Picturesque IndiaWilliam Sproston Caine








DS
.C(3



PICTURESQUE INDIA





1














LONDON!
BKADliUKY, ACNEW, & CO. UM1X, I'KINTKKS, WHITEFRIARi.


THIS BOOK
TO MY OLD FRIEND
WILLIAM DIGBY, CLE.,
SlCRETARY OF TBI INDIAN POLITICAL AcKKCT,
WHO TIRST INSPIRED ME WITH.A WISH TO SEE INDIA,
AND KNOW HER PEOPLE





PREFACE.

UEEN VICTORIA is Empress of
India; the object of this book
has been to try to interest
holiday people in our greatest
dependency and its two hun-
dred millions of our fellow
subjects. During the two
winters I have spent in India
I have been much affected by
the many social, political and
religious problems awaiting solution by its people and their
Government, but I do not discuss them in these pages, which
contain no controversial matter, either political or religious.
I only try to rouse superficial interest, by a plain statement
of what may be seen by an ordinary traveller, in the most
accessible portions of British India. My longest excursion
does not leave the Kailroad more than fifty miles, and none
of the places described are inaccessible to a British tourist in
good health.
I have supplemented my verbal descriptions with illustra-


X
PREFACE.
tions of buildings, scenery, types of nationality and incidents
of the bazar which will, I believe, be found very helpful to
my readers; one good picture is worth many pages of written
description, and I can vouch for their truth and accuracy.
Messrs. Pedder, Dale and Stanton have been much aided in
their work by photographs published by Messrs. Bourne and
Shepherd, of Calcutta; Messrs. Frith & Co. of Eeigate; Mr.
Lala Deen Dyal, of Indore; and Messrs. Nicholas & Co. of
Madras, whom I desire to thank, and whose pictures I
warmly commend to my readers. The two maps of Northern
and Southern India have been specially prepared for this
book by Messrs. W. and A. K. Johnston, with the railways
completed to January, 1890. It is the best Map of India of
its size, now extant.
I desire to acknowledge gratefully the permission I have
received to make extracts from the writings of Sir W. W.
Hunter, Sir George Birdwood, and Sir Edwin Arnold, and
the valuable help which a careful study of Mr. James
Fergusson's History of Indian and Eastern Architecture has
given me in the preparation of this book.
W. S. CA1NE.
Clatuam Common, London,
Srjitrmber, 1890.


CONTENTS.
woe
INTRODUCTION , xxxiii
CHAPTER L
BOMBAY.
The Bye of India—Getting ashore—Hotels—Clubs—A drive round—Maclean's
Guide—The public buildings—The G. I. P. Railway—School o£ Art and its
pottery—Hospitals—Schools—Victoria Museum—Crawford Market—Govern-
ment dockyard—Castle—Arsenal—A boat excursion down the harbour—The
cotton green—Cotton mills—Walkeshwar temple and tank—Mosques—The
Parsis, their religion and charities—The Towers of Silence—Hindu charities—
Pinjrapol hospital for animals—Population—The native quarter—Nul bazar
—Cloth market—Coppersmiths — Goldsmiths—Jewellers—Wood carving—
Inlaid work—Ivory and tortoiseshell workers—Bric-a-brac dealers—The city
council—Swimming baths—European society—Sport—The caves of Elephants
—The Kennery caves—The Vehar lake—Bassein—Missions and missionaries . 1
CHAPTER II.
SURAT.
The streets, gates and walls—The castle—Public gardens—Railway bridge—The
old factories—Hospitals for animals—The English, Dutch, and Armenian
cemeteries—Cotton trade—Conjurers and snake charmers—Christian missions
—Broach 33
CHAPTER III.
BARODA.
The State of Baroda—Arts and manufactures—Daboi—Bahadapur—Champaner
fort—Native army of Baroda—Crops—Population—Hotels—The streets—
College—Temples—The Gaekwar—The palace—The Naza Bagh palace—The
regalia—The gold and silver guns—Public park—The Nine-lakh well—
Revenue and administration—Mehmedabad—Godhra—Dakor—Cambay . 41


CONTENTS.
CHAPTER IV.
AHMADABAD.
rum
Population—Beauty of situation—The fourteen gateways—Hotels—The mosques
—Jama Masjid—Queen's mosque—Mosque and tomb of Rani Sipri—Mosque
of Muhafiz Khan—Sidi Sayyid's mosque and carved windows—Shah Alum's
mosque—Butwa—Kankariya tank—Hatti Sing's Jain temple—The wells—
Triple gateway—Pinjrapol—The citadel—The deserted city of Sarkhej—The
. Sabarmati river—Art manufactures—Trade guilds—Brass workers—Leather
workers—Jewellers—Stone and wood earring—Cotton mills—Gold and silver
wire and lace—Silk—Kincobs and brocades—Cloth of gold and silver—
Pottery—Paper—Temple ornaments—Cantonment—Missions and schools—
History of the city—Kathiawar—Bhavnagar—Junagarh—The sacred hill of
Oirnar—Somnath—Verawal—Palitana—Siddhpur—Palanpur . , . . 49
CHAPTER V.
ABU.
The route—Hotels—Mount Abu—The lake—The famous Jain temples—The
Delwara group—The Vimala Sah temple—Temple of Rishabanath . . .72
CHAPTER VI.
AJMIR—JODHPUE—CJDAIPUR.
Ajmir, its position, streets, walls and gateways—Hotels—The Arhai-din-ka-Jhonpra
mosque—The Dargah—The Dilkusha gateway—Tomb of the Kwaja—The
great tank—The fortress of Taragarh—The Anar Sagar tank and Daulat Bagh
—Mayo College—Pushkara—Nasirabad—Missions—Jodhpur—Ancient city of
Mandor—Deserted palace of Ajit Singh—Udaipur—Chitor—Journey from
Chitor to Udaipur city—Fortress at Chitor—Towers of Victory—Ancient
palaces of Bhim and Khumbo Rana—Udaipur city—Royal palace—The lake—
The fortresses—The royal cremation ground—The cenotaphs—Eklingarh—The
gorge of Eklingji—The Maharana—His army—Nathdwara , . . . 77
CHAPTER VII.
JAIPUR.
A Rajput state—Its scenery—The Maharaja—Jaipur city—Its wide streets—Tiger
fort—Bazar scenes—The shops—Hotels—Royal palace and gardens—The Hall
of the Winds—Jai Singh's observatory—The silver house—The Maharaja's
band—The Minar—The Maharaja's college—School of Art—Public gardens—


CONTENTS.
xiii
Mayo Hospital—The museum—The man-eater tigers—Maharaja's stables —
Alligator tank—Fishing for alligators—Feeding the kites—Cenotaphs of the
Maharajas—Temple of the Sun—Oalta—Old palace and temple at Sanganer—
Amber—A deserted city and palace—An elephant ride—Sir Edwin Arnold's
description of Amber—A royal procession—Arts and manufacture—Jaipur
enamels—Jewellery—Garnets—Damascening—Carved and painted marble—
Loom work in cotton—Missions—The salt lake at Sambhar—Karen , . 94
CHAPTER YIII.
ULWAR.
A Rajput state—The city of Dlwar—Its picturesque surroundings—Tomb of Fath
Jung—Temple of Jagannath—The Tirpolia—The Banni Bilar palace—The
Eaja's palace—The library—The tank and royal cenotaphs—Armoury—
Jewelled weapons—The Regalia—Hall of mirrors—Stables—The fortress—
Streets and people—Elephant carriage—Lake and country palace at Seliserh
—Missions—Riwari—A short cut to Lahore 115
CHAPTER IX.
DELHI.
Its great antiquity—Seven ancient cities—Hotels—Guides—Keene's Handbook—
Imperial palace of the Mughals, known as " The Fort"—The Victoria Gate—
The Diwan-i-Khas or hall of audience—The peacock throne—The Akab baths
—The Rung Mahal—The Moti Masjid or Pearl Mosque—British vandalism—
The Jama Masjid, its gateways, flights of steps, mosque, minarets and relics—
The Kalan Masjid—The Roshun-ud-daula and Kotwali mosques—Jain temple
—The Chandni Chauk—The shops and their touts—Bargaining—The Institute
—Museum — Clock tower—Queen's serai—Salimgarh fort — Cemetery—
Memorial church of St. James—The Kashmir Gate—The Mutiny Memorial
—Battle fields of the siege—Old Delhi—The road to Lalkot—An Indian
Appian Way—Jai Singh's observatory—Tombs of Safdar Jang and Firoz Shah
—Ruins of Jahanpuna and Siri—The Kutab Minar—View from summit—
Lalkot—Mosque of Altamsh—Ancient iron pillar—Tomb of Altamsh—
Ala-ud-din's gateway—Tombs of Jamala and Eamalu—Ruins at Maharoli—
Tughlakabad—Its vast fortress—Tughlak's tomb—Mausoleum of Humayun—
The beautiful cemetery of Nizam-ud-din—His tomb and well-house—A dive
of 70 feet—Indrapat or Purana Kila—Mosque of Shir Shah—Firozabad—
Asoka's stone lat—Merchants and handicrafts of Delhi—Jewellery—Paint-
ings on ivory—Gem engraving—Native jewellery—Leather workers—Cotton
goods—Gold lace and wire—Pottery—Loom work—Missions—Meerut can-
tonment 121


xiv
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER X.
SAHARANPUR—SIMLA—AMRITSAR.
PAOI
Saharanpurto Simla—Mussoorie—DehraDun—Ambala—Kalka—Kasauli—Solan—
Simla—Its history and description—Patiala—Sirhind—Ludhiana—Jalandhar
—Amritsar—Its hotels—The Sikh religion—The Golden Temple—Its surround-
ings—Entrance gate—Causeway—The Akal Bungah—The Temple gardens—
The Atal Tower—The Ram Garhuja Minars—Public gardens—Fort of
Govindgarh—Tank and temple at Tarantaran—Leprosy—The Serai at
Amritsar—Trade and traders—Kashmir shawls—Rampurchadars—Silk weav-
ing—Carpets—Ivory carving—Sir George Birdwood on Indian carpets . . 146
CHAPTER XI.
LAHORE.
Population—History—The stamp of Ranjit Singh everywhere—Streets and bazars
—The Mall—The Fort—Roshanai Gate—Jahangir's Moti Masjid—Akbar's
Palace—The Shish Mahal—The Nau Lakha—Armoury—Diwan-i-Khas—
Kwabgah-i-Kalan—Hazuri Bagh—Jama Masjid—Ranjit Singh's Samadli—
Mosque of Vazir Khan—Tomb of Abdul Ushak—Raja Har—Ban Singh's
house—Golden mosque—The bazars—Tombs of Anar Kali and Sheik Musa—
The Chauburji—Colleges and schools—Mr. Kipling's School of Art—The
Shalimar gardens—Other gardens—Meean Meer—Tomb of Pakdaman—Sbah
Darrah—Mausoleum of Jahangir—Tomb of Asij Jah—Shekopura—Sport—
Missions—Pathankot— Chamba—Kangra Valley. ..... . 1C2
CHAPTER XII.
RAWAL PINDI—SEALKOT—ATTOCK—THE INDUS—PESHAWAR.
Rawal l'indi—Murree—Sealkot—Jummoo—Attock, its fort, bridges and whirlpool
—Voyage down the Indus—The Ghora trap—Khushalgarh—Kohat—Mokbad
—Kalabagh—Kafir Kot—Khisor Mountains—Dera Ismail Khan—Peshawar
—Kabul Gate—Bazars—The Ghor Khattri—The Bala Hissar—Suburbs and
gardens—Afghan traders—Local manufactures—The Khaibar Pass—Jamrud
—Ali Masjid—Missions , , ,172
CHAPTER XIII.
MULTAN AND S1ND.
Multan, history and surroundings—Its trade—The fort—Shrine of Rnku-i-Alam—
The great obelisk—Tomb of Bhawal Hakk—Old Hindu temples—Shriuc of


CONTENTS.
XV
Muhammad Yusef—Mosque of Shah Gutlej—Art crafts of Multan—Glazed
earthenware—Sir George Birdwood on Multan pottery—Missions—Bahaw.il-
pur—Ruk—Larkhana—Schwan—Manchhar Lake—Rohri—Sukkur—Aror—
Bukkur—Kotri—Haidarabad, its fort and antiquities—Silver and gold tissues
—Enamels—Jewellery—The old Mughal city of Tatta—Kalyan Kot—Karachi 184
CHAPTER XIV.
AGRA
Population—Situation and surroundings—History—European quarter—The fort—
Delhi gate—Moti Masjid—Diwan-i-Am—Great square—Fish Square—Private
mosque—Diwan-i-Khas—Jasmine tower—Khas Mahal—Zenana garden—
Shish Mahal—The gates of Somnath—The Jahangir Mahal—M. Bernier on
the Mughal Court in the reign of Shah Jahan—The Taj Mahal—Gateway—
View from its roof—Cyprus avenue—The gardens of the Taj Mahal—Dimen-
sions of building—Interior—Tombs of Emperor and Empress—Trellis-work
in marble—Decoration —Sir Edwin Arnold's descriptions of the Taj Mahal in
prose and poetry—Mausoleum of Prince Itmad-ud-Daulat—Old bridge of boats
—River turtles—The Chini-ka-Roza—The Ram Bagh—The Jama Masjid and
Kalan Masjid—Firoz Khan's tomb—Marble inlaying—Sikandra—Ancient
stone horse—The Barah-dari—The Guru-ka-Tal tank—Sikandar Lodi's tomb
—The noble mausoleum of the Emperor Akbar—Its gateway—View from the
root—Missions 199
CHAPTER XV.
FATEHPUR SIKRI
Twenty-three miles' drive through country roads—Abundant animal life—Villages
—Akbar the Great—His superb palace of Fatehpur-Sikri—The Buland Dar-
waza—A deep tank—Mosque and cloister—Mosque and shrine of Sheik Selim
Chisti—Tomb of Islam Khan—The Badshahi—A pretty boys' school—The
great stable yard—House of Jodh-Bai—House of Birbul—The Christian lady's
house—Zenana garden and mosque—The Panch Mahal—Khas Mahal—
Akbar's Kwabgah—House of the Stambuli Begam—The Diwan-i-Khas—
Diwan-i-Am—The Ankh Michauli—Hathi Pol and Hiran Minar—The Serai 229
CHAPTER XVI.
GWALIOR.
Communications with Agra—Dholpur, its temples and tank—Morar—Maharaja
Sindliia—The great fortress of Gwalior—A scarped rock—A vast staircase—
The six gates—The citadel—Its sieges—The Man Mandirand Gujarni Palaces


