the dangerous rush at the cri t i calt ime awkward accidents occur

,and the old and

helpless sometimes go under,and have to be

rescued by some stalwart representat ive of thepaternal Government .I n spi te of al l precautions— hospi tal s

,i solation

camps and doctors— these gatherings are alwaysrather anx ious work . A great pi lgrimage hadbeen expected there the previous June

, j ust at theend of the dry season , when the hot weather was ati ts height ; but those respons ib le for the safety andwel l-being of the p ious throngs knew that i f theyassembled there

,i n that weather and at that t ime

,

an outbreak of cholera or some other ep idemicwould certa in ly ensue . There was hardly any wateri n the tank—and that l i t t le was of the most umdes i rab le description —and for some reason considerable d i fficu l ty also lay i n the way of supplyi ngthe mul ti tude with food fortunately

,with the aid

of in n umerable telegramsflashed to s tation-mastersand others al l over I nd ia

,the assembly of pi lgrims

was prevented .

I t i s said that the necessary san i tary precauti onsi ns i sted on by thei r Western rulers

,with the i r

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3M T H A N E S A R

the snake-bi rd,which swims about wi th the water

over h i s back,so that there i s noth i ng to be seen

above i t but h i s head and long neck i n the d i stance th i s looks for al l the worl d l i ke a snakegl id ing i n great loops over the face of the water .At Thanesar stat ion I jo i ned the trai n i n wh ichmy companion came from Amballa . We passednoth ing of any consequence on our way to Delh i ,except the smal l wal led town of Kurnool

,011 our

right,and further on

,to our l eft

,Pan iput . Here ,

crowds of wel l-dressed,unsoph ist i cated nat ives

,

some of them very p icturesque,had congregated to

see the trai n,which was st i l l a n ine days ’ wonder.

This Holy Land of the H indu fa i th was also thefi rst permanent home of the twice-born castes andof thei r earl iest pri nces and sages . I t i s the spotwhere thei r rel igion and caste sys tem took shape ;the crad le

,i n fact

,of the H indu race .

The origi nal races of I nd ia cons i sted of the nonAryan

,aborigi nal

,casteless tribes

,who inhab i t the

j ungles or h i l l d i stri cts : Bh i l s i n the VindhyaMountai n s

,Santal s i n Lower Bengal , Kohls in the

Central Provinces . The Aryans profess ing theBrahman ic fai th fol lowed

,and to them belong al l

the h igher or twice-born castes,who wear the

sacred thread . The rel igion of the aboriginaltr ibes i s described in the I nd ian census as “ Animi sm

,and i ncl udes a variety of primit ive cu l ts .

They bel ieve i n a supreme spi ri t,who is ben eficen t ,

and may be rel ied on to act accord ing to precedentw ithoutany Spec ial attent ion on th eir part ; but th ereare certain th ings— stones

,trees

,an imals

,fet i shes

CA S T E LE S S T R I B E S 32 5

or tools,the spi r i ts of the departed ormen orwomen

cons idered spec ial ly holy or powerfu l—a l l of whichthey bel i eve to be possessed of occul t power , contro l l ing the course of nature and the human mindthese

,as thei r probable i ntent ions are uncerta i n ,

requi re to be propi t iated . Them therefore , theyworship w i th sacrifices and varied ri tes , and whenthey do not succeed in obtain ing the i r end by thesemeans

,upbraid the del i nquent i n no measured

terms .These non-Aryan races have , to a great extent ,

been transformed into the lower H indu castes andunder the stress of the antagon ism and assim i lat ion of the two races

,Hindui sm has developed . I t i s

a rel igion of marvel lous vi tal i ty and has withstoodthe impact of more than one great fai th . Zoroas

trianism, Buddh i sm andMohammedan ismh ave allmade converts , but have been powerles s to destroyi t

,for i t al ters

,endures and ass im i lates perpetual ly

,

and remains at the core untouched . I t seems to benow changing again

,i n consequence of i ts contact

wi th Chri st iani ty and Western thought . The process of melt ing i nto H indu i sm proceeded s lowly i nthe past

,but has considerably quickened s ince

Bri t i sh ru le i n troduced material c ivi l i sat ion andprosperi ty ; for the fi rst step upward i n the ladderof I nd ian socia l l i fe consi sts i n pass ing from theranks of the unclas s ified outcast to a defin ite pos it ion i n the H indu caste system . I t i s now proceeding so rapid ly there wi l l soon be on ly a smal lremnant cl i nging to the aborigi nal ri tes

,and

customs .

32 6 T H A N E S A R

Dr . Ramsay points out that i n the fi rst daysChri st ian i ty took the firmest root i n those parts ofAsia M inor wh ich were j ust feel ing the touch ofGrmco-Roman civi l i sat ion

,where 'men ’s minds

were i n a state of trans i t ion , awaking from stagnation into an att i tude of expectancy ; and some ofthose who have s tud ied the mind of the Eastbel ieve that the smal l remnant of the unsett ledn on -Aryan races wi l l prove the pioneers of theI nd ian Church .

Entrance in to the H indu soc1al system meansadopting to a great extent the Brahman ic rel igionand whi l s t he keeps most of h is ol d fai ths and pract i ces

,the social asp irant adds to them al l the essen

t ial doctri nes and customs of Brahmani sm . These ,accord ing to S i r Al fred Lyal l

,compri se acceptance

of the Brahmani c scriptures and trad it ions as”

thestandard of orthodoxy ; adoration of the Brahman icgods and thei r i ncarnations venerat ion of thesacred cow the recogn it ion of the presence of theBrahman as n ecessary to al l essen t ial rel igious ri tes :as we l l as amalgamation i n one of the lower castes .This

,of course

,carries with i t obed ience to the rules

regu lati ng the two great outward and vis ib le s ignsof caste fellowsh ipm in terni arriage and sharing offood—which are the bonds un i t ing and isolat i ngthe d i fferent groups or castes .

I had a pract ical i l l ustration of the work i ng ofthe ru les of caste

,whi l s t wait i ng at the stat ion for

the train which was to bring my compan ion andthe luggage . I thought I wou ld clean off a spot ofpaint from—I th i nk—my paintbox , and seeing a

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3M T H A N E S A R

of the best s ide of I nd ian character . I n the i nnerdomest i c l i fe of a people i ts truest ,deepest characteralways betrays i tsel f : and those who have thedeepest acquain tance wi th the heart of I nd ian l i fe

,

under i ts best aspects , tel l us conti nual ly that thefami ly l i fe —the sol idari ty

,mutual trus t and affec

t i on i n a fami ly cons i st i ng , perhaps , of even morethan a hundred persons— Is most strik ing . Thewonderfu l tenderness of the Jat In “ Kim to h i s s i ckch i ld

,i s

,we are assured

,but a faith fu l transcript

from da11y11fe 1n th ePunjab : and the i ntense mutualaffection exi st i ng between a man and h is mother i sequal ly touch ing . Of course

,the relat ion between

husband and wi fe i s absolutely one- s ided,and con

sequen tly—from the h igher po int of V iew ofChris t ian civi l i sat ion- fal se and distorted . Suchsupreme devotion and utter sel f-abasement andsel f- sacrifice as those of the H indu wife to her husband should be accorded only to a d ivine master

,

and,d iverted to a human obj ect

,they are l iable to

the gravest abuse and distort ion yet they are evidence of capaci t i es wh ich

,i f properly exerci sed

,

would fal l i nto l i ne,and find a place i n develop

ments which we can but d imly foreshadow .

With in the caste and fami ly the standard ofhonesty and honour

,i n bus i ness deal ings , appears

to approximate rather to the estimate of early travellers— who noticed the marked truth ful ness ofthe nat ives—than to that shown i n official relat ions with thei r present rulers . Quite d istant relation s pay fami ly debts with scrupulous honour

,

as though they were personal ; they wi l l provide for

32 9

the ent i re educat ion of poorer relat ions and servants left wi th the charge of young orphans andthei r property wil l fu lfi l the trust for years wi th themost scrupulous loyal ty . I n the l ife of the vi l lagecommunity

,where al l

,i n vi rtue of the i r race

,have

a claim to a share i n the harvest (perhaps cons i sting only of so many handfuls of grain , bundlesof straw

,l eaves of tobacco or pods of ch i l i ) , the

rights of no one— however old , decrepi t or useles s—wi l l ever be forgotten . Members of a castewi l l take i nfin i te troub l e to help each other

,and

wi l l undertake and carry out duties and chari t ies,

which would be qu ite impossi ble to execute without absolute mutual trust , and a recogn i sed senseof respons ib i l i ty on the part of the act i ng heads ofthe communi ty .

The Engl i shman usual ly comes across only therid iculous and vexat ious s ide of caste regulat ions—h e sees the newly purified priest flatten h imsel faga i nst the wal l to avoid contact wi th the uncleanEuropean ; or the Brahmin , naked but for h i swaistcloth , and the sacred thread of the twice- bornover h is shoulders , preparing h i s meal i n a smal lsquare space

,

“ i solated by a two- i nch mud-wal lbetween the world and h i s puri ty ; then he seesthe outl ine of a Western shadow cross the sacredspot

,and immed iately the whole meal— the cake

careful ly baked on the ashes , the curds on the leafplate

,the lotaful of mi lk— i s thrown away as un

clean . He,not unnatural ly

,sums i t al l up as non

sensical,unpract ical

,and degrading slavery to

senseless,pett i fogging rules . He hears the stories

2 T

330 T HAN E S A R

to ld of perj ury i n the law courts , and i s assured byC iv i l servants of great experience , who regard thenat ive wi th sympathet i c i nteres t

,that not a s ingle

nat ive i s to be trusted,that corruption and bribery

are ub iqu i tous amongst al l classes,from the gao l

warder to the county- court j udge . All th i s i s,alas

,

too true,and cannot be stated too strongly . But i t

i s fai r to remember that the H indu has served anapprenticesh ip

,through centuries of tyranny

,i n the

use of the weapons of the oppressed,and that I nd ia

i s not the on ly land where men,cons ideri ng them

selves respectable members of society,have stan

dard s for profess ional conduct which they wouldnot apply i n private affa i rs .There are two s ides to native l i fe ; unfortunatelythe i nner s ide of the fami ly and caste l i fe i n I nd ia— forming by far the greater part of the nationalexi stence— i s that which the Engl i shman usual lysees least . John Lawrence had an i nt imate acqua i ntance wi th two of the most typi cal classes of therace : the agricu l tural people of the Punjab

,and

the ci ty populat ion of the big towns . No onecou ld have fu l ler knowledge of the shady s ide ofI nd ia : h i s l i fe i s fi l led wi th tales of murders

,

dacoi ty,and of the dupl ici ty of recalci trant V i l lage

commun i ties,as wel l as of i nd ividuals but he al so

knew the wonderfu l pat ience , sobriety and cheerfu lness of the poor the deep rel igious i ns ti nct ofthe nation and the extraordi nary ease with whicha man of sympathet ic i nst i nct can maintai n lawand order amongst these vas t mul t i tudes . I t i si nterest i ng to see that the underlying note struck

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CHAPTER XVI I

ALWAR

WHEN we left Delh i on our way to stop with theCommiss ioner at Ajmere , we did not know, owingto confl i cti ng telegrams , whether to go on theredi rect , or to stop at Alwar however, we arrangedthat i f we found no telegram awai ti ng us at AlwarStat ion we would rema i n there .

Alwar i s one of the twenty native states ofRaj putana

,which centre round the smal l Bri t i sh

terri tory of Ajmere— Marwar .Across Raj putana

,i n a d iagonal l i ne north-east

and south-west,run the Aravalis , a chain of

mountains i nterrupted by val leys . To the northwest of them i s a vast sandy desert , ridgedwi th long

,low isolated sandh i l l s i n paral lel l i nes .

To the east,where l ies Alwar

,hi l l s and wooded

val leys a l ternate with ri chly cu l t ivated tablelands . Great herd s of camels

,horses , and sheep

feed on the uplands .

The Rajputs are the sole remain ing represen

tatives of the most ancient pol i ti cal communi t iesof I ndia . Before the Moslem invas ion they ru ledover al l the ch ie f c i t ies of the North of I nd ia , andthe ri ch plains of the Ganges to the borders of

334 A LWA R

Bengal . Subdued by the i nvaders , some submittedto the conqueror’s ru le and remained on the fert i leplai ns

,but the pure-blooded ch iefs and thei r im

mediate fol lowers wi thdrew to the uplands ; andthere

,i n the d ifficu l t mountainous or sandy country

o f central I nd ia,they subdued the aboriginal tribes

and bu i l t themselves h i l l- fortresses,where for

centuries they maintained thei r i ndependence,and

in a career of perpetual forays and feuds retained.

the i r character of dauntless warriors . There ares ti l l a good many of the aborigi nal casteless tribesBhi ls and M inas—remai n ing amongst the agricu ltural popu lat ion

,and the Rajputs

,though the

ru l ing race,are by no means i n the major i ty ; and

are never the cu l t ivators of the soi l,but on ly the

feudal lords . The original nat ive dynast ies ofRajputana st i l l preserve unal tered most of the i rancestral const i tut ion and customs

,whi ch are

un l ike anyth ing el se remain ing i n I nd ia . Thisprimi t ive c ivi l i sat ion owes i ts conti nued exi stenceprobab ly to the Engl i sh

,for

,having survived the

level l i ng i nfluence of the Mogul Empire , Rajputana was

,later on

,l ike the res t of I nd ia

,overrun

by the Mahrattas,and they dominated ah d devas

tated the Provi nce,and had nearly exti ngui shed

the clans,when the Bri t i sh power i ntervened

,and

rescued Raj istan ,the land of pri nces

,from it s

impend ing fate .

As we approached Alwar we came amongst h i l l sof cons iderable height and fine trees

,and In the

fields and alongs ide of the rai lway we passednumbers of nat ives . The women were weari ng the

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336 A LWAR

Bungalow—Mr. Angus Macdonald—and h i s wi fegave us tea . He was the Maharaj a’s engineer .They and thei r household were occupying the DakBungalow unt i l a house was made ready for them .

We were saved from a doubtfu l p icn ic i n ourdusty tent by thei r hosp i tal i ty

,and met at d inner

Captai n Tai t,who has command of the Maharaja ’s

forces,and M iss Abbot

,the daughter of the res i

dent , who was staying wi th them .

Meantime I wrote to the Maharaja ’s secretary to ask for a carriage, and a V i ctor i a and pa i rsoon appeared . This I s the usual and only mode ofprocedure i n these native states : the travel ler i sen t i rely dependent on the Maharaja

,who is always

gracious ly ready to supply the carriages,wh ich

otherwi se i t would be imposs ible to get .There had been a fai r i n the ne ighbourhood andthere were crowds of picturesque people about

,

dressed i n hol iday att i re,and very bright and an i

mated they made the scene .

After driving about a mi le along a shady road ,under fine trees

,we reached one of the five gates

of the ci ty,wh ich i s placed at the entrance to a

circle of h i l l s and bui l t i n amph i theatre form onthe sunny slope of a h i l l , crowned with pa lacesand with i ts s ides covered wi th ri ch vegetat ion

,

but ris ing above i n to fantast i cal ly jagged peaks ofgl i sten ing quartz .

The town i s pI otected by a rampart and moatal l round except where the range of rocky h i l l sa marked feature of th i s state—protects the ci tyfrom attack . Pass i ng a great brass gun guarding

S H R I N E AT THE C RO S SWAY S 337

the gateway and beneath the archway we foundourselves in a whitewashed street of Irregu larhouses : at the far end rose the picturesque fort ,with i ts enc i rcl i ng wal l s on the coni cal h i l l somefeet h igh

,which formed a grey and misty

THE MA I N STREET

background to the vis ta of sunny street fi l led wi thgay figures .At a place where fou r roads meet

,a curiou s

gateway opens four ways over the cross i ng of thestreets

,and supports the tomb of Fi roz Shah ’s

brother ; beneath , i n one of the corners , i s a sh rin e .

I t was interesting to watch the people going upthe steps to th i s l i tt le place

,ringing a bel l

, gomg2 U

338 A LWAR

through certai n formal i t ies and acts of reverence ,and then coming down and going on thei r way .

We went up the narrow street l i ned wi th brightshops , through more gateways to a temple ofJuggernaut

,and then

,close under the h i l l

,we came

to the ci ty Palace of the Maharaj a,who

,however

,

does not l ive here but two or three mi les out of thetown i n a palace overlook ing a pleasant p iece ofwater .Unti l the last century Alwar state was d ividedi nto a number of petty ch ieftai nsh ips owing al le

g ian ce to Jeypore and Bhartpur, and the founderof the present house

,having carved h imsel f out

an i ndependent S tate whi l s t the Moguls,Jats

,and

Mahrattas were at war,had the presc ience to al ly

h imsel f with the Bri t i sh,who rewarded h i s per

spicacity with a large addit ion of terri tory . Hissuccessors

,however

,had not such an eye for the

winn ing s ide,and before they settled down gave

some trouble to the i r al l ies .The present Maharaja i s celebrated for h iscaval ry

,devotes h i s superfluous energy to horse

breed ing,and has a fine stud of several thousand

horses . Hehasalsoshow n himsel fph i lanthropica l lyi ncl i ned

,and was one of the fi rst nat ive ch iefs to

support Lady Dufferin’

s Fund .

We passed wi th in h igh wal l s,by an impos ing

gateway,i nto the ci ty Palace

,bu i l t

,at the end of the

e ighteenth century,on a terrace stretch ing the

whole length of the town ; then pass ing throughmany courts we came to the State Apartments , theDurbar Hal l

,the Armoury

,Treasury

,and L ibrary,

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340 A LWAR

red sandstone wal l s or strutt ing about over themarble pavements . Squ i rrel s were to be seeneverywhere here as el sewhere .

During the n ight fel l torre nts of rai n,the fi rst

we had experienced s ince we landed i n I nd ia . I t i scurious i t shou ld have fal len the only n ight whenwe were not s leep ing i n a house : our tent , however

,l ucki ly kept al l the rain out .

