Across India by Oliver Optic

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"Why do you call it so?"

"That reminds me of the German," interposed Captain Ringgold, laughing
heartily. "'Do you know vot vas der reason vy ve calls our boy Hans?'"

"Well, what was the reason, Captain?" inquired the lady seriously.

"'Der reason vy ve calls our boy Hans is, dot is his name.'"

"Well, that is precisely why we call that house a bungalow," added Sir
Modava. "It is the house usually occupied by Europeans here. They are one
story high, with a broad veranda, like the one we have just visited. Almost
always they have a pyramidal roof, generally thatched, but rarely slated or
tiled. When the body is of brick or stone, they call them _pucka_
houses. Doubtless you wished to know the origin of the word, Mrs.
Belgrave."

"That was just what I wished to know."

"They were probably first called Bengalese houses, and the present name was
corrupted out of the adjective."

The party collected together on the seashore, for the viscount appeared to
have something to say. The captain of the Guardian-Mother called the
attention of the company to the shape of the small bay before them, which
looked exactly like a lobster's big claw.

"The point where we are is Cape Colaba, and the small point is Cape
Malabar," said Lord Tremlyn. "I think we have seen all our time permits,
and now we will drive back through the town and the Esplanade. Perhaps you
have not yet heard of the Jains. They are a religious sect, and are more
influential and intelligent than most of the Hindus. More than any other
sect they hold the lower animals in the highest regard, amounting to a
strange sort of tenderness.

"They believe that man should not injure any animal; and more than this,
that human beings are bound to protect the lives and minister to the ills
of all creatures, even those the most despised. When, therefore, the pious
Jain comes upon a wounded creature of the lower order, he stops to attend
to its needs, and even takes it into his house to be healed. To forward
this charity, the wealthy of this sect have contributed money for the
foundation and endowment of hospitals for the care of sick and wounded
animals, and even of those permanently disabled."

"What a beautiful idea, if it is heathen!" exclaimed Mrs. Belgrave.

"We will now drive to one of these hospitals. We have to pass through the
Esplanade again to reach the Black Town, as it is called, where most of the
natives reside; but we will go by a different road."

In about half an hour the carriages passed through the densely populated
region of the Hindus, and stopped at the hospital. The party alighted in a
large court, surrounded by sheds, in which are a number of bullocks, some
of them with their eyes bandaged, others lame, or otherwise in a helpless
condition. They were all stretched out on clean straw. Some of the
attendants were rubbing them; others were bringing food and drink to them.

Passing into a smaller court, they found it contained dogs and cats in the
same unfortunate and suffering condition.

"It would be a mercy to kill them, and thus put them out of misery," said
Dr. Hawkes to the native officer with him.

"Do you serve your sick and disabled in that way?" asked the official.

He could not answer this appeal for the want of time, and they passed into
a place for birds. Venerable crows, vultures, buzzards, and other bipeds,
most of them with their plumage gone, pass the remainder of their lives in
peace in this curious retreat. At the end of the enclosure a heron proudly
strutted about with a wooden leg, among lame hens and blind geese and
ducks. Rats, mice, sparrows, and jackals have an asylum in the Jain
hospital.

"I should like to have some of our people take a lesson from this
institution," said Mrs. Woolridge as they left the place.

The carriages then conveyed them to a Hindu temple.

CHAPTER XVIII

A SNAKY SPECTACLE IN BOMBAY

On the way to the temple the carriages stopped at a horse bazaar, in which
Mr. Woolridge was especially interested, for some very fine animals were to
be seen, including some choice Arabians. They were looked over and admired
by the party. The best of them were valued at from six hundred to twelve
hundred dollars; and the cheapest were hardly less than two hundred
dollars. None but the wealthiest people of the city could afford to ride
after these animals.

Around these stables were numerous cafes, and a collection of people of
various nationalities were gathered in front and within them. Arabs,
negroes, Bedouins, and others were consuming spicy drinks; a group of
Persians in picturesque costumes were regaling themselves with great
dough-balls, made of flour, sugar, and milk; and dirty visitors from Cabul
were feeding themselves on dates.