xvi CONTENTS.
—Ancient temples—The Sas Bahn and Teli-ka-Mandir temples—Jain rock-
sculptures—Mausoleum of Muhammad Ghaus—Tomb of Tansen—Jama
Masjid—New town of Lashkar—Maharaja's palace—Bundelkhand—Jhansi—
Barwa Sagar—Orchha—Datia—Noble old palace fortresses—Sonagir . . 240
CHAPTER XVII.
MUTTBA—BINDEABAN—GOVERDHAN—BHARTPOR—ALIGABH.
Ancient Muttra—Its history—Ghats and riverside palaces—The Eatra Pagoda—
Patara-Eund tank—Museum—Bazars—Monkeys and turtles—Jama Masjid
—Gokul—Nanda's Palace—Missions in and round Muttra—Bindraban—
Great temple of Gobind Deva—Other temples—Gorgeous modern temple—
Excursion through Bharpur state—Goverdhan, its lake and cenotaph—Dig,
its fort and palace—Deserted palace at Eumbher—Native travellers—Bhart-
pur—Maharaja's hospitality to Englishmen—The Jats—Old and new palaces
at Bhartpur—Chauris—Aligarh, its mosque, fort and tank—A monkey
nuisance—Sir Syed Ahmed, E.C.S.I.—The Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental
College—Mr. Theodore Beck, M.A., its Principal—The past, present and
future of Musalman education in India 253
CHAPTER XVIII.
CAWNPUR.
Etawah—Cawnpur—Description of the city—Incidents of the Mutiny—Conjurers
and snake charmers—Missions—Commerce and crafts 2CJ
CHAPTER XIX.
LUCKNOW-JAUNPUR—AJO DH YA.
Lucknow—A modern Mnsalman city—Hotels—Royal palaces—The Raiser Bagh
and Chattar Manzcl—The Great and Lesser Imambara—The Jama Masjid—
The Alam Bagh—Wingfield Park—The Martiniere—The brick bridge—The
Residency—Its pathetic cemetery and associations—The story of the defence
of Lucknow—Commissariat elephants—The native bazars—Guides—The great
bazar—Silversmiths—Hukas and clay modelling—Jewellery—Gems—Gold
and silver wire drawers—Lace—Brocades—Embroidery—Slippers—The salt
bazar—Bhang and Majoon—Opium dens—Liquor shops—The Nakhar, or bird
bazar—Smallchange—Missions—NainiTal—Jaunpur—The fort of Firoz—Old
stone bridge—Jama Masjid—Atala and Lall Darwaza mosques—Faizabad—
Ajodhya—One of the seven sacred cities of Hindustan—Ramkot—Baber's
Mosque 275


CONTENTS. xvii
CHAPTER XX
BENARES.
MOB
Tha Metropolis of Brahmanism—Its antiquity and holiness—Its picturesqueness
—Mother Ganges—Guides—A river excursion—Riverside incidents—The
Ghats—Trilochana—Gau—Panchganga—Mosque of Aurangzeb—Ram Ghat—
Palace of the Raja of Nagpur—Sindhia's Ghat—Nepal Ghat and temple—
Burning Ghat—Dasasamedh Ghat and palaces—Kedar Ghat and Well of
Gauri—Ashi Ghat—The pilgrim's round—Bisheshwar, the Golden Temple—
Siva and Uma—The Nepalese Bell—The Court of Mahadeva—Gyan Kup the
Well of Knowledge—Temples of Anapurna and Sakhi Bunjanka—The Bain
God—Manikarnika the Well of Healing—Vishnu—Temple of Tarakeshwar—
Vishnu's feet—The Gopal Mandir—Kal Eup the Well of Fate—Temple of
Darga—Sacred monkeys—Holy cows and bulls—Jai Singh's Observatory—
Arhai Kangura Mosque—Raj Ghat Fort—Asoka's Lat—The Vizianagram
Girls' School—College—A curious monolith—The bazars—Benares engraved
brass work—Idols of sorts—Gold brocades—Kincobs—Velvet carpets—
Sarnath—Buddhist remains—Dhamek Tope—Sherring's Handbook to Benares
—Missions . . 300
CHAPTER XXI.
PATNA.
Population—City and bazars—Trade and commerce—Old granary—Bewildering
echoes—A whispering gallery—Government opium factory—Growth and
manufacture of opium—Missions—Gaya—A holy city—Buddh Gaya—Its
ancient Buddhist temple—Deogarh—Parasnath, a sacred Jain mountain—
Raniganj—Gaur—A ruined capital of Bengal—Maldah—Panduah . , . 322
CHAPTER XXII.
CALCUTTA.
Best time to visit Calcutta—Hotels—Population—East India Co.—Government
House—Public buildings—Dalhousie Square—Custom House—Bazars—Bostis
—Chowringhi Road—Mai dan—The riverside—Suburbs—Eali Ghat—The
goddess Kali—Mosques and temples—Burning ghat—Churches and Chapels
—Newman's Guide—Imperial Museum—Asiatic Society—Magnificent collec-
tion of Archaeology, Geology and Natural History of India—Botanical Gardens
—Barrackpur — Serampur — Chandarnagar —Hugli—Hamilton's jewellery
workshops 331
b


CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XXIII.
DARJILING.
rum
Journey from Calcutta—Darjiling Railway—Scenery—Great variety in vegetation
—Hotels—Situation and surroundings of Darjiling—Himalyan peaks—Kin-
chinjanga—Temperature—Quaint bazar—Hill types—Lepchas—Bhutias—
Nepalese—Tibetans—Bhutian jewellery—Liquor shops—Murwa—Trade with
Tibet—Mount Everest^-Tiger Hill—Observatory Hill—The Bhutia Busti—
Buddhist temple—Curio-dealers—Rungarun Botanical gardens—Expedition
to Phalut—Newman's Guide to Darjiling—Return journey via Tisti Valley to
Siliguri—Cane bridge over the Ranjit river—Beautiful forest road—Junction
of the Ranjit and Tista rivers — A mountain rest-house — Kaligura—
Siliguri—Expedition to Sikkim—Dumsong—Finest view of Kinchinjanga
—Rongli—Mahseer fishing—Gnatong—Guntok, the capital of Sikkim—
Important mission at Darjiling — Dacca — Journey down Ganges — Old
prosperity of Dacca—Its famous muslins—Other trades—Voyage up Brahma-
putra river into Assam 3(5
CHAPTER XXIV.
ALLAHABAD.
Population—Hotels—Situation—The fort—British vandalism—Asoka's pillar1—
His fourteen edicts—Subterranean temple—The Khusro Bagh—European
town—The Pioneer newspaper—The Morning Post—The Magh mela—Fakirs
—Pilgrims—Missionaries—Mirzapur—Temple of Parvati—Cheap and nasty
carpets—Ancient fortress of Chunar—Manikpur—Banda—Beautiful scenery
— Sutna—Buddhist tope of Bharhut 3?0
CHAPTER XXV.
JABALPUR.
The city—Its surroundings—The jail—Col. Hughes-Hallett—The remnant of the
dreaded Thags—A venerable atrangler—The cult of Thagi—Capt . Sleeman—
Suburbs—The Narbada river—Its source—Waterfalls—Great ruined palace
of Ramnagar—Mandla—Ancient Gond castle—The Marble Rocks—By moon-
light—A boat excursion through the gorge—The monkeys' leap—Bees—The
smoke-sheet cascade—Old temple—Missions at Jabalpur—Bliusawal—Naaiwr
—Bilaspur—Central Provinces 3S>


CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XXVI.
BHOPAL—INDORE.
PADS
A Musalman state — Population — The Begam—Bhilsa—Sanchi—The finest
Buddhist monuments in India—The great Tope—Its rail and gateways—
Khandwa —Ancient Sivaite tanks and temples—Indore—Maharaja Holkar—
River scenery—Mhow—Mandu—A deserted city—The Jama Masjid—Jehaj
Mahal—Fifteen square miles of ruins—Dhar—Sculptured caves at Bagh—
Maheshwar—Mandhata Island—Great shrine of Omkar—Bickhala cliffs—
Ujjain — Dewas — Ratlam — Nimach—Partabgarb—Its famous enamels—
Deolia—Old palace of Hari Singh 388
CHAPTER XXVII.
ELLORA—DAULATABAD—AURANGABAD—AJUNTA.
Nandgaon—A long Dak journey—Rozah—Accommodation at Ellora—Tomb of
Aurangzeb—The famous caves of Ellora—The great Dravidian Kylas—Its
gateway, music gallery, its shrines, sculptures, great bull, sacred lingam, and
carved verandahs—The Brahman guides—The Dher Wara, Carpenter's, Do
Tal, Tin Tal, RaYan Ka Eai, Das Avatar, Indra Sabha, Jagganath Sabha, and
other caves — Daulatabad — A huge fortress — Fine old guns—History—
Aurangabad—Mausoleum of Aurangzeb's daughter—Curious gateway—The
Pan ChakM gardens and tank—The Mekka gate—Malik Ambar's mosque—
Jama Masjid—Aurangzeb's serai—Embroidered velvets—The journey back
to Nandgaon—Ajunta caves—A hard journey ....... 401
CHAPTER XXVIII.
NASIK.
The Benares of the West—Hotels—Brass Ware—Pilgrims—Temples, shrines, and
river basins—Sunar Ali Hill—Source of river Godaveri—Trimbak—Lena
caves—Missions—The Thal Ghat—Munmar—Old fortress of Chandor—Ankai
and Tankai—Yeola—Ahmadnagar ......... 119
CHAPTER XXIX.
BOMBAY TO PDNA.
Amarnath—Ancient Hindu temple—Kalyan—Neral—Matheran—Delightful hill
sanatorium—Beautiful mountain scenery—Aborigines—The Bhor Ghat—
Marvellous engineering feat—Khandala—Lonauli—Karli eaves—Mr. Fer-
gusson's description—Caves at Bhaja and Bedsa 42ii
b 2


CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XXX.
PUNA TO GOA.
MM
The Peshwas—European quarter—Native city—The bazars—The Hira Bagh—The
Hill of Parvati—Sangam—Garden reach—Ganesh Kind—Sinhgarh, the lion's
fort—Great temple at Jijuri—Schools and colleges—Mahablcshwar—The
route from Puna—Wai—Panchgani—Hotels—The Mahableshwar plateau—
Source of the Krishna—Fortress of Partabgarh—Sivaji, the mountain rat—
fr-'atnra—Old palace—Fortress—Mahali temples—Kolhapur—A Deccan native
state—Its picturesque capital—Buddhist remains—Fort—The Nakar Khanah
—Joteba's hill—Falls of Gokak—Belgaum—Goa—Its history—Churches—
Splendid tomb of Francis Xavier—Panjim or New Goa .... 435
CHAPTER XXXI.
BIJAPUR.
Routes from Goa to Bijapur—Hubli—Jain temples—Gadak—Badami—Dhanvar—
Bijapur—Its history—Government vandalism—Its desolation—Its antiquity
—The palaces—Jama Masjid—Ali Adil Shah's tomb—Ibrahim's mausoleum
and mosque—Great dome of Sultan Mahmud's tomb—Its dimensions—Other
tombs—The Royal well—Fine old guns—Hotgi—Sholapur—Kalbargah—Its
famous mosque—Tombs of the Bawani kings—Old bazar 453
CHAPTER XXXII.
THE NIZAM'S STATE.
Wadi Junction—Nizam's state railway—Population—Revenues and army of Nizam
—History of Haidarabad—Hotels—Secnnderabad—Cantonment—Haidarabad
city—Population—Picturesque bazars—Nizam's palace—The Char Minar—
Mckka Masjid—Sir Salar Jung's palace—Suburbs—British Residency—Jahan
Noma palace—Mir Alam Tank—Dargah of Mahbub Ali—Husain 8agar—
Golconda—Diamonds—The fort—Tombs of the kings—Haidarabad society—
Arts and crafts—Weapons—Missions—Warangal—Its ancient gateways—
Hanumancondah—Its thousand-pillared temple—Wild silk—Bez Wadi—
Irrigation works—Great anicut 463
CHAPTER XXXIII.
HAIDARABAD TO MADRAS.
Baichur—Old town and fort—Adoni—Nalla Malai hills—Nandial—Bellary—
Umbrella trees—Hospet—Hampi or Vijayanagar—Ancient ruined city—Its


CONTENTS.
xxi
temples and palaces — Bellary missions—Gooty — Old Maratha fortress—
Tadpatri — Fine temples — Cuddapah — Madanapalli—Renigunta—Granite
palace of Telugu kings—Tirnpati—Its sacred hill and temples—Beauty of
situation—Nellore—Conjeveram—One of the seven holy cities—Its huge
temple—Pillared hall—Beautiful pavilion—Arkonam 480
CHAPTER XXXIV.
MADRAS.
Population—Dialects—History—Hotels and clubs—Harbour—Boats—Beach—
Lighthouse—Esplanade—Blacktown and Whitetown—Bazars—Eiver Adyar
and Dhobies—Tanks and lakes—Triplicane—Governor's country house—
People's Park—Robinson Park—Little Mount—St. Thomas the Apostle—
Scenes of his martyrdom—Old palace of Nawabs—Chepak Park—Fort St.
George—Arsenal—Museum—Churches and chapels—Schools and colleges—
Charitable institutions — Higginbotham's Guide-book — Missions—Shops—
Crafts—The seven pagodas at Mahabalipur—Buckingham Canal—Monolithic
and other temples—Sculptured caves and rocks—Buddhist and Hindu
antiquities—Descriptions of Mahabalipur by Crole and Hunter—Sadras—
Arcot—Vellore—Its fort, temples, and scenery—Sayer's Hill—Virinjipuram
—Missions—Salem—Shevaroy hills—Yerkad—Erode—Podanur—Coimbatore
—Temple of Mel-Chidambaram—Animalei hills—Tunakadu—Mettupalaiyam
—Salghat Pass—Shoranur—Cochin—Travancore—Calicut .... 493
CHAPTER XXXV.
MYSORE STATE.
Railways—Area — Religion — Haidar Ali and Tipu Sultan — The Maharaja—
Geography—Roads—Bullocks—Sport—Wild hill-people—Crops—Revenues—
Mysore city—Its streets—Royal palace—The figwood throne—Great Nandi—
Excellence of jewellers—Seringapatam—The old capital—Ancient temple—
Fort—Mosque—Tipu Sultan's summer garden and house—His tomb—Falls
of the Eaveri — Sivasamudram island — Talkad — Somnathpur — Splendid
temples of 13th century—Bangalore—Beauty of situation—Cantonments—
Hotels — Handicrafts — Museum — Halebid — Noble Chalukyan temples—
Tumkar—Harihar—Mysore missions—The Nilgiri hills—Route from Madras
—Mettupalaiyam—Coonoor—Wild flowers—Pleasure drives—Wellington—
English vegetables—Utakamand—" Ooty "—Its sights—Dodabetta mountain
—Nilgiri hills—Sholas—Sport—Coffee and other crops—Hill tribes—The
Todas, Badagas, Eotas, Eenambas, and Irulas—Antiquarian remains—
Missions CIS


CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XXXVI.
MADRAS TO TANJORE.
PAOE
Pondicherri—Cuddalore—Porto Novo—Chilambaram—Its great pagoda and
tank—Tanjore—The anient—The fort—Great gun—Gateway tower—The
sacred bull—Subramanya's temple—Brass work—Jewellery—Talc paintings—
Calicoes—Silk—Idols—Missions—Negapatam—Nagar—Tranquebar . . 535
CHAPTER XXXVII.
TRICHINOPOLI AND MADURA.
Trichinopoli—Its history—Siege—The great rock fortress—Nawab's palace—
Beautiful jewellery—Muslins—Cigars—Missions—Seringham—Largesttemple
in India—Great gopura—Thousand-column hall—Sculptured horsemen—Idol's
jewels—Jambukeshwar — Dindigal — Fine old fortress — Palnai Hills —
Madura—Tirumala Nayak—Great temple—Residence of Siva—Arya Nayak's
pillared hall—Tirumala's choultrie and palace—Great tank—Missions—Arts
aad trades—Madura cloths and pottery—Rameshwaran island and temple—
Ramnad 515
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
TINNEVELLI.
Temple—Charming scenery—Wonderful success of its Missions—Tuticorin—Ita
pearl fisheries 560
CHAPTER XXXIX.
CEYLON.
Important Crown colony—Its progress under British rule—Agriculture and crops —
Trade and commerce — Government — Condition of labouring classes —
Successive governors—Colombo—Sir John Coode's great breakwater—The
harbour—Grand Oriental hotel—Dealers in precious stones—Gem cutters—
Pettah or market place—costumes of people—Locomotion—Streets and
public buildings—The Kandy railway—Superb tropical scenery—Sensa-
tion Rock—Eandy—Famous temple—Buddha's tooth—Beggars—Lovely situa-
tion—Flowers—Peradenia gardens—Snakes—Palms—The glorious Talipot
palm—Giant bamboos—India-rubber trees—Bird and animal life—Nuwera
Eliya — Hakgala gardens — Wild elephants — Adam's Peak — Cambodia—
Anuradhapura—Ancient Buddhist remains—Population and religions of
Ceylon 569


CONTENTS.
xxui
CHAPTER XL.
THE NORTH-WEST FRONTIER OF INDIA.
(IVritten specially for this book by the Han. George N. Ourzon, 31. P.)
Its supreme interest—A scientific frontier—The Sulaiman range and passes—
Frontier divided into four sections—The extreme north — Central Asian
Pamirs—Kafiristan—Peshawar—The Ehaibar Pass—Jamrud—The Indus
valley—Attack—Kushalgarh—Kuram valley—Shutargardan Pass—Kalabagh
—Bunnu—Tochi Pass—Gumal Pass—Indus Valley Railway—Jacobabad—
Sind-Pishin Railway—Quetta Railway — Bolan Pass— Quetta — Pishin—
Khojak Pass—Chaman fort—Strategic advantages of the frontier—Balu-
chistan—Karachi 594
INDEX
6'.:t





LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
DRAWN BT PAOK
P. & 0. Steamer "Arcadia" in the Suez Canal . . J. Pedder Frontispiece
Street Scene in Trichinapali ,, Title-page
View of Bombay Harbour . . 1
Street Scene, Bombay ,, 3
On the Road to Malabar Hill, Bombay .... ,, . . 5
Water Carrier, Crawford Market, Bombay . . ,, 8
A Bombay Sailing Boat ., . . 10
A Corner of the Cotton Green, Bombay ... ., 11
A Fakir, Bombay ,, . . 13
A Parsi Merchant ,, 15
A Tower of Silence, Bombay „ . . 17
A Bombay Brahman ,, ;18
A Brahman Woman, Bombay ,, . . 19
A MUHAMMADAN WOMAN, BOMBAY ..... ,, 20
A Fuel Seller, Bombay ,, . . 21
Parsi Women „ . . 22
The Great Cave at Elephanta .. . . 24
The Cathedral, Bassein ;, 27
Cobra . . 33
Houhe OF carved Teak II. H. Utanton . 34
Travelling Snake-charmers and Jugglers . . . J. Pedder . . 37
Footman of the Gaekwar of Baroda .... „ 41
State Elephant of the Gaekwar ,, . . 43
New Palace of the Gaekwar of Baroda . . . H. S. Dale . . 45
Main Street of Ahmadabad J. Pedder . . 49
Sabarmati Rivki;, Ahmadabad ,, 51
The Jama Maw id, Ahmadabad II. S. Dale . . 63
A Corner of Rani Sipri's Mosque, Ahmadabad . . „ 54
Rani Sipri's Tomb . ,, . . 55
Window in Sidi Sayyid's Mosque „ 58
Street Scene, Ahmadabad J. Pedder . . 67


xxv i
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
DRAWN BY PAGE
Sarkhej J- tedder . . 61
Water Carts ix the Sabarmati River .... ,, . . 65
Bhil Women of Kathiawar ,, . . 69
Two Minars, Ahmadarad H. S. Dale . . 71
Mount Abu J- Peddcr . . 72
A Jhampan, Mount Abu ,. . . 73
The Delwara Temples, Abu ,, 74
Interior of the Vimala Sah Temple, Abu . . . H. S. Dale . . 75
Mayo College, Ajmir J- Tedder . . 77
Arhai-din-ka-Jhonpra Mosque, Ajmir . . . H. S. Bale . . 78
The Dargah, Ajmir Peddcr . . 80
Daulat Baoh, Ajmir ,. . . 82
The Ana Saoar, Ajmir „ 84
Strf.f.t Scene, Jophpur ,■ . . 86
Tower of Victory, Ciiitou II. S. Dale . . 87
The Palace, Udaipur J. redder . . 89
The Jaomanbir, Udaipur ,, 91
Woman grinding Corn „ . . 93
A Rajput of Jaipur 94
The Fountain Square, Jaipur ....... ,, . . 95
Scene in the Bazar, Jaipur ,, 96
Hall of the Winds, Jaipur ,, . . 98
The Jai Singh Sawai, Jaipur II. S. Dale . . 104
The Palace, Amber /. Pcddcr . . 108
A Corner of the Diwan-i-Khas, Amber ... ,, . . 110
Waiting for the Maharaja, Jaipur .... ,, . . 112
Ulwar City ,, . 115
The Tank, Ulwar » . . 116
Bakhtawar Singh's Cenotaph, Ulwar . . . .II. S. Dale . . 118
Victoria Gate, Delhi Fort J. Peddir . . 121
Pearl Mosque, Delhi H. S. Dale . . 124
Jama Masjid, Delhi „ . . 126
The Kutab Minar J. Pedder . . 131
Mosque and Iron Pillar, Lalkot II. S. Dale . . 133
Ala-ud-din's Gateway, Lalkot ,, . . 134
Tomb of the Emperor Tughlak II. H. Stanton . . 136
Tomb of Humayun, Delhi H. S. Dale . . 138
Nizam-ud-din's Tomb, Delhi ,, . . 139
Indrapat J. Peddcr . . 140
Hill-man, Simla ,, . . 146
Simla „ . 149
The Golden Temple, Amritsar ,, . . 153


LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
xxvii
DRAWN BY PAOE
Ths Atal Tower, Amritsar J. Pedder . . 155
Tomb of the Emperor Jahangir, Lahore ... ,, . . 162
The Hazuri Baoh, Lahore ,. . . 163
Ranjit Singh's Samadh, Lahore B. S. Dale . . 165
Tomb of Anar Kali, Lahore Pedder . . 167
Tribesmen, Afghan Passes ,, . . 172
Attock .. • • I?4
KHUSHALGARH »t . . 176
The Bala Hissar, Peshawar . . 179
Jamrud ,■ • • 181
Doorway, Multan H.H. Stanton . 184
The Shah Gutlej Mosque, Multan B. S. Dale . . 186
At Rohri B. B. Stanton . 192
Gateway of Carved Wood, Haidarabad (Sind) . . H. S. Dale . . 194
The Green Mosque, Haidarabad B. E. Stanton . 195
Old Pavilion, Tatta ,, . . 196
Tomb of Muzar Khan, Tatta „ . 197
The Taj, Agra, from the Kiver J. Pedder . . 199
Delhi Gate, Agra Fort B. S. Dale . . 203
Terrace of the Machhi Bhawan, Aora Fort . . . J. Pedder . . 205
Jasmine Tower, Aora Fort H. S. Dale , . 207
Entrance Gate of Taj Mahal, Aora . . . . B. H. Stanton . 210
A Panel of the Taj H. S. Dale . . 212
The Taj Mahal, Agra J. Pedder . . 215
The Taj Mahal by Moonlight ,, . . 218
Tomb of 1tmad-ud-Daulat B. S. Dale . . 223
Tomb of the Emperor Akbar, Sikandra . . . /. Pedder . . 227
Gateway, Jodhbai's Palace, Fatehpur Sikri . . . B. B. Stanton . 229
Buland Darwaza, Fatehpur Sikri B. S. Dale . . 231
Tomb of Sheik Sulim Chisti, Fatehpur Sikri ... ,, . . 233
Birbul's House, Fatehpur Sikri ,, . . 235
The Panch Mahal, Fatehpur Sikri ,, . . 237
The Jama Masjid, Gwalior /. Pedder . 240
Gwalior Bock, from Morar ,, . . 242
Man Mandir Palace, Gwalior ,, . .244
Sas Bahu Temple, Gwalior B. S. Dale . . 245
Tkli-Ka Mandir, Gwalior ,, . . 246
Tomb of Muhammad Ghaub, Gwalior .... ,, . . 248
Udit Singh's Castle, Babwa Sagar . . . . /. Pedder . . 250
Raja's Palace, Datia ,, . . 251
A Jat Sirdar of Bhartpur ,, . . 253
Two Fakirs, Binduaban ,, . . 237


xxviii
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
DRAWN BY FAOB
Suraj Mall's Cenotaph, Goverdhan H. S. Dale . . 259
Old Foet, Bhartpur H. E. Stanton . . 261
Old Palace, Bhartpur II. 8. Dale . . 262
Sabit Khan's Mosque, Aligarh „ . . 264
Silver Anklet H. H. Stanton . 269
Street Scene, Lucknow J. Polder . . 275
River Bank, Lucknow >. * 276
Jama Masjid, Lucknow II. S. Dale . . 279
The Residency, Lucknow ,, • 281
Gold and Silver-smith, Lucknow H. U. Stanton . 286
Gold-lace Makers, Lucknow J. Pedder . . 288
Tailor, Lucknow • • 289
Dyer's Shop, Lucknow H. H. Stanton . 291
Opium Den, Lucknow J. Pedder . . 293
An Ajodhya Fakir • • 299
On the Ghats, Benares „ • 300
Bathing Ghats, Benares ,, . . 303
Mosque of Aurangzeb, Benares ,, . 305
Burning Ghat, Benares ,, . . 307
The Gyan Kup, Benares ,, . 310
A Corner on the Ganges, Benares ,. . . 312
Sacrilege! . 314
Dhamek Tope, Sarnath ,, . . 319
Water Carrier 322
Temple of Buddh Gaya II. H. Stanton . . 327
Government House, Calcutta Pedder . . 331
Post Office, Calcutta ,, . . 332
The Hugli River, Calcutta ,, . 333
A Bum, Calcutta ,, . . 335
Kali Ghat, Calcutta H. II. Stanton . 337
The Burning Ghat, Calcutta 339
A Budgekow, Calcutta J. Pedder . . 340
The Garden Ghat, Calcutta ,, . . . 342
View in Botanical Gardens, Calcutta ... ,, . . 343
Group of Boats, Calcutta II. II. Stanton . 344
Darjiling J. Pedder . . 345
On the Dak.jii.inu Railway ,, . . . 346
Loop, Darjiling Railway ,, . 347
Reversing Station, Darjiling Railway .... „ . . . 349
Kinchinjakga from Darjiling ,, . 351
A Bhutia Woman ..... 354
A Lepcha Tent ,, . 356


LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
xxix
DRAWN BT PACK
Bhutias at Breakfast /. Pedder . . 360
In the Tista Valley „ . 363
Dacca ,, . . 367
A Government Distillery of Native Spirits . . B. II. Stanton . 370
Baniya's Shop, Allahabad J. Pedder . . 372
A Fakir „ . 376
Hunting Buffalo on the Narbada River . . . B. H. Stanimi . 380
The Madan Mahal, Jabalpur /. Pedder . . 384
The Marble Rocks, Jabalpur 385
Capital of Column, Sanchi B. S. Dale . . 388
Street Corner, Bhopal ,, . . 389
The Great Buddhist Tope at Sanchi .... ,, . . 390
West Gateway, Sanchi Tope 392
East Gateway, Sanchi Tope ,, . 393
View on the Eahan River, Indorb J. Pedder . . 394
The Jehaj Mahal, Mandu ,, . . 396
Mandhata Island ,, . . 398
Native Fiddler B. B. Stanton . 401
The Great Kylas, Ellora H. S. Dolt . . 403
Gallery of the Gateway, Kylas „ . .405
Ground Plan of Kylas W. S. Caine . . 406
Pur Lanka, Kylas H. S. Dale . . 408
Sculpture of Siva and Parvati, Ellora .... ,, . . . 409
Sculpture of God of the Winds, Ellop.a ... ,, ... 411
Daulatabad H. H. Stanton . 413
Mekka Gate, Aurangabad H. S. Dale . . 415
Nasik II. H. Stanton . 419
Rama's Kund, Nasik ,, . .421
Gold-wire drawers, Yeola ,, . 424
A Holiday Camp, Matheran ,, . . 426
At Matheran J. Pedder . . 428
Entrance to Karli Cave ,, . . . 431
A Deccan Countryman ,, . 434
An English Bungalow, Puna H. H. Stanton . 435
Tinsel Cutter, Puna ,, . . 437
Hill of Parvati, from the Lake, Puna . . . . J. Pedder . . 438
Turban fitters, Puna B. H. Stanton . 439
A Maratha Brahman J. Pedder . . 440
A Wai Maratha „ . .442
Hill and Fort of Partabgabh, Mahableshwar. . ,, . 445
Audience Hall, Bijapub B. B. Stanton 453
Jama Masjid, Bijapur B. S. Dale . . 457