I went into the town early,as i t had cl eared up

and was qu ite dry again , and my companion joinedme there . We had previous ly made an appointment at the Palace wi th the Maharaja’s secretarywho was to show us the s ights

,but after wai t ing an

hour with no s ign of the custod ian we were on thepoi nt of go ing away when

,with a tru ly Orienta l

appreciat ion of the value of t ime,the keeper of the

Armoury appeared . He turned out to be a greatenthusiast

,and treated the sabres and other

weapons—studded with j ewel s— as though theywere h i s ch i ldren . He seemed qu i te pleased withour vis i t

,and nearly kissed our feet when we said

good-bye . The Treasury is , I bel ieve , wel l worthsee ing , but i ts custod ian d id not appear. We sawthe L ibrary

,however

,and

,amongst other very

valuable manuscripts,a fine copy of the Gul i s

tan,beauti ful ly i l l ustrated with min iature paint

i ngs . I t i s the jo in t work of three men a Germanengrossed the MS .

,a nat ive of Delh i painted the

min iatures,and a Punjab i d id the scro l l s . I bel ieve

i t cost rupees .After breakfast with the Angus Macdona ld s hetook me to see the tomb of Faith Jung ( 1 547) close

V I O L EN T T H U N D ERS T O RM

to the rai lway stat ion , a large bui ld i ng with a veryugly exterior

,which i s now converted i nto corn

stores for the Maharaja ’s horses . The interior ,however

,i s fine

,the dome bei ng rai sed on penden

t ives from a square to the s ixteen - s ided base uponwh i ch i t rests . There i s a great deal of fine plasterwork i n rel ief on the wal ls of the bu i ld ing , patternswith flat surface and rectangu lar mou ld ings l ikethose of the A lhambra and B ijapur . The AngusMacdonalds

,who were cont i nuous lymost k i nd ,

came to see us off i n the train at the c lose of ourpleasant twenty—four hours ’ s tay i n Alwar .Soon after we started such a thunderstorm

,

accompan ied by torrents of rain,broke upon us

as I do not ever remember to have seen before .

The l ightn ing was i ncessant,and when i t became

dark i t i l luminated the country i n a marvel lousway showing us that i t was flooded with water .We passed through a pretty d istrict where thereare large trees with th ick bright fol iage

,and rugged

h i l l s of fantasti c shapes in the background .

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344 A JMERE

wa lked out on the wh ite marble balcony,an exqu i

sitely beaut ifu l and peacefu l scene lay before me . Ifound mysel f overhanging the sh in ing level s of al ovely lake

,surrounded by most picturesque hi l l s

,

and wi th a glorious flood of l ight from the ri s i ngsun sh i n ing on the h igh rugged rosy gran i te peaksto the south-west . I lost no t ime i n getting out mysketch ing material s and sett i ng to work . The

Commissioner ’s house,at the t ime of my vi s i t

,

stood upon the great bund or embankmentwhich dams up the water i n the val ley of the riverLun i

,and forms the lake cal led the Ana Sagar or

Sea of Ana,after i ts maker

,Ana Raj a

,a Chauhan

Rajput of the eleventh century . He was the greatgreat—grandfather of the heroic Pri thvi Raja

,k ing

of Delh i and Ajmere ,the last champion of Hindu

independence in the north of I nd ia,who was over

come and cruel ly put to death , i n cold blood , atDelh i i n I 1 94 by the Mohammedans underShahab- ud-di n .

On the western s ide of the lake , which is severalmi les round

,l i es the wa l led town of Ajmere , with

i ts state ly gateways,i n a lovely val l ey or bas in

,

shady with fine trees and bright wi th gardens oforange

,rose and pomegranate . Above the town

ri ses a steep and majest i c con i cal h i l l,an isolated

spur of the rocky Aravali range . The celebratedfortress of Taraghur, which , at a height of threethousand feet crowns the summit of th i s h i l l

,i s said

to be the work of the Chauhan Raj put , Aja Pal , theshepherd k ing

,who founded Ajmere A .D . 145 and

ended hi s l ife as a yogi,i n a mountain gorge

,a few

AJMERE 345

miles from the town,which bears h i s name . The

bare,sharp

,rocky peaks of the Aravali h i l l s

,which

form such a fasc inati ng background to al l views ofAjmere, i n i ts sett i ng of green gardens , are fu l l ofgorges and ravi nes

,where qua i nt , spiky cactus

LOOKING DOWN ON THE ANA SAGAR

plants form the on ly vegetat ion . This range,of

which we had seen the north- eastern end above theKutub at Delh i , i s at i ts h ighest l n the Ajmere d i striet and terminates south-west i n the i solatedgroup of temple covered peaks

,Mount Abu

,or

the “ Sain t’

s Pi nnacle,which Tod i n h i s fasc ina

2 X

346 AJMERE

t ing “ Annal s of Raj putana cal l s the Olympus ofthe Rajputs .The green oas i s i n the Ajmere val ley i s the resul tof several of the banked-up pool s of water characteristic of th i s country . Bes ides the Ana SagarLake

,there are two others near the town one

,the

V isala Tal,has a p icturesque shrine on an is land i n

the centre,and was the work ofV isaldeo

,th e grand

father of Ana Raja , who ruled here about thet ime of the fi rs t early Mohammedan invas ion

,

when,about 102 5 , Mahmoud of Ghazn i passed

l ike a devastat ing flame through Ajmere , onh i s way to destroy S ommath and its celebratedtemples . He effect ively destroyed Ajmere andi ts temples

,but the people took refuge i n the

Taraghur Port, and when , on h is return ,Mah

moud was decoyed i nto the sandy deserts ofMarwar, the

“ land of death , where h is peopleperished i n thousands from th i rst

,the Raj puts

descended from the heights and took thei r revenge .After h i s army had returned to the north the Rajputclans

,Rah tores and Chauh an s , S olaukhyas, Geh

lots, S esodias and Kachwahas returned to thei r

terri tories as before,and to the celebrated feuds

between Rah tores and Chauhans which fi l l theannals of the twel fth century with ep i sodes asromant ic and fantasti c as the tales of ch ival ry of thesame period i n med iaeval Europe , and , cont i nu ingti l l Victorian days

,have inspi red more than one

Engl i sh wri ter . After Shahab-ud-d in ’s and Kutubud- din ’s i nvas ion a century later

,though they

fought with desperate valour under Pri thvi Raja,

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348 AJMERE

the Raj put pol i cy of splend id i solat ion by attaching them to h i s person and house by marriage , andto hi s empi re by h igh commands as governors andgeneral s . I n thei r own country he respected theirauthori ty

,but though they maintai ned a certai n

amount of i ndependence,and by no means occu

pied the same pos i t ion as the Afghan and Pers ianEmirs of h is regu lar army , yet they al l , except thei ndomi table S esodia clan of Oodeypore

,became i n

real i ty feudatories of the Mogu ls . Akbar marriedtwo Rajput princesses : Mir iam

,the daughter of

the Raj a of Jeypore,who , from the character o f the

frescoes in her palace at Fatehpur S ikri,has been

supposed to have been converted to Chri st ian i ty ;and Jodhbar, the s i ster of Udai S ingh of Jodpur .The two Mogu l Emperors

,Jehangi r and Shah

Jehan,the un lucky Pri nce Khusru and Aurang

zeb ’s son Shah Alam,al l had Raj put mothers

,and

rel ied on thei r connect ions here to support them i n

the i r struggles for the throne . As long as an Fmperor rema ined to claim thei r al l egiance the ch iefsfu lfi l led thei r obl igat ions . Later on they attemptedto regai n thei r i ndependence and shared in th e

general d i sorgan isat ion of I nd ia . The Mahrattas ,under Holkar and S indh ia

,b l ed the country by

thei r claim to one- fourth of the State revenue,and

ravaged and destroyed,h ere as elsewhere

,t i l l

,the

c lans bei ng utterly exhausted by th i rty years in cessant war

,and the Rajput ch ieftainsh ips threatened

w i th exti nct ion,the Engl i sh

,under Lake and

VV ellesley ,part ial ly freed Rajputana from the

Mahratta oppress ionandw i thdrew,restoring to the

K I S H NA K OMA R I 349

ch iefs thei r i ndependence,but leaving them to the ir

fate . The Raj put clans , however , areen tirely lackingi n any inst i nct of federat ion

,and the whole country

was overrun fo r ten years or more by freeboot i ngPindari s

,numbering some 30 ,

000 i n al l,who

Rode w ith Naw ab Amir Khan in th e old Marath a warFrom th e Dekh an to th e Himalay five hundred of one clan .They a sked n o leave of pri n ce or ch ie f a s they swept thro’Hindusth an ,

p lundering freely . The old i ntertr ibal feuds al sorevived

,and the famous contest between the riva l

ch iefs of Jeypore and Jodhpur for the hand of anOodeypore pr i ncess brought thei r clans to th evergeof destruction : Mahrattas and Pindari s j o ined 1n

the contest,which i nvolved the whole country .

The romance of the story i s unfortunate ly rathertarn i shed when i t appears that th i s ch ival rous contest ended in a compromise

,accord ing to wh ich

matters were s impl ified by p01son 1ng the un for

tunate lady , the heroine of the tale .

The Princess Kishna Komari the virgi n was .

s ixteen years of age , and being a S esodia ,a:

Chi ld of the S un , of the noblest b l ood i n I nd ia .

She was exquis i tely beauti ful , and had been betrothed i n her eighth year to Raja Bh eemS ing

,of

Jodhpur . He d iedm1804, and two years later herfather

,th eweak and fool ish Maharana of Oodeypore

returned a favourable answer toJuggut S ing of Jeypore

,who had sent an embassy ,

w ith three thousandmen

,to ask the hand of the beaut i ful and attractive

Kishna . Raja Maun S ing , of Jodhpur , then i htervened , supported , for pecun iary reasons , by

350 AJMERE

S indh ia,with eight thousand men

,and advanced

h is pretens ions on the ground that the Princesshad been affian ced to the throne of Jodhpur

,and

therefore he,as i ts present occupant

,claimed her

as h i s right . The three kingdoms then becamei nvolved i n a b itter triangular duel . Jodhpur endured an eight month s ’ s iege

,the deserts were

strewn with the bones of the slai n,and four years

i ncessant warfare reduced the kingdoms to thelowest ebb

,yet nei ther s ide would withdraw thei r

claim . Aniir Khan had sometimes s ided with oneparty and sometimes with the other . He nowthreatened the Maharana of Oodeypore with thed isgrace of seeing hi s palace stormed , and winn ingover the S esodia

’

s min ister Aj i t,i nduced the

Maharana to agree to sacrifice h is daughter .Komari showed the spi ri t of her ancestors androse to the height of the s ituat ion

,l ike Iphigenia

or Andromeda . As her l i fe was made the price ofpeace

,she agreed

,i n spi te of her mother ’s lamenta

t ions,to die

,and save her father ’s fam i ly and

house from becoming a prey to th e Mahratta andPindari hordes . She cou ld fa l l by no commonhand

,so a blood relat ion was persuaded to under

take the deed : confronted with the vict im,his

courage fai led .

“ She was then excused the steel,

and a cup was prepared . Three t imes the val iantPr incess

,with a prayer for her father

,accepted the

poison,and three t imes i t fai l ed to take effect

then they gave her opium,and she s lept away .

Colonel Tod,who knew the actors i n th i s

tragedy,says that her mother lost her reason and

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AJMERE

o n e of the most del ightfu l parts of the pen insu la,

relapse i nto the confusion from which we rescuedi t

,were the power which keeps I nd ia from des

troying hersel f wi thd rawn PThe palace of Shah Jehan

,i n wh ich we were

s taying,cons isted original ly

,Colonel B iddulph

THE COMMISS IONER ’S HOUSE

told me,of four marble Baradaris or summer

houses on the Bund,the preci ncts of which were

devoted to the use of the ladies of h i s court , whowere thus enabled to enjoy a cons iderable amountof l iberty without observation : Shah Jehan h imsel f i nhab ited Akbar’s palace i n the town . Hisbu i ld ings on the Bund have now been restoredaccord ing to the original des ign

,but at the t ime

of my v i s i t three of these summer- houses were

CRoc o'

D I LEs ON THE MARCH 35 3

used as the publ i c l ibrary , and as official res iden ces for the Commiss ioner, the C ivi l Surgeon .

The wal ls of my room were of wh ite marb le ,and the columns and arches on one s ide , andbeaut i fu l l i ttl e n iches i n rows on the other

,sug

gested i ts past beaut ies . The bal cony over thelake was a cont inua l del ight . Though I could seenoth ing of them

,there was a colony of otters under

the house amongst the rocks . I bel ieve there werealso a number of crocodi les i n the lake , but theywere a lso “ ly i ng low .

” During a terrib l e drought,

from wh ich the country suffered not long ago , theAna Sagar completely dried up

,and Colonel B id

dulph told me that when the las t of the water haddi sappeared

,the crocod i les wh ich inhabited the lake

organ i sed themselves i nto a band and decamped,

marching off i n a body to the sacred lake of Pushkar

,across the h i l l s . What i nst i nct or i ntel l igence

led them to do th i s,and how they knew of the

exi stence ofwater el sewhere,i t i s d i fficu l t to under

stand .

The weather was very cold on th i s lofty plateau,

and i t soon began to rai n again,and cont i nued to

do so off and on al l day . Of course we never wentanywhere i n I nd ia wi thout encounteri ng “

unprece

dented weather . Here , i n a spot where , as a ru le ,at thi s t ime of year

,people s i t and pant

,with

the earth l ike hot copper and the sky l ike burnished steel , we found ou rse lves with closed doorsand windows

,i n greatcoats

,wri t i ng by cand le

l ight at midday,with the rai n pouring down out

s ide . However,between the showers we took amy

354 A JMERE

walk by the s ide of the lake and through theDaulat Bagh

,Jehangi r

’

s garden of splendour ”

at the outlet of the waters : here he d isportedh imsel f under the avenues of t rees

,i n t he s tate

coach sen t h im by James I .,when S i r Thomas Roe

was Ambassador to the Court of the Great Mogulfrom 1616—18 , and was enterta i ned by the Emperor at a banquet on the Bund , where al so hewitnessed the submiss ion of Rana Umra S ing

,

the las t Raj put ch ief to bow hi s proud head tothe new order .Outs ide the ci ty to the east s t i l l s tands the noblegateway of the Palace of Akbar

,characteri sed by

S i r Thomas Roe as a “ house of pleasure of theking ’s

,a place of much melancholy, del ight , and

securi ty .

” About the same date as S i r Thomas Roe,

another Engl i shman , Thomas Coryat , the fi rstglobe—trotter

,vi s i ted Ajmere i n 1616

,coming on

foot from Jerusalem,and quaintly pluming h im

sel f on having spent only 2 105 . on the Way .

The bad weather d id not last long,and the

lovely,though ch i l ly

,days were al l too short for

al l we found to do and see . I usual ly ’ began tosketch

,i n a fu r coat , before breakfast , and one day

we were up early and drove to see the celebratedArhai d in ka Johmpra Mosque , or Hut of twohal f- days

,i n a ravi ne at the back of the old nat ive

town,a curious and i nteres t ing bu i ld ing much

resembl ing that at the Kutub i t owes i ts orig into the same causes

,and dates from abou t the same

t ime . Original ly there was a fi ne Ja i n templehere . Colonel Cunn ingham th inks i t i s of the

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AJMERE

He was the first of the famous fami ly of Chist isaints and pol i t i c ians

,and came from Ghor

,i n the

mountains to the East of Herat,and was at

Ajmere i n 1 143 at the t ime when Shahab- ud-di nput Pri thvi Raja to death . Shrines of s ix orseven members of the same fami ly who l ivedduring the fol lowing 400 years exist i n d i fferentparts of I nd ia

,and are much venerated . The

tomb of any one special ly noted for ascet ic i sm,or

with a reputat ion -for occu l t or supernatural powers,

usual ly does become a place of pi lgrimage,where

a large concourse of people gathers to make offeri ngs of food to the poor

,and to implore the i nter

cess ion of the departed,whose fami ly usua l ly find

the guard iansh ip of the shrine or Dargah,around

which an annual rel igious assembly and fai r growsup , a most lucrat ive heredi tary profess ion . Nowand then amongst the wi lder people of the north ,a holy man has been strangled by the i nhabitantsof a vi l lage for the sake of the benefi ts

,moral and

material,which wi l l accrue to those who possess

h i s sacred bones .Akbar had a great venerat ion for th i s Ch i st isaint

,which led h im to bu i ld a mosque i n the

precincts of the tomb,an example wh ich Shah

Jehan fol lowed . Akbar was conti nual ly on theroad between Fatehpur S ikri and here

,and in

J anuary 1 569 , made the p i lgrimage to th e shrine ,on foot from Agra

,with al l h is fami ly

,hoping to

obtain , by means of the saint’s powerfu l protect ion ,

a much-des i red son . The Emperor’s p i lgrimage

lasted nearly a month : he and h is company

n ear Agra (p . Unt i l then al l Akbar’

s sonshad died in i nfancy

,and the story goes that the

Chist i p i r,or holy man

,appeared to h im in a dream

at the Ajmere Dargah , and evidently wish ing tokeep so good a cl ient i n the family

,sent h im back

to Agra to s i t at the feet of another saint of thesame l i neage—Sel im Chist i— who l ived to the ageof n inety- two

,on the h i l l of Fatehpur S ikri , and

there the fol lowing August,i n a l i tt le stone bui ld

ing close to the herm it ’s cave , a son was born toAkbar

,who l ived and subsequently became the

Emperor J ehangi r .I t i s curious to find the shrine of the saint at

Ajmere st i l l reverenced by Mohammedans andH indus al ike

,but Moslems and H indus join

promiscuously i n thei r devot ions and chari t ies atmany shri nes

,apparently i rrespect ive of the

specific creed of the holy man commemorated .

Amongst other i nstances i s that of the tomb,near

Meerut,of a H indu Sa i nt , Manohar Nath , who is

said to have taken the that i s to say ,buried himsel f al ive as a sacrifice to the gods

,and

In stances of th is sacrifice as be i n g made bymen W i th whomthe y were pe rson a l l y acqua i n ted

,are men tion ed by S irW ill iam

S leem an and John Lawrence , both of whom did the ir u tmost, inva i n , to d i s s uade th e devotee s . Very hol ymen amongst th eH i ndus are not burned bu t buried, and they are be l ieved to lie i na s tate of trance i n th e tomb

,wh ich i s know n as a S amadlz.