Still in the Black Town, the carriages stopped at the Chinese Bazaar,
though the tourists did not alight. It extended to the shore of the bay,
and was crowded with all sorts of people. On the quays were no end of
Asiatic goods, mostly of the coarser kind,--the horns of cattle, tortoise
shells, elephants' tusks, and bags of pepper, spices, and coffee.

"This looks like Constantinople," said Miss Blanche, as four big coolies,
bearing a large box of goods suspended from a pole resting on their
shoulders, passed them, struggling under the burden they bore.

"Oriental customs are much the same wherever you find them," replied Sir
Modava.

"But if they had a hand-truck, such as they use in the stores of our
country, they could do their work with far less labor," suggested Scott.

"Those coolies would not use them," added the Hindu gentleman. "I have seen
them in London, and these laborers would regard them as an invention of the
Evil One to lead them away from their religion."

Parsees and other merchants were circulating in the crowd, making notes of
the prices; and the great variety of representatives of different countries
was surprising to the visitors. Not far from this bazaar is the great
mosque of the Mohammedans. After all the magnificent buildings of this kind
the party had visited in Turkey, Egypt, and Algeria, it was not a great
attraction. It was not to be compared with many mosques they had seen. As
usual, the party were invited to remove their shoes, though the sight
hardly paid for the trouble. The scene was the same as in others of the
kind. A venerable Moollah was expounding the Koran to a group of true
believers.

His audience were all seated on the pavement, and they seemed to be giving
excellent attention to the discourse. Sir Modava explained that the
Mohammedans of Bombay were more orthodox, or strict, in the observance of
the requirements of their religion than in Bengal; for a considerable
proportion are direct descendants from the original stock who had emigrated
to India from Persia. They are bitterly opposed to the Hindus, and a
serious riot had occurred not long before.

There are many Hindu temples in Bombay, though not many of them are
accessible to strangers; but the party drove to one in the Black Town. It
had a low dome and a pyramidal spire. Both of them were of the Indian style
of architecture, very elaborate in ornamentation. It looked like a huge
mass of filigree work.

The visitors next found themselves at Girgaum, which is a forest of
cocoanut-trees extending from the Bazaars to Chowpatti, at the head of the
Back Bay. Among the trees, as the carriages proceeded along the Queen's
Road, they found a great number of Hindu huts, half hidden in the dense
foliage. They paused to look at one of them.

The walls were of bamboo and other tropical woods, and the roof was
thatched with cocoanut leaves, which required poles to keep them in place.
It had several doors, and cross-latticed windows. There was no particular
shape to the structure, and certainly nothing of neatness or comeliness
about it. A large banana tree grew near it; a woman stood at one of the
doors, staring with wonder at the strangers, and a couple of half-naked
coolies were at work farther away. The morality of the residents of this
section could not be commended.

"In the evening this grove is lighted up with colored lamps," said the
viscount. "Taverns and small cafes are in full blast, the sounds of music
are heard, and a grand revel is in progress. Europeans, Malays, Arabs,
Chinese, and Hindus frequent the grove. Far into the night this debauchery
continues, and I trust the authorities will soon clean it out."

The carriages continued on their way to Malabar Hill, and made a thorough
survey of the locality. At the southerly point they came to the village of
Walkeshwar, whose pagoda-like towers they had seen from the ship, filled
with residences, though not of the magnates of the city. Most of the
buildings here were very plain. The hill is not a high one, but along its
sides the elaborate bungalows of the merchants and others were erected, all
of them with fine gardens surrounding them.

Breach Candy, on the seashore, in front of Cumballa Hill, is the most
aristocratic neighborhood, and contains the finest mansions. Tramways,
which is the English name for horse-cars, extend to this locality, as well
as to most other important parts of the city; and there is a station on the
steam railroad near it, though most of the wealthy residents ride back and
forth in their own carriages.

The Tower of Silence, in which the Parsees expose their dead to be devoured
by birds of prey, was pointed out to them. No one but the priests are
allowed to enter it; and the relatives leave the body at the door, from
which they take it into the building. It is placed between two grates,
which allow the vultures to tear off the flesh, but not to carry off the
limbs. It made the Americans shudder when their guides told them about it
more in detail than when it was described in the lecture.

