CHAPTER III
We did not go farther north at this time, but traveled easterly to Aligarh. A college is located here, some 1,200 students being in attendance. This seat of education was erected and is maintained by a wealthy Indian. It is non-sectarian, and Mohammed, Hindu, Jain and all other sects take advantage of the liberality of the benefactor. Strange as it may seem, the educators are Europeans, and the language of the institution is English.
An American mission is located several miles from Aligarh, and the Europeans living in that city and district get their bread from the mission. Few people take kindly to eating bread made by Indians, as they have so many skin and constitutional diseases and untidy habits that one does not know what ailment he may contract from eating native-made bread. A creamery is located near the city also, owned by a Swede. Like the bread, Europeans prefer European-made butter, and as a result there seems room for another white-conducted creamery.
Living in this section is a remnant of a former wild tribe, who existed from plundering and were being hunted by the authorities most of the time. The Salvation Army obtained permission to use an old fort as a mission, and most of these highwaymen have found peace within its walls, being industriously engaged in weaving silk. This section of India is termed the Doab.
All white men in India own an evening-dress suit, generally worn at dinner in their own homes.
Every one carries a lantern at night. Snakes are so numerous and so poisonous that one's life is in danger. Some of the Indian snakes are small, are very dangerous at night, and their bite is almost certain death. The fatality from bubonic plague, cholera, typhoid fever and rabies is appalling, yet it is said more people die from snakebite in India during the year than from any other single cause.
The most commendable feature of India that came under observation was the free service of the bhisti (bee-ste), or water-carrier. Men engaged in that occupation have a guild, or union, and the rules of the organization forbid them making a charge for water. The carrier's water-bag is made of leather, in the shape of an inverted pig, and contains from six to eight gallons. A strap is tied to both the hind and front of the pig-shaped bag, which stretches across his right shoulder, the bag being on the left side. A stopper is placed in the mouth of the bag, which the carrier holds with his left hand. A cloth is worn about the loins, and his legs are bare to the ground. He usually wears a shirt, with short sleeves, and his head is covered with a bulky piece of cloth wound round and round. Most of the bhistis are bent forward and lean to the left, which is accounted for by their carrying the bag on that side. He is a poor man, but will serve water to either man or beast in need. He is generally found about railway stations and other places where large numbers of people congregate. Thirsty children may be seen running to the bhisti, with empty cups in their hands, for water, when he withdraws the stopper, places the spout above the cup, and releases the thumb of his left hand at the mouth of the bag, filling it. The happy child drinks and walks away. A mother, with a water vessel in her hand, calls him, when he pauses until the woman catches up with him, and then supplies her need. The Indian mother might leave with him a pie (one-sixth of a cent). As stated earlier, rain does not fall in India at certain seasons of the year for periods of from five to nine months, and water is water during most of that time. Should the water-carrier pass an ox, a goat, a dog, or a horse—anything in need of water—he at once eases his thumb on the spout of the bag and relieves the suffering. He might call at a compound with his bag full, and the master of the bungalow would direct him to sprinkle the parched garden. After doing so he walks away unless called to receive pay. The bhisti, in short, practices what Red Cross societies aim to accomplish, and what churches profess to do. He is the one star that shines brightly through the dark, traditional sky of India—a messenger of life in a land of suffering and death.
Clay cups, saucers, plates, bowls, and buckets are made in the college city, the smaller vessels containing oil, with a cloth dip added. Cities are aflame with these on certain holidays, and from remote sections millions of clay-saucer lights burn throughout the populous country.
Garlands are placed about the neck of guests when invited to partake of an Indian's hospitality, these often extending to the waist. They are made from flowers, leaves, paper, cloth, and on occasions are composed of gold lace, and even more expensive material.
No hotel or dak bungalow was found here; but on visiting places without these conveniences, even if one be a stranger, some European will extend an invitation to stop at his home. European hospitality is another bright light that shines in this dark country.
Wherever a few Europeans are found, a little English church has been erected, and a bell will be heard ringing every Sunday morning.
Cawnpore was the next stop. The first thing that attracted attention was dust, which seemed six inches deep, quite a cloud arising from it. When we left Bombay, sidewalks and paved streets were left behind. This city has a population of 200,000. It is a leather manufacturing place, and cotton mills are also quite numerous. We visited Cawnpore chiefly to see the historical Massacre Well.