35 8 AJMERE

th i s shri ne i s venerated by as many Mohammedanas H indu pi lgrims

,and there seems but l ittl e

d ifference i n the manner of express ing thei r devot ion . I ndeed

,i n many parts of I nd ia

,Mohammedan s are said to be on ly d i st i ngui shed from

H indus by being worsh ippers of sai nts i nstead ofimages . They

Bow to graven s epulchres , and adore a m artyr’s stone,

W ho pray to a de ad hermit that should pray to God a lone

and do not by any means

S hun the H i ndu fest i v als, th e t i nkl i ng of th e be l l ,Th e dancin g , th e idol atries,

for the two rel igious bod ies often share the samefest ival s and venerate Moolah or Brahman priest ,faki r or yogi i nd iscrim inately . Akbar

’

s spi ri t oftolerance which benefi ted I nd ia so greatly wascertain ly fatal to the spread of I s lam

,and there

fore ru inous to i ts character,for Mohammedan ism

wi thers and dies when i t ceases to expand .

The ch ief entrance to the Dargah , from thecrowded street

,i s beneath a whi tewashed archway

of great height,on ei ther s ide of wh ich

,surrounded

by a medley of arches,min iatu re cupo las

,p i l lars

and trees,are two huge l I‘OIl cauld ron s some ten or

fi fteen feet across . On certai n festal occas ions andwhen rich pi lgrims give an alms of £ 2 00 to£300for the purpose

,these are fi l l ed with ri ce

,ra i s i ns ,

sugar,sp ices and ghee

,which

,when cooked by

enormous fi res l ighted beneath the cauldrons , isi n part doled out to the poor pi lgrims . Themembers of certai n privi leged fami l ies , clothed 1n

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A P ICTURESQUE CORNER

pected ,not on ly because at no l i ttle d is tance from

me a constant s tream 0f women in dark red and

S K ETC H I NG U N DER D I F F I C U L T I E S 361

blue sari s ascended and descended , wi th thei rwaterpots on thei r heads , but because , when mywork was on ly part ly done

,I d iscovered that I had

become an object of curios i ty and perhaps offanatical j ealousy to a party of young ruffian s whowere watch ing me from a coign of vantage uponthe wal ls above . At first I took no notice of thenoise they made

,but when brickbats began to fly

about my head I thought i t t ime to move to a spotwhere miss i les cou ld not reach me

,and there I

fini shed my sketch in peace . Next t ime I sketchedat the Dargah I took a chuprass ie

,i n a scarlet coat

,

whose presence enabled me to work , free from thepestering attent ions of the boys who

,i n al l

countri es , del ight to vex the soul of the harmlessart i st . Everywhere el se i n Ajmere I d i spensed withh i s serv ices

,and Mrs . B iddulph

’

s pony,Dumps

,

a jol ly l i ttle cream—coloured country-bred beast,

took me to my “ spot and back,and I met with

no imped iment except that the poor pony wasvastly terr ified by an encounter wi th two parti esof men lead ing bears .The days were al l twenty- four hours too shorti n th i s fascinating spot

,which has al l the charm

of ancien t I nd ia wi thout the evi l s which musthave so greatly marred the romanti c days ofpurely nat ive ru le .

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$4 J O D H P U R

soi l by overflowing i ts banks,or where wel l s

,sunk

i n i ts bed,provide i rrigat ion . There was

,however

,

l i teral ly hard ly a tree or house al l the s ixty mi les toJodhpur

,and unti l the Maharaja connected h is c i ty

by a narrow-gauge rai lway with the mai n l i nethere was no road ; the track left i n the sand by thelast camel- caravan formed the only road to thecapital

,i solated l ike a sh ip at sea i n the midst of a

desert . A few prickly shrubs,and tufts of wi thered

grass nouri shed scattered flocks of sk inny goats,

and the monotony of the prospect was only rel ievedby occas ional v iews of bo ld and picturesque con icalrocks and h i l l s

,seven hundred or eight hundred

feet h igh,which appeared on the horizon and

,

as we proceeded,passed away out of s ight . Once or

twice the train,running over i ts unfenced l ine,

scared away a wi ld p ig or a wol f from the track ;after pass i ng an oas i s wi th a ru i ned temple overhung by trees and few huts

,we encountered a

country Thakur or noble,rid ing a camel

,with h is

servant seated beh i nd h im ho ld ing hi s hookahor a stri ng of laden camel s fol lowing in s ingle fi l eone of the Marwari traders

,who are found al l over

I nd ia,and may be known by thei r pecul iar turban .

Jodhpur or Marwar,the largest of the Rajputana

States,i s about the s ize of I reland

,and has been

ruled for the last five hundred years by a Maharaj a of the noble clan of Rah tore

,probably one

of the purest blooded fami l ies i n the world,for

though they cannot boast qu ite so long a pedigreeas the S esodias of Oodeypore , yet they trace theirgenealogy clear back , i n l i neal descent from male

J O D H A 365

to male,about 1360 years . They were Kings of

Canouj , one of the four great monarch ies of theancient I nd ia

,certain ly as early as the fi fth cen tury ,

and most probably even before Chri st .When the Mohammedans fi rst i nvaded I nd iathey found the Raj put princes of the Chohan l inerul i ng over the Delh i k ingdom

,and the great

kingdom of Canouj , extend ing from Nepal toAjmere, in the hands of the Rah tores ,

whom,i n

h i s second i nvasion,Shahab-ud- d in defeated

,in a

great battle on the banks of the J umna,1 194, and

utter ly destroyed thei r capital , i ts temp les andpa laces . The king and themoredaun tless of the clanthen retreated to Marwar

,and establ i shed them

selves at Mandor , then the capi tal of th i s regionof death .

” I n the early part of the fi fteenth century

,Rao Rimmull

,the Raj a

,having treacherously

attempted to u surp the throne of the i n fant Sesod ia Rana of Ch itore , hi s grandson , was s lain by thech i ld ’s nearest b lood relat ion and Mandor taken .

One of h is twenty- four sons , Jodha , final ly re

estab l i shed hi s father ’s kingdom,and

,at no great

d i stance,bu i l t the fortress ci ty of Jodhpur

,which

became the cap i tal,and from his twenty- three

other sons the peers of the Rah tore Rajput racetrace their descent .About s ix or eight mi les before reach ing Jodhpur the great rock of the Fort came in s ight . I twas bui l t by Jodha on a yel low- red sandstone rock

,

an i solated spur of a smal l range of h i l l s,i n obed i

ence to the behest of a yogi , who l ived i n a rockyravine in the neighbourhood . I t i s a stupendous

366 J O D H P U R

affai r,and ri s ing four hundred feet abruptly above

the plai n reminded me of St i rl i ng Castl e on a largescale .

A mile short of the stat ion we passed the bungalow of Major Loch

,with whom we were to stay .

His chuprass ie ran out from the house at theapproach of the train and jogged along by 1ts s ide ,then he put on a l i tt l e pace

,and arr1v ing some t ime

before the Flying H indu , was ready to rece ive uswhen we drew up . On the platform— crowded asusua l with natives—w e were greeted by MajorLoch

,and before long we were comfortably estab

lish ed under h i s hospitab l e roof with in s ight of thegreat rock . At its feet l ies the old wal led ci ty

,un

touched by the finger of the modern iser or improver

,but from the spot from which I made my

fi rst sketch th is i s h idden by a dark bel t of treesstretch ing for some d istance along the base of therock

,and rendered especial ly noti ceable by the

contrast of i ts fo l iage with the barren rock on theone s ide

,and the desert on the other . I t was so

hot that not t i l l late i n the afternoon d id we startwith our host for the Fort

,past the modern

kutcheri or publ i c offices,and a park laid out i n

squares,where the camp for the Maharaja’s

special ly d ist ingu ished vis i tors i s p i tched . Wewent round severa l very curious groups of rockswhich rise abruptly out of the pla in— in s ign ifican tcompared to the rock of the Fort , but i n themselvesneverthe less rather impos ing . One , l ike a sh ip i nshape

,has been surmounted by a bu i ld ing —a freak

of the Maharaja ’s— exact ly fol lowing its contour .

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368 J O D H P U R

found a su itable spot for a sketch . Before me wasa loftywhitewashed gateway

,with the palace tower

i ng above,and past me went an ever-moving crowd

,

of strangely dressed nat ives from the B ikanaerdesert

,laden camel s with thei r drivers

,and groups

of women carrying waterpots and other weigh tsupon thei r heads

,and an occasional e lephant

bearing a ri ch ly robed vis i tor for the palace .

On the wal l with in the last entrance gate to theFort i s a row of hands

,carved on the ston e and

pai nted red . These are the marks of the hands ofth i rty-five widows of success ive deceased ancestorsof the Maharaja

,who have in thei r tu rn become

sat i on the death of thei r husbands as they passedout of the Fort on thei r way to the funeral pyreat Mandor

,the old capi tal

,they had the impress of

the i r hands traced upon the wal l,i n token of thei r

vow to d ie with thei r lord and master . The impressof a crimsoned hand is often to be seen on door orwal l i n I nd ia and i t i s usual ly the s ign that someone had “ set to thei r seal and rat ified a vowof consecrat ion . I n the o ld deeds .of I nd ianmediaeval t imes may be seen th e impressed outl ineof the hand of the s ignatory emperor or chief,d ipped i n i nk

,and laid upon the chart or letter,

j ust as the mark of the Su l tan ’s thumb sti l l remainsthe Turkish equivalent to our Broad Arrow.

The last l i tt le red hand traced on the gatewayof Jodhpur Fort i s that of the widow of thegrandfather of the present Maharaja Jeswan tS ing . H is son

,the father of th i s man

,was the

Rajput ch ief of the old school,whose deathbed

A RA J P U T C H I E F 369

meditat ion,i n hi s garden palace at the foot of

Jodhpur cl i ff,i s the theme of the wel l-known l i nes

“ Verses wri tten in I ndia ”

And why say y e that Imu s t leaveTh is p le a s ure-g arden , w here th e sun

Is baffled by th e bough s that weaveThe ir shade o

’er my pav i l ion

Why shou ld I move I love th e pl ace ;Th e dawn i s fre sh , th e n igh t s are st i l l ;Ah

, yes I see i t i n your face ,My latest daw n and ni ght are n igh ,And of my clan a ch ie f mu s t d ieW i th in th e ance stra l rampart’ s fold ,Paced by th e l i s ten in g se n ti ne l ,Where an cien t cannon , and be ldames old

As th e gun s,peer dow n from th e ci tade l .

O nce more,once onl y , the y sh a l l bear

M y l i t ter u p th e s teep a scen tThat pierce s , moun ti n g s ta ir on s ta ir,Th e i nmos t ri ng of batt lemen t .Oft- time s that frow n in g gate I ’ve pass ’d(Th i s t ime , but on e , sha l l be th e las t) ,Whe re th e triba l daemon ’

s im age s tandsCrown in g th e arch

,and on th e s ide

Are s carle t prin ts of wom an ’s hand s .Farewe l l and forth mu s t th e lady ride ,Her face un ve i led

,i n ri ch att ire,

S h e s trike s th e s tone w ith fin gers red,

Farewe l l the pa lace , to th e pyreWe fol low

,w idow s of th e dead !

Nowadays,the wives of dead ch iefs

,not being

al lowed to commi t sati , are sent to end thei rdays in the old palace . We were told that aboutthree hundred women were shut up there

,wives

of late brothers or cous ins of th e royal house ;and lately al l the wives of the present man and

3 A

y o J O D H P U R

h i s brother had been sent there too . Poor th ings,

i t must be terribly dreary,and hot in summer

but as a Rajput lady 1s brought up to feel,that

from her b irth her “ l i fe i s a sacrifice,

” andthat i t i s on ly of her father ’s clemency she wasnot sent to the shades by a dose of opium assoon as she saw the l ight

,perhaps the semblance

of l i fe,which i s her portion up here

,appears

by contrast a precious gift . The perusal ofColonel Tod ’s Annal s of “ the Land of Pri nces ”

raises a marvel lous ly fascinat ing picture of thestrangely poet ical l i fe and ideal s of th is tenaciousrace

,which has maintained i ts character un im

paired,and clung to its customs and codes of

honour undi smayed through so many revolut ions of the wheel of the centuries . Thegrandeur of thei r conception of the immortal i tyof the race

,and of the paramount importance

,of

the “ good name,which far transcends the

momentary interests of the ind ividual ’s presentex istence of fleet i ng pleasure or pain

,cannot

fai l to i nsp ire a great admirat ion for thei r steadfast grasp of a fine idea and thei r pat ientunt iring sel f- sacrificing devotion to the detai l s ofduty as they see i t . Al l i s unstable

,the i r

poets cry ;“ l i fe i s l ike the scint i l lat ion of a fire

fly ; house and land depart , but a good nameendures for ever . We have been constrainedi n the i nterests of true righteousness

,as i t has

shown itsel f to us , to forbid many of the certain lyi ndefensibl e customs and pract ices i n wh ich thei rideal s took shape . Yet i t cannot but be a cause

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372 J O D H P U R

From the balcon ies , overhanging l ike swal lows’

nests,the sheer and d izzy precipi ce of wal l and

rock,the vast vi ew sweeps away

,i n endless

stretches of del i cate desert t i nts , for miles , to a d istance melt ing in l i lac-grey haze i nto the amber skyl i nes of dust mark the track of the cattl e str inginghome from pasture . Spread out l ike a map at ourfeet lay the old city , at the foot of the rock , i n i tsgi rdle of green

,with flat- roofed houses

,the red

sandstone palaces of the Thakoors,and the

pyramidal poi nts of i ts 400 temples peering abovethe trees . Here

,as i n other places i n th i s land

,the

bu lk of the popu lat ion by no means belongs to thenoble ru l ing race of Raj puts

,of which the poorest

member i s ki n to the King,and would not put h is

hand to a plough or to any occupat ion wh ich mightbe deemed beneath the d ign i ty of a warrior whobows on ly to the sun

,hi s horse and h i s sword .

There i s,however

,a large populat ion ofmiscel

lan eous castes i n the ci ty : Brahmans and Charan sand others

,from whose ranks come those who carry

on the work of civi l admin istrat ion,and those who

fi l l the frequently hered itary offices i n the ch ief’scourt and cab inet

,or keep the trad i t ions and re

cords of the past ages and the genealogies . Thetrad ing c lasses are usual ly Jai ns

,and they are

frequently descended from Raj puts,who have not

ma intained i n i ts puri ty the rigid marriage law ofthe land

,and have therefore lost the right to a

p lace i n the l ibro d ’oro of the pure-b looded clans,

with whom thei r ruler even i s reckoned onlyfi rst amongst equals . A greater contrast to the

R I G I D M A RR I AG E LAWS 373

servi l e att i tude of the Mogul court iers , towardsthei r lord

,can hard ly be conceived : no doubt

th i s partly accounts for the d ignified and frankand open bearing of the members of the clans .

Every member of a pure-blooded clan IS a gentleman of high degree

,and with h is tal l , erect carriage

and graceful,manly bearing , hi s strong black beard

parted i n the middle and brushed back , l ike tiger’

swh i skers

,towards h i s ears and then knotted at the

top of h is head,he looks every i nch the son of

century- long l ineage of warr ior ancestors . His chivalrous high-minded sense of honour

,the s imple

,

straightforward,easy courtesy of h i s manners

a combi nation of sel f- re l iant i ndependence andperfect cons iderat ion for others—are worthy of thebest trad i t ions of the age of ch iva l ry .

The pecul iarly stri ct marriage laws must makei t no easy matter to arrange a su itable marriage fora Rajput . For here

,i n the land where st i l l exi st

the best specimens of early inst i tut ions,the tribal

period has survived,and the prim it ive marriage

customs of the very ear l iest days are st i l l preserved .

I n those days,c i t izensh ip and country and ruler

counted for noth ing,and rel igion and kinsh ip were

of supreme importance i n determin ing a man ’s l i fe .

Here marriage i s not only l im i ted to the ranksof those of the same rel igion

,or caste

,but abso

lutely proh ib ited amongst blood relat ions , of eventhe most remote degree

,who 1n any way trace thei r

descent to a common ancestor,real or reputed . The

d i fficu l t ies which ari se may be imagined when,as a

h igh authority tel l s us,

“ widespread and numerous

374 J O D H P U R

clans are noth ing el se but great ci rcles of bloodrelat ionsh ips

,i nclud ing perhaps a hundred thou

sand persons who cannot lawful ly i ntermarry . Aclan of pure Raj puts may be scattered abroadunder hal f a dozen d i fferent ru lers

,but n everth e

l ess they hold marriage between two members ofthe clan as qu i te beyond the bounds of poss ib i l i ty .

And a Rajput clansman , whose fam i ly has leftthe ancestral home

,i f he returned to take a wi fe

,

or to marry a daughter,would have to submit h i s

genealogy to run the gauntlet of very strict andcareful i nqu iry

,to sat i sfy the scruples of those with

whom he med itated an al l iance,that there was

nei ther a common ancestor nor améscz/[z’ame i nthe fami ly . No wonder that a Raj put i s brought upto be able to rec ite h i s own genealogy

,and that there

i s a special class,a hered itary Col lege of Heral ds ,

whose duty i t i s to preserve the records and ped igrees of the clans .Udai S ing

,the son of the Jodhpur ru ler whom

Akbar subdued,was sent as a hostage to the court

at Agra,and he only obtai ned the restorat ion of

the former possess ions of h is house by givi ng h i ss i ster Jodhbai as wi fe to the Emperor : i t was notunt i l cons iderably more than a century later thatthe proud S esodias of Oodeypore , who had maintained the i r i ndependence

,readmitted the Rah tores

to the privi lege of i ntermarriage with thei r clan ,which had been forfei ted by theme’sallmnce. Andeven then the S esodias only made the concess ionon the condi t ion that the son of the Oodeyporepri ncess should always succeed to the State.

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376 J O D H P U R— to go more s lowly . I was sorry , as there i smuch i n the houses of th i s quai nt old ci tywhich i s pictu resque and archi tectural ly beauti fu l .The most ord inary houses are covered with ex

qu isite stone work , traceries and carved latt icedwindows overhanging corn ices , with d roopingpendants

,catch the l ight at every turn

,wh i l st the

project ing,hooded

,crescent- shaped eaves

,which

some one aptly compares to droopi ng gul l s ’ wings,

cast deep shadows on the surface . But al l th i s,and

the fountains with i n marble ba l ustrades under theshel ter of fine trees ; the groups of women withbrass pots

,draped i n bri ck- red and old-gold em

broidered sari s the market with sacks of goldencorn

,and traders squatt ing under plai ted straw

umbre l las,al l flashed past me in dazzl i ng pi ctures

,

as we dashed through the town,scatteri ng th e

peop le on both s ides , and runn ing the most imminent ri sk— it seemed to me—of cutt ing off toesand even end i ng l ives .