Passing by the cemeteries of the English and the Mussulmans on their return
to the city, they halted at the Hindu Burning-Ground, on the shore of the
Back Bay. Here the natives are burned to ashes. For some distance they had
noticed funeral processions on their way to this place. The remains are
borne on open litters. A granite platform is the base of the funeral pyre,
and the bodies wait their turn to be reduced to ashes; and the cremation is
far more repulsive than that in our own country.

Dealers in wood for the combustion sell the article to the relatives. Some
of them are cutting up fuel and arranging the pyre, while others seated on
the walls play a lugubrious strain on the native instruments. The disposal
of the body of an old man was in process while the tourists looked on; and
the corpse was placed on the pile, the friends covering it with bits of
wood till it was no longer in sight.

Then the eldest son came to the scene, howling his grief and beating his
breast. Grasping a torch prepared for him, he set fire to the corners of
the pile that covered the remains. The flames rose high in the air, and the
attendants fed the fire by throwing on oil. Soon the body reappears, a
blazing mass, which is soon reduced to ashes. Water is then thrown on the
pyre, and a portion of the ashes cast into the sea.

There is nothing very repulsive in the rite of burning the dead; though the
visitors had some difficulty in keeping out of the reach of the foul smoke,
which brought with it a disagreeable odor. The carriages continued on their
way to the city; and when they entered a street, Lord Tremlyn called the
attention of those with him to a couple of native women who had stopped to
look at them, for the party excited no little curiosity wherever they went.
It had become known by this time that a dozen American ladies and gentlemen
were circulating through the place, engaged in sight-seeing.

They had comely features of a brownish hue, and were dressed in the loose
robes of the country, reaching to the ground; one of the garments extended
to cover the head, though not the face. Both of them wore heavy gold
bangles on their arms, but both were barefoot.

"They are not Mohammedans," suggested Mrs. Woolridge.

"They may be for aught I know," replied his lordship. "The women of this
sect here do not veil their faces as a rule."

"They are quite good-looking," added the New York magnate. "What caste or
class do they belong to?"

"I should say they were in the Vaisya caste, agriculture and trade. They
are well dressed, and therefore not Sudra. Probably they are the wife and
daughter of a shopkeeper.

"What is this crowd in the square?" asked Morris, who had been looking
about him.

"We will drive over there and see," replied the viscount as he directed the
coachman.

"Festival of Serpents," said the driver through the window.

"You have an opportunity to see one of the sights of Bombay; but we shall
be obliged to leave the carriages, for it is a great performance, and there
will be a large crowd." They alighted at a convenient place, and moved
towards the square. The ladies were in doubt as to whether or not they
cared to see such an exhibition; but the three gentlemen who were
accustomed to them declared that there was no danger.

"This affair is in the nature of a religious festival," said Sir Modava.
"There are scores of snakes brought before you; but they have had their
poison fangs extracted, and they could not harm you much more than a
playful kitten. This is a day appointed to make prayers and offerings to
the snakes, in order to conciliate them and to insure immunity from their
bites. Though these occasions occur all over India, I don't believe there
is a single bite the less for them."

"It is the anniversary of the killing of the great serpent Bindrabund,
which was creating terrible havoc on the shores of the river Jumna, an
event in Hindu mythology, which is as true as any mythology," added Lord
Tremlyn. "You observe that it calls together a great crowd of people of all
classes, and you see fat Brahmin ladies here in palanquins, very richly
dressed, and looking as sweet as sugar. You notice the rich standards and
the torches, the trumpeters, and the girls playing on tom-toms and cymbals.
But we must get nearer to the centre of the show."

"Not too near," pleaded Mrs. Woolridge.

The crowd opened for the sahibs and the ladies, treating them with the
utmost deference, as though they were superior beings; and they obtained a
position where they could see the entire performance. A group of
_sapwallahs_, or serpent-charmers, each bearing a basket about fifteen
inches in diameter at the bottom, but not more than ten at the top, each
containing several cobras, marched into the centre of the crowd. Pious
Hindus brought forward bowls of the milk of buffaloes, of which the
serpents are very fond, and placed them on the ground. The snakes were
released from their confinement, and they made for the bowls of milk
without any delay.

Some of the tourists had never seen a cobra, though they are found in
Egypt. The ladies shrank back when they appeared, and some of them
shuddered at the sight of the reptiles. The body was somewhat enlarged near
the head, and the spectacles could be distinctly seen in this part. The
instruments played, the standards and the torches were waved; but the
snakes continued their milk feast undisturbed.

