THE CAPITAL OF INDIA
Below Benares the great river flows quietly on, ever widening as its tributaries flow in on either bank, and watering as it goes vast stretches of paddy-fields. Many pilgrims from the sacred city descend it by boat as far as Patna, where they branch away to the south on a new pilgrimage. They walk some ninety miles to Buddh Gaya, where Gautama sat in deep meditation beneath the sacred Bo-tree, and became the Buddha.
The place is held in the deepest veneration by the countless followers of the Buddhist faith, and vast numbers come to this day to see and worship at the temple built upon the spot. Behind the temple still stands a pipal or Bo-tree, and the natives hold that this is the very tree beneath which the great teacher sat.
As the Ganges approaches the sea through the plains of Bengal it is joined by the mighty Brahmaputra, which has swept round the eastern end of the Himalayas, and brought the waters of Tibet down to the bay. And now the mighty stream begins to break up. The broad flood becomes diverted to innumerable channels, and flows through an immense delta to the sea. This delta is the huge, swampy flat of the Sunderbunds. The Sunderbunds are very low, very unhealthy (for the swamps breed malaria), and matted with tropical jungle. The tide flows in and the rivers flow out, making an inextricable confusion of channels, creeks, canals, waterways, of every shape, size, and direction. The water seems to flow every way at once. The traveller is perhaps being rowed up a channel, and his men are straining at the oars against a strong current. Suddenly, without change of direction, the boat is swept forward on a favouring stream. From some side creek a fresh current has poured in unnoticed, and now bears the boat on.
In times of flood or high tide the low, muddy banks can no longer hold the streams, and the whole country becomes a vast swamp. The damp soil is hidden beneath masses of canes and reed and low-growing palms, and when the feathery fronds cover the scene with a carpet of beautiful green the prospect is very lovely. Among the brakes of this thick jungle wild animals swarm in great numbers. Deer and wild-boars abound, and the broad round marks of a tiger's pads are often seen in the mud near a drinking-place. Enormous crocodiles haunt the pools and channels. From the deck of a river-steamer these huge reptiles may often be seen sunning themselves on a warm mud-bank. As the steamer draws near they glide down the bank and vanish into the water. Between their footprints a long, deep groove is left in the mud. This is made by the great tail.
The chief branch of the Ganges is the River Hughli, upon which stands Calcutta, the capital of India. Calcutta is not the capital of India because either of its beauty or position, but because of its immense trade. It is the natural outlet for the riches of the vast plains of the Ganges. Through it pour the vast stores of corn, of rice, of jute, of tobacco, of tea, of a score of other things produced by those fertile levels.
As regards position, the site of Calcutta is bad, for it lies on the flat beside the river, with the swamps of the Sunderbunds on every hand. The heats of summer are overpowering, and the Viceroy and his officials fly to Simla, high up among the Himalayas. But in the cold season the town is very gay and splendid. The European quarter is laid out on noble lines. The streets are of great width with park-like gardens, called compounds, on either side. In these compounds, filled with flowers and trees, stand large and stately mansions, princely residences such as befit the rulers of India.
The centre of Calcutta is the Maidan, or Park, a great open space beside the broad river. On its western side stands Fort William, the building of which was commenced by Clive in 1757. The original Fort William, where stood the famous "Black Hole of Calcutta," was farther to the north, and the site of the dungeon is marked in the roadway. A tablet on a wall near at hand reads: "The stone pavement close to this marks the position and size of the prison-cell in Old Fort William known in history as the Black Hole of Calcutta."
At one end of the Maidan stands the stately Government House, where the Viceroy of India dwells, and near it are many fine public buildings. The great park is bounded by the splendid streets in which are found the mansions of the European merchants, bankers, and officials, and the Maidan is the scene of the fashionable evening drive.
North of the Maidan lies the native quarter, covering six square miles, and packed with more than half a million people. The streets are narrow, and the buildings are of no great interest. The bazaars are worthy of the traveller's attention, not because they differ from bazaars elsewhere, but because of the varied crowds of a vast variety of tribes and nations which pour through this great centre of commerce.