A Popular Account of the Manners and Customs of India

January 2, 1843

NATIVE LEGEND

Yesterday was New Year's day. I have just heard the origin of these hills, and will put it down while I remember it. The story is from one of the natives here.

"Many, many years ago there lived a giant in Ceylon, and this giant fell in love with the daughter of another giant at Lucknow, in Bengal, so he asked her father to let him marry her. But he said No, as the other lived in a little island, and was no real gentleman at all. Upon this Master Ceylon determined that, as her father said No, he would take her without leave, and off he started, seized the young lady, put her on his shoulders, and carried her across to Ceylon. But when the papa found that his daughter was gone, he got into a tremendous rage, and determined to go and punish the Ceyloney. So off he hurried, until he came to the straits which separate the island from the mainland. But when he tried to cross over, he found that he was not quite so tall as the Ceylonese gentleman by a few hundred yards, and that the water was too deep for him. So he stood still, and he scratched his head and wiped his forehead with his handkerchief, and thought and pondered what he should do to get across and punish the wicked thief. At last an idea struck him, and he trotted back all up India until he reached the Himalaya mountains, and, snatching up two of the largest of them, one in each hand, threw them into the straits, and thus made them shallow enough for him to pass over. But as he went along some of the rocks and earth slipped through his fingers, for you may suppose his hands were rather full; and the chains of hills which extend from Balasore for nearly three hundred miles are the pieces which he dropped as he went along." The tale does not inform us whether the giant's daughter was restored to him.

NESTS OF WHITE ANTS

I have not been up the hills to-day, because some of the party were frightened at the number of bears and tigers which are said to be there; but I am in hopes we shall go in a few days. I have been looking about me a good deal lately, and have noticed one very curious thing. The ground for five or six miles from our house in one direction seems to be covered with mounds of earth and small bushes; on examining these closely, however, I find they are all the nests of white ants. The green ones are those that are deserted, and over which the grass has grown – the others are still inhabited. In the plain visible from my window there must be many hundreds of thousands of these hills, varying in height from three feet to ten or twelve, and many of them six feet in diameter; and all of these are formed by little insects no larger than the common English ant. One part of their manner of building is most extraordinary: their nests are always completely covered in, so that without kicking them you cannot see a single ant inside; there are one or two doors in different parts of the building, but they are seldom used.

Their mode of building is as follows: – One day, perhaps, you will perceive a single pinnacle of an ants' nest. You go and see it one day, and you find it slightly raised, but curved, like a headstone. So it increases daily until it reaches the size I have described. It is like a man building a house – as if he made a little closet with a roof on it, and then went inside and stayed there, while the closet swelled and swelled until it became a perfect house. At the foot of these ant-hills are a number of large black ants on the watch for any straggling white ants, which they kill and eat. These creatures abound in all our houses, and run about the floors: they are about an inch in length, and bite, but do not sting.

January 3

MODE OF TRAVELLING

I ought to give you some account of our voyage to this place. We quitted Midnapore, after a hard week's packing, at nine o'clock on Tuesday evening, December 27th. On the Monday we went to dine and sleep at the house of the Captain of Engineers, because our own was in such a condition from packing; and after dinner on Tuesday at nine o'clock we entered our horrible palanquin. I flatter myself that most of the people at Midnapore were very sorry when we left. We had sixteen men to carry us, two mussalchees, or men who carry mussals (torches made of long strips of cotton bound tightly together and dipped in oil), and two banghy-bearers, to carry each two tin boxes with our clothes in them.

We soon got clear of the station of Midnapore, and then the scene became most wild and romantic – a narrow road, bounded on each side by an interminable jungle, or plain covered with low bushes so thickly matted together as to afford only passage to the deadly cobra, the snarling jackal, and the ravenous tiger. On the road our own palanquins, one a hundred yards in front of the other, carried by black men with merely a cloth round their loins, the red glaring torches showing the others who ran swiftly by their side, the banghy-bearers trying to keep up with us, and all keeping up a loud monotonous sing-song tune, which was varied occasionally by the shrill cry of the jackal, the grinning snarl of the hyæna, or in the distance the deeper roar of the tiger in search of his prey – and yet in the midst of all this we both slept well, awakened only occasionally by the plashing of the men through the fords of the river or the stopping at a village to change bearers.

