Begums, Thugs and White Mughals Page 6

  The elephantiasis is very common amongst the natives, it causes one or both legs to swell to an enormous size, making the leg at the ankle as large as it is above the knee; there are some deplorable objects of this sort, with legs like those of the elephant – whence the name. Leprosy is very common; we see lepers continually. The insects are of monstrous growth. Such spiders! And the small-lizards are numerous on the walls of the rooms, darting out from behind pictures, etc. Curtains are not used in Calcutta, they would harbour mosquitoes, scorpions, and lizards.

  The Chūrūk Pooja

  The other day, hearing it was a Burra Din (day of festival in honour of the goddess Kālee, whose temple is about a mile and a half from Calcutta), I drove down in the evening to Kālee Ghaut, where, had not the novelty of the scene excited my curiosity, disgust would have made me sick. Thousands of people were on the road, dressed in all their gayest attire, to do honour to the festival of the Chūrūk Pooja, the swinging by hooks. Amongst the crowd, the most remarkable objects were several Voiragee mendicants; their bodies were covered with ashes, their hair clotted with mud and twisted round their head; they were naked all but a shred of cloth. One man had held up both arms over his head until they had withered and were immoveable, the nails of the clenched fists had penetrated through the back of the hands, and came out on the other side like the claws of a bird. To fulfil some vow to Vishna this agony is endured, not as a penance for sin, but as an act of extraordinary merit. At first the pain must be great, but it ceases as the arms become benumbed. A man of this description is reckoned remarkably holy, having perfect dependence upon god for support, being unable, his arms having become immoveable, to carry food to his mouth or assist himself. Two or three other mendicants who were present had only one withered arm raised above their heads. Some Hindus of low caste, either for their sins or for money, had cut three or four gashes in the muscular part of the arm, and through these gashes they kept running a sword, dancing violently all the time to hideous music; others ran bamboos as thick as three fingers through the holes in the arm, dancing in the same manner. One man passed a spit up and down through the holes, another a dagger, and a third had a skewer through his tongue.

  A little further on were three swinging posts erected in this fashion, a post some thirty feet in height was crossed at the top by a horizontal bamboo, from one end of which a man was swinging, suspended by a rope, from the other end another rope was fastened to a horizontal pole below, which was turned by men running round like horses in a mill. The man swung in a circle of perhaps thirty feet diameter, supported by four iron hooks, two through the flesh of his back, and two in that of his chest, by which, and a small bit of cloth across the breast, he was entirely supported: he carried a bag in one hand, from which he threw sweetmeats and flowers to the populace below. Some men swing with four hooks in the back and four on the chest without any cloth, eight hooks being considered sufficient to support the body. The man I saw swinging looked very wild, from the quantity of opium and bengh he had taken to deaden the sense of pain. Bengh is an intoxicating liquor, which is prepared with the leaves of the Gánja plant (Cannabis Indica).

  The Chŭrŭk Pooja

  Hindus of the lower castes are very fond of this amusement, accidental deaths occasioned by it are reckoned about three per cent. Sometimes four men swing together for half an hour; some in penance for their own sins; some for those of others, richer men, who reward their deputies and thus do penance by proxy.

  Khraunchies full of nāch girls were there in all their gaily-coloured dresses and ornaments, as well as a number of respectable men of good caste.

  I was much disgusted, but greatly interested.

  Sentries from the Calcutta militia were stationed round the swings to keep off the crowd.

  CHAPTER IV

  RESIDENCE IN CALCUTTA

  DEBT IS A MAN’S HUSBAND

  i.e. A man in debt is always at the mercy of his creditors, as a woman at her husband’s.

  MAY 1823 – The other evening we went to a party given by Ramohun Roy, a rich Bengali baboo; the grounds, which are extensive, were well illuminated, and excellent fireworks displayed.