I n Major Loch ’s house Imet a high- casteBrahman gentleman

,Chatter Booj , i n p ink pug

garee and orange—coloured robes , who acted undermy host i n the bus iness of superintend ing the Maharaja

’

s land revenue and department of Woodsand Forests . His brother

,Hans Raj—or the Royal

Goose —kindly pi loted me on another sketch ingexpedi t ion to the old town . We started soon afterten o ’c lock breakfast

,but the sun was burn ing hot

—hotter than anything I had experi enced before—when we got out ln the Dhan Mandi (wheatmarket) to look round . I t was fu l l of local colour

,

A N O R I EN T AL M ENAG E 377

but real ly the heat was too great for me to feel ab l eto take much interest i n anyth i ng

,and we drove

on past the Gutab Sagar,a large tank surrounded

by temples,to the foot of the steep ascent to the

Castle where I made my first sketch . We wenti nto the Ta lati Mal

,once a beautifu l palace

,now

sad ly knocked about and d isfigured with wh i tewash

,and used as the Durbar H igh School

,with

an E h g lishwoman as head . As we entered the gi rl s ’

s ide,a l i tt le damsel rushed up to my compan ion

and hugged h im ; th i s was h i s l i tt le n i ece , adaughter of Chatter Booj .The Maharaja ’s l i tt le daughter of thi rteen hadan Engl i sh governess

,whom we met at d inner

,and

thought must have rather a du l l t ime i n her veryOrientalmézzag e . Her pupi l was very stri ctlypurdah , and only al lowed to put her nose out ofthe house after dark . She and her governess andwomen were locked into the upper part of thehouse at n ight

,by the guard who kept the key .

The ski rt of her best frock,I heard

,cons i sted of

an elaborate combinat ion of wedge - shaped p iecesof d i fferent s izes

,and measured fifty yards round

the hem . The Court dresses of the men of theS ing fami ly seem to be made on much the sameplan

,and cons i st of pink musl i n pett icoats

,con

ta i n i ng at least one hundred yards of musl i n , butt ied i n halfway down with scarves

,so that the

lower part stands st i ffly out . They sway aboutwhen the wearer moves

,and must be very d ifficu l t

to manage with d ign i ty . The whole fami ly are , asone would expect from the fami ly trad it ions

,de

3 B

378 J O D H P U R

voted to horses and hunting,and great sportsmen

,

and said not to know what fear i s . The story goesthat once when the Maharaja and h is brotherMaharaj Purtab S ing were young

,emulat ing the

ach ievements of thei r ancestors,they entered un

attended a l ion ’s cave with a lantern,and no

weapon but a club,and bearded and brained h im

i n h is lai r.This country i s celebrated al l over I nd ia forpig- st ick i ng , and the pigs are str i ct ly preserved .

Arrangements were ki nd ly made by the Maharaja ’s brother

,Maharaj Purtab S ing

,for us to

have a day ’s sport ; and under h is auspices westarted off i n a four- in -hand at s ix o ’clock one morni ng

,before itwas l ight

,for the rendezvous , about five

mi les d i stant . MajorLoch h adun fortunatelybrokenh i s arm

,and

,of course

,could not come with us ,

so the party cons i sted of Purtab S ing,i n a lovely

pale p ink turban ; Colonel Paulet , the Res ident ,Colonel B iddulph

,and mysel f. As we gal loped to

the scene of act ion Colonel Paulet,heari ng that I

had not had any pig- st i cking before,very kindly

gave me some usefu l h i nts,showing me how to

hold my spear,and warned me

,above al l th ings ,

not to stri ke a pig,i f h i s l i ne of progress converged

with mine ; otherwise , he said , i f I got the spearhome , and the pig got i n front of my horse , hewould i nfal l ibly give me a fal l . Curious ly enough ,th i s very fate befel l h im

,and he got a nasty

spi l l,which shook him a good deal . For a short

t ime we were afraid he was serious ly hurt,for

he lay on h i s back,and we thought the pony

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380 J O D H P U R

of th i s descript ion that Joseph had sent downfrom Egypt to bring h i s father and h i s householdgoods from Canaan . Afterwards an old farmercame up and expressed h is great i nterest i n al l hehad heard

,add ing that there was one th ing above

a l l others wh ich had i nterested h im,and that was

the cart . For now ,

” he said I understand whyJoseph said to h is brethren , See that ye fal l notout by the way .

’

On the s ite of the original capital of Marwar,

between three and four mi les from Jodhpur,there

i s now only a heap of ru ins,a few houses

,and a cool

garden with shady trees . The water here i s good ,and so for centuries the women of Jodhpur havebeen in the habit of trudging out every morn ingto draw water

,as that i n the town was brackish

and so scanty that i n dry seasons ci t izens movedelsewhere . The present Maharaja , Jeswan t S ing ,constructed a canal to supply the town

,and a great

reservoi r or tank for storing i t ; but I understandthe people st i l l prefer to send thei r women to fetchi t from the old spot , and regard the water that comesup to the top of the Fort i n i ron pipes as d ist inctlyuncanny .

I n the shady garden stand tombs of the Kings .

When the Rajput warrior fel l i n battle he wasnot burnt

,but buried where he fel l

,under a cai rn .

U sual ly,however

,he was carried forth armed at al l .

points with sh ield and sword,

H i gh- seated, swathed i n m an y a sh aw l ,By prie s ts who s cat ter flowers , and mourn

to the pyre wh ich fi l l ed a deep trench and there,

A M EM O R I A L S E RV I C E 38 1

hi s head laid on the knees of h is queen,h is body

was consumed amidst the eddyi ng smoke of thefuneral pyre . With one Raj put k ing eighty- fourwidows perished in the flames . The elaborate tombs.

over thei r ashes here are of red sandstone, andcons i st each of a ci rcular or octagonal hal l supported by columns

,approached by steep steps and

crowned by a flat dome . At the s ide oppos i te theentrance i s a smal l square sanctuary

,w i th a h igh

flame shaped ribbed and fluted dome above it .Most of the tombs are i n th eJa in style of arch itecture

,and al l but the most recent are covered outs ide

and ins ide with a profus ion of elaborate sculpures ,and innumerable bats hang i n clusters from thecei l i ngs . Monkeys had made thei r home here too

,

and I made acquaintance wi th a huge grey ape

whose tai l was qui te the longest I had seen,and

hung down l ike a bel l r- ope over the wal l upon whichhe sat . U nt i l I had closely i nvest igated the matterI cou ld not bel ieve i t was al l h i s personal property .

However the monkeys and bats had not the place:

qu ite to themselves , for in one tombw h ichwe entereda memorial service was going on . Before th e al tarstood a man burn i ng incense ( loban) , wav ing h i shands backwards and forwards . He then rang abel l

,and an old woman beat a gong w i th much

ass idu ity,unti l we came ; then her attent ion was

concentrated i n an attempt to persuade Major Lochto give her one hundred rupees , which she saidwou ld provide for her for the rest of her days .

Much too soon came the moment when we hadto begin to prepare to leave I ndia and al l i ts charms .

38 2 J O D H P U R

and wonders,and queer sounds and smel l s

,and the

unaccustomed ways of its pi cturesque people . Wewere very sorry when

,after sayi ng good-bye to our

k ind host,the tra i n drew up in front of h is house to

take Colonel and Mrs . Biddulph on board . Theywere bound for Ajmere , and we went together toMarwar

,where at seven o

’

clock we settl ed ourselvesi n the trai n for the n ight . Next day

,March 18

,we

spent some hours i n Ahmedabad in the greatestheat we had experienced , which quite sapped ourenergy . I n the ci rcumstances to plunge into s ightseeing

,with as much determinat ion as the i nterest

of the place and the short t ime at our d i sposal real lydemanded , was imposs ible . Sti l l we managed to seemany of the i nterest i ng bu i ld ings for wh ich theplace is justly celebrated . Fi rst , the Jumma Musj id ,with i ts two- hundred-and—s ixty p i l lars and fi fteendomes— a fifteen th - century bu i ld ing raised bySultan Ahmad I .

,bes ide wh ich i s h i s mausoleum

,

and beyond the tombs of h is Queens and the celebrated latt i ce windows carved i n yel low sandstone

,

i n the S id i Said’

s mosque— said to be the finestwork of i ts kind that exists .

We went al so to a Turcoman mosque,rather

severe i n style,and to the tomb and mosque of Ran i

S ipri (a daughter of Ahmad Shah) . These are twobeauti fu l l i tt l e bu i ld ings of yel low sandstone

,ri ch

i n carving and most del icate latt ice work . This wasal l we fel t up to . I have a very vivid recol lect ion offeel ing the force of the sun to such an extent thatI put up an umbrel la between my solar topee andthe roof of the t icca—gharry . After lunch at the rai l

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CHAPTER XX

CEYLON

OUR fi rs t impress ions of Colombo were those ofenchantment . To be on shore once agai n

,after the

voyage from Brind is i,was in i tsel f a del ight

,but

over and above that was the novel ty of the whol escene . Wherever I had been before I had recognisedsometh ing fami l iar

,but here everyth ing was new .

Peopl e,dress

,vegetat ion

,houses

,al l were strange

,

and al l were more or less beauti fu l i n thei r way .

The people were refresh ingly unl ike those we hadj ust left on board sh ip . The women with l i ttlecloth ing , the men with less and les s , and thech i ldren wi th none . This s tate of th i ngs doesnot appear odd

,on account of the strange rich

colour of the i r glossy red or brown skins,and al so

perhaps because of the beauty and suppleness ofthei r figures

,and the absence of sel f- conscious

ness i n the i r stately bearing . Many of the menwear l i tt l e more than a duster round thei r loi ns

(these are for the most part of the cool i e class) ,others have what looks l ike a white tablecloth

3 c

386 CEY LON

wound round thei r wai st extend ing to the i r heel s,

and a wh i te j acket . Thei r hai r i s drawn back in toa t ight knot at the back of the head

,and kept i n i ts

place wi th a tortoiseshel l comb,making them look

from beh ind l ike women . The women wear a k in dof s i l k petti coat , and short j acket wh ich bare ly

NATIVE DRE SSmeets i t , sometimes also a scarf over the i r bod ies ,necklaces of beads round thei r necks

,and orna

ments i n thei r noses . Very frequently the whole ofa ch i l d ’s costume cons i sts of a stri ng of beadsround i ts wai st . Unfortunate ly, the effect of c ivi l isat ion and fash ion i s beginn i ng to show itsel f, andhere and there nat ives are seen i n European dress

,

or in Bri t i sh pri nts i nstead of the nat ive cloths .

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388 CEY LO N

tain s and bananas,del ic ious mangoes

,pines

,dark

green oranges,and tree- tomatoes

,whi l s t others are

bright with native wares,stuffs,&c . I t was very

curious and amusing to pass through th i s qu ietlybusy l i ttle town , i n and out amongst the crowds -of

people,the carts drawn by

t i ny l i tt l e buffaloes,and the

j in n rikshaws .

Later on i n the daywhen we went to cal l onthe Governor

,S ir Arthur

Gordon,

’g whom we did notfind at home

,the town was

al ive wi th P . O . passengers spend ing thei r moneymeme with true Austral ian l iberal i ty

,but by seven o ’clock

comparat ive qu iet re igned . The intense heatwarn ed us that i t would be wi se to start for Kandyas soon as poss ible . Our preparat ions for l eavingat seven o ’c lock the next morn ing were superin

tended,with much apparent i nterest

,by a green

l izard,about two feet long

,which came out from

among the rafters for h i s supper of fl ies , and gazed atus i ntently . There are nowords to describe the heat .Fortunately i t rained hard i n the n ight

,and the

ai r was comparat ively cool when we left Colombonext morn i ng . Before start ing I had wri tten to S i rArthur Gordon to say that the heat was dr iving usup to the mountains , and at the th ird station a longtelegraph ic message was handed i n

,express ing h i s

Now Lord S tanmore.

TH E A S C EN T To K A NDY 389

regret at not havi ng known sooner of our being i nColombo

,and k indly ask ing us to stay with h im

i n Kandy when he came up there . For about twohours the train kept on the level through j ungle

,

marsh,and paddy-field ,

and we passed herds ofdusty b rown buffa loes . Though luxuriantly green ,i t i s a terrib ly unheal thy d istrict i ndeed Iwas toldthat

,when making the rai lway , i t was found n eces

sary to take the cool ies back to Colombo everyeven ing

,to avo id the deadly night a i r of th i s neigh

bourhood. Having traversed th i s flat bitof country ,we took on a powerfu l engine

,and began the beauti

ful ascent to Kandy,cl imbing by many z igzags the

precip i tous s ide of a rocky mountai n i nto a coolercl imate . At every turn fresh and more beauti fu lviews opened out before us on the right

,extend ing

over a sea of vivid green j ungle which receded everfurther below us and melted away i nto deep b lue .

Ridge upon ridge of dark mountai n lay beyond ,culminat ing in the heights about Adam ’s Peak .

After reach ing the summit of the pass at a heightof 1600 feet , the l i ne descended a l i tt le to Peraden iya

,and before midday we reached Kandy . Bef01 e

the Government cut the new road from Colombo toKandy

,th i s j ourney took seven days to accompl i sh ;

we had done i t i n four hours .

On the way to the Queen’

5 Hotel we passed astately old gentleman who might have been takenfor a doctor of d ivi n i ty had he worn other clothesthan a whi te duster round h is middle . H is costumewas completed by an umbrel la , a torto i seshel lcomb

,and a pai r of gold spectacles .

390 CEY LON

I t was good to be i n a comfortable room overlooking the beaut i fu l lake

,facing the ri ch ly wooded

h i l l s ou the further s ide,with the pleasant sound

of the rustl i ng leaves of the mango- tree coming i nthrough the open window .

I n the late afternoon we drove to the celebratedBotani cal Gardens of Peradeniya

,about three

mi les off,on the banks of the great river of

Ceylon,the Mahawelli Ganga . The gardens

extend over one hundred and fi fty acres. and , asal l k inds of plants have been imported here forthe sake of making experiments

,they are ful l of

beauti ful and i nterest ing trees and plants,both

European and exoti c . Near the entrance there i sa very fine avenue of i nd ia—rubber trees (F icuselasi z

'm) , and i ns ide the gardens there i s an equal lygood specimen of th i s same tree . I t must bee ighty feet h igh

,and i s immensely wide- spreadi ng ,

with crowded proj ect i ng roots,l ike smal l mountai n

ranges , runn ing away from the great trunk . Theseroots are as b ig as crocod i les

,and remind one of

those an imal s both on account of the i r shape and ofthe l ines wh ich they take . The branches throwdown suckers to th e earth or to the roots

,and these ,

attach ing themselves below,become independent

trunks . For al l the tree i s so big,i t was not planted

more than fi fty years ago . Here was theA fl /zkersi z'

a

”062755,from Malacca

,a forest tree covered wi th

beauti ful r i ch red flowers hanging i n festoons al lover i t . We saw bes ides nutmeg and clove- t rees

,

cabbage- palms , travel l ers’ trees (belonging to the

same order as the banana) which grow in the

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39 2 C EY LON

a very short t ime,and we had to drive home in

the dark .

I was up early the fol lowing morn ing,and at

7A .M . started on a del ightfu l two-mi le walk . I t washot

,but not too hot

,and everything was wringi ng

wet,after heavy rain i n the n ight . I took my way

along Lady Horton ’s Drive,a roadwhi ch runs right

round the lake,and winds abou t the base of the

THE LAKE , KANDY

h i l l s . This lake,formed by bu i ld i ng a dam across

the val ley,was made by the las t Raja of Kan dy

,

and i s a del ightfu l sheet of water ; i ts banks arecovered with luxuriantly growing trees

,bright

flowers and flowering shrubs .On the far s ide of the lake

,upon a h i l l

,and a‘

l i ttle above the road,s tands a Buddhi st temple

,

very curious and picturesque,though not nearly as

important as the famous temple of the Dalada orsacred tooth . As I approached the latter temple I

THE TEM P L E OF THE T OO T H 393

fel l i n wi th a Mohammedan from Colombo,who

told me that he was a clerk i n the Treasury,on s ick

leave . He was a pleasant ol d fel low,and had h i s

l i ttl e boy of five with h im . The father wore a tal l ,th imble- shaped

,red and whi te straw hat

,without

brim,on the top of h i s shaven head

,and the usual

coloured cloth i n the place of trousers . We vis i tedthe temple together

,and he toldmemanyin teresting

th ings about th i s celebrated shri ne,which i s one of

the most sacred spots of Buddh i sm,and was bui l t

to rece ive the tooth of Buddha,brought to Ceylon

by a devout princess,about fi fteen hundred years

ago,h idden for safety i n her hai r . Here th e tooth

remained unt i l,i n 1 560 ,

when i t was solemnlyburnt by the Portuguese Archbi shop of Goa . Anew tooth appeared soon after

,and i s st i l l i n the

temple,but i t measures about two i nches i n

length,and has the appearance of having belonged

to a crocod i l e .

or I sThe temple,though not grand or impos i n

g ,

one of the most p icturesque bu i ld ings i n Ceylon ,and when crowded wi th dark figures

,as i t was a

few hours later,s imply gorgeous . I t stands with i ts

back against a wooded h i l l at i t s feet l i es the longmoat or tank

,a l ive wi th torto i ses

,and crossed by a

smal l b ridge between two carved stone elephants .

Above,an enclos i ng batt lemented wal l l ooks out

upon a flat expanse of the greenest grass , dottedover with trees

,and fed down by a few humped

cows .Several fl ights of steps lead to an elaboratelysculptured doorway and with i n an ante- chapel , or

3 D

394 C EY LON

vest ibu le,open i ng on the i nner s ide to a court

yard,Imanaged to get a sketch . I n the cen t I e

of the.

courtyaI d, and occupyi ng the greater partof i t

,i s the sacred bu i ld ing , a kind of Holy of

Hol ies,contain i ng seven shrines of d im in ish ing

s ize,i n wh ich the rel i c i s h i dden . No ord i nary

mortal may pass the vei led doorway of th i s sanctuary . This mysterious entrance formed the centreof my sketch . The proj ect i ng roof above i s supported by mass ive wooden p i l lars

,whi ls t the wal l s ,

corbel s and cei l i ngs are profusely decorated i nbright colou rs wi th pai nted figures

,grotesque

monsters and floral patterns . To one s ide of thesteps

,guard ing , as i t were , the approach , s tands

a grotesque figure of a demon - t iger,in high

rel ief.At the foot of the steps i s a ci rcu lar carvedstone

,l i ke an i nverted soup-plate l et i nto the

pavement . This is one of the stones popu lar lyknown i n Ceylon as moon—stones

,and qu ite

pecul iar to the I s land,noth ing of the sort having

been found in I nd ia or e l sewhere . They are usual lyelaborately carved with process ions of an imals andri ch scrol l work . Upon i t an orange- robed priestknel t at h i s devotions , whi ls t an everchangingcrowd of s i lent , shoeless worsh ippers came andwent i n end less success ion

,al l provided wi th

vot ive offeri ngs of flowers . These , lyi ng about i nshal low baskets

,were being sold at every corner

of the temple,making patches of brigh t colour on

the floor, and fi l l i ng the ai r wi th sweet perfume .