JELASORE

In the latter case we were not detained an instant, the fresh relays being in attendance with as much patience and regularity as if they were horses waiting for a coach. Thus we travelled on without interruption until we reached Danton, called Dantoon. This was about nine o'clock in the morning. At this place there is a dâk-bungalow – that is, a bungalow, or thatched house, built by Government for the accommodation of travellers. In Turkey it would be called a caravanserai. Here there is a man with fire and water, but the traveller brings his own provisions, wine, tea, bread, &c., in his palanquin, though he can generally get eggs. We stayed here about two hours, and had some tea, eggs, and biscuits, and no one who has not experienced it can have any idea of the comfort of a short rest after a night of dâk travelling. Although you lie down in the palanquin, yet every limb gets cramped, and the incessant jolting is most painful to the bones, even of one so fat as I am, and I have increased sadly in bulk since I came to India. Off we started again a little before eleven, and at about one we reached the house of an Indigo-planter at Jelasore. I never saw him before, but he received us most hospitably. His wife was rejoiced to see us – she had not seen a European lady for seventeen months, for their nearest neighbours live at a distance of forty miles, or about twelve hours' journey. Here we spent a most agreeable day, delighted with everything. In the evening I took a walk with our kind host to see an old fort.

It must have been once very strong, and was probably built by the Mahrattas as a depôt for plunder when they overran this part of the country. In the inner court is a three-domed building, resembling, except in ornament, a mosque. The walls are several feet thick, built of hard stone strongly clamped together with iron. High up in the interior of the centre dome are four niches, which I hope to explore on some future occasion. The inner enclosure is surrounded by a strong stone wall and a deep moat now dry. Beyond this is a level space of a few yards in width, and then again, in another part of the wall, there are signs of a narrow sallyport, and opposite to this, between the trenches, as if it might have been reached by a drawbridge, is a very high mound of earth. Over the sallyport there has evidently been a strong tower, and above the central entrance into the interior building is a stone with an inscription. It appears very perfect, but no one can read it; it is neither Ooriah, Hindustanee, Sanscrit, nor Persian. I have called this a Mahratta fort, because that is the general opinion amongst Europeans. I myself doubt it, and from its age and appearance think it much more likely that it was erected by the Moguls when they first invaded the country; how I wished, as I stood there, that I could have seen it as it was in former ages, with its garrison, and its horsemen, and its despotic governor. The next time I go I shall provide myself with some paper covered with charcoal, and try to take an impression of the inscription. We were in some fear, during our examination, lest we should be interrupted by the natives, as they have very recently got the idea that it was once inhabited by one of their gods, and therefore consider it a sacred place. I fancied, as well as the darkness would allow me to see, that far back in one of the niches I could dimly perceive a coloured statue of a female. Before we went to see this ruin my kind host took me into his garden to show me the India-rubber tree. We scraped the bark with a piece of rough glass, and a white sticky juice oozed out; this we took between our fingers and squeezed until it became a sort of brown gluey substance. In this state it is used by the native hunters as birdlime. After being exposed to the air for some time it gradually hardens and becomes what we call India-rubber. A large part of this garden was planted with arrow-root.

ATTACK BY A TIGER

At half-past eight we again entered the palanquin, and started for Balasore, where we arrived at half-past seven the next morning, and were set down at the Circuit-house – a large house belonging to Government, and kept for the convenience of officers, including the chaplain, who have to travel the district every year. I can conceive nothing more wild than the dâk travelling; but I have described it all, except that in each palanquin we carry a brace of loaded pistols. I will relate an instance, and a very remarkable one, of the advantage of carrying loaded pistols in this country. Major M., now the second in command at Midnapore, was one day out with some friends, sitting quietly under the shade of a bank, when suddenly a tiger sprang out of a jungle, seized the Major by the leg, threw him over his shoulders, and trotted off with him. The Major's companions raised a loud shout; but the beast was hungry, and did not choose to be frightened from his meal. The Major, however, fortunately had a brace of loaded pistols in his belt; he pulled out one, and fired it at the head of the tiger as it carried him off. It flashed in the pan; and almost in despair he seized the other, and shot the tiger dead on the spot. The only injury the Major received was a broken and lacerated leg, which has rendered him in some measure a cripple ever since. This story I know to be true, both from the Major himself and from those who were with him.

