Children of India

by Janet Harvey Kelman

Baroda is a native state, whose princes are called Gaikwars. The word Gaikwar means cowherd really, but for hundreds of years it has been the royal title of the rulers of Baroda. These men trace their family far back into the times of the ancient stories, for they believe that they descended from a Hindu hero called Rama, who is now worshipped as a god. This belief strengthened their power, because no one dared to oppose anything that was done by the children of a god, and sometimes they used their power very badly. The British Government tries not to interfere with the Indian rulers, so it honoured this ancient house, and whenever the Gaikwar came to state ceremonies he was received with a salute of twenty-one guns. But though the Government acknowledged the ruler of Baroda, it did not wish cruelty and wrong to go unpunished in the lands it protected, so there was always a representative of the Viceroy in each protected state. During the reign of Malar Rao, the last Gaikwar, Colonel Phayre was the British Representative at Baroda, and while he was there he heard terrible stories of the heartless cruelty of the Indian ruler. He was sure that many of these stories were true, but it was difficult to prove anything against a man who was so powerful.

There was an arena at Baroda where elephants, tigers and lions had fought in former days to amuse the court, and in front of this old arena, Malar Rao built a palace. It was exquisitely finished and very costly, and at the main entrance there were two guns of solid gold, mounted on silver carriages. Not far from the city there was an ancient idol, and at its shrine the Gaikwar built a splendid temple. Those who know about these things say that though it is modern, its workmanship is as wonderful as that of the famous old temples of the land. As Colonel Phayre saw all this, and far, far more, his heart was hot within him, for he knew that the Gaikwar was building all these things with money that he had stolen from his people by taking bribes and by cruel taxes. But the Englishman did not see that he could prevent it, until he heard of the pearl and diamond rug. The jewellers of India searched for three years in order to get the gems that were needed for it and for the pillows, and when at last all were finished the Gaikwar made arrangements to give them as a gift to one of his favourites. When Colonel Phayre heard that the woven jewels, the cost of which had been wrung from the people, were to be given away, he refused to allow it. He said that the jewels belonged to the state of Baroda, and were not Malar Rao’s to give.

Now the Gaikwar had set his heart on giving this present to his favourite, and he was so enraged that nothing was too wild for him to attempt. He asked to see Colonel Phayre, and with every show of friendship he invited him to drink his health. The cup of pomola juice was handed to the guest, but an instinctive feeling of suspicion warned the Englishman, and he refused to drink. And it was well, for in the cup there was the dust of diamonds. Once before the Gaikwar had served his end by ground jewel dust. He had killed his brother so, and had ruled in his stead. When he was brought to trial, this and many other things were found out, for his brother was not the only man whom he had killed unjustly.

When he was condemned, the widow of the brother whom he had poisoned was asked to adopt a son, to be the ruler of Baroda, and the boy whom she chose grew up to be a clever and an able man. He has changed the whole life of the state, for he thinks of his people, and seeks to give them many things to make life brighter and easier for them. And as Baroda is called the “garden of India,” the children who live there enjoy much of what is happiest in Hindu life. Famine scarcely ever comes there, for the Nerbudda river waters the valley, and the rain clouds that cross the ocean are never spent ere they reach it.

Many children in India now go to schools that are much like our own, but in the far-off villages, the master still sits on the ground, under a broad tree, with his scholars round him. The little boys sway their bodies backwards and forwards as they sing out their lesson, or bend over the sandy ground, to trace the outlines of the Sanskrit letters there as they shout out the names of them after him.

So the days of childhood pass when all goes well, but if illness comes there is terrible suffering. The best that can happen to a Hindu child when he is ill, is to be left alone to get well or to die. If there is something very serious wrong with him, his parents may think there is a devil in the boy, and send for the barber, who does a great many things in an Indian village besides cutting hair and shaving chins. One little boy was getting better after a fever, but though the fever was gone his eyes were still very sore indeed. The barber was sent for, and when he came he did not bathe the sore red eyes, nor do anything to soothe the pain. Instead of that he began to burn the top of the wee boy’s black head, to pull the devil out by the burn! So the poor little fellow had to bear the pain of the burn as well as the pain in his eyes, and though the barber’s rough treatment was of no use, the father and mother tried no other plan. They let the eyes grow sorer and sorer till the boy was blind, and then they thought that Brahma must have written with his golden pen that their little son would lose his sight. So they did not trouble more about it, but began to think how they could make him earn money. They knew he would never be able to work. So they took him to a large town that he might beg, and make people pity him because of his blindness. But the boy need not have been blind.

Another child called Yogina was very ill indeed. She lay in a fever, and as the fever raged, she said strange wild things, for her mind was wandering, and she did not know what she was saying. The other girls in the house were in terror. They thought some demon had entered into her, and they feared that it might leave her and go into one of them, so a priest who said he could force demons to leave those who were ill was asked to come and cure her.

This man had learned how to say “Am, Im, Um, Em, Aim, Om, Aum, Tam, Tham, Dam, Nam, Pam, Pham, Bam, Mam, Jam, Ram, Lam, Vam, Sam, Ham, Ksham,” over and over again, each of them in a special tone and way, and that proved to everyone who heard him there that he was a very marvellous man who could do miracles. His name was Mantra Shastri. When he came to the house where little Yogina was lying in her fever, he bade the other women of the house clean out the court, and make a pattern on the wet floor with fine white powder. When this was done, little Yogina was dragged into the court, and set down opposite the white markings on the damp floor. Yogina could not sit up. She was too weak, but Mantra Shastri would do nothing for her if she lay on the ground. So the other women of the house gathered round her and held her up. Then the devil-doctor began his work. He went out and walked round the house several times, and sprinkled evil-smelling water as he went. Yogina cried out louder, for the effort of sitting up made her fever more burning, but all round the house the harsh sounds of tom-toms rose and the child’s screams could not be heard. Then Mantra Shastri came into the inner court again, and the women walked in a circle carrying trays of fruit and flowers and leaves and rice. The tom-toms still beat on, and their noise only made the sick girl wilder. She did not know anything of what was going on around her, but she fought blindly with those who tried to hold her up.

The priest took little heaps of rice from the trays the women carried, and set them down in front of Yogina amongst the white marks on the floor. One heap was of white rice, one of yellow, and one of black, and when he had laid them there he spoke to the demon in the sick girl and said:—

“Oh Spirit of Evil, where do you come from? What do you want?” The women who were round Yogina were so eager to hear what she would say, that they forgot to hold her up, and she fell forward on the rice.