Cow fat on cartridges, a desecration of the Hindu religion—the cow being a sacred animal to the people of that faith—was the fuse that ignited the mutiny bomb in 1857. Uprisings by native troops had taken place at intervals for ninety years previous, during which the domains of rulers had been taken from them, higher pay for the sepoys refused, and pensions to the deposed rulers' heirs cut off, the army being composed in a large degree of high-caste natives.
Nana Sahib, heir to a ruler who had once been head of the Mahrattas, was among those who did not succeed to the pension his adopted parent received, $400,000 a year. At that time 40,000 British soldiers were in India and 240,000 Indians, drilled in warfare by British officers. At Cawnpore there were but 200 British soldiers, 30 officers and 3,000 sepoys. On June 6 General Wheeler, who was in charge of the British troops, was warned to expect an attack—the siege had begun. The ground was so hard that good trenches could not be built, and the dirt was so dry it would not pack. Nine hundred, the majority women and children, took shelter in the crude trenches. Nana's forces were well armed, and a murderous fire came from the enemy. The barracks of the besieged comprised two buildings, one of which had a thatched roof, and the well from which they got their water was exposed to the enemy's fire. The thatched roof was set on fire and burned, and the occupants were daily exposed to a sun varying from 120 to 140 degrees. Deaths were taking place every day, and bodies were buried in another well close to the barracks. An armistice was finally agreed to after a 20-day siege, during which 250 out of the 900 died.
The terms of the armistice were that the British should leave their guns and treasure behind, and that Nana Sahib would see them, unmolested, to the river, where boats would be ready to take them down the Ganges to safety. Four hundred and fifty were left, and the boats were beached on bars of mud in the river. Instead of being towed down stream, a murderous fire of grapeshot and musketry opened on all sides. The boats were covered with thatched roofs, and, these taking fire, many of the deceived survivors were suffocated by the smoke of the burning grass. Following, the sepoys jumped into the water and butchered others of the party. At last the Nana's heart temporarily softened, and he ordered that no more women should be killed, and about 125 women and children, wounded and half drowned, were then taken to Cawnpore. The men on the boats were murdered.
In two weeks' time General Havelock had reached Cawnpore with 2,000 soldiers. A week later an engagement took place, in which the Nana suffered a crushing defeat, and at a second engagement the mutineers were again defeated. The Nana, learning that Havelock would soon be reinforced, ordered the captives to be killed. The few men who were among the women and children were brought out and put to death in the Nana's presence. A party of sepoys were then ordered to shoot the women and children in the building in which they had been placed, but the soldiers fired at the ceiling of the room. The Nana, being in a rage at his men refusing to shoot the white women, ordered a party of butchers to put an end to the captives, and a short time after entering the house his orders had been carried out. Next morning all the bodies were thrown in an adjoining well—since that time termed the Massacre Well. This took place on July 15, 1857.
In the center of a beautiful garden a mound covers the well into which the bodies of the 125 women and children were thrown. On the mound is a memorial in the form of an octagonal Gothic screen, in the center of which, on the actual well, is a white marble figure of the Angel of the Resurrection, with arms across her breast, as if resigned to the Almighty will, each hand holding a palm, the emblem of peace. Over the arch is inscribed, "These are they which came out of great tribulation." Indians, except park workers, are not allowed in the Memorial Gardens. If they were, some of them might be taken to hospitals from time to time, we fear, as Europeans feel bitter after having visited the Massacre Well.
Twelve years is the legal marriage of girls in India. Girls, however, have a partner selected for them as early as two years of age, and, if they do not wish to live with their husbands at the legal age, they are taken from their father's home by force. No matter how young she may have been when the parents married her, she is the man's wife from that time. Should the husband die after marriage, the girl, according to Indian custom, cannot marry again. She may be a widow when she is 8 or 10 years of age. She is looked down upon, her hair sometimes cut off—in short, she becomes the drudge of the family. She is charged with having done some very bad thing which caused her husband's death. Nothing is worse treated than a Hindu widow. Fathers receive from $25 to $200 for their daughter from the husband. Mothers 20 years of age will have "married" daughters seven and eight years old.
If a poor Hindu were eating his portion of rice, or other food, and a European happened to pass between him and the sun, causing his shadow to flit over the native's food, the hungry creature would not eat it, firmly believing it had been polluted by the white man's shadow. Natives eat with their fingers.
Were a man or woman to drop in a faint, or from any cause, they would prefer to die before accepting nourishment from one of lower caste, and certainly no one of higher caste would lend aid. Only one of similar caste could relieve their condition.
Indians consider Europeans filthy who use a tooth-brush more than once. They use a twig or sliver of wood that has been chewed to a bushy end; it is thrown away after using. People who eat pork are considered worse than dogs.
