The Harinbati was at one time the place where prisoners used to pound soorkey, and the phrase “Go to the Harinbati” is still used in Bengal as equivalent to “Go to jail.”
It is a common tradition that if this expression is whispered in the ear of any one snoring three times, the snoring will cease.
The reference is to the stories told of a brother of Ravan who was famous as a great sleeper: he is said to have slept the whole year, except on one day, when he would wake, and eat a hearty meal of some thousand animals: his name is taken from the tradition that his ears were as large as water jars.
The first salutation of a Brahman is in the form of a blessing: his hands are held out before him, palms upward: his second salutation is the ordinary one with hands folded together against his forehead, the fingers upwards: this is after his first salutation has been acknowledged.
The story of these two is found in the Bhagavadgita, which, with the Chandi or Hymn to Durga, forms the favourite reading of the class of Pundits. Many Brahmins make a living as itinerary readers of the Bhagavadgita, or Ramayana: they halt for weeks at a time at various places, and erect a temporary booth, where they read and explain to all who may come to hear them: at the end of a course of reading they are presented with presents: one man in Patna is reputed to make as much as five hundred rupees for one course of reading the Ramayana which may take him about six weeks.