The worsh ippers were very i nterest i ng to watch

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396 CEYLO N

The l i tt l e town of Kandy i tsel f possesses nofine bu i ld ings or arch i tectural features worthy ofnote ; but the i rregulari ty of i ts low bui ld ings , thebright awn ings

,the deep shadows i n the frontle s s

shops,the fru i t and other wares , the overhang

palms , the stray yel low and crimson croton bushes ,and above al l the people , with thei r many- t i n tedskins

,varying from I nd ian red to chocolate , and

A STREET BARBER

the i r scanty,but many- coloured clothes

,form an

ever changingme’lcmg e of colour, and a s tudy inmovement wh ich are i n the highest degree fasc inati ng and picturesque . I sat mysel f down i n thestreet

,and , to the amusement of the l i ttle urch i n s

of the neighbourhood,naked and fat

,endeavoured

to portray a representat ive b i t of Kandy l i fe,

though I was unfortunately unable to i ntroducee i ther crotons or palms on th i s occasion .

Knowing that a friend i n England had a coffeeplantat ion i n th i s ne ighbourhood

,and find ing that

Pallekelly, seven mi les off, belonged to a personof the same name

,we started

,at the next

PAL LEKEL LY 397

morn ing , to d rive there . After two false starts ,due to d i fficul t ies wi th the horses

,we final ly left

wi th a pai r wh ich got over the ground we l l,but

we had wasted an hour,and i t was now We

had the honour and glory of a syce to run withus ; but he sat at our feet most of the way . Hewore a red turban and a pai r of very oldGordon tartan trousers

,cut short at the

knee . The drive , most of the way by theriver s ide , i s very beaut i fu l , pass ingthrough every vari ety of wooded landscape , with here and there a hamlet ofnat ive huts hal f buried amongst the palmsan d jack- fru i t- trees

,beneath the shade of

wh ich were goats , and babies and ch ickens ,hobbl ed by a stri ng to a piece of wood .

Beyond the orange- coloured river,end-

I

less forests s tretch away to ridges of beauti fu lb lue mountains .

After driving about s ix mi les we came to aferry i n which horses

,trap and al l

,w ere punted

across,and almost immed iately after entered the

plantat ion of Pallekelly . On arriva l we found thatthe estate was the property , not of our friend bu t ofh i s brother

,w ho was absent

,and we w ere i n some

doubt as to our we lcome,coming unexpectedly

and as strangers,but were qu i te put at our ease by

the very k ind reception given us by Mr . V ollar,the manager

,whose wife was a daughter of Mr .

Tytler,to whom the estate origina l ly be longed ,

a celebrated planter,and the fi rst cul t ivator of

cocoa . Mr . V ollar had j ust come in (ten o’

clock)

398 CEY LON

from h is morn ing’

s work , but put on h i s hat totake us out and show us some of the mysteries ofcocoa—growing .

On th is estate coffee i s almost a th i ng of thepast

,and there i s l i ttle tea grown ; i t i s almost

enti rely given over to the cu l t ivation of cocoa,

which seems to thrive wel l here . The chief cropi s gathered i n the autumn

,but a smal l cr0p i s

also p icked i n the early summer , and th i s we sawripen i ng wh i l s t the t i ny l i tt le flower for theautumn fru i t (i t grows straight from the stem ofthe plant) was coming out . He showed us howthe young cocoa plants are protected from th e sunby branches from other trees

,and what the seed

or cocoa- nibs are l ike i ns ide the great pod ; al sohow ind ia- rubber i s gathered

,and how the fungus

i n the coffee leaf shows i tsel f. The heat drove usi n at abou t eleven o

’

clock,and then we were i ntro

duced to Mrs . V ollar,and found that we had

many friends and i nterests i n common .

Sketch ing i n the trop ics I found no easy matteron accoun t of vegetat ion wh ich clothes the wholeface of the worl d i n the r i chest greens . Noth ingi s more beaut i fu l to the eye than th i s verdure

,but

i t i s hard to pai nt,and moreover i t was al l new to

me . I attempted a sketch , but wi th ind i fferentsuccess

,of the j ungle—clothed mountains around

Pallekelly ,culminat i ng i n a dark peak about

which the clouds were beginn ing to gather . Onefeature of the scene wh i ch added i nterest

,though

i t enhanced my d i fficu l t ies , was the extraord inaryvariety of vegetat ion . Every tree seemed to have

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400 C EY LO N

kind host , Captai n Chri stopher , the A D C ,and

Mr. L i ddel l , S i r Arthu r’s secretary and ourselves

.

The Pavi l ion i s a large white class i cal bu i ld ingwith deep verandahs , l ong wide corridors and bigrooms with windows i n every poss ib l e place . I t i smerely a wing of the house original ly planned

,

and the hal l i s used as a d i n ing- room,a great

room with twelve doorways i ntoverandahs and corridors

,always

kept open to court the ai r . Thepeons or government messengers , and servants , whose l iverycons i sts of wh i te l i nen coats wi thred , gold , and black lace , a l inencloth round thei r wai sts and downto the feet

,which are bare

,and

the usual torto i seshel l combs,

waited at d inner,as wel l as a

magn ificent b lack man wi th a redturban and a twisted ivory boar ’stusk hanging on h i s breast . Hewas h i s Excel lency ’s Fij ian valet ,

4 covmwmmousz a tremendous hero among thePEON lad ies ’ maids at home

,and said

to be a great hand at travel ler’s tales . When hewas i n Europe he went wi th h i s master to Denmark , and there , before an august assemblageinclud ing many crowned heads

,was cal l ed upon to

show how to make fi re accord ing to the Fij ianmethod . On return ing to h is nat ive land he toldmany tales too good to be true

,but the only one

he coul d not get h i s compatriots to bel ieve was

THE PAV I L I O N GARDEN 40 1

the veracious account of h i s making fi re before theKings and Emperors of Europe .We made acquai ntance with some excel lent fru i twhi ch I had never seen before

,i ncluding guavas

and the mangosteen . This i s a dark purple fru i t ,the s ize of an orange

,with l ight green excres

cences at the point where the fru i t join s the stal k .

The part eaten i s the centre,which i s snow-white ,

and in form l ike s ix or seven p ips of an orange ,embedded i n a soft rose- coloured substance abouta quarter of an i nch th ick

,which in terv enesbetween

the whi te centre and the ri nd .

The great charm of the Pavi l ion l ies In the garden

,ful l of cinnamons and nutmegs

,with gardenias

growing l ike roses,and choice and curious trees and

shrubs about del ightfu l green lawns . I t i s d i fficu l tto remember a l l thei r names

,but amongst others

S ir Arthu r pointed out the tal low-cand le tree ,wh ichhas a l i tt l e white l i ly- shaped flower springings traight out of the stem

,and fru i t which bears a

most extraord inary resemblance to that homelyhousehold necessary ; a fine spec imen of the fanshaped travel ler ’s pa lm

,with i ts great flat l eaves

,

at the base ofwhich the th i rs ty travel ler may find areservoi r

,ofwater and a huge cotton- tree

,with i ts

straight wide- spread i ng branches ; i t i s a deciduoustree

,and was then wi thout leaves

,but had a sprink

l ing of large crimson flowers . Beneath i t weretethered two beaut i fu l l i ttle deer and a fawn

,which

S i r Arthur fed with plantains . They were qu i tetame

,and ate the fru i t out of h is hand .

The Secretaries l ived i n a bunga low in the gar3 E

46 2 CEY LO N

den , and they told us that when they walked homeat n ight they carried lanterns

,i n order to see and

avo id the snakes,of which there are many

,i nclud

ing two poi sonous k inds,the cobra and the t i c

p longa ,a name appl ied to several species ofv iperine

snakes,one of them being of a bri l l iant emerald

green colour .One morn i ng at before the sun had qu itepenetrated through the th i ck mi sts

,we found our

selves,a party of four

,i n the four- seated V i ctoria

,

bowl i ng along the Peraden iya road . Theplanwas todrive about seven m i les

,there to meet ri d ing

horses,vis i t three temples among the h i l l s

,meet

the carriage again i n another va l ley,and drive

home . I t was a del ightfu l exped i t ion,and gave us

an i ns ight i nto the byways of Ceylon,wh ich

,bu t

for S i r Arthur,we should never have had . Th e

weather was bri l l i an t and hot unti l we rej oined thecarriage at and then a de luge of rain burstupon us

,and i t was al l that we could do to keep

dry . At the place where we took to the saddle wecame across two elephants

,the fi rs t we had seen i n

Ceylon,engaged In some agri cu l tural w01k.

My compan ion was mounted on S i r Arthur’sfavouri te pony , Jan e t,which has won many races inthe i s land in her day

,and was a pretty l i tt l e beast .

I rode wi th S i r Arthur,fol lowed by h i s two syces ,

on foot,as the i r custom i s . They wear wh i te tun ics

and short trousers to the knee , below i s bare l egand shoeles s foot . The Governor being in mourning they wore black turbans and cummerbunds .One of them carried a plume of horse-hai r to whisk

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404 C EY LON

find ourselves i n a dark vau l ted chamber,open i ng

i nto a long s l ip of a room,contain ing a colossa l re

cumbent figure of Buddha,very gaud i ly painted .

I t must have been twenty-five feet i n length . At thehead and the feet were large upright figures

,and

al l over the wal l s paint i ngs of Buddhas and sai nts,

drawn in a very archai c style,and gaudy in colour .

I n the fi rs t chamber,al so frescoed

,i s kept a s i lver

tabernacle , i n wh ich i s depos i ted the sacred rel ic .On high days i t i s carried forth upon the back of anelephant . The ch ief figure and shrine of Buddhawas , however , upstai rs , amongst a crowd of yel lowrobed priests and natives . The bel l- shaped dagobai n the centre of the chamber i s the permanentabode of the rel i c, and i s hung with j ewel led offeri ngs

,and surrounded by smal ler gi l t repl i cas of it

se l f of al l s izes . Around the room,l ike Egyptian

mummies,are arranged st i ff painted figures of

saints , moulded i n plaster , and larger than l i fe .

Amongst them,but much smal ler

,i s the figure of

the st i l l l ivi ng founder of the temple . We tried toget some explanation from the pries ts as to themean ing of certai n frescoes i l l us trating the l i fe ofBuddha

,but they cou ld not agree upon any con sis

ten t account . I found on i nqu i ry that Dagoba—a

word the meaning of which myst ified me cons iderably—i s real ly synonymous with the Pagoda

,

fami l iar from ch i ld i sh days as represent i ng al l themagic of the East . Both words are corruptions ofthe Pal i word Dagaba . Origi nal ly a Dagoba was acasket made to contain some rel i c of the Buddha orsome spec ial ly venerated fo l lower . These caskets

DAGO BA S 46 5

were placed i ns ide a Chai tya or S tupa,a structure

of a con i cal shape taperi ng upwards,bu i l t e i ther

i ns ide an assemb ly hal l or i n the open . Eventual ly,

”A”! c,

A DAGOBA AT KANDY

the Dagoba or Pagoda came to mean the wholemonument as wel l as the rel i c casket i ns ide i t , andi t was used as a temple or place of worsh ip . Thereare Dagobas of every s ize

,two of the largest be ing

406 CEY LO N

the enormous Rangoon Pagoda,and the Dagoba at

Anuradhapura,i n Ceylon . The original Dagobas

were general ly bel l - shaped,and the usual form i n

Ceylon i s of that shape st i l l ; but as t ime passedthe shape somet imes became modified

,and they

were made more and more elaborate : the later onesare often rai sed upon a base of one or more t iers ofmasonry

,and are much decorated—general ly with

images of the Buddha— and end i ng i n taperingfin ials of umbrel la- shaped ornament .Having seen the temple

,the Governor took

some photographs,and I made a sketch . The rest of

the party seemed to get a great deal of sat i sfact ionout of the mi lk from some green cocoa-nuts

,cal led

i n th i s state corumbas . We then rode on to thetemple ofGadaladenya ,

passing on the way anotherruder temple , covered outs ide wi th rough l i fe- s izedrepresentat ions of e lephants .When rid ing through a cleari ng i n the fores t Inoti ced a bri l l ian t green bush wi th gorgeouscrimson flowers upon i t ; and when I came qu i tec lose I saw upon i ts branches a very beauti fu lchameleon

,bl inking In the sun . I t had a bri l l iant

green body and a crimson head,exactly match ing

the bush . There appear to be quan t I tIesof leech es inthese parts

,and severa l of our h orsesw h ich had been

stand ing i n swampy ground were b i tten by them .

Gadaladenya ,qu i te the mos t pi cturesque of the

three temples we saw,i s bu i l t upon the smooth

surface of a rock overlooking a val ley and backedby j ungle . A huge Dagoba of stone protected by at i led roof stands a l i tt le In front of i t . The temple I s

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408 C EY LO N

groves of cocoa-nut palms by fl ights of rude stepspartly cut i n the rock i tsel f. More elaboraterefreshments were here provided for us by theRhatamahatmer, or head of the d i stri ct , and as wehad had our early tea at s ix and i t was now pastnoon

,we were very thankful for h i s m i lk

,oranges ,

and bi scu i ts . We sat i n a l i tt le shed i n front of thetemple

,with a grand view over forest and blue

THE THREE USUAL ASPECTS OF THE SEATED BUDDHA

h i l l s but the clouds were al ready rol l i ng up andwarned us to hasten on our way .

We had about five mi les to ride to the carriage,

along a wind ing and pi cturesque road with everchanging v i ews

,but the qui ck ly gatheri ng clouds

overhead d i stracted our attent ion,and before long

the ra i n was upon us .Though i t was somewhat damping to our s ightseeing ardour

,i t was very beaut ifu l

,especial ly from

a height , to watch the great rai n- clouds b lowing upfrom the sea every afternoon and culminat ing i n adeluge of rain . The C l ear blue sky of the morn inggradual ly becomes flecked with wh i te wool lyclouds

,and shadows travel rap idly over the sunny

THE L I T T LE MO N S OON 46 9

green landscape . On they come th icker and th icker,

the wh i te turns to grey , the b lue sky rapid ly d isappears

,and the grey g ives place to b lack , cast i ng

the whole landscape into a deep blue g loom,then

a nebulous mass,more dense than i ts predecessors

,

charged with electri c i ty,sweeps over the h igh

mountains,there i s a v iv id flash of forked fi re and

an almost s imultaneous roar of thunder,and a

deluge of water fal l s i n a great grey vei l over h i l land vale

,and swirl i ng onwards warns us that no

t ime must be lost i n seeki ng shel ter i f we wish topreserve a dry thread to our backs .

We reached the l i ttl e hamlet where the carriagewas

'

waiting ,and were conducted by the head man

of the vi l lage to h i s house,where the luncheon

basket had a l ready found i ts way . The verandahwas hung with white sheets

,and al l the chai rs were

covered w i th whi te cloth of d i fferent kinds . Thi si s a great mark of honour to a d ist i ngu ishedperson . The o ld gentleman —our host - was aquain t figure ; he had a good deal of grey hairabout h im

,and was clothed about the m idd le wi th

one garment . On his head he wore a smal l cap ,which from h is constant and abj ect salaaming wasgeneral ly about the level of h i s wai st .I used to go out when at the Pavi l ion at 6 A .M .

,

and I have seldom done any sketch ing i n morepleasant ci rcumstances . My friends at the Secretary’s bungalow wou ld find me out at some templegateway or by the lake s ide

,and send a d ign ified

peon with a kind message or some refreshment ,when they thought I shou ld be weary , or a choice

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cigar in an envelope with “ On Her Maj esty’

sService ” stamped upon i t .Close to the Pavi l ion i s the anc ient Palace ofthe Kings of Kandy

,which the Governor took us

to see . Origi nal ly i t was a mass ive bu i ld i ng withth i ck wal l s and ornamented with scu lpturedfigures of the sun , the moon and elephants ; but

A SHOP IN KANDY

what remains of the structure has been patched up ,and with the add it ion o f a deep verandah coveredwith creepers serves as the Government Agent ’shouse . Beyond i t

,we came to the Court House

,a

bu i ld ing open on al l s ides to th e ai r,of dark brown

wood with a deep ti led roof,supported by pi l lars

and beams,most beaut i fu l ly and elaborately carved

with i ntri cate patterns,the corbel s terminat i ng i n

representat ions of the lotus . The p i l lars are cut i nsect ions

,rectangular and octagonal s ided . Here i n

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with mosqu itoes , our host took us before breakfastnext morn ing,

to i nspect a neighbouring tea factory .

I t I s i nterest i ng to see both the p lant i tsel f growingand the process by wh ich i t i s prepared for themarket . The fi rs t three l eaves of each shoot arep i cked , then dried on trays of ute ,wh ere th eypartlyferment , then rol led i n a sem i-hot cond i t ion by ahuge rotary rol ler ; after th i s they are shaken about

'

and dried i n a hot close mach ine,and final ly passed

over a s ieve contain ing holes of three s izes . Thesmal l leaf at the top of the shoot

,the second , and

the th i rd and largest l eaf,are by th is process sorted

and separated . The smal l l eaves form the finest ,and the large the coarsest tea .

Whils t I was at the bungalow I found that al i tt le swal low with a red breasthad bu i l t a nest on the ce i l i ng of my room

,and he

came flyi ng in and out through the venti lator abovethe wi ndow. Some of the bees of Ceylon are blackand as large as stagbeetles, and there are no endof Palm squ i rrel s (b rim/usfia/marum) In the trees ,t i ny l i ttl e mouse- coloured fel lows with dark stripesdown thei r backs . There were dozens of them Inthe trees by our window at the Pavi l ion

,and they

used to chase one another up and down thebranches l i ke boys let loose from school .When we were shown some photographs

,i n

open i ng the frame of one of them,we d iscovered

with in,between the doors and the glass

,a l i ttle

wasp ’s nest made of hard red clay . On taking i t offwe found the grub and s ix or seven sp iders laid upi n store for i ts provi s ion . I t was i n the act of con

M R . CAM ERO N 41 3

suming one when we discovered i t . By the t ime thelarder i s exhausted the wasp i s fledged and ready tomake h i s appearance in the world . The nest wasabout one and a hal f i nch square .