  In various rooms of the house nāch girls were dancing and singing. They wear a petticoat measuring, on dit, one hundred yards in width, of fine white or coloured muslin, trimmed with deep borders of gold and silver; full satin trousers cover the feet; the dupatta, or large veil, highly embroidered, is worn over the head, and various ornaments of native jewellery adorn the person.

  They dance, or rather move in a circle, attitudinising and making the small brass bells fastened to their ankles sound in unison with their movements. Several men attended the women, playing on divers curiously-shaped native instruments.

  The style of singing was curious; at times the tones proceeded finely from their noses; some of the airs were very pretty; one of the women was Nickee, the Catalani of the East. Indian jugglers were introduced after supper, who played various tricks, swallowed swords, and breathed out fire and smoke. One man stood on his right foot, and putting his left leg behind his back, hooked his left foot on the top of his right shoulder; just try the attitude pour passer le temps. The house was very handsomely furnished, everything in European style, with the exception of the owner.

  The children of Europeans in India have a pale sickly hue, even when they are in the best of health; very different from the chubby brats of England.

  All the Indian fruits appear very large, and a new comer thinks them inferior in point of flavour to the European; as for the far-famed mangoes, I was disgusted with them, all those to be had at that time in Calcutta being stringy, with a strong taste of turpentine.

  The fort is spacious and handsome, but very hot from the ramparts that surround it. The 44th Queen’s have lost three officers by death, nine more have returned to England on sick certificate, and three hundred of the privates are in hospital; this in six months! The mortality amongst the privates has been dreadful owing, I believe, to the cheapness of spirituous liquors, and exposure to the sun.

  Port or sherry is seldom seen on table during the hot weather; Madeira is not much used; Burgundy, Claret and light French wines are very rationally preferred.

  Where the climate is so oppressive, what are luxuries indeed at home are here necessary to health and existence; to walk is impossible, even the most petty Europe shopkeeper in Calcutta has his buggy, to enable him to drive out in the cool of the evening.

  June 1st – This is the first day of the month; the morning has been very hot, but at this moment the rain is descending as if the windows of heaven were again opened to deluge the earth; the thunder rolls awfully, and the forked lightning is very vivid. I never heard such peals of thunder in Europe. No one here appears to think about it; all the houses have conductors, and as the storm cools the air, it is always welcomed with pleasure by those on shore.

  [ … ]

  Lord Amherst arrived, and we attended a party given to those over whom he has come to reign.

  [ … ]

  At this time we became anxious for an appointment up the country, at a cooler and healthier station than Calcutta, far removed from the damp, low, swampy country of Bengal Proper.

  August 29th – The Governor-General and Lady Amherst are great favourites in Calcutta; the latter renders herself particularly agreeable to her guests at the Government House. The new Governor-General is so economical he has discharged a number of servants, quenched a number of lamps; on dit, he intends to plant potatoes in the park at Barrackpore; people are so unaccustomed to anything of the sort in India, that all this European economy produces considerable surprise.

  It happens that in India, as in other places, they have an absurd custom of demanding a certain portion of the precious metals in exchange for the necessaries and luxuries of life, to procure which, if you have them not, you are forced to borrow from agents, the richest dogs in Calcutta: and why? Because, forsooth, they merely require now eight per cent (formerly ten), added to
which, after your debt reaches a certain amount, they oblige you to ensure your life, and in this ticklish country the rate of insurance is very high.

  In the third place, which to us is the argumentum ad hominem, many and many are the lives that have been sacrificed, because poor miserable invalids have been unable from their debts to leave India. Interest – horrible interest – soon doubles the original sum, and a man is thus obliged to pay the debt three or four times over, and after that he may put by a fortune to support him in his native land.

  Do not suppose I am painting; this is the plain fact, of which almost every month furnishes an example.

  A man on first arrival (a griffin) cannot or will not comprehend that ‘one and one make eleven’.

  September 7th – Since our arrival we have been annoyed with constant robbery in the house. Seventy rupees were stolen one day, and now they have carried off about eighteen silver covers that are used to put over tumblers and wineglasses to keep out the flies; in consequence we have discharged our Ooriah bearers, who we suspect are the thieves, and have taken a set of up-country men.

