The Prince of Wales in India; or, from Pall Mall to the Punjaub

Front matter

THE PRINCE OE WALES IN INDIA. HUNTER, ROSE & Co., PRINTERS AND BINDERS, TORONTO. RHINOCEROS FIQIIT THE PRINCE OF WALES IN INDIA ; OH, From Pall Mall to the Punjaul). BY J. DREW GAT, Special Correspondent ofthe London "Daily Telegraph." TORONTO : SBLFORD BROTHERS, Publishers. MDCCCLXXVII. Entered according to Act of Parliament of Canada, in the year 1876, by BELFORD BROTHERS, In the Office of the Minister of Agriculture. CONTENTS CHATTER. PAGE, I. — First Impressions of Bombay 9 II. — Social Life in Bombay 19 III. — Receptions of Rajahs 29 IV. — The arrival of the Prince 45 V.— Royal Fetes 54 VI.— Life in Poona 73 VII. — Games and Sports at Baroda 82 VIII.— The Voyage to Ceylon 99 IX. — Cingalese Fairy Land 113 X. — Kandyan Curiosities 119 XL— The Veddahs of Ceylon 132 XII.- The Sacred Tooth 137 XIII.— A Week in Madras 142 XIV. — Indian Amusements 164 XV.— The Prince in Bengal 171 XVI.— A Sunday in Calcutta 179 XVII. — Polo Playing and Snake Charming . . . . 185 XVIII.— A Captive King 194 XIX.— Life in Calcutta 200 XX.— Knight-Making 208 XXL— The Sacred City of Benares 218 XXII.— A Levee of the Brave 225 XXIII. — A Review of Delhi 240 XXIV.— The Battle on the Ridge 249 XXV.— Feats of Skill and Strength 257 XXVI. — Jummoo the Magnificent CONTENTS. •JIIAPTER.

PAO& XXVIL— Sports in Cashmere 272 XXVIIL— Akbar's Capital 281 XXIX.— A Tomb and a Tower 287 XXX.— Native Courts and Prisons . . 297 XXXI. — An Eastern Paris _. .. 305 XXXII. — Tiger Shooting and a Durbar 317 XXXIIL— Scindia's Welcome 326 XXXIV.— Scenes in Gwalior 336 XXXV.— Hunting in the Jungle 345 XXXVL— Allahabad and its Sights 350 XXXVIL— English Life in th*. Hills ILLUSTRATIONS. A Rhinoceros Fight Frontispiece. The Ascent to the Temple of Parbutte, near Poona 77 An Elephant Fight in the arena, near Baroda 87 A Captive Tiger led before the Prince, after the Sports in ) ql the arena, at Baroda J Buddhist Priests exhibiting Buddha's Tooth to the Prince, ) ■.„,- at Kandy \ Native Princes at the Chapter of the Star of India, Calcutta 177 The Monkey Temple at Benares 223 Hunting in the Terai — crossing a Mullah . .

THE PRINCE OF WALES IN INDIA. CHAPTEP I FIRST IMPBESSIOJfS OF BOMBAY. It was a bright, autumn morning when we landed in India* — bright not in the sense t.h.at you In Koubmd uncteorat&nd bright ness, but with a gleam and a heat which you only aSSOti&gto will] the midday ulure of a hot. summerllAy, ami not ;it all tiat calmness of an English autumn. Nothing could be |>li :i .n,,. i to all of us, heartily tired as we were of the sea and its belong ings, than ,»t length todagerj 1 the loug lineof hills whiJi Kohl of proximity to Bombay llml wenot had blje iacd&tiTe t" satiii'ai'tion which a tfnee weekB 1 voyii^e engendered, the pro spect which presented iuelf, as t l>e ihip nejored ahgtjg, would nj itsrlf have been suthrii.-mhdeltglitAil. Only live mitlutflfl *gO, end tlie sky was btilii.uulv lit nith st^rs; now tin.' siin's ray» wei'e shooting up in the east I.i-Lui.l tie grej ffiotxalAtn di-iviui; uii;ht away with sianliiijj upiility Lik>' a bv , > taiua Bombay rose before us.