XXX
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
DRAWN BY TAOE
Sultan Mahmud's Tomb, Bijapur H. S. Dale . . 459
The Malik-i-Maidan Gun, Bijapur /. Pedder . . 460
Great Mosque, Kalbargah H. H. Stanton . 461
Bridge, Haidarabad J. Pedder. . . 463
Main Street and Char Minar, Haidarabad . „ . 471
Colconda Fort H. H. Stanton . . 473
Tombs of the Kings, Golconda „ . 474
Ancient Gateway, Wabanoal IT. S. Dale . . 476
Portico of Temple, Hanumancoxdah .... „ . 478
Goonr Fort J. Pedder . . 480
Umbrella Tree and Granite Boulder, Bellary . . „ . 482
Car of the God Vitoba, Hampi II. S. Dale . . 483
Temple Tank, Tirupati ,, . . 489
Pavilion, Little Conjeveram „ ... 491
A Necklace, Madras workmanship . . . H. JET. Stanton . 493
The Beach, Madras J. Pedder. . . 495
Madras Catamaran ,, . . 496
Hackney Carriage, Madras ,, . . 497
A Madras Barber „ . 499
Oil Merchant, Madras „ . . . 501
Toddy Tapping, Madras ,, . . 502
Granite Boulder Temple, Mahabalipuu .... ,, . . . 504
Monolithic Temple, Mahabalipur II. S. Dale . . 506
The Shevaroy Hills /. Pedder . . 509
Maharajah's Palace, Bangalore ,, . .512
Sacred Bull, Mysore H. H. Stanton . . 517
Tipu Sultan's Tomb, Seringapatam . . . . II. S. Dale . . 519
Falls of the Eaveri, Siyasamudram . . . J. Pedder . . 521
The Dodda Pet, Bangalore ,, . . 523
Coonoor II. H. Stanton. . 627
The Lake, Utakajiani /. Pedder . . 529
Travelling in the Nilgiri Hills ,, . . . 531
A Toda „ . 533
Mahamohan Tank, Combaconum ,, . . 537
Moat and Kamparts, Tanjore ,, . 540
Main Gateway of Temple, Tanjoeb II. S. Dale . . 542
Tank at Trichinopoli II. H. Stantmt . 545
Rock of Trichinopoli J. Pedder . . 547
The Great Temple of Seri.nguam II. S. Dale . . 549
Hall of a Thousand Columns, Seringham . . J. Pedder . . 550
Inner Gateway, Seringham U. S. Dale . . 551
An Ascetic, Seringham Tkmple /. Piddcr . . 562


LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
xxxi
DRAWN BY
TAGS
F0RTRESS OF DlNDIGAL .
. a. H. Stanton
. 553
Great Temple, Madura
. II. S. Dale .
. 555
Tank, Madura Temple .
. 556
A Country Bullock-cart .
. J. 1'edder
. 559
An Indian Fiddle ....
. B. II. Stanton
. 660
Courtallum
. H. S. Dale
. 561
Mission Church, Tinnevelli .
. H. H. Stanton
. 663
Giant Banana, Kandy
. 569
Cingalese Workman
. H. S. Dale .
. 574
Colombo Breakwater ....
. 676
Shop on the Kandy Road
. I. redder
. 679
The Dekakda Valley ....
. H. S. Dale .
. 582
Sensation Rock
. 583
India-rubber Tree, Peradenia .
• »»'
. 586
Giant Bamboos, Peradenia
• tt •
. 688
Adam's Peak, Ceylon ....
. J. Fedder
. 590
Devil Dancer, Ceylon .
• f» •
. 691
View from the Quetta Plain .
» »f •
. 607
Homeward Bound
M
. 612





INTRODUCTION
It has been a difficult task to compress into a single volume even
the superficial information necessary to enable a would-be traveller to
a vast country like India, to decide where he will go, what he would
like to see, or how much he can accomplish in a given time, and my
success can at best be only partial and comparative. I have not
crowded my pages with a single sentence which I thought un-
necessary. It will be found that I endeavour, by constant references,
to embrace some very valuable standard books on special subjects,
which every intelligent traveller in India will do well to have always
with him, notably those written by Mr. Fergusson on Indian Architec-
ture and by Sir George Birdwood on Indian Art. The best popular
handbooks on Indian History, Ethnology, Sociology and Politics,
which the traveller can take with him, are " India, Past and Present,"
by Mr. James Samuelson, Sir W. W. Hunter's " Indian Empire," the
"Statistical Abstract," and "Moral and Material Progress of India,"
published annually by the India Office; "India," by Sir John
Strachey, and " The Annual Report of the Indian National Congress,"
which may be obtained at 25 Craven Street, London, from the Indian
Political Agency. The following is a brief list of useful standard
works on India, which may be obtained through any bookseller :—
GENERAL.
The Imperial Gazetteer of India. 14 volumes. By Sir W. W. Hunter, K.C.S.I.
The Indian Empire; its history, people and products; a condensation into one
volume of the Statistical survey of India. Sir W. W. Hunter, K.C.S.I.
History of India. Hindu and Muhammedan periods. Mount Stuart Elphinstone.
India Revisited. Sir E. Arnold, K.C.I.E.


xxxiv
INTRODUCTION.
Modern India. Sir George Campbell.
Geography of British India, G. Smith.
India. Sir John Strachey.
A brief history of the Indian People. Sir W. W. Hunter, K.C.S.I.
England's Work in India. Sir W. W. Hunter, K.C.S.I.
History of the Indian Mutiny. Col. G. B. Malleson.
New India. H. S. Cotton.
India ; past and present . J. Samuelson.
Industrial Arts of India. Sir George Birdwood.
India for the IndiaiiB—and England. Wm. Digby, CLE.
ARCHAEOLOGY.
History of Indian and Eastern Architecture. J. Fergusson.
Essays on Indian Antiquities. Jas. Prinsep.
RELIGION.
India, what it can teach us. Max Muller.
The Religions of India. A. Barth.
The faith and progress of the Brahmo-Somaj. P. C. Mozoomdar.
Religious thought and life in India. Sir Monier Williams.
Sketch of the Religious Sects of the Hindus. H. H. Wilson.
Indian Caste. Dr. J. Wilson.
The Light of Asia. Sir Edwin Arnold.
Buddhism. T. W. Rhys Davids.
The Indian Musaalmans. Sir W. W. Hunter, K.C.S.I.
The Parsis, their history and religion. Framji Dhosabhai.
Missionary Conference Reports—published in Calcutta at intervals.
History of Protestant Missions in India. Sherring.
Barth's "Religions of India," Fergusson's "Indian Architecture,"
Sir George Birdwood's "Industrial Arts of India," and Sir W. W.
Hunter's "Indian Empire," are, in my judgment, the four most
valuable books the ordinary tourist can read before he goes, and take
with him as trusty companions on his journey. Messrs. Thacker &
Co. of Bombay, Calcutta, and Newgate Street, London, and Newman
& Co. Lim. of Calcutta, keep in stock eveiy standard book on India,
and travellers will be able to select from their shelves many guides
and handbooks, local and general, as well as works on Fauna and
Flora, the customs and religions of the peoples of India, its history,
geography, &c. &c.


INTRODUCTION.
XXXV
Very few travellers will care to visit India during the hot or rainy
seasons, and the climate is so equable during what is called the " cold
season," (from the end of October to the middle of March), that very
little information on the subject of outfit is- needful. The traveller
who intends to confine himself to the north of a line drawn from
Bombay to Calcutta, will find ordinary summer clothing, as worn in
England, all that is necessary, with a light and heavy overcoat. It is
best to wear flannel underclothing, and, indeed, I wear nothing but
flannel all over India. My own outfit is always a very simple one,
and as I am going again to India for the third time this winter, I will
give a list of what I shall put in my portmanteau :—
Shoes . . . 2 pair of brown canvas shoes.
1 „ light walking boots.
1 „ dress shoes.
1 „ slippers.
1 „ thin brown canvas leggings for riding.
Socks. . . 12 pair new merino.
Shirts . . . 6 white dress shirts.
4 thin flannel with collars attached.
4 thick „ „ ,, ,,
Collars . . 1 dozen white linen.
Drawers. . . 6 very thin, all wool.
4 medium „ „
Sleeping dress . 6 pairs flannel pyjamas.
12 woven cholera belts.
2 suits of dark grey flannel, carefully made by a good tailor. Coats made to
wear without waistcoat if desired.
1 suit of warm tweed, for the voyage and Northern India.
1 morning coat and waistcoat of thin black cloth.
1 pair thin grey tweed trousers.
1 dress suit of light cloth.
1 grey alpaca dust coat, without lining.
1 light overcoat.
1 medium ulster.
1 good felt wide-awake hat.
2 light silk caps for railway and ship.
6 towels.
6 pillow-slips.
Handkerchiefs and small sundries to suit my own tastes and habits.
A white umbrella.
With this outfit, any gentleman can go with comfort to any place
e 2


xxxvi INTRODUCTION.
written about in this book. Of course, if the traveller intends to
hunt, fish and shoot, or do anything exceptional, he must fit himself
out for it without my help.
Washing can be done at short notice everywhere in India, so that
there is no need to overburden oneself with underclothing. A
necessary part of every traveller's baggage is a bedding kit, for use in
railway carriages, and at Dak bungalows and even at some hotels,
which only provide bedsteads. This kit is best obtained in Bombay,
but two pairs of really good blankets and a woollen travelling rug will
be found of service, and should be brought from England.
The sun-hats, which are the universal wear in India, are best
purchased in Bombay.
Umbrellas should be white, as it never rains in the cold season,
and the sun is often fierce during the day.
The tradesmen in the large cities of India are quite as good as they
are at home, and no difficulty will be experienced in supplementing
my list. If any time is to be spent in Southern India, half-a-dozen
suits of white cotton will be desirable, but these can be got better and
cheaper in India than at home.
A lady, who has spent a winter travelling in India, writes to me as
follows:—
"It is unnecessary for ladies travelling in India to burden them-
selves with a large quantity of luggage. It is desirable to take a
variety of morning and evening dresses, such as would be worn at
home in spring or summer weather. On the voyage, and in the
Northern parts of India, warm dresses, jackets, and wraps are needed.
A plentiful supply of underclothing, both warm and cool, will be
required, especially on the voyage, when it is impossible to get any
washing done. Elaborate trimmings on underclothing will fare badly
in India, where the washermen treat such things with ruinous
roughness.
"Dust cloaks and gauze veils are indispensable for the hot and
dusty provinces in India, and a thin riding-habit will often be found
useful. The dresses for wearing on ship-board should be good and
well made. These should include a comfortable serge or stuff gown,


INTRODUCTION.
xxxvii
and one of thin silk or foulard. Thin beige, serge or cotton skirts,
with silk or cotton blouses, make good wear both for the voyages and
for India.
"No one ' dresses for dinner ' on board ship, though a little change
is generally made from the attire of the morning.
"Hats or caps are always worn on deck, generally of the deer-
stalker order, and a comfortable warm hood for wear on deck in the
evening will be found very welcome. A good rug, ulster, warm jacket
and Shetland wrap will be required, both for the voyage, and for the
cold evenings and mornings in the North-West Provinces and the
Punjab.
"There is a 'baggage day,' once or twice a week during the
voyage, when portmanteaus in the luggage room may be got at and
opened, so that warm garments worn in the Bay of Biscay and the
Mediterranean may be exchanged for thinner clothing for the Red
Sea, and vice versd on the way home; the cabins, therefore, need not
be unreasonably crowded with trunks.
"A large hanging pocket with several divisions will be found useful
in the state-room.
"Ladies will of course make up their list of toilet necessaries and
other travelling comforts to suit their own requirements, but I
recommend as articles that will often be found very useful, either on
the voyage or in India :—A Rubber hot-water bottle, and folding bath,
Rimmel's vinegar, Pears' soap, a travelling Etna or small ' afternoon
tea' basket, Keating's powder, some towels, sheets and pillow-cases,
and a pair of good Jaeger blankets.
"Silk or 'Anglo-Indian' underclothing is very safe and pleasant
for use in India, and to avoid risk of chills, it is a wise precaution to
wear one of those woven belts of wool, known to the outfitters by the
unnecessarily alarming name of ' Cholera belts.'
"Hospitality in India is boundless and universal, and it is well to
have one or two good evening dresses of some material that will suffer
least from package. Of course travellers are not expected to be as
smart as other folk.
"Pith or other sun-hats should be bought in Bombay after arrival;


xxxviii
INTRODUCTION.
the double awnings of the steamer render them quite unnecessary
on the voyage.
"In addition to any parasol or sunshade, a strong, double-lined,
white umbrella will be found useful as a protection from the sun,
which is always fierce in the middle of the day, as well as two pair of
blue or tinted spectacles.
"White canvas shoes will be pleasant both for deck use and travel
in the country, and a pair of thick, woollen socks will be useful, to
pull over the shoes when visiting mosques, and other holy places,
where the shoes must be either removed, or covered by an appearance
of removal."
To most travellers, the first thought in deciding on a journey
is:—What will it cost? This question will be completely answered
by a shilling hand-book published by Messrs Thos. Cook & Sons,
Ludgate Circus, London, the well-known excursion agents, who have
branch offices in Bombay and Calcutta, and who are giving very close
attention to the development of Indian business. In this little volume,
sixteen different tours in India are quoted, which will give a general
idea of the cost of Railway journeys. It also contains the fullest
information with regard to every detail of Indian travel.
The fares of the various steamship companies to India and back
are as follows :—
Peninsular & Oriental Co., to Bombay, Karachi or Madras, or Calcutta, or Ceylon,
and back to London :—
For three months :—1st Class £90; 2nd Class £55.
For six months :—1st Class £100; 2nd Class £60.
Extra vid Brindisi:—1st Class £12; 2nd Class £6.
"Clan" line, or "Hall" line, Liverpool to Bombay and back, available for
six months :—
1st Class only, £85 10s. £5 extra to Calcutta.
British India Co., London to Calcutta and back :—
1st Class, £94 10$; 2nd Class, £57 12».
I advise all travellers to go by the P. & 0. Co.'s steamers. The
other lines are very comfortable and well-managed, but the slight extra


INTRODUCTION. xxxix
cost by P. & 0. is fully compensated for by speed and general com-
fort. I write with the experience of nine voyages.
The following round tour will be found to include the greater part
of India, and is quite as much as ought to be undertaken by the most
energetic traveller in the most extended tour possible during the cold
season.
From Bombay to Jabalpur, Allahabad, Mirzapur, Patna, Calcutta,
Darjiling and back to Calcutta, Benares, Lucknow, Cawnpur, Agra,
Aligarh, Delhi, Umballa, Amritsar, Lahore, Peshawar, Multan,
Rewari, Ulwar, Jaipur, Ajmir, Mt. Abu, Ahmedabad, Baroda, and
back to Bombay. Bombay to Puna, Bijapur, Haidarabad, Raichur,
Madras, Bangalore, Mysore, Utakamand, Trichinopoli, Madura,
Tinnivelli, Tanjore, Madras, and back to Bombay. The first-class
railway fares for the whole of this tour amount to about 720 Rupees;
second class, 380 Rupees; third class, 100 Rupees.
It is necessary to engage a travelling servant, for it is not'the
custom in many Indian hotels, or in any of the Dak bungalows, to
provide service. A first-rate servant may be had for 30 Rupees per
month, and a good, useful fellow as low as 15 Rupees. An allowance
of 30 Rupees more will suffice for their food. So that 50 to 60 Rupees
per month will be an ample estimate for the cost of a personal
attendant. He will pay porters, stamps for letters, telegrams, tips,
cabs and such like, which will amount to 20 Rupees a month, will
take railway tickets, and look after luggage arrangements. Thos.
Cook & Sons, Bombay, will provide this servant, if written to before-
hand.
It will thus be seen that about 350 Rupees will suffice for wages,
food and third class fare for a personal attendant on a four months'
tour in India.
The usual charge for hotels is 5 to 7 Rupees each day, for four
meals and a bed-room. Carriages, except in large cities, may be hired
for 3 or 4 Rupees a day. I find it easy to travel with comfort in
India for 12 Rupees a day, outside railway fares.
It will be seen by these figures, that the actual cost of a tour in
India of four months, with the passage out and home by P. & O.