Men who wear trousers and shirt place the shirt outside the trousers. Those who wear shoes have no socks.
Long, canoe-like boxes on cart wheels were in evidence in Cawnpore. The oxen were hitched to a crosspiece at the end of the shafts, while Indians, behind the oxen, were between the shafts and pushing with their breasts against the crosspiece.
A European carpenter shoves a plane from him, but an Indian carpenter pulls the plane toward him. Mechanics do most of their work sitting, and use their toes as a vise between which to hold a board while planing it. Before shoeing an ox, the beast's legs are bound with rope, when the animal will be thrown. The blacksmith then shoes the ox while he is sitting down. The Indian can make as convenient use of his toes as he does of his fingers.
Lucknow, next visited, is well provided with large tracts of park space, splendid roads and good shade. The city has a population of 300,000, and among this number were more Europeans than at Cawnpore. Several good European stores have been established, and these seemed to compete successfully with the native merchants.
This city shared with Cawnpore in the horrors of the Mutiny, as 3,000 souls were behind the historic walls of the Residency when the siege began, and when relief came there were less than a thousand alive.
Bedding is not generally furnished by hotels in India. Frequently, the "bed" is only a bedstead and springs, or, as will be found in smaller centers, strips of cowhide, lashed at sides, top and bottom, answer for springs; again, there is a mattress on the springs, but no bedclothing or pillows. At other times, only one sheet over the mattress, and nothing else. Owing to this unusual custom, a bag for carrying bedding is generally included in travelers' luggage. The contrast between India and Germany in this respect is very marked, as at a small hotel in Berlin at which I stopped the bed had a sheet and a feather tick for a covering. It was summer-time, but the covering would answer for Arctic weather. In one case the sheet was not sufficient covering; in the other the tick was too much.
One is more successful in beating down hotel rates in this country than anywhere else. It is a place of haggle and barter, and the business system aims to make a customer feel he has got the better of the bargain, while the seller is satisfied with his profit, although having come down from the original price one-half. There is always doubt whether the customer really has got the better of the transaction; but there is no question, however, about getting a concession, when, after a hotelkeeper has asked six or seven rupees a day, the traveler pays only five rupees ($1.60) a day. It seems to break an Indian boniface's heart to see a prospective guest go to another hotel.
"Babus" are men engaged at clerical work, and one has to scan his hotel bill closely before settling, as a babu may add an item to the laundry list or for ice, or even charge for other things that go with hotel accommodation. Many persons will overlook a small charge, and well the babu knows it. Extras belong to him.
The hotels are generally of one story, and all doors open on to a covered veranda. Almost every one has a servant—a "boy"—with him. Early in the evening and during the night, in front of room doors, may be seen one, two and sometimes three "boys" sleeping. If their master or any European should pass where they are lying they hurriedly arise in their blankets, salaam and bow, then immediately lie down again, remaining thus until another European footstep is heard, when up they jump, offer another salaam, and quickly settle down again to sleep. As few Indians wear shoes, they know when an European is approaching.
When leaving a hotel there will be four to six servants helping the guest and his luggage into a conveyance. As most of them look alike, it becomes necessary to ask each one what part he played in adding to one's comfort while making his stay. In answer to who's who, one will say he is the table "boy," another the room "boy," another the bath "boy," and yet another, the sweeper. Others are also present to see one comfortably on his way, but gratuities may be limited to four. Three rupees—a dollar—proportionately divided among the four is generally given for a week's or ten days' stay.
On entering the native quarters—the bazaars—of the Indian cities one is generally escorted by "runners" of silk merchants, brass manufacturers, lacquer merchants and others. A friend and myself rode on a two-wheeled trap, the seat facing backward; and as we entered one of the arteries of the Chauk Bazaar the crowd of people and merchants' runners that filled the narrow street from house wall to house wall was so dense that the garrywaller gave up trying to proceed further. It took us some time to reach the entrance on foot. No holiday was being celebrated—this was an every day occurrence.
In all the cities of this section are sports grounds, a race track, a church, and public library for Europeans. A large cantonment is located in Lucknow.
The country over which we had traveled was so flat that it looked as if there was no necessity for grading or cutting in the railway of even two feet for a hundred miles. The "windmill," the stick-and-bolt plough, the irrigation trench, and an occasional tree; the oxen, with humps on their shoulders; the mud huts; the sparsely clad and half-starved natives were scenes of similarity from Lucknow to Benares, the sacred city of the Hindu. Benares is to the Hindu what Mecca, in Arabia, is to the Mohammedan.