Chapter II. Social Life In Bombay

Early in the evening a few days afterwards I found myself a guest of one of the most influential Mohammedans in Bombay. The invited were not numerous, for the notice was short ; but, in place of great formality, there was hearty hospitality. It was my first introduction to the private house of a Moham medan in India, and it was with no small amount of curiosity that I regarded all about me. The carriage-drive through the grounds was simply superb ; such foliage as we have no conception of in Europe made a thick green arch, down which the light streamed from the windows of the mansion. Sounds of music, too, fell upon the ear ; and at the far end of the avenue, close to the door, stood a crowd of servitors gaily dressed, holding lamps in their hands, and receiving the guests with low salaams.

Once arrived in the reception-hall, the spectacle was even more novel. All round the apartment were velvet couches, with comfortable pillows, on which guests were comfortably reclining. Servants were moving swiftly about, handing iced water, sherbets, cheroots, and hookahs : at one end of the apartment was a mellow-toned, mechanical organ, which played English airs very prettily and very softly, while through a doorway, partially covered with a curtain, we could see into the interior of another saloon, and there descry a party of singing girls and instrumentalists. Just then our host, followed by the males of his household, entered the reception-hall, and gave to everybody a welcome ; then, taking one of our party by the hand, he led him through the curtain, and so into the inner room of which we had just had a glimpse, while the rest were led in like manner by the members of his family.

In this apartment, we now found, two girls were seated on cushions placed on the floor, accompanied by four male musicians, one ot whom played a small description of kettledrum attached to his waistband, two having instruments somewhat similar to a hurdy-gurdy in their hands, while the fourth had a tambourine. I do not trouble you with the native names of these instruments, as the mere concurrence of letters would convey no idea to the mind. So soon as everybody was seated, some on couches and some on cushions, a signal was given by the host, the girls and musicians stood up, and at once began. I had been previously told that these were two of the best singing girls in Bombay, and that, in fact, they sang almost as well as the best male singers, which it appeared was a tremendous compliment to pay them.

Imagine my astonishment, then, when I found that in singing they absolutely closed the nose from all participation in the sound, thus giving to the music what we very erroneously call a "nasal" sound ofthe most extraordinary description. Yet when the ear once became accustomed to the strange thumping of the drum, the harsh noises drawn by the bows of the players from the hurdy-gurdies, the shaking ofthe tambourine, and the jingling of little bells which the girls wore on their ankles and wrists, it was, after all, by no means an unpleasant sound. Indeed, the song was plaintive, pitched in a minor key, and often sung very softly ; the instruments, albeit that they were apparently somewhat rudely constructed, maintaining all the while a weird, moving sound, which harmonised with the sink ing and sustained the voices.

Every now and then the girls who were very richly dressed in scarlet and gold, whose heads were covered with gauze of gold thread, and whose long dresses were of plaid, also heavily trimmed with golden lace, would dance slowly, continuing their singing meanwhile. Then one would leave off, and the other would begin a slow movement, which though very graceful, doubtless was somewhat monotonous-;. Occasionally one ofthe men behind — a very accomplished singer, I believe, but certainly the owner of one of the most hideous faces I had ever seen — would catch up the refrain, and shout out, in the same nasal tone, a verse or two of the song, where upon the girls would both shuffle about a little — I can scarcely call their movements dancing — and the man with the drum would thump away with increased energy.

This, then, was the terrible nautch dance of which we had heard so much in England. But perhaps the reader will say that the songs were objectionable. To this I can reply that the most uproarious and most mirthful one that we heard that evening was the Persian song, " Tazah ba tazah, nu ba nu " (Fresh and fresh, new and new), a pleasant chant, in which the hearer is recommended to apply the principles of fresh and new to all he does, whether in drinking wine, making friends, or making love. Rather did the singing incline one to melancholia, particularly when the possessor of the objectionable countenance shouted out, and the drum was beaten more violently than usual. Still, there was no doubt that the Mohammedans — staid old gentlemen, smoking their pipes and cheroots, and occasion ally sipping coffee or iced water — enjoyed it thoroughly, and that the entertainment was looked upon as exceptionally lively, and, indeed, as almost a gala performance.