A HUNGRY BEAR

A small party went out for a day's pleasure a little while ago from Midnapore. They went to the Ghape, a most beautiful spot at about five miles' distance. After rambling about they went into an old house which is there, with an excellent appetite for dinner. The "cook-room" was about a hundred yards from the house. They waited and waited, and no dinner came; so at last one of the gentlemen went to see the cause of the delay, when lo! as if watching for the dinner, there was an enormous black bear sitting half-way between the house and the cook-room. They shouted, and tried to drive him away; but no, master Bruin only growled; he did not see why he should not have something to eat. None of the party had guns; and they say that they were kept waiting five hours without their dinner before the beast's patience was exhausted and he stalked off. We were, as I before said, set down at the "Circuit-house." This I expected to have found tolerably furnished; but, alas! when we went in, we found nothing but one mat, three tables, and two chairs. We then had the palanquins taken into a bed-room, and determined to make ourselves as comfortable as we could. I then went out to make calls – for in India the new comers call upon the old residents, reversing the English custom. This did not take me long, as the whole station consists of the magistrate and his wife, the excise-officer and his daughter, the postmaster, doctor, and deputy-magistrate.

At night we slept as well as we could in the palanquins, but were kept awake the greater part of the time by the mosquitoes, and the next morning our hands and faces were most beautifully spotted over with their bites. On this the second day one or two people called; and when the excise-officer and his daughter came in, the deficiency in furniture was at once made manifest. There were Mr. and Miss B., Mrs. Acland, and I, with only two chairs amongst us, and these, like all the chairs in India, were arm-chairs, so that we could not even manage by sitting two on one chair; so Miss B. and my wife had the two chairs, and Mr. B. and I sat upon the table – rather a high one it was – so that our feet dangled about half-way between our seat and the floor. However, there was one great advantage in this evidence of poverty, for Mr. B., as soon as he got home, sent us a large bedstead, some chairs, and other things necessary to make us comfortable.

PALANQUIN-BEARERS' SONGS

I ought to mention the chant of the palanquin-bearers; though they keep to the same sing-song tune, yet they generally invent the words as they go along. I will give a sample, as well as I could make it out, of what my bearers sang the other night; I have tried to render their words as nearly as I could into English, so as to preserve the metre. The poetry must be improved. A palkee means a palanquin: it is the Hindustanee word, though one also generally used in conversation. Each line is sung in a different voice; in the following, for instance, the first line would be sung in the usual voice, the second very high, the third in a sort of gruff tone: —

"Oh, what a heavy bag!No; it's an elephant:He is an awful weight.Let's throw his palkee down —Let's set him in the mud —Let's leave him to his fate.No, for he'll be angry then;Ay, and he will beat us thenWith a thick stick.Then let's make haste and get along,Jump along quick."

And then, suiting the action to the word, off they set in a nasty jog-trot which rattled every bone in my body, keeping chorus all the time of "jump along quick, jump along quick," until they were obliged to stop for laughing. The second sample is from the men who carried Mrs. Acland, and is in quite a different metre. I must tell you that "cubbadar" means "take care," and "baba" (pronounced "barba") means "young lady: " —

1"She's not heavy,Cubbadar!Little baba,Cubbadar!Carry her swiftly,Cubbadar!Pretty baba,Cubbadar!Cubbadar!Cubbadar!2"Trim the torches,Cubbadar!For the road's rough,Cubbadar!Here the bridge is,Cubbadar!Pass it swiftly,Cubbadar!Cubbadar!Cubbadar!3"Carry her gently,Cubbadar!Little baba,Cubbadar!Sing so cheerily,Cubbadar!Pretty baba,Cubbadar!Cubbadar!Cubbadar!"

At this place very little wood is to be found – not enough for the people to use for their fires during what is called the cold weather. The women accordingly go out, and instead of gathering wood they pick up cowdung. This they knead into flat round cakes about the size of pancakes, dry them in the sun, and they burn almost as well as the turf or peat which is used in England, though it is a great nuisance, for the thick smoke it emits has a very unpleasant smell.

The other day we saw a most beautiful sight on the nearer hills. Some of the jungle (or wild) men had set fire to the grass and bushes on the side. The fire spread, shooting rapidly from one part to another, and as it was late in the evening it produced a most magnificent scene. The object in doing this was to get rid of the snakes, bears, and tigers, in order that the people might go and cut down the few large trees that grew on the hill.