One beholds beggars, beggars, beggars—repulsive looking specimens of humanity—and pariah dogs inside and outside the temples; some of the enclosures of the temples alive with monkeys and goats; cattle standing munching in front of golden images of Hindu gods, up to their fetlocks in yellow flowers and tender leaves; bony and poorly dressed women flitting in and out of narrow alleys and through doorways into temples, carrying a brass or copper water-pot full of Ganges River water; vagabond priests on the "ghats," resting on a platform covered with a large sun-shade, receiving money from very poor people for making clay marks on their forehead—caste marks—all sacred! Beastly and idolatrous would be a better term to apply to Benares.
Two-thirds of the population of India—207,000,000—are followers of the Brahmanic faith, and even one of the lowest caste believes he is a unit in the great universe as compared to an Indian who has no caste distinction.
People of the Brahmanic faith come from all parts of India to bathe in the Ganges River at Benares, which, by the way, is nearly as muddy as the Missouri River. Their hope of a peaceful hereafter is strengthened by a visit to the sacred city, but the poverty and suffering entailed through spending money for the trip by those living a great distance away is keenly felt.
At Durga, or Monkey Temple, which is surrounded by high walls, 350 monkeys were climbing up the sides of the church, scampering about the walls, but always keeping an eye on the visitor. Upon entering the temple enclosure a priest insists on one buying popcorn or other food for the monkeys; then a second priest slips a garland of flowers over one's head, another method of getting a little money. Besides monkeys, mangy dogs come close, expecting popcorn, and impudent goats rub their noses against visitors' clothes. The temple is painted an ocher color, symbolizing the character of the god Durga—blood. Many beggars were inside the enclosure, and were very numerous outside. Everything about the place bore an air the reverse of sacred or solemn.
The Golden Temple, hidden among many buildings, is the most important to pilgrims. Three domes, covered with plates of gold over plates of copper, ornament this structure; the floor is said to be inlaid with 100,000 rupee pieces ($32,000). A narrow alley runs in front of the temple, and only two persons can pass at a time. Flower stands, and men selling flowers, are plentiful about the entrance and along the passageway. Inside the building are several shrines; in front of one stood a Brahmani bull, and in front of another a Brahmani cow, both animals having humps on their shoulders. Near the shrines peacocks and deer were also seen. People were streaming in and out of the temple all the time, those going in carrying a water-pot, made of brass or earth, filled with Ganges water, and a handful of yellow flowers and tender leaves, bought outside. The flowers and leaves were fed to the bull and cow, and the worshiper sprinkled the water over himself while paying homage at the shrine. All the time a din from cymbals, tom-toms and other harsh instruments was kept up, sounding more like a boiler factory than anything else. Every one was in bare feet. Most of the men wore only a loin cloth, and the prominent ribs and other bones of their bodies suggested a doubt of their ever having had a square meal. Around the women's ankles were rings, around the wrists were cheap glass or pewter bangles; the ears contained cheap ornaments, and a gewgaw pendant hung from the nose over the mouth, secured to the nostrils' partition. At every point of vantage beggars and fakirs were as thick as flies. The constantly inpouring crowd and weird music is kept up the whole day, year in and year out. There is nothing doubtful about the sacred water—every drop is taken from the historical river and carried to the temple. In some of the shrines is an image of a monkey, a cow, a peacock, or a double-headed beast of awful appearance; and gods in flaring red represent fire and thunder. All the time priests are collecting money from the worshipers.
Many professional loafers, known as "jojees" or devotees, are seen in India. They will hold up one of their arms for years until it has become rigid and the fingernails have grown and twisted about the hand like roots; some hang by one foot from a pole, like the flying foxes of Tonga; or distort themselves in other unnatural positions. This is done in accordance with their supposed religious belief as bodily penance, and they are looked upon as martyrs. Some of them have ashes on their bodies, which they sell, mostly to women. Rice and money are thrown to these knotty-whiskered, filthy fakirs by poor people who really cannot afford the gifts, but who think they are doing a religious act.
The view of Benares from the Ganges River is an unusually fine one. On the high banks at this point stone steps have been built leading from the top to the water. Above the steps and banks stand attractive temples and palaces. At certain times of year the temples are used by pilgrims who come from every point of India to worship. Sections of the steps have proper names, which are called "ghats"—used for the English word place, as Dandi Ghat (place).