The principal _sapwallah_ had a wand in his hand, which he flourished
while he repeated a volume of gibberish which none of the party but Sir
Modava could understand. When Mrs. Belgrave asked what he said; he replied
that he was uttering invocations to the serpents, and entreating the whole
tribe of snakes not to bite the people.

One of the _sapwallahs_, who wore nothing but a turban on his head and
a fringed cloth about his loins, went to one of the bowls from which half a
dozen cobras were feeding, and taking hold of one of them, pulled him away
from the milk. The serpent thus treated was furious with anger, and
instantly opened out his hood, showing the spectacles in full. Another
cobra was put in his place at the bowl, and his persecutor sat down on the
ground with him, fooling with him as though he had been a kitten or a pet
dog.

In turn the snakes remaining in the baskets were released, and allowed to
feast on the milk as others were removed. There was a great crowd of
_sapwallahs_ in charge of them, and none of them were permitted to
escape. The reptiles showed their temper as they were taken from the milk
by spreading their hoods; but they were so skilfully manipulated that they
had no chance to bite.

"I think I have had enough of this thing," said Mr. Woolridge, with a look
of disgust on his face. "There is no fun at all in it, and I should like to
make them a target for my revolver."

"It is about time for tiffin, and we had better return to the hotel," added
Lord Tremlyn. "I shall keep you busy this afternoon; and while you are
resting you shall take in a Nautch dance, which is one of the institutions
of this country. After that we shall go to the island of Elephanta."

The live boys of the party were rather pleased with the spectacle, though
they had had enough of it; while the ladies, whose flesh had been
"crawling" at the uncanny sight, were glad to escape. They all reached the
hotel, and were hungry enough after the long jaunt of the forenoon to
appreciate the "tiffin."

CHAPTER XIX

THE CAVES OF ELEPHANTA

The influence of Lord Tremlyn and Sir Modava was enough to procure anything
in Bombay, and an apartment that served as a special banquet hall had been
prepared at their command, and their guests were introduced to it
immediately after tiffin. As the viscount had suggested, they were
considerably fatigued after the long jaunt of the forenoon, though they
were refreshed by the luncheon they had taken. The hall was furnished with
sofas and easy-chairs for the occasion, and they were made very
comfortable.

The performers were seated on the floor of the room when the company took
their places. A man with a slouched turban and something like a sheet wound
around his body, reaching nearly to his ankles, the only clothing he wore,
entered the hall. At the entrance of the party the girls rose from the
floor and saluted them deferentially.

There were six of them, very modestly dressed, only their arms and feet
being bare. Their black hair was parted in the middle, and combed back
behind the ears, after the fashion of many years ago in the United States.
They all wore ornaments in their ears, and around their ankles. The
material of their dresses was various, some of it quite rich, with pearls
and gold in places. They looked quite serious, as though they were about to
engage in a religious ceremony, though it had no such connection. Some of
them were decidedly pretty, though their style of beauty was not entirely
to the taste of the Americans. They had black eyes, and they looked the
visitors full in the face, and with entire self-possession.

"Now what are these girls, Sir Modava?" asked Mrs. Belgrave.

"They are professional dancers, and that is their sole occupation," replied
he. "They are engaged by rich people when they give parties, and for
weddings and other festive occasions."

"Is that man the only musician?"

"He is the only one for this entertainment, and he plays the tom-tom with
his fingers. I am afraid you do not appreciate our native music, and we did
not engage any more of it. They are about to begin."

The musician beat the tom-tom, and the girls rose from the floor, shook out
their dresses as any lady would, and then it appeared that the ornaments on
their ankles were bells, which rattled as though it were sleighing-time as
they moved about. They formed in a semicircle before the audience; one of
them stepped forward, and turned herself around very slowly and gracefully,
with a quivering of the body, like the gypsy girls of Spain, which caused
her bells to jingle.

With eyes half-closed, and with a languishing expression on her dusky face,
she made a variety of gestures, posturing frequently as she continued to
turn. When this one seemed to have exhausted her material, another advanced
to the front, and proceeded to exhibit her variety of gestures and
postures, which were but slightly different from those of the first one,
though she went through the movements of a snake-charmer. In like manner
all the performers went through their several parts, imitating various
musicians on different native instruments.