Last night, as my wife and I were having a game of casino, we heard a low growl in the compound, and directly afterwards a screaming amongst the fowls, and a hallooing of the servants (we carry fowls wherever we go, or we should be almost starved); the only words I could distinguish were "Bargh! bargh!" A tiger! a tiger! I jumped up; but on examination it proved to be a false alarm. It was only a large wild animal, something resembling our fox, only with shorter legs and longer body, which had attacked the fowls; and I had not so much presence of mind as the Major I told you of, for when I ran out into the compound to see what was the matter I quite forgot to take my pistols, so the thief got safely off; but I have now secured my fowls more effectually.

Just before we left Midnapore, a large flock of birds, flying in regular order, amounting, I should think, to several thousands, passed over the place. They made a great noise, and I thought they were wild geese; but I hear they were a bird called the cyris, which stands about five feet high, and is not a water-bird.

INDIAN SCAVENGERS

I was much amused this afternoon whilst I was sitting in the verandah with watching the crows. I think I have described them to you. They are very like the carrion-crow in England, but rather smaller. There is a law which imposes a heavy fine upon any one who kills them; this is very right, for they carry away a quantity of refuse and filth which would otherwise putrefy and cause disease; but the consequence is, that they are more numerous and more impudent than the sparrows in England. I threw out the bones of a fowl we had had for dinner; presently about fifty crows came down within a few feet of me, and began to peck away; every now and then a bird, which people here call a kite, would swoop down, and send all the crows cawing away. As soon as it rose, down came the crows again; presently one of them flew away with a large bone in his beak; the kite saw it, and was off in pursuit. Backwards and forwards, up and down the poor crow dodged, but its pursuer followed it, and had nearly reached it, when the pursued thought it best to drop the bone. The sharp eye of the kite perceived this, and, although he was some distance above at the time, yet he made a dart down and caught the bone in his mouth before it had reached the ground. I have lately seen some kites like the others in all respects, except that the body and head are white, the wings being still brown; these are rather larger than the others.

Every sort of filth here is thrown out into the fields, and in a very few hours the jackals and crows clear it away, assisted by the pariah dogs. These are the only scavengers in the country.

The rain began on the 24th of December, and we had occasional showers for two days; but every one is disappointed by the season. Instead of having nice cool weather in January, the hot weather has completely set in, although it does not in general begin before the middle of February. The thermometer in the shade is at this moment above 80°, although this is considered a cool place.

For my dinner yesterday I had some peacock-cutlets, which the surgeon of the station had sent me.

Cuttack, February 2, 1843

JOURNEY TO CUTTACK

I must return now, and give you some account of how we started for this place from Balasore. On Sunday the 8th of January we had service in the morning; and at four in the afternoon we entered our palkees to proceed to Cuttack, a distance of 103 miles.

Throughout the journey not a single European is to be met with, but the traveller is entirely in the power of the natives, excepting such assistance as he can derive from his pistols and a thick stick. The danger however is not great. The Ooriahs, as well as the Bengalese, are a small and cowardly race; so much so, indeed, that the East India Company will not allow them to be enlisted as soldiers. A Bengalee of five feet six is quite a tall man, and in shape he is as delicate and effeminate as a European lady.

We jogged on most merrily until about half-past five the next morning, when I was awakened by hearing "Sahib, Sahib;" to which I sleepily answered by inquiring what my servant wanted. He told me we were arrived at Barripore, about fifty miles from Balasore, and they wanted to know whether I meant to go to the dâk-bungalow. I said Yes: for we had determined to remain at Barripore all day, as it is not safe to travel in the sun even in January. To the bungalow we accordingly went; where we eat, drank, and read books which we had brought with us, and amused ourselves as well as we could, until four in the afternoon, when off we started again. I only remember one adventure which happened there. My wife wanted to wash her hands, and took up a "gomlah" to pour out some water; suddenly she cried out that she was stung. I ran to see what it was, and, examining the gomlah, found she had been bitten by a hornet. In comparison with other insects the sting of this creature is an object of very little dread. Her hand, however, swelled a little, and for three or four hours she suffered a good deal of pain all up her arm, but still it was fortunately only a hornet. At four o'clock in the afternoon we again started, and arrived at our own house in Cuttack at about eight the next morning.

It is customary at the end of each stage to make the palkees a present of four annas (or sixpence) for each palkee. During one of the stages between Barripore and Cuttack the men did not go so quickly as I thought they should have done; so when we changed men I only gave them four annas for the two palkees, telling them why I did so. The consequence was, that during the next stage the men not only went much faster, but invented a new song, the whole burthen of which was, "He has only given them four annas because they went so slowly! Let us make haste and go along quickly, and then we shall get eight annas and have a good supper."