And when, now and then, the girls lifted up the ends of their veils, and disclosed fully to view their by no means handsome faces, this digression from ordinary usage was evidently regarded as a mark of great complacency, and was appreciated accordingly. At length we intimated our desire to depart ; whereupon our host, after some little remonstrance at our inconsiderate haste — we had only listened to the monotonous dirge for two hours — made a sign to the bearer of atter and pan ; whereupon two men came up, one carrying a basket of flowers in his hand and the other a tray of betel-nuts and pan-leaves, and in a few moments we were sitting with garlands of richly-perfumed blossoms around our necks, and huge bouquets in our hands ; while the host sprinkled us with scent, presented us with two bottles of otto of roses apiece, a leaf of pan and betel-nut, and the customary spoonful of scented liquid called attar.

Then, with many bows, we were led to the door, and so dismissed. Next morning, at a very early hour, I started, in company with Mr. Arthur Crawford, several years the Municipal Com missioner of Bombay, and now political agent, collector, and magistrate with the Hubshee, to look at the Grand Bombay Markets, which were erected by him, and are still called by his name. To see them in their full swing it was necessary to go there betimes ; for, as in Covent Garden the produce is received at a very early hour, so here, as well as there, it is sold quickly, and the dealers disappear. A somewhat lengthy drive brought us to the outside of the building, a large and stately edifice, covering a wide expanse of ground, and boasting a verdant quadrangle and a fountain such as we have not anywhere in England.

On the outside was the name of Arthur Crawford, " writ large ;" and no sooner did the good people of the market descry their benefactor, than, with great show of respect and even affection, they made a path for him through the hundreds of buyers who were already at the stalls. I have called Mr. Crawford a benefactor, not because he spent his own money, but because in six or seven years he disbursed more than three millions sterling of the public funds in sanitary and public works, and because, as a result, Bombay possesses a finer market than London, is cleaner than any Eastern city I have yet seen, has its abattoirs far from inhabited places, and is one of the best administered under our rule in the East. Would that I could present these " bazaars " to your eyes as they appeared a few mornings since !

A magnificent, double, iron roof, covering fifty-six thousand square feet of space. supported on tastefully-designed, iron columns, and pleasantly decorated ; beneath it hundreds of stalls, displaying everything edible that Bombay can boast for sale. Four thoroughfares were apportioned to the sale of fruit alone ; and as we passed between these lines of admirably-arranged stalls, we found Mussulman and Hindoo salesmen squatting upon cushions in the centre of oranges, plantains, pummelos, melons, nectarines, guavas, and apples. I never saw half such a supply of rich, juicy fruit heaped together before. Piles of rosy pomegranates, luscious apples, shaddocks, peaches, and pistachio nuts, all were there. They were displayed in pyramids, in circles, in squares, with rich, green leaves between them, so that it would be well nigh impossible to pass on and buy nothing.

And then, leaving these, we came upon the flower market, with its jessamines, verbenas, roses, and tropical blossoms of a hundred kinds. Flowers had been precious lately in Bombay — doubly so because of the demand consequent on the fetes and their scarcity in the Presidency itself at this time ofthe year — and round the women and men who made the garlands stood a clamouring, heated crowd. Yet, as we went along, bouquets of exquisite loveliness were offered us, and were pressed upon our acceptance. The air was laden with the delicious perfume of these Eastern flowers, and the seven thousand square feet of blossoms presented a sight to which our European eyes were wholly unused. But, if these were delightful to the vision, the vegetables and spices which covered thirty-five thousand square feet of stalls were more practical.

All kinds of " herbs for the use of man," all sorts of pleasant accompaniments for meat or ingredients for soup, every variety of tuber or edible grass were here. These, also, were stacked with marvellously good taste ; round them the natives swarmed with baskets and cloths, while in charge of them were merchants in most picturesque costume, who laboured hard to be rid of their wares, and to quit the market. Then there were stalls for the sale of tobacco, for the vending of spices, for the serving of butter — on green leaves again — and the distribution of flour and bread. Round the sides of the market were shops, moreover, in which were retailed European goods and Chinese produce, so that in this great hive of commerce all, save meat and fish, could be procured, even to articles of clothing and ornamentation.