INTRODUCTION.
steamer, need not, with a little economy, exceed £380, and may be
done luxuriously for £500.
Railway travelling in India is very comfortable. All first and
second class carriages are convertible at night into sleeping berths,
and have good lavatories. There are excellent meals to be obtained
at regular intervals at the various refreshment rooms. At most
junctions, and at many minor stations even, there are waiting-rooms,
with bedsteads for the use of travellers. Although all the railway
companies lag sadly behind European and American enterprise, they
do a great deal for the comfort of long-journey passengers. It is
impossible to speak too highly of the universal civility and kindness
of Indian station-masters. Adventurous travellers, alighting at road-
side stations for remote places of interest, who have written a day or
two beforehand to the station-master, will find whatever resources the
place possesses ready for his use. It may be that he wants a shake-
down for the night in the station, a country cart to visit some out-
of-the-way antiquity, or at some more important place, a bed at the
Dak Bungalow, and some conveyance to take him there from the
station; whatever it may be, let him write beforehand to the station-
master, and if it is to be had at all, it will be duly provided.
In case of illness, however slight, an English doctor should be con-
sulted. There is no place in India, likely to be visited by the ordinary
tourist, from which an English doctor is far distant. If travellers are
subject to any infirmity, they should not depend upon the drugs
available in India, but take out medicine from England, made up
specially under the prescription of their own medical man. The
compressed drugs of Messrs. Burroughs, Welcome & Co., Snow Hill
Return ticket London to Bombay, First Class, ,£100.
Railway Fares for self, say . . 720 rupees.
„ for servant . . . 110 „

Wages and food of servant . . 250
Hotel expenses for four months . . 750 „
Carriages 470 „
Petty expenses 600 „
2800 rupees at 10 to £1 = say £280.


INTRODUCTION.
xli
Buildings, London, E.C., are thoroughly reliable. I showed some
of them, that I had taken with me round the world, and afterwards
to India and hack, to a distinguished physician, who, after careful
examination, pronounced them as good as ever. They were then three
years old. A whole medicine-chest of these compressed drugs can
be packed into a small cigar-box.
The best railway guide for India is "Newman's Indian Bradshaw,"
which may be purchased from Thos. Cook & Son, or Stanford's, 55,
Charing Cross.
A little care is necessary with regard to diet. An experienced
medical officer in India, whom I once had occasion to consult, summed
up the question of diet in these words: "Never eat twice cooked
food, butter your own toast, and avoid alcohol." The exhortation
about toast will be understood in a moment by any one who has
seen a native cook do it with a greasy old rag. Drinking water is
not always good, but soda-water is cheap and universal, and excellent
tea may be had at every important railway station. It is not wise
to purchase fruit indiscriminately at small roadside stations, except
oranges, bananas, and such other fruit as have an outside rind to be
removed.
There are of course districts in India full of intense interest to
the traveller, such as Kashmir, Burma, Nepal, Orissa, Travancore and
Assam, which I have hardly referred to in this book, for the excellent
reason that I have had no experience of them, or knowledge beyond
that which I have acquired from books. This volume, as I have
already said, is only intended as a help to travellers in visiting the
more beaten tracks of this vast country. Triibners, of Ludgate Hill,
or Thacker & Co., Newgate Street, London, have upon their shelves a
great variety of books, a selection from which will enable anyone to
inform himself fully with regard to Remoter India.
It will be observed that I have given much information, necessarily
condensed, with regard to Christian Missions in India; I have
generally selected those stations to be found in cities where the
traveller is likely to remain a few days. Most missionaries welcome
with cordiality any traveller who is really interested in missionary


xlii
INTRODUCTION.
enterprise, and they are always delighted to show their schools and
other institutions, or give every possible information on the social
customs and native institutions of the communities among whom
they labour. These gentlemen are generally men of culture, thoroughly
in earnest in their efforts to improve and elevate their people, and are
charming companions to those travellers who can appreciate their
work. I think any book professing to be a guide or help to the
traveller in India would not be complete without, at any rate, indicat-
ing those mission stations worthy of his attention. My information
on this subject may be relied upon, as it has in every case been supplied
to me by missionaries on the spot. The best work is no doubt being
done in remote places in rural Bengal, Orissa, Travancore, or among
the wild hill tribes and Aborigines. My book does not reach these
districts. Every ten years there is published in Calcutta " Baddeley's
Directory of Missionaries," which gives a complete statistical return of
every mission in British and Native India.
The politician will find India a country of vast unsolved problems
which are now being discussed with much acuteness by educated
Indians.
The Indian National Congress of representative men from all over
India, called into existence six years ago, meets every year between
Christmas and New Year's day, at some capital of a province or other
central place, for the discussion of such constitutional reforms as they
think ripe and urgent. Their chief demand is for some scheme of
representation which shall at any rate admit educated Indians to a
due and reasonable share in the legislation and administration of
their own country.
The Congress for the year 1890 will be held in Calcutta. European
visitors are always made very welcome, and seats in the best portion
of the auditorium are reserved for them. Apart from its political
interest, the spectacle is impressive and remarkable, being an as-
semblage of three or four thousand persons gathered together from
every part of India, all attired in the characteristic dress of their
districts. The report of every year's Congress has been printed in a
volume of 150 or 200 pages, which may be obtained, with other


INTRODUCTION.
xliii
kindred literature, from the offices of the Indian Political Agency,
25, Craven Street, London, W.C.
The aspirations of the Congress are strongly opposed by many
Anglo-Indians and an influential section of Indian Society, of whom
Sir Syed Ahmed of Aligarh is the chosen leader and mouthpiece.
They have not any agency in England, like the Congress party, but
their views have been expressed in numerous pamphlets, which can
be got through any of the Indian booksellers in London already men-
tioned.
It will greatly increase the interest which an English traveller
must feel in his Indian fellow subjects, to have some surface know-
ledge at any rate of those social and political problems which are
exciting them from time to time. Those who pass through India
visiting only Anglo-Indians, can learn but little of the inner life and
aspirations of the Native Indian. I shall myself be glad to give
letters of introduction to native gentlemen, to any English traveller
who really wishes to get below the surface.
It will also give me much pleasure at any time, to answer enquiries,
within reasonable limits, from any traveller who intends visiting
India.
I have, wherever I have felt enough confidence to do so, named the
best hotels. None of the Indian hotels are first-rate. They are as a
rule furnished as a speculation by some wealthy native, and leased to
a caterer. Their management continually changes, and it is better,
before going up country from Bombay, to call at Thos. Cook & Son's
offices, and get a list of the best managed hotels from them. By
constant enquiry from travellers and from other sources of information
they manage to keep up a list, which is really the only safe hotel
guide in India. Newman's Indian Bradshaw also contains a fairly
trustworthy list of hotels and clubs. G. F. Kellner & Co., who are
the " Spiers and Pond " of Northern India, have a good many hotels
at the railway stations, which are all clean and well managed. It is
always well in the case of both hotels and Dak bungalows, to order
rooms beforehand, stating hour of arrival, and ordering conveyance
from the station.


xliv
INTRODUCTION.
One of the many small annoyances of travel, is the general unwieldi-
ness of guide-books. My own custom for many years has been to take
my guide-book to a binder, and have it cut up in thin volumes of about
60 or 100 pages, bound in limp cloth or Morocco. I advise my readers
to treat this book in the same fashion, of course ordering a fresh copy
at once for their own library shelves.
I have not thought it convenient to allocate the towns to their
respective provinces. It will be found that I have arranged them
along the respective trunk lines and their branches. The contents of
each chapter, and a very full index will enable the reader to turn at
once to any point of attraction. I have also provided an index to
the full and comprehensive maps prepared for this book by Messrs.
W. & A. K. Johnston, so far as all the places mentioned in this
volume are concerned. It will, be found that in many cases the
spelling of this map and of railway guides in India as well as
other books, differs slightly from that used by me. I have adopted
Sir Wm. Hunter's spelling throughout my book, as it is now the
recognized standard.



EEEATA.
Page 28, for "Amaranth" read "Amarnath."
„ 72, the road to Mount Abu has now been much improved, and the journey
may be taken in jinrickshaws.
„ 83, for " Mrs. Dignan" read " Drynan."
„ 86, the title of the cut should be " View in Jodhpur."
„ 94, bottom line, for "Father " read " ])redecessor."
„ 95, title of cut, "The Amer Chauk Square."
„ 101, line 6, for "150,000" read "250,000."
„ 104, title of the cut should read "The Cenotaph of Maharaja Sawai Jai
Singh."
„ 117, line 18, for " Bilar n read "Bilas."
Pp. 230, 232, 234, for "Sulim Chisti" read "Salim."
Page 315, for "Yantras Amrat" read " Yantra Samrat."
„ 378, omit lines 28—35. The ruined city of Manikpur is 30 miles north of
Allahabad, in Oudh, not at Manikpur Junction.
„ 501, title of cut, "Oil Coolie, Madras."












i
p





PICTUBESQUE INDIA.
CHAPTER I.
BOMBAY. -|

?OMBAY has been called "The Eye of India."
It is the largest, most populous, and enter-
prising city in the Empire. More than half
the imports and exports of all India pass
through its custom house. Nine-tenths of the
persons entering or leaving the country do so at Bombay; it is
without exception the finest modern city in Asia, and the noblest
monument of British enterprise in the world. The traveller, eager
for the wonders of Agra, Delhi, or Benares, is too often satisfied
with a couple of days spent in driving through its spacious streets,
neglectful of the wonderful life of this great city and seaport, seeing
nothing of its institutions, its arts and manufactures, or the interesting
peoples who make up its population of 800,000 souls. A month may
be spent in Bombay, and at the end many things still be unseen that
ought to have been seen. As the steamer rounds Colaba point, and
proceeds slowly to her moorings, the panorama of Bombay city,
with the noble public buildings towering above the masts in her
docks, the low coast line beyond sweeping round the vast bay dotted
with palm-clad islands, backed by the lofty blue mountains of


2
PICTURESQUE ISDTA.
Matheran and Mahableshwar, fully justify the name given by the
old Portuguese navigators in the 16th century—Bom Bahia, the
beautiful bay.
As the vessel drops anchor a swarm of boats cluster round her, and
in a moment the deck is crowded with native boatmen, hotel cadgers,
friends of passengers, and such like, producing immediate pande-
monium. The Steamship Companies, so far as my experience goes,
do not provide any transport from ship to shore, and the confusion and
inconvenience to passengers is very great. It is impossible to get any
luggage off, and the best course to pursue is to leave everything
packed up in the cabin, and go ashore in a boat as best one may,
with a hand-bag for the night, getting the heavy baggage from the
custom house the next day, where it is landed from the ship in
hopeless confusion, taking hours to sort out and get passed. The
whole business of getting ashore at Bombay is worse than any port
I have ever landed at; I am told that the P. and O. Co. intend to
get a good steam-tender, and the sooner they do so the better.
If an Atlantic liner in Liverpool can be cleared of six hundred
passengers with their luggage in three hours, there is no justification
for such dire confusion and delay as occurs at Bombay.
There are several good hotels in the city. The Apollo is a new
building close to the Apollo Bunder, clean, well-managed, with an
excellent table, possessing the great advantage of isolation, one side
overlooking the harbour, and the other commanding a fine view
across Back Bay to Malabar Hill. Watson's Hotel is a very large
one in the centre of the city, surrounded by the principal public
offices; the Great Western and the Victoria are well-placed, good
hotels, and in the suburbs are the Adelphi Hotel, at Byculla, and the
Family Hotel, at Cumballa Hill, all of which are well-managed
establishments.
A gentleman, travelling alone, will, if he can manage it, get a bed-
room at the Byculla or Bombay Club, both of which are excellent, and
have sleeping rooms or tents for forty or fifty members each. Almost
every member of the civil and military services, the leading merchants,
bankers, and lawyers, are members of one or other club, and, if intend-
ing travellers have acquaintance in Bombay, they can, without much
difficulty, get themselves elected as honorary members, by writing a
month or two beforehand; a longer notice, however, is necessary to
secure bedrooms. The Yacht Club is the most pleasant resort in



BTREET SCENB IN BOMBAY.
B 2


4
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
Bombay, commanding a splendid view of the harbour. It has an
excellent restaurant and newsroom, with vast verandahs overhanging
the water. There are no bedrooms, but anyone remaining more than
a day or two in Bombay should become an honorary member. Its
committee are hospitable, and no difficulty is made about any well
accredited traveller. Ladies are admitted as guests to any meal.
Having settled himself in club or hotel, the traveller will be eager
to have a look at Bombay. Carriages are plentiful and good, and
though dearer than anywhere else in India, except Calcutta, appear
very cheap to the European. 'Victorias with one horse, can be got
for five rupees a day, and a phaeton, with a pair, for ten. Starting
from the Apollo Hotel, the fine building just opposite on the right is
the Sailors' Home, and on the left the Young Men's Christian Associa-
tion. Driving along the Mayo Road we pass the front of that
magnificent series of public buildings of which Bombay people are so
justly proud; first, the Elphinstone College, then the Secretariat, the
University, the High Court, the Public Works Office, the Post Office,
and the Telegraph Office. Opposite to this, at the junction of
Esplanade and Hornby Roads, is the beautiful statue of the Empress
of India.
Turning down Esplanade Road, at the angle formed by Hornby Row,
is the Cathedral High School, a fine Gothic building; the stately
mansion just beyond is the new residence of a Parsi merchant prince
and philanthropist, Mr. Jamsetji N. Tata. At the end of this road
is the Mechanics' Institute, the gift of the Sassoons. Turning to the
right, and following Esplanade Cross Road, the building on the right
is the Francis Xavier College, beyond which, opposite the Free Church,
is the National General Hospital; this road ends at the Crawford
Market, where a halt may be made to purchase fruit. Returning by
Market Road, the School of Art stands on the right, the Salvation
Army Headquarters on the left, and presently the gorgeous terminus
of the Great India Peninsula Railway is reached, in front of which is
the well-managed European Hospital. Hornby Bow reaches back
to the statue of the Empress, and a turn to the left, along Church
Gate Street, opens out into Elphinstone Circle, the heart of the
business quarter, in which are placed the Town Hall, the Cathedral,
nnd most of the leading banks. This round will occupy the morning.
After tiffin a drive may be taken along Queen's Road to Malabar Hill
and Cumballa, returning by Grant Road and the native bazaars. By


BOMB A Y.
s
this time the traveller will have a good surface knowledge of the city,
and may address himself to detail.
Travellers who intend spending more than a day or two in this city
should purchase "Maclean's Guide to Bombay" for 5 rupees. It is a
complete vade mecum, full of information and detail, besides being a
most readable book.
The various government buildings, though handsome in elevation,

ON THE ROAD TO MALABAR HILL.
have no details of interest, containing merely a succession of offices
for the use of the clerks connected with the different departments.
The finest of these is the Secretariat, built at a cost of £130,000,
from a design of Col. Wilkins, R.E. The whole elevation presents a
clear, unbroken frontage to Back Bay of 450 feet, and looks very im-
posing when viewed from the Esplanade; the style is Venetian Gothic.
Here are located all the financial departments of the government of
Bombay. Next to the Secretariat are the University Senate Hall, and
the University Library and Clock Tower. These buildings are from
designs by Sir Gilbert Scott, in 13th century French architecture.