We packed up our traps at noon on the fol lowingday , and , with a cool ie to each box , marched to thePeraden iya Stat ion

,two hundred yards off

,to catch

the train .

We had some very severe showers on our waydown to Colombo i n the plain

,pass ing once more

a l l the glorious views wh i ch the l i ne affords— thedense j ungle . the new green paddy-fields

,the bright

croton-planted stat ions,and the red water- l i l i es i n

the ponds . At the last stat ion before reach ingColombo we were met by Mr . Hard inge Cameron

,

at that t ime Mayor of Colombo,the son of Mrs .

Cameron,whose beauti fu l photographs are so

wel l known . He kindly drove us i nto the townthrough extens ive cinnamon groves or plantations

,

now left very much to look after themselves,and

out beyond the town boundary,through a bi t of

j ung le,past some nat ive vi l lages or hamlets . We

bowled a long smooth red roads,between groves of

love ly trees , and avenues of pa lms . F loweringshrubs and bright- l eaved plants covered and surrounded the bungalows

,each snugly s i tuated in i ts

own compound .

We spent a day or two at the hotel duri ng S i rArthur ’s absence at Ratnapura

,havi ng un fortumate ly been obl iged to give up going there wi th

him . We had some love ly even ing dr ives with Mr .Cameron and h is friend Mr . Wi l l iams , and dined

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wi th h im i n h is charming bungalow close to oneof the many lakes .

One day he took me to see themarket,wh ich sur

rounds the town- ha l l . I t i s r ich i n sketchable bi tsfor an art ist , i n sp i te of the fact that the ch ief bu i ldi ngs are made of cast i ron . The subtle l i theness ofthe figures and the profusion and gorgeous coloursof the frui ts are most attract ive . Th ere I set towork to make a sketch

,watched over by a mayoral

peon i n wh i te l i nen,with a green ribbon and s i lver

badge across h i s shoul der . I n spi te of torrents ofra i n I had some gol f on the l i nks by the sea

,but

found that the cl imate or the borrowed clubs d idnot su i t my play .

On S i r Arthur’

s return we migrated to the coollofty corridors and hal l s of Government House . I ti s a large bu i ld i ng

,and to find our rooms we had

to walk what seemed an i nterminable d istance fromthe hal l

,along a verandah

,with the rai n pouring

down in torrents outs ide,to a d i stan t wing of the

house . But the rooms , when we got to them ,were

del ightfu l ly big and ai ry .

The Governor was,as a lways

,most ki nd

,and

told us a l l about h i s vi s i t to Ratnapura . Wel i stened

,not wi thout many a regret

,to h i s account

of the fine nat ive d resses and other splendours ofthe Durbar wh ich we had missed .

When we went to smoke hi s Excel l ency gaveme a volume ( 185 5 - 6) of h i s father

’s corres

ponden ce to look at . He was ed i t ing the letters ,and seemed engrossed i n the subj ect . I found

Th e fourth Earl of Aberdeen .

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m6 C EY LO N

al though i t overlooks a ci ty of 1 2 0,000 i nhab i tants

there I s not a house to be seen— no S ign of dwel li ng or of human l i fe except a church sp i re , a dome ,and two or three tal l ch imneys . Everyth i ng i sh idden awayamongst the umbrel la- l ike palm- trees .We dined early

,and had to bustle off imme

diately after to the harbour, carry i ng with us amagn ificent orch id (Dendrobz

’

ummacartkiz') whichS i r Arthur had cut on h i s j ourney from Ratnapura

,i n the j ungle , on purpose for us . I t i s a

spl end id mauve flower,grow i ng i n cl usters on a

long stem . He had to cut off a p iece of the branchof th e tree i n order to get i t . Captai n Chri stopheraccompan ied us on board our steamer i n theGovernment barge

,rowed by eight swarthy nat ives .

We were not much too soon . We found Mr .Cameron and Mr. Wil l iams there

,and we were

glad to have an Opportun i ty to say good-bye andthank them for the i r k indness . Then we had tob id farewel l to Chri stopher and to lovely Ceylonwith al l i ts del ights and so

,pi tch ing

,we got out

of harbour .

I N COLOMBO HAR BOUR

A YOUNG ELEPHANT AT KANDY

CHAPTER XXI

CEYLON

E IGHT months later I awoke one December mornmg to find mysel f once more off the coast of Ceylon ,and going on deck saw the sun ri se glorious ly behind Adam ’s Peak , which stood up amongst thesurround ing mountai ns clear against the Easternsk

By 7o’clock we were i n Colombo harbour

,and

Captain P i rie,S i r Arthur Havelock ’s had

come on board with a k ind note of welcome fromLady Havelock . We left the Ship in the Governor ’sfam i l iar boat

,with i ts eight swarthy rowers

,and

made our way to the shore .

Our host and hostess had gone to the Pavi l ionfor Chri stmas

,and in the course of the day we

started for Kandy to joi n them .

The h eat,wh ich had been Oppress ive in Colombo ,

3 G

41 8 CEY LO N

gave place to del i cious cool ness as we ascended tothe h igher al t i tude .

The party at the Pavi l ion cons isted , bes ides thefami ly and ourselves , of Mr. and Mrs . HerbertOakley ; Captain Pi ri e , the A D C ,

and the Secretary

,Mr . Gerald Brown : with them

,i n a tempera

ture of we spent a very pleasan t Christmast ide

,taking part i n al l the t ime- honoured customs

that are associated at home with bare trees andfrostbound earth

,under a canopy of blue and sur

rounded by thatwealth of vegetat ion which on ly th etropics can give . Lady Havelock ’s mongooseformed a not un important member of the party .

Thi s funny l i ttle beast was a great pet , crying to belet out of i ts cage

,and then rush i ng about

,playing

with the dogs,with whom it was qu ite able to hold

i ts own . Now and then i t used to get on to the luncheon table and steal a p iece of meat or a bun ch ofgrapes off some one

’

s plate,and was not the leas t

abashed by anyth ing .

We spent many pleasant days at the Pavi l ion,

partly amongst the su rround ings of Kandy withwh ich we were fami l iar

,and partly in long rides

and expedi t ions further afield . On one of these , tothe neighbourhood of Hangerinkette, I was muchaston ished to noti ce the marvel lous way in wh ichour nat ive attendants

,on foot and heavi ly laden

,

would,unobserved

,pass us on the road

,though

we were on horseback,and arrive at the dest ination

first .On another occasion we went to Dambool to seethe famous rock temples .

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42 0 CEY LO N

of Buddhi st scriptures,t i l l then handed down

oral ly,was fi rst wri tten down i n Ceylon about

B .C . 85 .

I n one of the rock chambers i s a huge recumbentfigure of Buddha

,some 40 feet i n length , cut out

of the sol id rock . The interior of the temples , profusely decorated , was being th ickly repainted wi thoi l pain t of the brightest colours . A law, passed byS i r Arthur Gordon

,compel s the priests to render

a period ical account of the expendi ture of the i rfunds

,which are cons iderable

,consequently they

were everywhere act ively wield ing the paint- brushso as to make as much Show as poss ibl e

,and

carvi ng new effig ies of Buddha . At the top of oneof these great rocks there i s an art ificial i ndentation

,representi ng a huge footpri nt some three feet

long . This i s,of course

,one of the many footpri nts

of the founder of the fai th to be found i n Buddhi stcountries ; the most celebrated bei ng that uponAdam ’s Peak . To reach the i ndentat ion i t i snecessary to cl imb up the face of the rock byroughly- hewn steps .

Soon we heard the horn of the coach,a wag

gon ette with two horses , which we had engagedto take us to Dambool, and we had to hurry downto catch i t

,whi l s t the rest of our party returned to

Kandy .

The road l pes almost imperceptibly downwards

,i n a northerly d i rect ion

,towards the

plai n , and passes for the most part through th ickimpenetrab le j ungle . We changed horses aboutfour t imes , and at one of the s topping-places we

THE J U N G LE 42 1

found a c lean,ai ry resthouse

,where we got a cup

of tea .

Some of our horses had odd tri cks,and the

nat ives had recourse to odder exped ients forgett i ng them harnessed and under way . On oneoccas ion the horse was h idden beh i nd a bend i nthe road and the coach had to be drawn 100 yardsalong i t

,without horses

,to j o in h im . With the

aid of a l eather loop twisted t ight round h i s noseby mean s of a st i ck (a twi ch he was harnessedi n les s than no t ime , and as soon as the pole wasbrought along S ide of h im

,the coach was started

,

and two or th ree men runn ing bes ide h im fas tenedthe traces and pole- cha i n whi le bewas go ing ; after afew plunges

,hewen t all right for the rest of the way .

Scattered about th e country on ei ther S ide ofthe road were curious dome- Shaped h i l ls and rocksof gne iss l ike those at Alu Vihara and those whichwe had yet to see at Dambool the rock i tsel f i s ofa warm-brown colour

,ful l of crysta l s

,and where

the surface i s exposed to the weather becomesqu ite b lack .

We passed some fine big cotton trees on our way,and thei r splend id crimson be l l- Shaped flowers ,which come out before the leaves

,l i ke cherry or

peach- blossom,we great ly admi red . I bel ieve the

j ungle through which we passed conta i ns trees ofmany d i fferen t k i nds

,i nc lud ing ebony , i ronwood

and sat i nwood,but we saw no others of any s ize .

Of flowers there were not many out j us t thenthe most conspi cuous was the 6107505 51 superbaor j ungle-flower

,a cl imbing l i ly with a hand

4m C EY LON

some red and orange b lossom ; but we noticed agreat variety of b i rds

,and amongst them a

bri l l iant bright green bee- eater (meropsabout the s ize of a large thrush

,and a fly-catch i ng

b i rd (probably Deaf/”ms awry /65 06785 ) of far moremodest appearance— black wi th a wh ite wai stcoat

THE TEMPLE AT DAMBOOL

and a long black ta i l . There were al so the crowpheasant

,a kind of cuckoo

,a large dark b i rd about

the s ize of a smal l pheasant , wi th bronze w ings , anda smal l p igeon or dove

,wh ich flew about i n front

of the coach and seemed very tame . J ungle- fowl,

one of the finest b i rds i n the i s lands , hornb i l l s ,and many other b i rds are al so to be found there .The sun was rapidly S i nk ing as we approached

Dambool . A path to the left , j ust Short of th e

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$ 4 CEY LON

mostly seated,and with giganti c figures of some

of the Kings of Kandy . The wal l s and roof arecovered with o i l paint i ngs of angel s s tanding onclouds

,with n imbi round the i r heads

,i l lustrat ing

th e h i story of Buddhi sm,the Land ing ofW ejayo ,

the Preach ing of Mahinda and the contes t between

THE BALCONY I N FRONT OF THE TEMPLE

Destigaiman u and E late , i n wh i ch the combatantsare mounted on elephants . The tab l e i n front ofthe great Dagoba

,where the worsh ippers lay thei r

offeri ngs of flowers,was covered with a cloth ,

much stai ned by the surround ing lamps andcandles . I was attracted by a mark upon i t

,and

looking closer d i scovered i t to be a large cottonhandkerch ief wi th a pri nted portrai t of LordDufferi n upon i t .

S I N H A LE S E P O I S ON S 42 5

By the t ime we had seen these temp les anda d ripp ing wel l of clear water

,which fal l s from the

middle of the ce i l ing into a smal l tank below,the

sun had set i n a glory of gold,and the effect was

very strik ing as we looked out from the darknessof the temple

,through the pointed arch of the

doorway , the reflected l ight streaming i n on d imfigures of worsh ippers and yel low- robed priestsfl i tt ing about .As i t was so dark i t was n o good lo i teri ng anylonger i n th i s i nterest ing spot , so we turned oursteps towards the vi l lage . With the a i d of thelantern we had no d i fficu l ty i n findi ng the way

,

through the one - street vi l lage of nat ive mudhouses

,thatched with pa lm leaves and nestl ing

amongst trees,to the resthouse i n the centre of i ts

l i tt le lawn- surrounded compound . Therewe foundthe Chief of Po l i ce

,j us t arr ived by a long road

j ourney from Trinkomalee . We d ined together,and he had some Odd stories to te l l about S inhalesepri soners . The reduct ion of pri soners

’

food wasone of the quest ions of the day in Ceylon : thepri soners were said to have been h i therto toowel l fed

,and the pri sons consequently had become

ful le r than ever before . The pri son d iet i ncludedch i l l ies and other luxuri es

,and the pri son curries

were ce lebrated for thei r excel lence . Under anew system the authori t ies were , very wisely ,trying to make the pr ison food a l i tt le lessattract ive

,and the resu lt was that the pri soners

had made compla in ts and were peti t ion ing theauthori t ies for a return to better fare . They said

3 H

42 6 CEY LON

that they came to pri son,

on the understandingthat they were to have ch i l l i es and good curries

,

and accused the Government of breach of contracti n not giving them what they thought they hadthe right to expect . The women appear to be lessattracted by the good fare than the men

,for there

were i n the I s land then on ly 2 5 women pri sonersas agai nst 3000 men .

A friend at Kandy had strongly recommendedme not to leave Dambool without seei ng the rockfortress at S igi ri , eleven mi les d i stant , so I proceeded to make arrangements

,and eventual ly

found a man wi th a bu l lock cart,the only form of

conveyance,who agreed to provide me wi th a pai r

of trott ing bul locks and a light cart on payment offi fteen rupees : he explained that he could not doi t for less

,as i t was necessary to send on two

extra cool ies,S ix mi les ahead , wi th the relay of

bul locks,on account of the elephants which stray

across the road at n ight,and might i n terfere wi th

the cattle i f they had not sufficient protection . Iwas also told that there were plenty o f cheeta andelk about S igi ri and i ts neighbourhood .

We were up betimes the fol lowing morn ing , andI got under way at seven

,but the l ight waggon

proved to be very much the reverse and too heavyfor the t iny bul locks to trot wi th

,and those sent

on were the ord i nary heavy goers ; however , theroad was i n part a mere track through the th ickj ungle , and so rough and ci rcu i tous , on account oftree trunks

,that I doubt whether we could have

trotted much even i f we had had other ki ne . We

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4fi C EY LON

S igi ri I s an immense rock, 400 feet i n height ,

with almost perpend icular or,i n fact , overhanging

s ides ri s ing abruptly out of the plain , very muchi n the same way that the Bass Rock emerges aboveand out of the sea . I n th i s rock- fortress the parric ide King Karyapa found asylum in the fi fthcentu ry

,after obtai n ing the throne of Ceylon by

the murder of h is father,Dhatu Sena . I t s tands

i n the heart of the great central forest,and the

on ly hab itat ion near i t i s an empty bungalow ,

which affords shel ter to any one who may wi shto stop there

,but contai n s noth ing whatever i n

the form of furn i ture . A path from i t l eads tothe steep s lopes wh ich form the base of the rock .

On them are the remains of what was once a royalpalace . An immense boulder has had i ts top S l icedoff to form the floor of a hal l

,which i s st i l l

surrounded by a roughly-moulded and hewn stonecorn ice . Here and there are putlog holes

,which

seem to imply a cont i nuation i n woodwork , and onone s ide i s a h igher rock furn ished wi th i nc i sedsteps wh ich lead to a flat place on i ts summit

,

with a hewn tank,about 10 feet by 5 feet ,

the storage of water . Close by I noticed aforest tree swaying about as i f b lown by a 5wind ; on looking a second t ime I saw that i tsbranches were crowded wi th apes j umping frombough to bough

,some frightened

,as I imagined

,

by our approach,some s imply swaying the branches

A scramble over loose stones and along a narrowgutter- l i ke path hewn out of the steep s ide of

S I G I R I 42 9

rock,then a cl imb upon a bamboo ladder

,brought

us to a gal lery along the s ide of the rock witha h igh masonry balustrade or wal l on the outs ideand the rock above proj ect i ng over head . Thisgal lery used

,I bel ieve

,i n former days to wind In

spi ral fash ion up to the top of the rock ; but now,

unfortunately,i t has been broken down

,and we

S IG IR I

soon came to an abrupt hal t,with a deep drop i n

front of us,where the wal l and footway were broken

away . I had to content mysel f with the extremelybeaut i ful view towards Matal e across the dense seaof jung le which surrounds the rock .

Above th i s gal lery,but only to be reached by

rope ladders,of wh ich we had none , i s a curious

cavi ty or pocket i n the rock,with i ts ce i l i ng covered

with frescoes represent i ng,I was told

,remarkably

430 CEY LON

wel l-drawn l i fe- s ized figures . A namesake of minehad recently cl imbed up to th i s pocket and hadmade tracings of the frescoes he said the place wasnow the stronghold of swal lows and hornets , which

1 I

<2“

I)”

Ca

fe . 31 c

”

DEGALDURUWA

resent the intrus ion of strangers . At the foot ofthe rock is a marshy tank

,the h aunt of crocod i les .

The drive back was ted ious and uneventful,

except that in a smal l forest vi l lage through whichI passed I encountered an albino woman her hai rwas l ight and colourless

,and her skin was much

freckled , the s impl ic i ty of her costume accentuated

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432 CEY LON

to see hi s l i ttl e ch i ld,who was i l l with measles .

To be fol lowed by such amagn ificent person threwqu ite a halo of importance around us . He saw usoff at the stat ion on our way back to the Pavi l ion ,

DOORWAY IN THE TEMPLE OF DEGALDURUWA

and brought us a packet of tomatoes wh ich he hadgathered i n h i s garden .

0

I n the early morn ing of New Year’s Day,we

j oined a large party i n a most del ightfu l ride . Wecrossed the r iver by the ferry , three horses at at ime , then rode up a narrow path bes ide paddyfields , amongst scattered mud cottages and beneathcocoa- nut palms

,to the temple of Degalduruwa

Vihara , bu i l t i n a n iche under a great rock , l ikeDambool on a smal l scale . The ante- temple i s

THE BO TREE 433

supported by picturesque octagonal pi l lars . Thewhole place i n fact i s very pi cturesque

,and I

wi shed I had had more t ime for a sketch . A jol lythi ck- set priest (he cal l s h imsel f the in cumbentpriest) , who spoke a l itt le Engl i sh , showed usround

,and then took us past h i s own house to a

platform above the rock where i s a good Dagobaand a fine Bo- tree .