Indeed, had we been devotionally inclined, a gentleman was ready to sell us for three-halfpence an offering of incense to the gods, a present, and four kinds of paint where with to decorate our foreheads, and give ourselves a very religious appearance. Crossing the square in the centre of the market-place, we now came upon the stalls in which beef is sold — the abomina tion of the Hindoo, but the delight of Englishman and Mussul man. And as to see a slaughtered ox is an offence to the Hindoo, we found screens put up at the . doorways, so that passing religionists should not be troubled by the sight of a piece of beef. Only Mussulmans kept the stalls in this market, and they were surrounded only by Mussulmans or Europeans, while over every stall was the name of its owner in English and Hindustani characters.

So, too, mainly in the market where mutton is sold, there were nearly all followers of the Prophet, it being a tenet qf Brahminism that the destruction of life is a sin. But, if the inspection of the market was instructive as show ing what individual effort and energy could realize, the sights which followed were not less amusing. I have said the day was yet young when we started on our tour ; those who know India will be aware that this was just the time for visiting a Hindoo temple. Thus it was that on our turning through a somewhat narrow doorway we found ourselves in a huge court yard, crowded with people. On the immediate right was a tree, under the shade of which sat a number of " holy men." With the Hindoos holiness and dirtiness are almost synony mous, and certainly these were the worst-washed men I ever saw.

With the contents of a great pot of ashes they had besmeared not only their countenances, but the whole of their bodies ; with big pieces of rope they had tied their already matted hair into knots, and thus heightened their natural ugliness. They had used red and yellow paint wherever those pigments would serve to render them less attractive in appearance, and they had squatted down in a puddle of very holy mud, and were just then eating the offerings of the faithful. Yet they were apparently greatly revered and beloved. There was a tender-hearted, old gentleman, with a great basket of sweet meats and cakes, .giving them all a good breakfast when we entered. The copper cans which lay about on the ground near the puddle were full of annas and pice ; they even had a good supply of pan and betel-nut ; and, as though holiness with con tentment were great gain, they were as stout as they were godly.

I gave the most sacred among them two annas, whereupon he rolled a leaf of pan and offered it to me, and, when I declined the tempting morsel, placed it in his own mouth, tinkled a httle bell, put his hands to his face and uttered a prayerful groan, and then sat down in the mud once more and looked happy. I should say, at a rough guess, that the holiness on that man was a quarter of an inch thick. I have mentioned the tinkling of a bell ; there were a good many bells tinkling just then; for on the side of the entrance opposite that in which the holy men sat was the Temple of Mombadevi. In front of the temple doors were a large num ber of pigeons — some hundreds I should suppose — as fat, as well cared for, and quite as tame as the pigeons of the Piazza di San Marco in Venice, and as sacred as the gentlemen in the mud puddle ; also five or six sacred buffaloes, a dozen sacred goats, two very sacred but apparently very mischievous monkeys, and a sacred donkey.

On the steps of the temple the people congregated, going in, first to one shrine and pray ing, and then to another. When they had prayed satisfac torily and given an offering to a deity, they rang a bell which hung suspended in front of the shrine, and went away quite pleased. I noticed two things of interest, the first being that at one shrine they were worshipping a picture — without at all know ing what it represented— of the Madonna and Child ; the second that some of the shrines were more fashionable than others. There was a lovely idol, with a head like an ourang-outang, ears nearly a yard long, four arms, eight legs, and a couple of mouths, which was quite deserted, and only got two bundles of pan and a banana during the morning ; while a rival, who looked like a tipsy lion, with a moustache resembling Victor Emmanuel's, slightly turned up at the ends, a long Dundreary pair of whiskers gracefully curled, six eyes placed in good and useful positions, three tails, and only two legs, was "making a mint of money."