FRUIT-TREES

My house here belongs to Government, and I am in great hope they will allow me to occupy it free of rent; it is the best in the cantonment, the compound contains about twenty acres, and there are in it several beautiful clumps of trees. In front of the house is a fine group of cedars; in one part is a hill, on the top of which are several trees: I do not yet know their names, but their foliage is of a bright green, more bright than any ever seen in England. We have an orchard containing mangoes, custard-apples, waunpearls, mulberries, guavas, &c. &c., with one chur-tree – that is, the true India-rubber tree, and, I believe, the only one in this part of India; that at Jelasore is a very inferior sort.

ALLIGATORS

We have a grand house in the compound, and have, besides, a flower-garden with orange and lemon trees, &c. A river three miles broad flows near, and a ghaut, or landing-place, for pilgrims proceeding to Juggernat'h, a Hindu holy temple. We can see in the distance a range of hills, rising abruptly from the other side of the river, which are a continuation of those at Balasore. On the sands are storks, wild-geese, and all sorts of aquatic birds; even all the tanks here abound with alligators. The other day one of the officers was returning home from mess; it was dark, and in his compound he fell over something which proved to be a large alligator, making its way from the river to a tank, probably with a view of there depositing her eggs. About three weeks ago a poor woman went to fetch water from one of these places, on the surface of which were weeds; she was engaged in clearing a space with her hands, when one of these animals, with its jaws open, caught her arm and stripped off all the flesh below the elbow. She was compelled to have her arm amputated.

HUMAN REMAINS

I saw to-day a large hyæna gliding across the compound. I suppose he smelt some dead body on the beach. The Juggernat'h pilgrims come from very great distances, and many die on the road. In my compound alone, if I were to collect the skulls, bones, &c., I think I could make up eight or ten human skeletons. The other evening one of my servants came to me, and said, "If you please, sir, there is a dead pilgrim in the compound, and the matee wants to know if he shall throw it away;" – that is, throw it down on the bank for the jackals, &c. I would not let him do this, but sent notice to the commanding officer, who sent for the body, and, I suppose, threw it away. About two hours after this my wife was gone to bed, and I was sitting reading, when I felt something on my foot; I examined, and in my stocking found a large centipede. I contrived to kill him without being stung.

The Government allow me a guard of soldiers; and a sentry, with musket and bayonet, parades up and down the front verandah; they also allow three servants for the use of the church. The soldiers present arms to me and salute; and when any one comes at night, they call out, "Hookum dar?" to which the answer is "Exprin: " these phrases are corruptions of the English. The church is very nicely fitted up; there is a door leading into it from my study, which serves on Sundays as a vestry. The greatest inconvenience here – as in all the churches in India – consists in the punkahs. Over the pulpit, altar, and reading-desk are three small punkahs, and over the body of the building three very large ones, extending over the whole breadth. These are kept constantly in motion, and they sadly intercept the voice of whoever is preaching. The house, being a bungalow, has, of course, only the ground-floor; the roof is a thick thatch, extending over the verandahs, which in England would be called porticoes, and these are supported on thick white columns. The ceilings in a bungalow are nothing but large sheets of canvass whitewashed. As in India people are glad to keep all the doors within the house open, there is placed between the different rooms a framework covered with crimson or green silk, which the natives call a half-door. The beds are nine or ten feet wide, with short posts, on which you may hang mosquito-curtains, which are a sort of large sacks made of gauze, without any opening. They are supported on the posts and tucked in closely all round, so as to prevent the mosquitoes from stinging the people in bed; the only covering, generally, is a sheet, and the gentleman's sleeping-dress is a flannel jacket and a pair of calico drawers with feet to them, to keep off the mosquitoes if they should by chance get inside the curtains. Some people also throw a gauze over the face for the same purpose. There are no feather-beds, but the mattresses are generally stuffed with the fibres from the outside rind of the cocoa-nut, called "coir.". The usual plan is to leave the glass doors (French windows you would call them) all open, but to shut the Venetian blinds, and to have a punkah over your head going all night. At about six in the morning all the glass doors are closed, and kept shut all day to exclude the hot air. If, however, there should be any wind, one of them is opened and a tattie hung up in its place; the tattie is a thick mat the size of the doorway, made of the sweet-scented cuscus-grass; this is kept constantly wetted on the outside.