6
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
The Hall is 104 feet in length, 44 feet in breadth, with a height of
63 feet, presenting an nnbroken line of roofing from end to end.
There are some fine stained-glass windows, seen to best effect in the
forenoon. A carillon in the clock tower plays by machinery every
hour. The view of the city and harbour, looking over both bays, well
repays the climb of 250 feet to the summit of the tower.
The High Court is a huge building 560 feet long, in the early
English Gothic style, erected at a cost of £164,000; the smaller
building next to it, in Venetian Gothic, is the Public Works Office.
The Post and Telegraph Offices should be viewed from Back Bay.
Opposite to the post-office is the superb white marble statue of Her
Majesty, by Noble, R.A., one of the finest modern monuments in
the world, the gift to Bombay of Khanderao, the Gaekwar of Baroda.
The statue itself is of colossal size, measuring 8 feet; the pedestal and
canopy, 42 feet in total height, are designed in pure Gothic. Khan-
derao also presented the town of Bombay with the beautiful Sailors'
Home on the Apollo Bunder, so that this magnificent range of public
buildings, fully worthy of any European capital, begin and end with
the generous gifts of the chief native prince within the presidency.
The finest building in all Bombay is the new railway station and
offices of the Great India Peninsula Railway, completed in 1888. Its
great dome, surmounted by a huge figure of Progress, dominates the
whole city, and is conspicuous from every open space; this building
is also in the Italian Gothic style, and the architect, Mr. F. W.
Stevens, has certainly succeeded in distancing all Indian rivals. The
waiting and refreshment rooms are spacious and lofty, and are, with
the grand central staircase, and the palatial booking-offices, one mass
of beautiful and artistic decoration, in which coloured marbles, fine
carving in stone and wood, encaustic tiles, and ornamented railings,
are the chief features, having a special interest from being the handi-
work of the students of the Bombay Scbool of Art. This railway
station is replete with every accommodation and comfort for passengers,
and is a striking contrast to the dark and dirty sheds which do duty
for stations at Calcutta. It has cost this railway company about
£300,000, and is a fitting monument to an unbroken prosperity, that
has nearly doubled the value of its shareholders' property in twenty-
five years.
The School of Art is situated in a pleasant garden not far from the
Great India Peninsula Railway terminus. It is a plain, solid building,


BOMB A Y.
7
admirably fitted for its purpose, the gift of Sir Jamsetji Jijibhai.
This school has had considerable influence on the arts and manu-
factures of the city, of which I write further on. Sound practical
teaching is given in drawing, designing, modelling, wood engraving,
ceramics, decorative painting, and sculpture in wood and stone. The
beautiful pottery for which this school is famous is shown in a
separate building about 150 yards off, whera a large and varied stock
is kept for sale. This pottery is, perhaps, the cheapest, and, for the
price, the most decorative ware in existence; the manager packs it
carefully. I have had some elaborate pieces sent to England without
the slightest damage. This school of pottery is due to the energy of
Mr. Geo. Terry, who is the director and superintendent. He intro-
duced some of the best workmen from Sind, and the work Mr.
Terry's pupils turn out in glazed ware is almost equal in quality to
the celebrated products of that province. The Bombay ware may be
known by its greater finish. Mr. Terry has developed original
varieties, adapted from the Ajanta Cave paintings, and the popular
mythological paintings of modern Hinduism. He has to endure
competition from imitators, of whom beware; it is better to buy only
direct from the school itself.
The Goculdas Tejpal Hospital lies just behind the School of Art,
in Esplanade Cross Road; this was built mainly at the cost of Mr.
Tejpal, and Mr. R. J. Jijibhai, each of whom gave £15,000, the
Government finding the site and £10,000. It is rather mixed in its
styles, but one should not look a gift-horse in the mouth. The
patients are all Indians.
The Elphinstone High School is in the same road; the length of
this palatial academy is 452 feet, and it contains no less than twenty-
eight class-rooms, 30 by 25 feet, with a great central hall 70 feet
long and a library nearly as large. £15,000 of the cost was con-
tributed by Sir Albert Sassoon, the head of that notable family of
Persian Jews.
The Pestonji Cama Hospital for Women and Children is a
handsome mediaeval Gothic building in Cruickshank Road, and was
built at the cost of the Parsi gentleman whose name it bears. It
is one of the best designed hospitals in India, and deserves the
attention of every traveller who is interested in the new movement
for supplying medical aid to the women of India, associated with the
honoured name of Lady Dufferin. The only other hospitals worth


8
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
notice are the European, the Jamsetji Jijibhai, the General, and the
Cowasji Jehangir Ophthalmic Hospitals.
The Victoria Museum and
Gardens, are about half a mile
beyond the Byculla Railway
Station, and make a pleasant
excursion in the early morn-
ing, when a delightful hour
may be spent strolling about
the gardens, fragrant with
tropical flowers and shrubs,
many of which are familiar to
the Englishman in his own
hot-houses, or at Kew, but
which here flourish with a
tenfold luxuriance. In tho
evening, from four to six, the
gardens are crowded with
thousands of gaily dressed
Indians, especially when the
band plays. There is a rather
mouldy collection of wild
beasts in the menagerie. The
contents of the museum itself
are trivial, and badly arranged.
There is, however, a fine
statue of the late Prince Con-
sort, by Noble. A thoroughly
well - arranged collection of
Indian Art, on the lines of
South Kensington, would be
. t a great addition to this hand-
some and capacious museum.
The series of public build-
ings thus enumerated have
been almost entirely erected
during the last thirty years at
of which one quarter has been

WATER CARRIER—CRAWFORD MARKET.
a cost of about a million sterling,
given by Parsis and other wealthy Indians.


BOMB A Y.
9
The markets of Bombay, like those of every Asiatic city, are full of
picturesque interest to a European visitor.
The one most worthy of attention is the Crawford Market, at the
north-east corner of the Esplanade, standing on 72,000 yards of land
of which about 6,000 is under cover. The fruit and flower stalls are
in the main building, which presents a very handsome elevation to
the street; behind is a great iron shed, 350 feet by 100, devoted to
vegetables, cereals, and spices. The beef market, being abhorred by
Hindus, is in a separate building at the back of all; mutton and
goat's flesh, with fish, being under another roof, and sadly over-
crowded.
The poultry dealers throng the open spaces, their stock of fowls,
ducks, turkeys and other birds being all alive in wicker cages.
Parrots, mynas, love-birds, cockatoos and singing-birds of all sorts, as
well as fighting-quails, are also offered for sale.
The best time to visit the market is in the early morning, about
seven o'clock, when the flower and fruit stalls are at their best, and
the fresh fish is being brought in from the bay.
The Government Dockyard is one of the oldest institutions in
Bombay, having been in existence since 1736. It consists of a series
of moderate sized graving-docks, with the necessary workshops, and
contains no special feature of interest. It was here that the East
India Company built their war-ships, and from time to time a good
many battle ships in the days of the wooden walls of old England
were turned out for the British Admiralty. Nothing bigger than gun-
boats and barges are now built here, and it exists mainly for repair
work. It is in contemplation to build a superb graving-dock, capable
of taking in a first-class modern ironclad, at the joint cost of Great
Britain and India.
Behind the Town Hall, a homely building of fifty years ago, is the
Castle and Arsenal. An order must be obtained from the Inspector-
General of Ordnance, the general officer commanding, or if the visitor
be a foreigner, from the Secretariat; it is readily granted. Here are
stored every kind of warlike material and ordnance, sufficient to furnish
an army of 10,000 men at a day's notice. The workshops employ nearly
a thousand artizans, making tents, harness, saddlery, accoutrements,
and other equipments, or cleaning and repairing small arms.
In the Compound the European stranger will probably see his first
banyan trees, one of which is 300 years old, whose shade is utilized


IO
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
ns a sort of museum of ancient and curious guns. Three of these
were captured in the last Burmese war; one was made at Ostend in
1601; another, very highly decorated, bears an inscription "Jan
Verbruggen me fecit, 1757," and one long piece of twenty-one feet,
ten tons in weight, was made at Poona in 1771, and captured at
Ahmednagar by the Duke of Wellington in 1803. A collection of
quaint old weapons of native
manufacture is exhibited in the
armoury of the old Council Hall.
An interesting boat excursion
may be made from the Apollo
Bunder to visit the various docks
and basins along the harbour
frontage, starting from Colaba
Point and rowing up to the
Mazagon Bunder. The old light-
house on Colaba Point has not
been used since 1874, when its
lofty successor on the Prongs
Reef, seen one and a half mile
seaward, was completed.
The next important building is
the Observatory, then the Pilot
Bunder, after which a landing
should be made to visit the
Sassoon Dock, the oldest in the
port, in which large ships can
load and discharge. Continuing
up the harbour, the Apollo Bunder, the Yacht Club, the Dockyard,
Custom House and Arsenal are successively passed. The long stretch
of vacant ground which follows is the Mody Bay reclamation land,
taken in from the foreshore by the Government at a cost of £300,000.
It is being gradually taken up for various purposes, the two large
buildings already erected being ice manufactories. The Prince's Dock
lies just beyond, called after the Prince of "Wales, who laid the
foundation-stone during his visit in 1875. This magnificent dock
is 1,460 feet by 1,000, 30 acres in area, accommodating about 30
ocean steamers and sailing-ships. Passing three busy basins, Mazagon
Bunder is reached, near which is a new fish market.

A BOMBAY SAILINO-BOAT.


BOMB A Y.
11
Returning to Apollo Bunder, a visit may be paid to some of the
port defences, such as Cross Island, Middle Ground and Oyster Rock
Batteries, and the two coast defence ironclads, the Abyssinia and
Magdala, orders for which may be obtained when writing for a permit
to visit the Arsenal.
Bombay, after New Orleans, is the greatest cotton port in the
world, and a visit should be paid to the Cotton Green about noon, at
which time " high change " sets in at a yard opposite to the Colaba
terminus of the tramway. Any open market in India is sure to be a

A CORNER OF THE COTTON GREEN.
striking picture of native life, brightened with an endless variety of
costume and kaleidoscopic colour. The cotton market of Bombay is
no exception. Four million cwts. are exported from Bombay in the


13
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
year, and over two millions more are consumed in the 82 mills in the
Bombay presidency, the bulk of which are in the city; the value of
all this cotton is about £12,000,000.
The spinning and weaving of cotton by machinery has had a great
impulse during the last 20 years, the number of mills having increased
from 14 in 1870 to 82 in 1888. These mills are not content with a
market in India, but are rapidly driving out Manchester from the
eastern markets in all coarse yarns. The exports of yarn and other
cotton manufactures from India in 1870 were of the total valuj of
£170,000; in 1888 they had increased to £1,150,000. This
singularly successful industry is mainly in the hands of Parsis, and
some of the mills, notably those of which Messrs. Tata & Sons, the
Alliance Cotton Mill Co., Limited, Messrs. Maneckji Petit & Sons,
Messrs. J. N. Petit & Co., and Messrs. David Sassoon & Co. are the
managing agents, are among the finest and most modern in the world,
having been erected regardless of cost by such well-known English
firms as Asa Lees & Sons, and Piatt Bros., of Oldham. A note sent
to any of these firms will procure permission to visit their mills; it is
interesting to observe the difference between the workmanship of the
Indian and Lancashire hands. There are, roughly speaking, two and
a half persons employed in every Indian mill to one in Lancashire.
A well condensed history of this cotton industry will be found in
"Maclean's Guide."
The Hindu temples of Bombay are lacking in interest, and as
the traveller will certainly visit such sacred Hindu cities as Benares
and Muttra, it would be a pity to take up much time in visiting those
of Bombay. But when a drive is being taken to Malabar Hill some
morning or evening, it will be well worth while to see the Walkeshwar
Temple and Tank. There has been a temple in this very holy place
from time immorial, but the series of handsome shrines of the
ordinary Hindu type which now surround the tank are none of them
more than 150 years old. The various buildings interspersed with the
temples are the houses of the resident Brahman priests, and Dharm-
salas, lodging places for pilgrims, owned by rich and pious Hindus,
who grant the free use of them on application for a limited period.
Many of the wealthy merchants have small houses here, to which
they repair on festival days with their friends and families. There is
a cleft rock on the beach, just behind the tank, through which
pilgrims squeeze themselves as an act of piety, signifying regeneration.


BOMB A Y.
13
Walkeshwar is a strange and interesting sight to the foreigner just
landed in India, and here he will probably see for the first time those
fakirs, or holy ascetics, who play so large a part in Hindu society.
If an intelligent and experienced missionary can be secured as guide,
or an English-speaking Brahman, it will greatly increase the interest
of the visit. There is a group
of temples at Breach Candy also
well worth seeing, one of which,
built by Mr. Dhakji, a late prime
minister of Baroda, is among
the best specimens of modern
Hindu architecture in India.
The Muhammadans possess
nearly 100 mosques, scattered all
over the town and island. The
oldest and most interesting is the
Jama Masjid, near the Crawford
Market. The best time to visit
it is on Friday at noon, when its
courtyards are crowded with thou-
sands of pious Musalmans. It
is open to visitors, but the shoes
must be removed before entering.
The Parsi Fire temples are all
severely plain buildings, inside
and out. None but Parsis are
admitted.
The human life of Bombay
differs from that of every other
Indian city by the dominating
element of the Parsis, who, by
their wonderful energy, enterprise
and education, have become the most important and powerful influence
in the Bombay Presidency. These people are the descendants of
ancient Persians, who fled from their native land before the Muham-
madan conquerors of Persia, and who settled at Surat 1,100 or 1,200
years ago. They now number in all about 70,000, the great majority
of whom reside in Bombay. They speak English fluently, and it is
carefully taught in their schools. The founder of their religion was

A FAKIR.