The fates were unkind and unjust. There were plenty of bells in front of the ourang-outang-like god, yet nobody rang them ; a very holy man sat at the shrine, yet no body went there. There was even a bench on which the faithful could rest while they prepared their offerings, yet nobody sat on it; while the lion that possessed the moustache and whiskers received the fat of the land, was accosted by devo tional ladies and gentlemen every minute, and had enough offerings in front of him to warrant the belief that the priest who attended to his shrine must live happily the day through, and altogether enjoy what the Americans call "a very good time of it." This was not all, however, that this religious spot afforded. Past the tree, and still in front of the temple, was a huge tank, three hundred yards square, or thereabouts, and in it hundreds of Hindoo women were bathing in honour of their religion.

There they were, painting and washing, washing and painting, fulfilling a religious duty and performing a very sanitary act at the same time. A profane person might have perchance wished that the holy men under the tree might have been pitched into the water too. But that would have probably shocked those holy men's nerves, and so rendered them less good and admirable than now. Mr. Crawford said that he should like to pull down the wretched shanties which sur round the tank, and make in their stead a fine public garden. But at present this will not be done, and Mombadevi Tank must be let alone. Needless is it to describe two other temples that we visited ; but a word should not be omitted respecting a religious institu tion through which we passed. I have mentioned that a large number of Hindoos believe in the sanctity of life of every kind, and it was to visit an establishment belonging to this sect that we now entered a gateway not far from the Mombadevi Temple.

A curious sight at once presented itself. Hundreds of cows and buffaloes were enclosed within one set of rails, hundreds of goats within another. AH kinds of animals had pens appointed them and people to tend them. We have in London a Home for Dogs, about which a good deal the reverse of complimentary has at different times been written, and not without cause. Stray dogs, unruly dogs, sick dogs, are all received, yet some how or other they disappear, are sold, strangled, or poisoned in this " Home " of theirs. Here, however, is a real home for the maimed, the blind, the starving, and the old. When a Hindoo has a horse which he finds too ill or too old for work, it is sent here, and thence to pastures in the country ; cows that will give milk no longer, goats that are useless, dogs that are tooth less, and even monkeys that are too old to chatter or to climb, are placed here, too, and all carefully tended till they die.

So sacred is the charge that voluntarily do Hindoos support it by a self-imposed tax ; so good is it considered to feed these poor animals that carts of hay are continually coming in for their sustenance, and pious old men attend and distribute the provender. When we were in the place, cows that had re covered from their illness were eating the sweet hay which lay near them in profusion, with the greatest satisfaction ; the goats that were pronounced well were feasting and gambolling ; sick dogs had savoury messes, dogs that were not sick were equally well fed, and the monkeys were evidently as happy as their cramps and cranks would allow. " I doctor, sar," said a dusky gentleman with a walking-cane, who came up to us while we were looking at his horses ; " and I keep loving animals very much."

" Keep loving them as much as you can," was the reply of my companion, " and then you'll go straight to heaven some day." " Yes, sar," said the doctor, and forthwith evinced his " love " for animals by stroking a huge buffalo that stood close by, and giving it a great handful of grass."

Chapter III. Receptions

of rajahs. "Chairs for the Guicowar and the Maharajah ! Make way chere, please !" An official, a very courteous, but very energetic one, Mr. Lee Warner, Under-Secretary of the Presidency of Bombay, dressed in full Court uniform, is directing the move ments of a slender Hindoo who, besides bearing a huge, red turban, in shape and size very like a lady's sunshade, is struggl ing along under two cane-seated chairs on the outskirts of a most brilliant throng. The locale is the Boree Bunder railway station ; the occasion, Lord Northbrook's arrival in Bombay. To meet the Viceroy are gathered together in that little ter minus all the rank and power of North- W estern India. Should i give you a list of their names and titles you would have a lengthy collection of extraordinary words. I could tell from m official list, which has been published, the exact cumber of followers each one has, and the number of " guns " to which each is entitled.

But for many reasons 1 forbear. Mmgled with the chieftains and sirdars are a large number of officers \rom the fleet, all in full-dress uniform, military officers in scarlet, clergymen in their robes, and Political Residents in Court dress. A picturesque crowd is that which is thus shut in from the, front of the platform by a cord of blue, fit subject for the minutest of painters ; yet, so far as I can see, no painter is pre sent. I am alone on the red carpet on which the Viceroy is presently to stand when he reaches Bombay, without even so sn'ich as a railway official to keep me in countenance. Rail way policemen are here, it is true, but they are on the lines. Long lines of soldiery hold the way to the station, but the y are in the road. Other spectators are looking on beside the fashionable crowd behind the rope, but they are on the tops of goods ; others on the walls round about, chattering, gesticulating, fighting, wondering — these natives of India waiting for their ruler.