Over a million pilgrims journey to Benares each year, where they bathe in the Ganges as a purifying tenet of their religion. Among others, there is a small-pox ghat, where those suffering from small-pox may bathe, in the hope of being healed; also bathing ghats for other diseases, where purifying rites are carried out. On each ghat are several raised platforms, having large sunshades, where men, their legs half curled under them, are sitting. Every one leaving the water stops at a platform, where caste marks are made on their foreheads, each supplicant leaving money with the marker. Some have no money coins and leave cowrie shells instead. These markers are priests. The pilgrims then wend their way to a temple and worship either an idol painted red, having three eyes, a silver scalp, or an elephant's trunk covered with a yellow bib; the figure of a rat; a monkey of brass, wood or iron, or some other image. At the temple the faithful make another donation, tom-toms, cymbals and other instruments playing meanwhile to awaken the gods of wood, brass or stone.
A few hours after death a body is brought to a burning ghat, men being covered with a white sheet and women with a red cloth. Smoke from a dozen to fifty pyres may be seen rising from the ghat, and the ashes are thrown into the Ganges just below. The fuel for a pyre costs $1.60; wealthy Indians use sandalwood for this purpose. Children of five years of age and under are not cremated, their bodies being cast into the Ganges, with a weight attached. "Holy men" of the church are not cremated; they are either buried or, like the children, cast into the Ganges River.
Every pilgrim, on leaving Benares, takes with him a quantity of Ganges water, though he may live a thousand miles away. Were a European to touch accidentally a pilgrim's water-pot, the Hindu would feel that the sacred water had been defiled.
Caste customs in India forbid intermarriage of one with another; they must not eat nor drink together; must not partake of food prepared by a lower caste, and shun even touching the clothes of those beneath them. Were an Indian merchant to adopt the Christian religion, his business would probably be ruined, his home possibly be surrounded by a mob, and he would be fortunate to escape with his life, having degraded his caste. A man may be poor, and yet of a higher caste than some wealthy Indians.
Women, with two blanks in their heads, may be seen begging in many places. To raise her head when out walking as a man passed is considered a violation of a wife's vow by her husband, for which offense their eyes are sometimes literally gouged out. High-caste women keep very much to their homes.
A white woman would be thought little of by her servants were she to do domestic duties, such as dusting and putting a finishing touch to the interior. Here are instances of how helpless some Europeans become when in India: Were a man to brush his own clothes, or even lace his shoes, these acts would prove sources of unfavorable comment by the servants. A man, wanting to know the hour, sometimes calls his "boy"; the servant takes the watch from his master's pocket, holds the timepiece level with his employer's eyes, replaces the watch in his master's pocket, and leaves the room. When keeping an appointment with a servant, the master must not be punctual, but keep the servant waiting. If the Sahib was punctual, and the servant happened to be late, the master would be looked down upon for waiting for his minion.
The cow is revered, not only owing to its service in maintaining life by its milk, but because some of the Hindu sects believe that, after death, they will be borne across a river on the back of the cow to a better country. Hindus who do not wear long hair have a tuft growing from the crown, or a little below that point. In case the cow should fail to be on hand to take him across, a mysterious arm is supposed to reach down, take hold of his tuft of hair, and by that means place him in the better land. One would be disgraced were the tuft of hair removed.
Much of the ornamental brasswork seen in many parts of the world comes from Benares, for which the Hindu Mecca is famed. Small idols and images in brass or other materials are made in large quantities. The brassworkers sit down while turning out their product.
Ruins of the temples of Benares are located at Sarnath, five miles from the city; these evidences of the past are seen in crumbled walls and earth depressions. Brick and stone was the material used in building, but the brick was much thinner and longer than the present-day block. The most striking remains standing of the ancient city is the Dhamek Stupa, or tower, which consists of a stone basement, 93 feet in diameter, the stones being clamped together with iron bands to the height of 43 feet. Above that point the tower is of brickwork, rising to a height of 128 feet. Niches built in projecting faces of the tower contain the figure of Buddha, and encircling the monument is a band of sculptured ornaments of much interest. There is some doubt among authorities as to whether the stupa has stood all these years; it is the only building of the ancient temples at present standing. Another stupa, not as massive as the Dhamek, was passed before reaching the ruins. At one place among the crumbled temples is the Main Shrine, the whole standing on a concrete foundation, with a rail on the upper part of the altar. Close by is the Asoka Pillar, which is broken, but was at one time 50 feet high, and is believed to mark the spot where Buddha preached his first sermon.
Excavations are under way all the time at Sarnath, and a museum located at that place contains a large variety of interesting fragments of the early Buddhist temples.