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.