14 PICTURESQUE INDIA.
Zoroaster, whom tradition says was a disciple of the Hebrew prophet
Daniel. He teaches a pure and lofty morality, summed up in three
precepts of two words each, viz., good thoughts, good words, good
deeds, of which the Parsi continually reminds himself by the triple
coil of his white cotton girdle, which never leaves him.
The Parsis are often spoken of as "Fire Worshippers," a term
which they rightly repudiate with indignation. They are Theists.
God, according to the Parsi faith, is the emblem of glory, refulgence,
and spiritual life; and therefore the Parsi, when praying, either
faces the sun, or stands before fire, as the most fitting symbol of
the Deity. The interior of their temples is entirely empty, except
for the sacred fire in a small recess, which is never allowed to expire.
The walls are bare, without the slightest decoration. There is no
pleasanter sight in Bombay than the groups of pious Zoroastrians
praying at sunset along the shores of Back Bay.
The " good deeds" of the Parsis are in evidence all over Bombay,
and are by no means confined to their own people. The charities
of Sir Jamsetji Jijibhai, his sons and grandsons, would need a
volume to describe. Hospitals, schools, dispensaries, colleges, and
other valuable institutions are scattered over town and province with a
lavish hand. One of his sons is known to have thus given away a
quarter of a million sterling.
The Elphinstone College building, the University Hall, two of the
three Bombay hospitals, and seven dispensaries, testify to the
benevolence of this remarkable people towards the public generally.
It is impossible to describe what they have done for their co-
religionists. No community in the history of the world has, in
proportion to its numbers and wealth, such a charitable record to
produce; it puts modern Christianity to the blush. No more profit-
able day can be spent in Bombay, than by visiting, in company with
some intelligent Parsi, their educational and benevolent institutions.
The cultured young men of the best families are always delighted to
undertake so pleasant a duty.
A fitting illustration of the princely generosity of these Parsi
merchants may be found in the list of gifts to the public from the
wealth of one man, Sir Cowasji Jehangir Readymoney, C.S.I., the
descendent of a long line of Parsi Bankers, who deservedly earned
the pseudonym of "Readymoney" as much by their scrupulous
integrity as by their success in trade. In 1857, he built, at a cost of


BOMB A Y
66,000 rupees, the noble civil hospital at Surat. In 1863, he erected
the Ophthalmic hospital at Byculla, Bombay, spending 97,000 rupees.
The beautiful Civil Engineering College at Poona, and the European
Strangers' Home at Bombay would never have been called into exist-

ence but for his munificence, contributing 50,000 rupees to the former,
and 72,000 to the latter. The superb University Hall and Elphinstone
College were practically founded by Sir Cowasji, who gave 100,000
rupees to the hall, and 200,000 to the college; he also gave 10,000
towards the furnishing of University Hall. In 1868, he called into


i6
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
existence the fine lunatic asylum at Haiderabad, Sind, by a contribu-
tion of 50,000 rupees. He has erected drinking fountains throughout
Bombay at a cost of 50,000 rupees, some of them, such as the one in
front of the cathedral, being very artistic structures.
His charity began at home, but did not stop there. His money
flowed out to the Lancashire relief fund, the War Victims' fund of the
Franco-Prussian War, Jesuit and Presbyterian schools, famine-stricken
districts in remote India, and in a hundred other channels, all over
the world. His public benefactions reach a sum of at least 1,300,000
rupees, and his private charities were discovered after his death to
have been 400,000, all spent without respect to race or creed. When
Sir Cowasji sent £200 to London for charities, as a thank-offering
for the recovery of the Prince of Wales, Punch, commenting thereon,
said: "Is Mr. Readymoney a Parsi? at anyrate he is not parsi-
monious."
One of the leading peculiarities of the Parsi religion is the method
pursued for the disposal of the bodies of their dead. No one should
pass through Bombay without paying a visit to the Dakhmas, or
Towers of Silence. These strange towers, about 90 feet in diameter
and 15 feet high, are built in the midst of a beautiful garden on the
top of Malabar Hill, looking across the wide ocean towards the setting
sun, and surrounded by the villas and bungalows of the wealthy
merchants of Bombay.
The garden is approached by a long private road, to which all
access is barred, except to Parsis, and those who have received
permission from the Secretary of the Parsi Society. This leads
to a flight of steps, at the top of which is the house of prayer,
where the sacred fire is kept burning with incense and sandal wood,
and never allowed to die down. It is not permitted to enter, but
from its terrace is obtained on the one side a glorious view of the
whole city of Bombay, the harbour beyond, and the magnificent
ranges of the Ghats in the distance. On the other side is a lovely
garden sloping down to the ocean, glorious in parterres, flowering
shrubs and palms, with five low circular structures of solid granite
rising solemnly out of the foliage. Ranged round the summit of
these towers, crowded closely together, are rows of loathsome vultures,
which, black against the sunset sky, dominate the whole scene and
seem to crowd out of view all their beautiful surroundings. These
birds are still and silent; but when the gate is unlocked for a funeral,





PICTURESQUE INDIA.
they begin to stir and show signs of excitement, which increases as
the procession winds slowly up the hill, followed by the mourners
reciting funeral prayers. After the mourners comes a man leading
a white dog, the emblem of faithfulness, followed by a crowd of
priests in pure white robes, with relations and friends of the dead
man, holding a handkerchief between them, in token of sympathy and
fellow feeling. On reaching the House of Prayer, the mourners enter,
and chant p'-ayers while the corpse bearers enter the Tower of Silence
Hindu charities are large and generous, but usually confined to
their own people. Their benevolent endowments generally feed the
hungry, clothe the naked, or erect and maintain temples. Of late
years, however, the more educated Hindu, more or less permeated with
Western notions, has established schools and colleges; the University
Library owing its foundation to the generous contribution of £20,000
from Mr. Premchand Iloychand, who also gave the same sum to
Calcutta University for a travelling scholarship.
The most curious and interesting of the Hindu charities is the
Hospital for Aged and Infirm Animals, at Pinjrapole, which is a
unique institution. Here, in cages and inclosures, are hundreds of
decrepit cows, mangy dogs and cats, parrots, pigeons, and other

with the dead body, which they
expose naked on the platform
which is erected inside, invisible
to all outsiders.
A BOMBAY BRAHMAN.
The moment they withdraw,
the rows of expectant vultures
drop silently down into the tower,
and in ten minutes have stripped
every particle of flesh off the
corpse, reducing it to a bare
skeleton before the mourners
have finished their prayers. The
skeleton remains three or four
weeks exposed to the tropical
sun, when the bleached bones are
reverently placed in a centre well
within the tower, where Parsis
of high and low degree are left to
turn into dust without distinction.


BOMB A Y.
domestic pets, fed and cared for tenderly in their old age. It is open
to the public at any time of the day, and should certainly be seen by
every traveller.
The population of Bombay city
is officially classified thus :—
Europeans .
Eurasians
Native Christiana and
Goanese .
Hindus of all castes
and out-castes
Jains .
Muhamniadans
Parsis .
Jews
Negroes
Chinese .
10,451
1,168
30,708
503,851
17,218
158,024
48,597
3,321
689
All races and castes . 773,196
These alone would make a
motley crowd in the streets of the
city; but added to them are
numbers of strangers from every
part of Asia and India, Arabs from
Muscat and Zanzibar, Afghans,
Beluchis, Malagasis, Malays, Raj-
puts, Sikhs, Moormen from Cey-
lon, Madrasis, Tamils, and a host
of others, all wearing distinctive
clothing and turbans.
All these mixed nationalities „
are, of course, seen to best advan-
tage in the native town, which lies
right and left of Sheik Abdul
Rahman Street, a continuation of
Esplanade Market Road, beyond the Crawford Markets. The traveller
will find a never-ending amusement and interest in the crowds of
gaily dressed IndiaDs swarming in and out of the shops, the quaintly
frescoed houses, or the mosques and temples.
Everything is done in the open air. The shops are frontless, and

A BRAHMAN WOMAN.
c 2


2o PICTURESQUE INDIA.
the bargains driven on the parapet in front, while each handicraft
is pursued under the eyes of every passer-by. In India everything is
hand-wrought, and is therefore a work of art.
At busy times of the day, the narrow cross streets, in which the
various trades and crafts group themselves, are blocked with a noisy,
good-humoured crowd of men and women, innumerable ox-carts,
fakirs, pedlars, beggars, water-car-
riers, dogs, crows, kites, pigeons
and parrots.
The Nul Bazar, between Parel and
Duncan Road, is where the natives
get most of their food supply, and
is always densely crowded in the
forenoon. Here also congregate the
women who sell the cakes of dried cow
dung, the universal fuel of India.
The cloth market, where all the
dealers in piece goods congregate, is
in Sheik Memon Street, close to the
Jama Musjid. Here may be seen
fine lofty houses, with carved wooden
pillars and balconies, the residences
of wealthy Hindu merchants, and
temples studded all over with little
black and red images of gods and
goddesses.
The handloom weavers congregate
in the streets and alleys near Babual
Tank, on the road to Mazagon.
The workers in brass and copper, a most picturesque trade, are to
be found in the copper bazar, opposite the Mombadevy Tank, where
are manufactured with deafening clang the endless utensils of the
Hindu, such as lotas, dishes, bowls, candlesticks, gods, bells, spoons,
and other domestic and sacred objects.
There are more than six thousand goldsmiths, jewellers, and dealers
in precious stones scattered all over Bombay. Every Indian has n
love of jewellery, and a wealthy Hindu often has £20,000 or £30,000
worth in his safe for the decoration of himself and the ladies of his
zenana, while the poor choose this form of investment in preference to

A Mt'HAMMADAN WOMAN.


BOMB A Y.
21
any other. It is a common thing to see some woman sweeping the
streets or carrying a load of cow dung, with gold and silver hangles,
and armlets of considerable value, or wearing a handsome hemi-
spherical gold ornament, peculiar to the women of Bombay.
One of the distinctive art manufactures of Bombay is wood carving.
Sir Geo. Birdwood says:—
"In Bombay, the wealthy native gentlemen have their reception
rooms furnished in European style. It is always the same furniture
that is to be seen in these Bombay
bouses, made of the shiaham or
blackwood trees, and elaborately
carved in a style obviously derived
from the Dutch The
carving is very skilful, but in a style
of decoration utterly inapplicable
to chairs, couches, and tables, and
looks absolutely hideous when
'French polished,' an 'improve-
ment ' introduced during the last
twenty years to suit European
taste. When, however, this wood
is used for the reproduction of the
inlaid wooden doors of old Hindu
temples, the effect is always
good I once saw
in a Parsi house in Bombay some
stately blackwood couches, which had been designed in the Assyrian
style from Rawlinson's Ancient Monarchies. The common jackwood
furniture of Bombay, rectangular in its forms, and simply fluted and
beaded for its ornamentation, is far superior in taste to the blackwood
furniture, for which the place is celebrated."
If the traveller wishes to take home some specimens of this manu-
facture, he may buy screens, tea-poys, desks, inkstands, and other
small objects of purely native shapes, which are thoroughly artistic
work. The process of wood carving, and large stocks of everything
produced, may be seen at the East India Art Manufactory at Gowalla
Tank, Messrs. John Roberts & Co., Marine Street, or at Mr.
Jamsitji Nowrowji's workshops.
Besides this carved furniture, many beautiful articles are produced

A FUEL SELLER.


22
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
in the well-known "Bombay inlaid work," which is to be found
in every fancy shop in London in the shape of work-boxes, glove-
boxes, card-cases, and what not. This pretty trade has dribbled
down through Sind and Gujarat from Persia. The inlay is made up
of tin wire, sandal-wood, ebony, ivory, sappan-wood, stag-horn, and
other materials. Boxes are also produced in sandal-wood, without
inlay, chiefly in low relief floriated patterns.
Ivory and tortoiseshell are worked up into ornaments for women,
combs, bracelets, elephants,
tigers, cows, peacocks, with
hunting, social, and mythologi-
cal subjects, and fans. It is
well worth while for the bric-
a-brac collectors to hunt the
native bazars for specimens,
especially of combs and brace-
lets, some of which are exceed-
ingly fine work.
Almost every art manufacture
of the Bombay presidency may
be purchased in the native
quarter, and those who wish to
make collections will do well to
seek the guidance and counsel
of some intelligent native fami-
liar with the bazars and able
to speak English, paying him a
small commission; he will, of course, get another from the sellers,
but it is better to make him feel that he is your broker, not
theirs. There are, of course, plenty of art dealers in the English
quarter who have large and varied stocks, but most of them ask about
20 per cent. more than the Regent Street shops in London. The
Bombay bazar is as good and cheap a market as any in India in
which to buy silk and cotton saris, the beautiful gold, silver, or em-
broidered-bordered garments of the women, and the figured silk saris
worn by Parsi ladies, many of which are worth as much as £100, are
mostly woven in China for this special demand, and embroidered by
themselves. Any Parsi gentleman will inform the traveller where
these splendid garments may be purchased.

PARSI WOMEN.


BO MP A Y
23
Anyone interested in municipal institutions should pay a visit to
the weekly meeting of the City Council. It consists of 72 members,
16 of whom are nominated by Government, 16 by the justices of the
peace resident in Bombay, 2 by the University, 2 by the Chamber of
Commerce, and 36 by popular election from the wards in the city.
The members are paid 30 rupees for every meeting of the council
they attend. Their debates are conducted in English, with great
ability and intelligence.
There is an excellent salt-water swimming-bath at Back Bay,
near the band-stand, and another on the shore of the Warden Road
at Breach Candy. Ladies may use the latter at certain times of
the day.
The proper time of the day for making calls in European society in
Bombay, and indeed all over India, is from 11 to 1.30, or, in the case
of personal friends only, from 4 to 5 o'clock in the evening. Letters
of introduction to native gentlemen should be sent by a servant or
posted, with addressed cards. The visitors' books of the Governor
and his wife lie upon the hall table of Government House, Malabar
Point, from 11 a.m. to 1.30. Letters of introduction should be left
personally, with cards, and the book signed. Persons who have been
presented at Court, or are otherwise possessed of recognised social
status, may, without letters of introduction, inscribe their names and
addresses in the Governor's book, who usually invites them to any
general festivity, such as a garden party or an "at home," if one
occurs during their stay in Bombay.
Society " takes the air" after 5 o'clock in the evening, when the
esplanade is gay with carriages and riders, their rendezvous being the
band-stand, when there is music.
Good shooting may be had in the country all pound Bombay.
There are many districts easily accessible by an ordinary Bunder boat,
where nice bags of snipe may be made, and later in the season, in
January and February, the large grey quail is abundant over the same
ground. In the muddy flats inland from the sea, and in the creeks
and shallows of the bay, duck, teal, widgeon, snipe, redshanks, golden
plover, and other birds are plentiful enough. The sportsman who
wishes to spend much of his time in shooting should engage a regular
shikari. They are easily obtained for five to ten rupees a week, know
all the best and most accessible spots, and will engage boats ana
boatmen.