The B0 or Bodh i - trees,everywhere found grow

i ng near Buddh i st temples,monasteries

,or Dago

bas,are peepul trees (F icus relig ioscz) . They are

especial ly venerated because Guatama Sakya Mun iacqu ired Buddhahood when med itating beneathone at Buddha-Gaya . At Anuradhapura therei s a Bo-tree of special sanct i ty . The legend saysthat S angmitta,

the s i ster of Mah inda,came to

Ceylon with h im about B .C . 2 50 when he preachedBuddh i sm to the S inhalese and

,i n a golden vase

,

brought wi th her a branch of the sacred tree ofBuddha-Gaya . This was planted at Anuradhapura

,

and the Buddh ists of Ceylon fu l ly bel ieve that thei dent i cal tree st i l l ex i sts there . Al l the other Bot rees of Ceylon are said to have been grown from it .A few days later I started for Nuwera E l iya

,

i n dul l and rainy weather,l eaving Kandy by the

seven o’

clock trai n .

The l i ne turns off at Peraden iya,and gradual ly

ri s i ng passes through most varied scenery,

amongst paddy-fields and palm-groves,through

dense j ungle,out of one val ley i nto another, over

smal l passes,round h i l l s

,backwards and for

wards,in and out

,unti l I was qu ite confused

3 1

4M~ C EY LON

as to the d i rect ion of my dest inat ion . Abouthal f way a very splend id view broke upon us . Themounta i ns are very fine and bold . The train hadcl imbed h igh up on the steep S i de of one of them

,

and we looked down , to a great depth ,upon dense

j ungle , then , h igher, through a wide gap i n therange , to a far off sea of low broken h i l l s with the

ON THE WAY TO NUW'

ERA EL IYA

misty plai n beyond . I f i t had been clear, I mighthave seen the sea i tsel f st i l l further off. From t imeto t ime

,I caught gl impses of Adam

’

s Peak,

amongst the clouds towering above al l i ts neighbours .

On al l s ides j ungle was givi ng place to plantat ion , and soon the whole poetry of the scene wi l lbe Spoi led by tea

,but i t st i l l retai ns some of its

Interest .I reached Nanu Oya station

, 5 2 9 1 feet aboveKandyfi

f between and 1 o ’clock,and taking

Nuwera E l i y a is about 62 10 ft. above sea leve l .

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436 C EY LO N

thick grass to get to Kandapola . I t was rai n ing i ntorrents

,and as I d id not appreciate the prospect of

the drive back w i th wet legs,I looked about for some

expedien t forprotect i ng them : fortunatelyth ereweretwo lonely shops (boi igues as they cal l them here)close by

,so I looked i nto them to see what I could

get for extempori sed ga i ters . Noth ing met my eyebut ch i l l i es

,ri ce

,and other grains and nuts , unt i l at

last I caught s ight of a grass basket,stuffed i nto the

roof to keep the wet out . I poi nted to i t and thento my legs

,and present ly a fai rly clean basket was

produced and cut i n two my legs were bound upin i t with the aid of a bi t of coi r rope

,and I started

wel l protected on my way . A pretty path amongstrhododendron bushes and through woods , mostlyof gum trees

,brought me to Mr . Gubb in s’ bun

galow. I found h im i n the store , and after a longand pleasant talk with h im he showed me over thetea factory where the tea was being picked . Heintroduced me to h i s wi fe

,who gave me tea

,and

he eventual ly escorted me back to the h igh roadand my drippi ng trap .

The fol lowing day I was up at s ix,and as the

weather was then fine,though overcast

,I ordered

my trap,and before long was on my way to the

celebrated Botan i c Gardens at Hakgal la . We soondrove i nto the clouds

,and though we got out of

them again from time to t ime,I cannot say that I

saw the coun tryunder themostlfavourable auspices .There are great quanti t ies of rhododendrons

about Nuwera E l iya,al l of a deep crimson colour

,

which must be most beaut i fu l when they are i n fu l l

HA K GA L LA GAR D EN S 437

bloom in May . I on ly saw a few stray b lossomshere and there . The plant grows to the s ize of acons iderabl e tree here— from twenty to th irty feeth igh

,with rough gnarled stems as th ick as a man

’

sbody , but for the most part i t i s only seen i n thefami l iar form of a b ig bush . I n the hedgerows andby the roads ide grow myrtl e and habroth amnus

,th e

fine trumpet- flower datura,ci stus

,purple

,red , and

white,a handsome b ig reed or l i ly with a y el low

flower,and th e splend id bigLobe/iczexceisis , a spike

shaped lavender flower growing eight to ten feeth igh

,as freely as a foxglove . They say the wh ite

j u ice from it i s a strong poison . I n the gul l ies werequant it ies of tree ferns . The road from Nuwera

E l iya passes down the val l ey,past the lake

,and

through a steep wel l -wooded gorge,with a bright

clear mountai n stream flowing through it . TheHakgal la Gardens are at the mouth of th i s gorge ,and on the edge of the h igh country overlookingthe lower h i l l s and the pla i ns beyond on the easts ide of the i s land . I t i s a glorious view

,but I no

sooner had h ad a gl impse of i t when rol l i ng cloudscame up and blotted i t a l l out .The cl imate here i s such that al l manner of

flowers and plants of temperate cl imates flouri sh ,and

,combined with much natural vegetation , form

the most beaut i fu l garden imaginable,though of a

character absol utely d i st i nct from that at Peraden iya

,where the vegetat ion i s ent i rely tropical .

There the majest i c t rees form one of i ts moststrik ing features . Here the trees are of no greats ize , and the smal ler plants form the main attrac

438 C EY LO N

t ion . Peraden iya ,moreover

,is much more extens ive

than th i s garden .

I was shown round by the head gardener,who i s

a S inhalese,and not i ced a great number of Austra

l ian trees and shrubs,i nclud ing the Melauoxy /ou

(l eafless acacia) , the blue gum ,and the bottle

brush,also the black-bi rch

,and the flax of New

Zealand,a B occon ia (John Crow bush) , with very

fine fol iage,and a good col lect ion of tree ferns .

I returned i n the rai n to breakfast at the Club,

and then went out,across a corner of the gol f l i nks ,

to see the Queen ’s Cottage (the summer res idenceof the Governor) , a rambl ing and picturesque place ,surrounded by a garden br ight with flowers .Two rickshaws were chartered to take me downto the stat ion

,one for my baggage and the other for

mysel f ; and off I started , i n a drizz l e , having chosenthe least shaky of the two conveyances for my ownperson . I congratu lated mysel f that I was noti ns ide the one which contained my effects

,as I saw

it trundl i ng along i n front of me with one of thewheel s wobbl i ng portentously

,and after turn ing

some very sharp corners down hi l l,with a precip ice

on my right,was st i l l more of the same way of

th inking,when sudden ly I heard a crunch ing sound

on my left,and next moment I found myself spread

about 0 11 the road,my own left wheel having en

t irely co l lapsed . I p icked mysel f up , none theworse , and was thankful I had only a mi le to walkto the stat ion and sufficient t ime to catch the train .

I f t he smash had occurred a couple of m i les h igherup the road I should have been done for . The poor

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CHRONOLOGICAL L IST

SOME OF THE PRINCIPAL EVENTS MENT IONED

An additional Table of Dates relating to the H istory of Delh i

wi ll be found on p. 242

B .C .

1400 Traditional date of the wars between th e Pandavas andKauravas (recounted in the Mahabarata D.C . and of

th e founding of Indraput near De lh i .Jain fa ith flouri shes In India .

638 543 Sakiya Muni preaches In th e deer park near BenaI es.

2 5 8 K ing Asoka spreads the Buddhi st fa ith .

Earl iest known Buddh ist sculptures .32 7 Alexander the Great invades India .

A .D .

145 Aja Pal founds Ajmere .

2 75 Gwal ior was founded by Kachwaha Rajputs .39 9 Ch inese P i lgrim F0 Hian visits India .

400 Benares reverts to Brahmanism .

62 9 Ch inese P i lgrim H iuen Ts iang vis its India .

642 Parsi s settle in India .

664 F irst incursion into India of Mohammedans .c. 80 0 Brahmanic revival—Cave s of E lephanta .

976 Jai Pal , Rajput K ing of Lahore , defeated at Peshawur.

1 0 1 I —~ I 7 Mahmud of Ghazni captures Thanesar and Canouj .1 0 9 0 Sas Bahu Temples at Gwal ior built.

1 I 9 0 Kutub M inar commenced .

1 1 94 Shahab-ud-din invades India,defeats Prithvi Raj a at

Thanesar, and conquers Ajmere , Canouj , and Delh i .1 2 2 5 54 Rajpu ts rega in Gwal ior—U rwah i Sculptures .1 2 36 Arhai-din-ka-Johmpra Mosque , Ajmere .

AI L

14691 5 0 1

1 5 2 71 5 5 6

1 5 8 1

160 51 62 8

C H RON O LOG I CA L L I S T

Nanuk , founder of S ikh rel igion , born near Lahore.

Yusaf Khan founds Mohammedan kingdom of Bijapur.

Babar defeats Rajputs at Fatepur S ikri .Akbar consol idates th e Mogul Empire .

Th e Guru Arjun compile s the Gran th .

Jehangir.

Shah Jehan .

1 630—5 0 Taj Mahal built.

1 65 71 686

1 756

I 7S71 76 1

1 7641 765

1 8 0 2

1 8 031 8 1 8

1 8 1 91 8 2 31 830

1 8451 8491 8 571 8 5 8

I S7S1 89 6

Sh ivaj i lay s th e foundation of the Mahratta power.

Aurangzeb conquers B ij apur.

East India Company e s tabl i shed on the Hooghl y .B lack Hole of Calcutta .

Battle of Flassy .Ahmed Shah defeats th e Mahrattas at Paneput.

Th e S ikhs gain th e supremacy of th e Punjab .

Cl ive lays th e foundation of th e Indian Empire by cla imingth e right to rece ive the Revenues of Bengal , Behar, and(Dri ssa .

Ranj it S ing seize s Amritzar.

Lord Lake takes Agra and Delh i .Battle of K irkee, end of Mahratta rule .

Lord Hastings extends British suzera inty to Rajputana .

B i shop Heber at Delh i .SirW il liam S leeman commences operations aga ins t the Thugs .First S ikh War.

Annexation of th e Punjab .

Mutiny .Queen Victoria proclaimed direct Sovereign over al l Indianterritories .

Prince of Wales visits India.

P lague i n Bombay (first vi s itation) .

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444 IND

Arjun Mal l , 5 th S ikh Guru , 2 83, 2 84.

Aryans , th e , 324

Asaf Khan,2 96, 2 97

Ash i Ghat, Benares , 1 39Asoka , th e Buddh i st k ing , 90 , 1 1 1 ,

46 ; Laths of, 244Asra-i -Shari f, Palace of th e Hair ofth e Noble One," Bijapur , 80

Atal Rai , 31 1Auck land , Lord . 1 19

Aurangzeb, 44, 67. 70 , 80, 8 2 , 162 ,

2 24, 2 39—241 , 2 82 ,

2 9 2 h i s mosque.B adsh ah i Musj id , at Lahore , 2 93

Austin , of Bordeaux, a French craftsman at Agra , 1 64BABA ATAL TOWER , Golden Temp le ,

Amri tzar, 31 1Bab-el-Mandeb , S traits of, 2Babar, Emperor , 2 09 , 2 1 3, 247, 2 5 1 ,

Back Bay , Bombay , 7Badl i-ki-Sarai,De lh i

, 2 2 0

B adsh ah iMusj id ,Aurangzeb’smosque

a t Lahore , 2 93Bahmani, S u l tan Muhammad , 69B airagzs, th e , 1 0 1

Bakh tawar S ingh ’ s marble cenotaphat Alwar

, 339

Baniyas , or traders , c laim to be trueVai syas

, 49

Bankepore, 1 2 5Bara Darri, th e Lahore , 2 9 2Barnard , General S ir Harry ,Barrackpur , 1 2 2

Bawa~Malang h i l l , 7Beauchamp , S ir R . , 1 9

Benares , 1 2 9 - 145

Benett , Mr Permanen t Secretary,

Al lahabad , 89Bengal , 1 06, 1 17Benson, Father, ofCow ley ,Beresford Lord \V i lliam

, 1 13Bernier , M a French physician atAgra , 1 59 , 2 1 8 , 2 35 , 2 36, 2 39 , 2 97

EX

Bhairava , th e god , 1 8

Bh eemS ingh , Raja of Jodhpur. 349

B heesti water-carrier, 47B h endi bazaar, Bombay , 32Bh ils

, th e, of th e V indhya Mountains,324. 334

B h isma, th e San Sebastian of th e

Mahabharata , 10 1Bhor Ghat , 8Bibi Garh and We ll , Cawnpore, 1 5 3.

I S7Bickersteth , Dr Bishop ofj apan , 2 5 SBidar, S tate of, 69Biddulph , Colonel j ohn , 343, 35 2 ,

Biddu lph , Mrs. , 343, 361 , 379 , 38 2

Bijapur , 65—85B ir Bal

, th e Akbar’

s Prime M in ister,194

B ish eshwar or S h iva , th e poison god ,

131

Biskra , 65Bitter Lakes , 2B0 or Bodh i-tree , Ceylon , 433Bombay, 7—39Botanical Gardens , Calcutta , 1 1 8Brahm , th e supreme sp irit , 5 3Brahma , th e god, th e creator, 17, 1 8 ,

5 3, 54

Brahmans, 49 ; th e Mahratta , 43, 44the ir rel igion , 57, 5 8 ; bad repu tation of th e Poona , 5 9 ; trained inastrology at Benares , 1 39Brindisi , 2Brown , Gerald , Sir Arthur Havelock ’ s Secretary , 41 8

B ubujee Khanum ,Queen , h er defenceof th e Bijapur citade l , 79Buddha , rel igion of , 1 1 1 H i ndusdestroy temp le of, 1 56 ; h i s threeseated attitudes, 407, 408 (see also

Sakya Muni )Buddh ists , in Cey lon , 395 th e

sacred Bo-tree , 433Bu land Darwaza , Gate ofV ictory ,F atehpur S ikri , 1 90

IN DEX 445

Bul lock -cart, 1 1 , 1 5 , 2 50 ; Jodhpur.379 ; Ceylon . 42 6. 427Burdwan . Maharaja of, 1 2 0Burgess , Dr. J ames, 1 57Burke , Edmund , 1 14Burn-Murdoch , RE Colone l andMrs. , 1 5 , 34, 88

Burn ing Gha t , Benares, 144Bycu l la, Bombay, 2 9

CAI RO , 2Calcutta

, 1 03—1 2 8

Cambridge.Brotherhood , th e , inDelh i

, 2 2 8 ; 2 5 8—2 60Cameron , Hardinge , Mayor of

Colombo , 41 3—416Campbe l l, S ir Col in , 1 5 0Canning , Lord and Lady , 1 16,

1 2 2 ,

1 2 3, 197

Canning Town , or Modern Allahabad ,90

Can ouj , kingdom of, 365Carey, James , Baptist M issionary at

Serampore , 1 24Caste , ru les and marks of

, 5 0 , 5 1 ,

32 5-

32 9

Cawnpore, 1 5 1—1 5 8Cey lon . 5 . 6. 385

-439Chandernagore , French settlemen t of,1 2 0 , 1 2 3

Chandni Chauk , Delh i , 2 2 6Chandra , th e moon god , 1 8

C/zapmssi, badge-bearer, 48Charles I I 8

Charnock , Job , 104Chatter Booj ,Chauhan Rajput c lan , 346, 365

Chaw l , or lodging house , 37Ch ih l i , Sheikh h is tomb atThanesar32 0

Ch insurah , 1 2 0Christianity , i ts progress in India , 62con trasted w ith H induism , 1 5 5

Christopher , Captain , 400 , 416

City Palace , Alwar, 338 , 339

1 2 3

Dara Sh ikoh , Aurangzeb'

s brother,

C larke, R Deputy Commissioner ,

De lh i , 2 2 0C lark 's Hotel , Benares , 1 2 9C lewes , Cap tain , 41 , 42 , 5 1C l ive , Lord, 1 06, 1 14

Colaba Point, Bombay , 7Colombo , 4, 385—386Colvin , S ir Auckland , 89Coplestone , Dr B i shop of Colombo,439Coryat , Th omas , 354Cousen 's book on India , 66Cow Temp le, Benares, 1 33Craftsmen , native Indian , 35Crawford Market , Bombay , 1 2 , 2 9

Crete , 2Crocodi les at Ajmere , 353

Cunningham , Colone l D . D . , 354, 35 5Cunningham , General , 197Curzon , Lord , ix.

,197

B acon s , 136, 1 37

Dagoba , th e , in Cey lon , 404- 406

Dalada or Sacred Tooth Temp le ,Cey lon

, 39 2—394

Dalhousie,Lord . 1 1 5

Dambool rock-cut temples , Cey lon ,Danish settlemen t of Serampore , 1 2 0 ,

2 93

Dargah , ofN izam -ud-din , De lh i , 2 632 65 ; of Kwh ajah S ah ib Moh in -uddin , Ajmere , 35 5

-

361

Dau lat Bagh , Ajmere , 354

Deccan p lateau , 8 , 42

Degalduruwa V ihara temple , Ceylon .