  October 1st – We have had a singular visitor, Shahzadah Zahangeer Zaman Jamh o Deen Mahomud, Prince of Mysore, the son of Tippoo Sāhib, and one of the two hostages.

  He resides in a house near us, and sent us word he would honour us with a visit. The next morning he called, and sat two hours. He had studied English for twelve months. Seeing a bird in a cage, he said, ‘Pretty bird that, little yellow bird, what you call?’ ‘A canary bird.’ ‘Yes, canary bird, pretty bird, make fine noise, they not grow here.’ In this style we conversed, and I thought my visitor would never depart. I was ignorant of the oriental saying, ‘Coming is voluntary, but departing depends upon permission;’ his politesse made him remain awaiting my permission for his departure, whilst I was doubting if the visit would ever terminate. At last he arose, saying, ‘I take leave now, come gen soon.’ The next day he sent three decanters full of sweetmeats, very like the hats and caps that used to be given me in my childish days, mixed with caraway comfits, and accompanied by this note: ‘Some sweetmeats for Missess — with respectful thanks of P. Jamh o Deen.’ I suppose my visitor Prince Jamh o Deen did not understand the difference between compliments and thanks. I did not comprehend why the sweetmeats had been sent, until I was informed it was the custom of the natives to send some little valueless offering after paying a visit, and that it would be considered an insult to refuse it.

  October 13th – We went to a nāch at the house of a wealthy baboo during the festival of the Doorga Pooja or Dasera, held in honour of the goddess Doorga. The house was a four-sided building, leaving an area in the middle; on one side of the area was the image of the goddess raised on a throne, and some Brahmins were in attendance on the steps of the platform. This image has ten arms, in one of her right hands is a spear with which she pierced a giant, with one of the left she holds the tail of a serpent and the hair of the giant, whose breast the serpent is biting; her other hands are all stretched behind her head, and are filled with different instruments of war. Against her right leg leans a lion, and against her left leg the above giant. In the rooms on one side the area a handsome supper was laid out, in the European style, supplied by Messrs Gunter and Hooper, where ices and French wines were in plenty for the European guests. In the rooms on the other sides of the square, and in the area, were groups of nāch women dancing and singing, and crowds of European and native gentlemen sitting on sofas or on chairs listening to Hindustani airs. ‘The bright half of the month Ashwina, the first of the Hindu lunar year, is peculiarly devoted to Doorga. The first nine nights are allotted to her decoration; on the sixth she is awakened; on the seventh she is invited to a bower formed of the leaves of nine plants, of which the Bilwa (or Bilva, Crataeva Marmelos Linn.) is the chief. The seventh, eighth and ninth are the great days, on the last of which the victims are immolated to her honour, and must be killed by one blow only of a sharp sword or axe. The next day the goddess is reverently dismissed, and her image is cast into the river, which finishes the festival of the Dasera.

  ‘On the fifteenth day, that of the full moon, her devotees pass the night in sports and merriment, and games of various sorts: it is unlucky to sleep; for on this night the fiend Nicumbha led his army against Doorga, and Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity, descended, promising wealth to those who were awake.’ (Moor’s Hindu Pantheon)

  A short time before this festival, the sircārs employed in Calcutta generally return home to enjoy a holiday of some weeks.

  Immense sums are expended by the wealthy baboos during the Doorga Pooja.

  December 2nd – Would you believe that we sit at this time of the year without pankhās, with closed windows, and our floors carpeted! In some houses, fires are adopted. We have not yet come to this, though I occasionally have found it cold enough to desire one. The mornings are delightful, and the nights so colds I sleep under a silk counterpane quilted with cotton, called a rezāi.

  The natives form images in clay; the countenances are excellent; the eyes, eyelids, and lips move remarkably well; they are very brittle; they represent servants, fakīrs, and natives of all castes: the best, perhaps, are to be procured in or near Calcutta. They are attired according to the fashion of the country, and cost from eight annas to one rupee each.