Two of them went through a very lively performance, leaping and whirling
very rapidly. The exhibition concluded with a round dance, which was
thought to be very pretty, perhaps because it was exceedingly lively. Mrs.
Belgrave and Mrs. Blossom had never been to a theatre in their lives, never
saw a ballet, and were not capable of appreciating the posturing, though
the animated dance pleased them. The Nautch girls retired, and the
"Nautch," as such an occasion is called, was ended.

"Perhaps you have seen snakes enough for one day," said Lord Tremlyn; "but
I thought you ought to see the performance of the snake-charmers. We will
have it here instead of in the open street; and it is quite different from
the show you witnessed this forenoon."

As he spoke the door opened, and a couple of old and rather snaky-looking
Hindus, folded up in a profusion of cloths, rather than garments, entered
the apartment. Sir Modava conducted them to a proper distance from the
audience, who could not help distrusting the good intentions of the
vicious-looking reptiles. Each of them carried such a basket as the party
had seen in the square. The men seemed to be at least first cousins to the
serpents the baskets contained, for their expression was subtle enough to
stamp them as belonging to the same family.

The performers squatted on the floor, and each placed a basket before him,
removing the cover; but the serpents did not come out. The charmers then
produced a couple of instruments which Sir Modava called lutes, looking
more like a dried-up summer crookneck squash, with a mouthpiece, and a tube
with keys below the bulb. Adjusting it to their lips, they began to play;
and the music was not bad, and it appeared to be capable of charming the
cobras, for they raised their heads out of the baskets.

The melody produced a strange effect upon the reptiles, for they began to
wriggle and twist as they uncoiled themselves. They hissed and outspread
their hoods, and instead of being charmed by the music, it seemed as though
their wrath had been excited. They made an occasional dart at the human
performers, who dodged them as though they had been in their native
jungles, with their business fangs in order for deadly work. But the Hindu
gentleman explained that they could bite, though they could not kill, after
their poison fangs had been removed.

Then one of the performers stood up, and seizing his snake by the neck, he
swung him three times around his head, and dropped him on the floor. There
he lay extended at his full length, as stiff as though he had taken a dose
of his own poison.

"I have killed my serpent!" exclaimed the Hindu with a groan. "But I can
make him into a useful cane."

Sir Modava interpreted his remarks, and the fellow picked up his snake, and
walked before the audience, using it as a staff, and pretending to support
himself upon it. Then he held out the reptile to the visitors, and offered
to sell his cane; but they recoiled, and the ladies were on the point of
rushing from the room when Sir Modava ordered him off. He retreated a
proper distance, and then thrust the head of the creature beneath his
turban, and continued to crowd him into it till nothing but his tail was in
sight. Then he took off his head covering, and showed the reptile coiled up
within it.

Lord Tremlyn looked at his watch, and then carried a piece of money to the
chief charmer, which he received with many salaams, in which his companion
joined him, for the fee was a very large one. He suggested that the party
had had enough of this performance, to which all the ladies, with Mr.
Woolridge, heartily agreed. The carriages were at the door of the hotel,
and the company were hurriedly driven to the Apollo Bunder, where they
found a steam-launch in waiting for them. Lord Tremlyn had arranged the
excursions so that everything proceeded like clockwork, and Captain
Ringgold wondered what he should have done without his assistance.

The island of Elephanta was about five miles distant, and in half an hour
the party landed. Upon it were a couple of hills, and it was entirely
covered with woods. One of the first things to attract the attention was a
singular tree, which seemed to be a family of a hundred of them; for the
branches reached down to the ground, and took root there, though the lower
ends were spread out in numerous fibres, leaving most of the roots above
the soil.

"This is a banyan-tree," said Sir Modava. "It is a sort of fig-tree, and
you see that the leaves are shaped like a heart. It bears a fruit of a rich
scarlet color, which grows in couples from the stems of the leaves. They
are really figs, and they are an important article of food. In time the
trunk of the tree decays and disappears, and temples are made of the thick
branches. Some of these trees have three thousand stems rooted in the
ground, many of them as big as oaks: and these make a complete forest of
themselves. One of them is said to have sheltered seven thousand people;
but I never saw one as big as that."

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