It was for no idle purpose that the chairs were brought for which Mr. Lee Warner begged a way. In the centre of yon brilliant gathering stand two little boys, each dressed in black velvet, grandly ornamented with diamonds, and attended by a large number of followers. In point of age they seem to be respectively thirteen and nine years old. They are clearly princes in rank, and, indeed, the greatest here. The taller one is as dignified a little ruler as was ever seen. He holds his head erect, and stands in front of his followers and by the side of Mr. Dalyel, the Commissioner, with all the conscious pride that the greatest potentate in the world could command. And not altogether without reason, for he is the Maharajah of Mysore, has a wide tract of country, and a huge revenue, and succeeds to a stately home and princely inheritance.

In facial expression he is almost the very image of Madame Adelina Patti — handsome, sharp-eyed, and graceful. Round his neck are strings of pearls and diamonds of immense value ; his wrists are encircled by bracelets, even his ankles are enveloped in jewels, and from the little turban which has been placed in coquettish style upon his head there shoots an aigrette of precious stones such as Nasr-Ed-Din of Persia would gaze at with amazement. His Royal brother is the smallest specimen of sovereignty I have ever seen, yet he is even more important in vice-regal eyes, for this is the Guicowar of Baroda. If he of Mysore is radiant with jewels, this royal seedling from Baroda is more magnificent still. On his neck and breast, his turban, and his very shoes, everywhere glisten diamonds, emeralds, rubies, and pearls.

He is well aware of his own importance ; and, though not so old as his Mysore rival, acts his part well. And when the chairs are brought and the two sit down, each eyes the other with great curiosity — perhaps also mentally placing a valuation on the other's jewels — and then each turns his head away with an expression very like contempt. At length the Rajahs, chieftains and sirdars are all in the station, and have taken their places; and the Governor of Bom bay steps on to the red carpet, followed by his son, who is his private secretary. The naval officers are also asked to step on to the carpet, and some of the principal authorities of the town are likewise invited to this place of distinction. There they all stand for a few minutes, during which the Viceroy's train is signalled from Byculla.

That there should be late arrivals was, of course, to be expected. And I grieve to say that one of them was a judge — not a judge such as we see in England, clad in scarlet, and wearing a long wig, or even dressed in ermine, with a short wig ; but a funny, old gentleman of olive colour, with a red turban on his head, and his nether limbs encased in a starched, white petticoat. Very stout, very brown, this funny, old man shuffles into the roped space, and, clasping his hands together, awaits the Governor-General. Then a ridiculous, old person, with a Mahratta turban, puts in an appearance. One wonders why such grotesque, old people should be allowed to spoil the general harmony of the scene. Yet they turn up everywhere — at durbars, at ceremonies of all kinds — just when one is most admiring everything, and thinking how much more picturesque it all is than any sight in England ; and with their ugly faces and uglier head dresses, their extraordinary petticoats, yellow stockings, and bootless feet, lower the scene from the sublime to the ridiculous, and make the beholder almost mad with disappointment.

These turbans of theirs are as large as an ordinary umbrella, and contain eighty yards of thin riband ; they are generally pink or scarlet, have a little emi nence in the centre, which looks like an intoxicated cone, and then bulge out over the ear and shoulder in the strangest possible style. Why does not somebody seize this latest arrival at the station and bundle him out ! He spoils the whole scene, and troubles the spectator exceedingly. By this time, however, the viceregal engine is in sight, and there is no time to turn anybody out. Besides which it is an engine to regard with awe and admiration. I remember once at Sheffield seeing an official with a white wand, who had de puted himself to receive the Prince of Wales, make a profound obeisance to a goods engine. Onlookers laughed, but excused the blunder on the ground that the gentleman meant well.