19th February. Ranera is an unimportant place. I was here offered a cow-stall to sleep in. It was indeed kept very clean; but I preferred sleeping in the open air.
Till a late hour of the night this town was very lively: processions of men and a number of women and children followed the noise of the tam-tam, which they accompanied with a wild, howling song, and proceeded to some tree, under which an image of an idol was set up.
We had on this day to cross several ranges of low hills. The uncultivated ground was everywhere scorched up by the sun; [{209}] nevertheless, the plantations of poppies, flax, corn, and cotton, etc., grew very luxuriantly. Water-dykes were let into the fields on every side, and peasants, with their yokes of oxen, were engaged in bringing water from the wells and streams. I did not see any women at work.
In my numerous journeys, I had an opportunity of observing that the lot of the poorer classes of women in India, in the East, and among coloured people generally, was not so hard as it is believed to be. In the towns where Europeans reside, for example, their linen is washed and prepared by men; it is very seldom that it is necessary for women to take part in out-door labour; they carry wood, water, or any other heavy burdens only in their own houses. At harvest time, indeed, the women are seen in the fields, but there also they only do the lighter kind of work. If carriages with horses or oxen are seen, the women and children are always seated upon them, and the men walk by the side, often laden with bundles. When there are no beasts of burden with the party, the men carry the children and baggage. I also never saw a man ill use his wife or child. I heartily wish that the women of the poorer classes in my own country were treated with only half the consideration which I saw in all other parts of the world.
20th February. Udjein on the Seepa, one of the oldest and best built towns of India, is the capital of the kingdom of Sindhia, with a population of more than 100,000 souls.
The architecture of this town is quite peculiar: the front walls of the houses, only one story high, are constructed of wood, and furnished with large regular window openings in the upper part, which are securely closed by beams, instead of glass. In the interior, the apartments are built very lofty and airy: they have the full height from the level of the ground to the roof, without the interruption of an intermediate arch. The outer walls and beams of the houses are painted with a dark brown oil colour, which gave to the town an indescribably dusky appearance.
Two houses were remarkable for their size and the uncommonly fine execution of the wood carvings. They contained two stories, and were very tastefully ornamented with galleries, pillars, friezes, niches, etc. As far as I could learn from the answers I received to my questions, and the numerous servants and soldiers walking about before them, they were the palaces of the aumil and the Queen Widow of Madhadji-Sindhia.
We passed through the entire town; the streets were broad, the bazaars very extensive, and so overcrowded with men, that we were frequently compelled to stop; it happened to be a large market. Upon such occasions in India, as well as at great festivals and meetings of people, I never once saw any one intoxicated, although there was no lack of intoxicating drinks. The men here are temperate, and restrain themselves, yet without forming into societies.
Outside the town I found an open verandah, in which I took up my quarters for the night.
I was here a witness of a deplorable scene, a consequence of an erroneous religious belief of the otherwise amiable Hindoos. Not far from the verandah lay a fakir, outstretched upon the earth, without any signs of life; many of the passers-by stopped, looked at him, and then went on their way. No one spoke to or helped him. The poor man had sunk exhausted on this spot, and was no longer capable of saying to what caste he belonged. I took heart, approached him, and raised the head-cloth, which had fallen over a part of his face; two glassy eyes stared at me. I felt the body; it was stiff and cold. My help came too late.