430—432De lh i , 2 17—241 Palace , 2 2 9

—2 36,2 39 ; neighbourhood of , 243—2 66De lh i Brotherhood , th e , 2 2 8 , 2 5 8—2 60Delh i Gate

,Agra , 164

Delwar Khan , 176, 179

Deo Prayag , 96

446 IND E X

Deu tsch , Leo , 2 64Devi

,Durga, Kal i , or Parbati ,

S h iva's w ife, 5 3, 5 5 , 5 6, 1 34, 136

138

Dhan Mandi,wheat market , Jodhpur,

376

Dhava Raja , 2 5 3D/zobz

’

, washerman , 47Dh uleep S ingh , Maharaja , 2 86Di lbu Raja , 246Din Panah Fort , or Purana Kil aDe lh i , 247Doab , th e , 89

Docks , Bombay , 2 9Dufi

’

erin,Lady

, 338

Dufl'

erin , Lord , 424Dundas of Arniston , M iss , 275Durga

,Pal i

, or Parbati , Sh iva ‘ sw ife , 56, 1 34, 136

—1 38Durga , Temp le of, Benares , 1 34, 1 38Durga-puja , H indu rel igious festival ,

138

Durwr‘m, doorkeeper , 48

Durz i , tai lor, 48Du tch , and Ch insurah , 1 2

EAST INDIA B ILL , Pitt ’ s. 1 14; LordS tanley ’ s , 1 1 6East India Company, 8 , 90 ,

1 04, 1 06,

1 14—1 16,1 2 0 , 162 , 2 32 , 2 86

Eden Garden , Calcutta, 1 1 9

Edward V I I . , K ing (then Prince of

Wales ) , 2 38Egyp t, 2Ekka

, th e , 145 , 173, 316

E lephanta , caves of, 17E lgin , Lord , 1 97E l lenborough , Lord , 1 16E lph instone , Mountstuart , 46, 70E lw in

,Th e Rev . Wh itwel l , at one

t ime Edi tor ofQuari erly Review,60

Faxnzs , 99—10 1

Fat eh Jung ’ s Tomb , Alwar, 340

Fatehpur S ikri : th e Windsor of th eGreat Mogul

,

Fergusson , James , H i story

Fergusson , S ir James , 19Finch, W ill iam , 2 57, 2 82

Firoz S hah Tugh lak, 2 19 . 2 27, 2 343,

F irozabad . 244Fo-H ian , Ch inese Buddh ist p ilgrim ,

2 8 1

Forrest , Professor, 103, 1 14, 1 15 ,

Fraser , W ill iam ,murdered at Delh i ,

2 2 8

French , at Chandernagore , 1 2 0 , 1 23French , Bishop , of Lahore , 2 27, 2 5 9 ,

2 83

Frere,S ir Bartle, 14, 34, 70 , 2 58

Furse , R .H.A D Cap tain , 1 1 3,I49 . 275

GADALADENYA, temp le of, Ceylon ,

Gaekwars, th e , 45

,Gagan Mahal , “ Hal l of Audience ,"Bijapur , 82

Galangolla ,Buddh i st temp le of

Cey lon , 403Ganesh

, S h iva ’ s son , e lephantheaded god of good luck , 1 8 , 5 3,

5 5_ 57' I 32

Gan ges river , 1 8 , 89 . 96, 97, 1 2 9 , 130 ,

I 39—145

Gangotri , 96Garden Reach , Calcutta 1 1 8

Garikdasias, th e ,101

Gautamas , dynasty of th e , 246Gebel Attakah ,

2

Geh lots , Rajpu t c lan , 346Ghaggar river , 270 , 3 17

Ghats , th e , 41

Ghaus,M uhammad , 2 03

Ghazni,dynasty , 2 53 ; Mahmud of,

346

Gibral tar, 1

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448 IND EXJ ai S ingh’ s Observatory , Benares , 1 39Jain rock-carvmgs, Gwal ior , 2 00 , 2 05

Jain Tirth ankers , 2 09 , 2 1 1 , 2 1 2

J ains, th e , 2 1 1 . 2 13 th e great temp lebuilders of India , 2 1 2James I . , 9 2 , 15 8, 2 90 , 354

Jat Rana of Gohad , 2 00Jats , th e , 31 5Jehan , Emperor, Shah, 93, 1 58—163 ,

169 , 172 , 175 , 2 18 , 2 2 9 , 2 32 ,

2 9 3, 2 97, 356 h IS

fort at De lh i , 2 2 2Jehangir, Emperor, 9 2 , 93, 1 5 8 , 179 ,

1 94, 2 82 , 2 90- 2 9 2 , 2 96, 2 97, 348 ,

354, 357

Jeh an ira. Shah Jehan ’s daughter, 162 ,

Jerv is , S ir John Jerv is Wh ite, 2 76Jervo is , Captain , Th e Hon . S t. Leger,I 9Jesuits , 175Jeswan t S ingh , Maraja of Jodhpur,Jhansi , th e Rani of, 2 00Jodha , 365Jodhbai , Akbar

’s w ife

, 348

Jodhpur, or Marwar, 350 , 363—383 ;Fort , 367, 368Johar Sacrifice ,

th e , 2 07Jones , S ir John , 2 32Juggut S ingh , of Jeypore , 34;Jumla

,Amir , 2 38

Jumma Musj id , Bijapur, 77 Agra161 , 171 , 172 ; De lh i , 2 2 2—2 24, 2 26 ;Ahmedabad , 382Jumna river, 1 8, 89 , 9 5 , 162 , 199 , 2 19 .

2 2 2 , 2 68 ; canals , 2 27

KACHAWA , Rajput clan , 1 99 , 346Kalan Musj id , B lack Mosque

,Delh i , 243—245Kal i , Durga , Devi , or Parbati , Sh iva ’ sw ife , 5 5 , 56

Kaligh at , 105Kalka, 2 69 , 270

Kandapola , Cey lon , 436Kandy , 389 , 396, 439 ; kings of,41 0 , 424Kauphattis, 1 0 1

Karam Palace , Gwal ior, 2 08Kartikkeya , god of war, Sh iva’s sixheaded son , 53, 5 5Kasaul i , 2 69Kashmere Gate , Delh i , 2 2 1Kauravas, th e , 317, 31 8Keith , Major, 2 1 0Ke l lner , 2 1 8Kh adakwazla , artificial lake of, 5 2 , 63

Khan , Amir, 350Khan Muhammad’s tomb , B i japur, 72Klzansama, head-man , 46Kh idmatgar, man-servan t, &c . , 47Khojah Imad-ud-din Gargastan i , aPersian merchan t

,68 , 69

Khusru , Prin ce , Akbar’

s grandson ,9 2 . 93. 2 64. 2 65 . 2 90 . 348

Khusru Bagh , Allahabad , 9 2Khwabghar, or House of Dreams ,Akbar’s s leep ing apartment at

Fatehpur S ikri , 1 92 Jehangir's atLahore , 2 9 1K ing and C0. , 10

Kirkee , battle of, 46, 5 2 , 57

K ishna Komari , Princess , 349 . 350

Knox, Mrs. , 275

Koh -i -noor, 2 31 , 2 38, 2 87Kohls

,in th e Central Prov inces

, 324Krishna , an incarnat ion of V ishnu , 56Kshatr iyas

, or soldiers-cas te , 49Kuraksh etra p lai n , 317Kurnool , 324Kutub-ud-din , 2 00 , 2 53, 346

Kutub M inar , De lh i, 247- 249 , 2 5 2—2 54

LAHORE,2 8 1- 303 Fort , 2 89

Lahore Gate , Delh i, 2 2 9Lake , Lord , 162 , 2 1 9 , 2 30 , 348

Lakshmi , V i shnu ’ s w ife, 5 5 , 56

Lal Musj id , Thanesar , 32 0

Lanka Telika temp le , Cey lon , 407Lashkar, th e , Gwal ior, 2 01 , 2 13. 2 1 5

I N D EX 449Laths of Asoka

, th e , 244Lawrence, Lord , 2 2 1 , 2 86, 2 87, 314,

327 330, S3I

Lawrence , S ir Henry, 149 , 1 50

Lawrie , Judge, 41 1Le froy , ML , of th e De lh i Brotherhood

,2 5 9

Liddell , Mr S ir Arthur Gordon ’ s

Lobo , John , a “ Goa Boy , author ’ sservant

,1 0

, 63, 1 5 1 , 2 13 , 278

Loch , Major , 366, 376, 378

Lockhart, Colonel and Mrs. E ll iot ,275

Lod i S u ltan s , th e , 2 5 1

Lora , a spherical wide-mouthed vesse l ,I 33

Lucknow,148- 1 5 1

Lud low Cast le,De lh i , 2 2 1

Lun i river, 344, 363

Lyal l , S ir Al fred ,1 5 8 , 32 6

Lyall , S ir James , 2 80

MACDONALD , Angus , 336, 340 , 341

Mah abalesh wa h i ll -station , 5 2Mahabharata , th e , 246

Mahadeo , a name of Shi va , 5 6,1 33

Mah arashtra , th e great Prov ince ,

42

Mahav ira,th e last of th e Tirth ankers ,

Mah awelli Gangba river, Ceylon , 390 ,

41 1

Maha-Yana , th e Greater Veh icle ,

Buddh ist scriptures , 39 5Mah idpur , battle of, 46Mah inda , Asoka ’ s son , 395 , 433Mahmud of Ghazni

, 346

Mahmud of Ghor, or Shahab-ud-din ,

Mahrattas , th e , 8 , 42—46, 89 , 2 31 , 31 9 ,

348 their raids , 45 and war, 46Maidan , th e, Al lahabad , 9 1 Calcutta,Makka Musj id , B i japur, 83

Malabar Coast, 4, 5 Court , 37H i l l , 1 5 , 39 ; Point , 7, 1 3, 1 5 , 19

Malcolm , S ir John , 46

Mal i k Karim-ud-din mosque , B i japur,83

Mal ik -i -Maidan King of th e

Plain b ig gun , Bijapur, 80Malta, 1Man Mandir Ghat , Benares , 1 39Man S ingh, palace of, Gwal ior, 2 00 ,

2 05 , 2 07Mandor, 365Ma nohar Nath , a H indu Saint , tombof. 357

Maroch e tti , Baron , 1 54Marshman , Bap tist missionary at

Serampore , 1 24Martyn , Harry , 1 57Marwar, or Jodhpur, 350 , 363—383Massacre Ghat, Cawnpore , 1 5 3, 1 54Matale , Cey lon , 41 9 , 431

Maun S ing , Raja of Jodhpur , 349Maurice , F. D . , 2 2 5

May , Colonel , 148Meerut , 2 19Mehtar Mahal , B i japur , 78Mela , at Allahabad , 9 5 - 102Mercer, Captain , 275Mesu , Mount , 31 8M i lk in Ind ia , 274M ilton , John , 2 5 2M ina Bazaar, Agra , 163M inas , th e , 334M iriam , Jehang i r 5 mother Akbar'

w ife , 194, 348

M iss ionaries , their experience i nPoona , 61Mogul dynasty, founded by Baber ,

2 5 2

Mogu l Emp ire, Agra th e cen tre of, 1 5 9Mogul Sera i S tation , 1 2 9Mohammedan re l igion , 2 2 5 , 357, 35 8 ;irreconci lable w i th H induism , 2 2 8

Moh in-ud-din , Kwajah S ah ib , h istomb at Ajmere , 35 5

450

Moti Mll SJld, Pearl Mosque , Agra ,170 ; Delh i , 2 33 : Lahore , 2 9 1Muhammad Bahmani , S u l tan , 69Muhammad Tugh lak ,

2 5 1

Mun tazi Mahal , or Arjmand Banu ,Shah Jehan 's Persian w ife, 162 ,

2 97Murad

,S ul tan of Turkey , 68

Musafir Khana , at Gwal ior , 2 02Mutto river , 5 0Muttra Road , th e App ian Way of

Agra, 176

NADI R Shah , 2 30 ,2 87, 31 9

Nagina Musj id,

ToyfMosque ,

Agra, 1 62 ,163

Nairn , Mrs. , 275Nak Kash i work

,2 89 ,

2 97, 320

Nana S ah ib, 46, 1 5 2 - 1 54

Nanak,founder of S ikhs , 2 83- 2 85

Nandi , or S acred Bu l l , 1 8 , 131

Nanu Oya station , Ceylon , 434Nap ier of Magdala , Lord , 2 00 , 2 19

Naubat Khana , Delh i , 2 36Nawab of Oude , 90Nedou

’

s Hote l , Lahore , 2 88

Nerbudda river , 1 99N icholson , John , 2 2 1N irmalas, th e , 1 0 1

N irvana , 1 10 ,1 1 1 , 1 30

N izam-ud-din ’ s Dargah , Delh i , 2 632 65

Noor Jehan , 1 5 8 , 179 , 2 96, 2 97Noyes , Major , 276Nuwera E l iya , Ceylon , 435 - 437

OAKLEY , Mr. and Mrs. Herbert, 41 8Orcagna, h i s p ictures of th e mouthof He ll , 80

Orpheus Mosaic , Delh i Palace , 1 96,2 32

Oude , Naw abs and K ings of, 148

DEX

PACH I S I Court, Fatehpur S ikri ,, 1 94Paget Park , Amballa , 272

Pallekelly , Ceylon, 397Palmerston , Lord , 1 16Panch Mahal , Fatehpur S ikri , 1 9 2Pandavas , th e , 246, 2 68 , 317

- 31 9

Pan iput, battle of, 45 , 2 5 2 , 2 82 , 31 9

Parasnath , statue of, Gwal ior , 2 1 2Parbati

, Durga , Kal i, &c Sh iva’ swife, 1 8 , 5 3 , 5 5

Parbati Lake and H i ll, 5 1

-

53Parell , 19

Parsis , the ir dress , 2 2 , 2 6 ; theirTowers of S i lence , 24- 26 ; perseouted by Mohammedans , 2 6 ; theirre l igion , 27, 2 8Pathan tombs , 1 96 ; conquerors . 2 53Pau l , Emperor of Russia . 2 61Pau let , Colonel , 378Peacock Throne De lh i , 2 31 - 2 33, 2 38

Pennefath er, LL .D 1 17, 165

Peradeniya , Cey lon , 389 , 413 , 433 ;

Botanical Gardens of, 390

Perim , 2

Perkins , S ir fEneas, in command of

Lucknow district , 148Peshwa of Poona , th e , 57

Pindari s of Rajputana , 46, 349 , 35 1Pirie ,Captain , 417-419 , 431Pitt' s East I ndi a Bi l l

, 1 14P lague , at Bombay , 38, 39 ; in th ePunjab , 39 , 315

Pollock, M i ss , 31 1Poona , 41—63Portuguese ,

8 , 1 2 0 ; missionaries , 2 90Posh kara, or Pokhar, near Ajmere , 53Pottery

,Bombay , 34

Prayag , p lace of H indu p ilgrimage aAl lahabad, 90

P re tyman , General , 1 59 , 173Prison diet , S inhalese , 42 5Prithvi Raja , th e Rajput ruler, 2 5 3.

Punjab , th e , 2 2 0, 2 2 1 p lague in th e ,

39 , 31 5 ; conquered by th e S ikhs ,2 85

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45 2 I N D EXSh ivaj i , 44Sholapur station , 65Shore , Major , 275S id i S aid 's mosque , Ahmedabad , 383S igiri rock -fort , Cey lon , 42 6—42 9S ikandra

,174, 175

S ikh s , 2 82 - 2 86; Amritzar th e re

ligious headquarters of, 306, 307S inai , Moun t , 3S indhi a , Maharaja , 45 , 46, 2 00 , 2 0 1 ,

S indh ia,Maharaja S ir Madho Rao ,

2 0 1

Singh garh , rock of, 5 1S inhalese prison diet , 42 5S leeman , S ir W il l iam , 1 37, 357Smith, E \V . , arch a ologist andarch itect 1 88- 1 90, 19 5Smith , LL. D George , 1 24Smith , Les l ie , Divi sional J udge of

Amballa District , 2 67, 313S . P .G at Cawnpore , 1 57S olaukh ya , Rajput clan , 346Soojah , S hah , 2 87Spratt, R .A Major (now Co lone lSpratt Bowrin g ) , 46, 5 1 , 5 9 , 64, 66, 68

S tephen , Carr, 243S tevens , F . W of th e 14S udras , or servants-caste, 49S uez Canal , 2S umatra , I sland of, 1 2 0S unyasis , th e , or devotees , 10 1S urya, god of th e sun , 5 3S utlej river, 2 68 , 2 83

TAIT , Cap tain , 336Taj Mahal , Agra , 162 , 1 65—169Talati Mal

,Jodhpur , 377

Tank, Sacred , Thanesar, 32 0-

32 2

Taragh ur fort, Ajmere , 344, 346

Tavernier,French trave l ler and

jewel ler at Agra , 169Tay lor, Meadows, on Bijapur ,

85Tel i Ka Mandir, Oilman 's Temple ,Gwal ior , 2 09

Terry , George , 84

313- 33I

Thornh il l , Mark , 176- 178Thugs , 1 36, 1 37Timur

, or Tamerlane , 2 5 1 , 2 82

U DA I S ingh , of Jodhpur , 348

Umra S ingh , Rana , th e last Rajpu tch ie f, 354

Urwah i val ley , 2 1 0

VA I SYAS,agricu lturists-came , 49

V ictoria S tation, Bombay , 1 2V ikram Palace , Gwal ior, 2 08V indhya Mountains , 324V isala Tal Lake

,Ajmere , 346

V isaldeo, 346V ishnu,th e Preserver, 17, 1 8, 5 0 , 53,

54, 5 9 ; incarnate in th e form of

Buddha , 56V iz ir Khan’ s mosque , Lahore , 2 98

V ollar, Mr. and Mrs. , 397, 398

‘V ALKESHWAR, temp le of Sh iva at

Malabar Point , 2 3Wall ich , Dr . , 1 1 8

Wan tage S isters, in Poona , 61Watson ’s Hotel , Bombay , 88Watts, G . F. , h i s Dying VV arriOr ,27

Tooth , Temp le of th e , or

Ceylon . 39 2—394.41 1Toramana , 1 99

Touar Rajputs , 2 00Towers of S i lence , 24- 2 6, 2 8Trade-castes , 49Tugh lak S ultans , th e ,

2 57

Tugh lakabad , 2 56, 2 57Tytler , Mr. , 397

Way, S ir S amuel , Ch ief Justice of W inter, Mf and Mrs. , 2 5 3

South Austral ia , 1 17. 170 “fordsworth ,‘V n Ti ntern Abbey , 2 84

We l les ley, Lord , 1 1 2 , 348

‘V estcott ’ B ishop . 1 57YACHT C lub , Bombay , I I

\V estern Ghats , Th e , 6, 42 Yogis , th e , 2 3. 24. 99 - 10 I

Wheeler, S ir H ugh , 1 5 2 Yu le , ( 3010119 1. I S3”

Will iams, Mr . , 41 3. 41 5 Yusaf Khan, S u ltan of Bijapur , 67—69

\V i lliams, S ir Mon ier, 48 , 2 83 on

worsh ip of V ishnu , 5 6 ZAMZAMAH, th e green bronze gun,

\V i llough by , Lieutenant , 2 2 1 Lahore , 303

XV i lmot , Captain Eard ley , 2 75 Zend Avesta , th e , 27

VV IISOII , General Archdale , 2 1 9 Zoological Gardens, Calcutta, 1 17, 1 1 8

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