  We are in the midst of our gaieties, balls, plays, and parties, agreeably varied. Our first meeting (the races) is held during this month; for we have our Derby, and Oaks, and Riddlesworth. The Riddlesworth is with us a very interesting race, all the riders being gentlemen, and sometimes ten or twelve horses starting. From the stand, of a clear morning, there is a good view of the horses during the whole of their course.

  We have just received from China two magnificent screens, of eight panels each; they are exceedingly handsome, and keep out the glare by day and the air by night: I think I may say they are magnificent.

  Amongst the ornaments of the household, let Crab the terrier be also mentioned; he is much like unto a tinker’s dog, but is humorous and good-tempered, plays about, chases cats and kills rats, not only in the stable, but house, and serves us in the place of a parvulus Aeneas.

  CHAPTER V

  RESIDENCE IN CALCUTTA

  JANUARY 1824 – The advantages of a residence in Calcutta are these: you are under the eye of the Government, not likely to be overlooked, and are ready for any appointment falling vacant; you get the latest news from England, and have the best medical attendance. On the other hand, you have to pay high house rent; the necessary expenses are great; and the temptations to squander away money in gratifying your fancies more numerous than in the mofussil.

  A friend, now high in the Civil Service, contracted, on his arrival here about eighteen years ago, a debt of Rs 15,000, about £1500 or £1800. Interest was then at twelve per cent. To give security, he insured his life which, with his agent’s commission of one per cent, made the sum total of interest sixteen per cent. After paying the original debt five times, he hoped his agents upon the last payment would not suffer the interest to continue accumulating. He received for answer, ‘that interest never slept, it was awake night and day’; and he is now employed in saving enough to settle the balance.

  I wish much that those who exclaim against our extravagances here knew how essential to a man’s comfort, to his quiet, and to his health it is to have everything good about him – a good house, good furniture, good carriages, good horses, good wine for his friends, good humour; good servants and a good quantity of them, good credit, and a good appointment: they would then be less virulent in their philippics against oriental extravagance.

  January 15th – The Governor-General has a country residence, with a fine park, at Barrackpore; during the races the Calcutta world assembles there; we went over for a week; it was delightful to be again in the country. Lady Amherst rendered the Government House gay with quadrilles and displays of fireworks but I most enjoyed a party we made to see the ruins of an ancient fort, near Cairipoor,
belonging to the Rajah of Burdwan, about five miles from Barrackpore, and thought them beautiful.

  The road was very bad, therefore I quitted the buggy and mounted an elephant for the first time, feeling half-frightened but very much pleased. I ascended by a ladder placed against the side of the kneeling elephant; when he rose up, it was like a house making unto itself legs and walking therewith.

  We went straight across the country, over hedges and ditches, and through the cultivated fields, the elephant with his great feet crushing down the corn, which certainly did not ‘rise elastic from his airy tread.’ The fields are divided by ridges of earth like those in salterns at home; these ridges are narrow, and in general, to prevent injury to the crops, the mahout guides the elephant along the ridge: it is curious to observe how firmly he treads on the narrow raised path.

  By the side of the road was a remarkable object: ‘The appearance of a fakīr is his petition in itself.’ In a small hole in the earth lay a fakīr, or religious mendicant; the fragment of a straw mat was over him, and a bit of cloth covered his loins. He was very ill and quite helpless, the most worn emaciated being I ever beheld; he had lain in that hole day and night for five years and refused to live in a village, his only comfort, a small fire of charcoal, was kindled near his head during the night. Having been forcibly deprived of the property he possessed in the upper provinces, he came to Calcutta to seek redress, but being unsuccessful he had, in despair, betaken himself to that hole in the earth. An old woman was kindling the fire; it is a marvel the jackals do not put an end to his misery. The natives say, ‘It is his pleasure to be there, what can we do?’ and they pass on with their usual indifference: the hole was just big enough for his body, in a cold swampy soil.