24
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
The Caves of Elephanta are visited as a matter of course by
every stranger who comes to Bombay. Apart from the interest
attaching to the caves themselves, it is a most delightful and pleasant
excursion, and is usually made the opportunity for some little festivity
or picnic. Elephanta is a small green island, six miles distant from
the Bander across the bay. It may be reached by a sailing-boat, if
the wind be fair, but it is always uncertain when a sailing-boat will

THE CREAT CAVE AT ELEPHANTA.
get back. Messrs. Thos. Cook & Son keep a nice steam-launch,
which may be hired for a reasonable sum, and it is usual for parties
in the same hotel who have become friendly to club together and hire
it. On certain days of the week it is run early in the morning as an
omnibus, and single fares, including breakfast on board, are charged.
The best time for private parties is after tiffin. An hour is enough
for the passage, an hour and a half to view the caves, with a pleasant
sail home in the cool of the evening. The beautiful prospect of
Bombay city, standing out against the crimson sunset, may be
enhanced by afternoon tea and some of the famous cakes made by
Peliti, the Italian confectioner in Meadow Street.


BOMB A Y
25
The pretty island opposite to Elephanta is Butcher's Island, where
the quarantine hospitals are placed. Elephanta is a hill about 600
feet high, covered with dense jungle, its benches being mangrove
swamps, which may be observed on each side of the slippery concrete
blocks on which passengers are landed. The island is sacred to
Siva, the destroyer god of the Hindus, and, as is fit, is the home of
malaria and poisonous cobras, rock, and carpet snakes. The island
swarms with curious insects and brilliant beetles, which are caught,
and offered for sale by children at the landing-place. Here also are
coolies with chairs fixed on poles, in which, for a few annas, they will
carry visitors up the flight of steps which lead to the caves, at the top
of which is the quaint bungalow of the keeper, a retired non-com-
missioned officer, who is a most intelligent guide.
There is no necessity for filling pages with a lengthy description of
these interesting Hindu monuments, dating from about the 10th cen-
tury. The principal temple is 130 feet square, the roof of the cave being
sustained by 26 massive fluted pillars, and 16 pilasters. Round the
walls are groups of massive figures, from 12 to 20 feet high, carved
out of the solid rock. It is a Siva-Linga temple, and the object of
its arrangements is to represent Siva in the all-productiveness of
Nature.
The authorities have compiled a careful and accurate description of
the temples and all their details, copies of which have been pasted on
thin boards, one of which is given to each visitor as he enters,
enabling him easily and intelligibly to understand the significance of
the decorations, and the various groups of gods and goddesses.
The caves have been terribly knocked about by Portuguese icono-
clasts, but at their best they must have been greatly inferior to tho
cave temples at Ellora or Ajanta. If the traveller does not intend to
visit either of these greater groups of rock temples, he ought to give
a day to those at Kenheri, excavated in one of the high hills of
Salsette Island.
It is a somewhat fatiguing excursion. The train at 6.0 a.m. from
Victoria Station to Thana arrives at 7.12. The drive to the foot
of the hill is about six miles, three or four of which can be done
in a bullock gharry, and the rest must be walked, the caves being
reached about 10 a.m. It is better, therefore, to go to Thana the
night before, sleep at the Travellers' Bungalow, and start for the
caves before daybreak, so as to arrive before the heat of the day sets


26
PICTURESQUE INDIA
in. The station-master, or the messman of the bungalow will, if
written to beforehand, order the bullock-cart. The whole trip may be
arranged at Cook's Excursion Offices.
The caves are 109 in number. The largest of these, dating from
the 5th century, is a noble temple, 90 feet long, 40 feet broad, with a
vaulted nave 40 feet high, resting on 34 pillars, flanked by side
aisles. At the upper end is a domed dagoba of solid rock, 19 feet
high and 49 feet in circumference. The total length of temple,
portico, and area is 142 feet. From this flights of steps lead to a
series of Viharas (monasteries), consisting of two rooms each, with an
entrance portico, and stone water-cisterns.
The Durbar Cave is about 100 feet long by 40 wide, but only 9 feet
high. It is plain and simple in its decoration, merely surrounded by
columns, with a stone bench in front.
If any of my readers wish to know more details about these
marvellous excavations I must refer them to that excellent book,
which will be in their portmanteaux, if they have taken the advice
offered in my preface, "Fergusson's History of Indian Architecture."
The Vehar Lake, an artificial reservoir formed to provide Bombay
with pure water, may be visited the afternoon of the day set apart for
Kenheri. It may be reached by carriage from Thana, after tiffin
at the Travellers' Bungalow, returning to Bombay from Bhandup
Station, close to the lake, in time for dinner. The lake is very pretty,
covering an area of about 1,500 acres. The fine waterworks
connected with Vehar cost the city nearly £800,000, and the cor-
poration have sanctioned further expenditure of about as much again.
When completed, the water supply of Bombay will be about 100
million gallons daily. They are under the skilful management of
Mr. S. Tomlinson, the deputy-engineer, who possesses a very wide
knowledge of water engineering, having visited most of the important
waterworks of Europe, America, and the Colonies, in a recent tour
round the world taken for the purpose. Travellers who take more
than a passing interest in such matters will find every courtesy and
attention from this gentleman, whose office is in the Municipal
Buildings, in Rampart Bow.
Bassein.—This ancient Portuguese city, now a desolate ruin, is
about forty miles from Bombay. The 6.30 train from Colaba Station
reaches Bassein Road at 8.47, returning at 6.55, arriving at Bombay


BOMB A Y.
27
at 9.20 p.m. A note beforehand to the Mamlatdar at Bassein, or the
station-master at Bassein Road (consult Cook) will secure a conveyance
to the ruins, which are some three miles distant.
The first object of interest is the massive double'"Sea-gate. The
walls and ramparts of the Fort are well preserved, and are about
thirty feet high. The Cathedral of St. Joseph is roofless, but the
walls and tower are still standing. To the left of the Sea-gate is the

and convent of the Augustines; the next building is the factory,
and in the garden of one of the ruined palaces stands all that is
left of the church and beautiful cloister of the Misericordia, cheek by
jowl with a temple to Siva. None of these buildings have any great
architectural interest. The Church of the Jesuits, founded in 1548
by Francis Xavier, has a fine arch still standing with fluted columns.
Near the Town Bungalow is the Church of San Antonio, the oldest
and largest of all; the arched ceiling of the principal chapel is still in
good condition.
There is a melancholy pathos of departed greatness about old
Bassein. For more than two centuries it was, after Goa, the chief


28
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
European settlement in the East Indies, and during this time it rose
to great prosperity and influence; its hidalgos, or nobles, who alone
were allowed to live within the walls, were proverbial for their wealth
and magnificence, dwelling in stately buildings two stories high,
graced with covered balconies and large windows. The Marathas
subdued the Portuguese in 1739, after a siege of three months, and
from that time Bassein has bccu the dwelling-place of bats and
jackals.
I have heard of delightful moonlight trips to Bassein in steam-
launches, up the bay to Thana, and on by the Ghodbandar river to
Bassein, a distance of some fifty miles, winding in and out of wooded
islands, and by palm groves. I have no doubt that Cook and Son
could arrange such a trip, on timely notice, at no very serious cost to
a party of a dozen. An interesting trip may be made to the ancient
Hindu Temple of Amaranth, leaving Bombay by the 7.30 train for
Kalyan Junction, returning the same afternoon.
In this chapter I have only touched the fringe of all the interesting
sights of Bombay and its neighbourhood, but I have indicated the
principal, and for the rest, are they not written in Maclean's guide?
Missions.—Just four per cent. of the Indian population of Bombay
are Christian, and this includes Portuguese and Eurasians. The
Church Missionary Society established a station in Bombay in 1820.
They have a community of 185 Christians, of whom 64 are com-
municants, with 533 children in their schools. The Indian Female
Normal School Society has two ladies working in co-operation with
the C. M. S. They have two girls' schools, with a total attendance of
about 220, and a staff of about 24 European and Indian ladies
acting under their superintendence as school teachers and Bible
women. There are four ordained missionaries: Rev. H. C. Squires,
secretary; Rev. J. M. Macdonald, in charge of the church in
Girgaum; Rev. J. A. Harris, in charge of the Robert Money School
with 280 pupils, mostly Hindus; and the Rev. W. T. S. Tisdall, who
specially devotes himself to Musalmans. Mr. Squires lives near the
church in Girgaum. English as well as vernacular services are held
in the mission church.
The S. P. G. station centres in their handsome church in
Kamatipura, where services are held in English, Maratha, and
Tamil, by one or other of the four missionaries in charge. There are


BOMB A Y.
29
334 Christians, old and young, connected with the mission, of whom
179 are communicants. 171 children are in three schools. The
Rev. G. Ledgard, who is in charge, resides at the Adelphi Hotel,
Clare Road, Byculla. He is a missionary of wide experience, spread
over a period of thirty years.
The work of the Free Church of Scotland may be said to date from
the close of the year 1829, when Dr. John Wilson first settled in
Bombay, after a residence of nearly a year in the Konkan districts, the
first seat of the Scottish Mission in Western India. In addition to
the work of preaching and publishing in the vernacular, from the out-
set of his Bombay career, Dr. Wilson directed his attention to the
subject of Christian education, and in 1831 he laid the foundation of
the educational work which has now grown to be one of extent and
importance. With the aid of the ladies' society of the Free Church
of Scotland for Female Education in India and Africa, schools for
native girls, Christian and heathen, have been maintained for upwards
of fifty years. These have, along with similar agencies in other
missions, done much to advance the cause of education among the
women of India which is so striking a feature of the Indian missions
of our time.
The educational work of the mission may be described in connec-
tion with the buildings in which it is carried on. The highest
development of this branch of the work is the Wilson College, which,
since 1861, has been affiliated to the University of Bombay. Until
June 1889 the work of the College was carried on in the same build-
ing with the school, but was transferred to its new premises on Back
Bay in 1889. The new building is near the foot of Malabar Hill 011
the Back Bay Reclamation. This site was presented to the College
by the Government of Bombay, which also gave a grant in aid of
the building amounting to nearly half the total cost. When the
Principal's residence and the home for students will have been
completed, the total cost of the buildings erected on the site will
reach the sum of about Ls200,000. The college has a staff of six
missionary professors, and the number of undergraduates in attend-
ance is 220. These go through the full university course for the
degrees in Arts. Religious instruction is daily imparted to each class
during the first college hoar. This is the distinguishing feature of
the college as a Missionary Institution, and it does not -seem to
interfere with its academical success, as it stands high among the


3°
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
affiliated colleges, and attracts numbers of the ablest students.
In addition to the daily Bible classes, special Sunday classes, attend-
ance at which is optional, are from time to time held in the college.
Courses of lectures on religious subjects have also been organised.
The college has thus been for many years a centre of Christian
influence and effort amongst the educated natives of Bombay.
The High School conducted by the Mission is in the thickly
populated district of Khetwadi, close to the Girgaum police court. In
this building there are four hundred boys, of all classes and races,
who are going through a course of English education, from the lowest
to the highest stages. Religious instruction, in the lower classes
conducted in the vernacular, and in the higher classes in English, is
the work of the first school hour. These classes are taught by the
missionaries—one of the ladies taking part, the native pastor and
native Christian teachers. Amongst the pupils are Hindus, Parsis,
Musalmans, Bom Israel and Christians. The school is now comfort-
ably accommodated in the building which it used to share with the
college; it continues to be popular, and the attendance has been
growing from year to year. It receives an annual grant from Govern-
ment, which, together with the fees paid by the pupils, yields a local
income of about Rs.10,000. The college is also aided liberally by
Government, and has a large income from fees. More than half of
the total cost of college and school is thus provided independently of
the contributions of the home church.
Immediately opposite the Girgaum police court is the Ambroli
native church, in which the native congregation connected with
the mission worships. Opposite the church still stands the old
Ambroli mission-house in which Dr. Wilson spent the best years of
his missionary activity. This is, therefore, the district with which
the mission is most closely associated. The native church is
under its own Indian pastor, nearly the half of whose salary
is provided by the members of the congregation, who meet, also, all
the other expenses connected with the maintenance of the church
services. Two services are held every Sunday in the church; an
English service at 7.30 a.m., conducted by the missionaries, and a
Marathi service at 4. p.m., conducted by the native pastor. At 8.30
a.m. a large Sunday school, under the superintendence of the native
pastor, assembles in the adjoining building of the Ambroli girls'
school; it is a pretty sight.


BOMB A V.
3>
An interesting work is carried on amongst Musalmans by one of
the agents of the mission, himself a convert from Muhammadanism.
In the same compound as Dr. Mackichan's house at Gowalia is tho
girls' boarding school, in which about forty girls reside. These
receive a thorough education in Marathi, and also in English. Some
of them are being trained as teachers, and during the past years this
school has furnished a number of Christian teachers for the Hindu
girls' schools of the mission.
The Hindu girls' schools are the Ambroli school and the Girgaum
school. The Ambroli school is situated in the compound of the native
church. It has generally an attendance of 180 girls, many of them
from the higher castes. The Girgaum school is in a hired house on
the Girgaum road. The school has been carried on for a number of
years. It contains about 100 pupils, and is, in all respects, similar to
the Ambroli school.
Zenana mission work is carried on amongst Marathi and Gujarati
speaking families by three ladies of the mission. They have access
to a large number of houses, chiefly Hindu, but including also some
Parsi families. Some of these Zenana pupils were formerly in the
day-schools of the mission, and thus the Christian influence brought
to bear upon them in their earlier days is continued after they are
married into their own homes.
In connection with the Free Church of Scotland there is also a
congregation of European residents which worships in the Free
Church, Esplanade. There are services at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. The
manse is in Marine lines.
The American Marathi Mission at Byculla has the following
missionaries:—Rev. E. S. Hume, Mrs. E. S. Hume, Rev. J. E.
Abbott, Miss Abbott, Miss Lyman, Miss Millard. The church is at
Bhendi Bazar, with services (Marathi) on Sunday 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.
There is a Christian congregation of about 250, of whom 105 are
communicants who support their pastor, besides paying the church
sexton, and carrying on mission work at Lalitpur, N. W. P., where
there is an organised church and a school. This excellent mission
has twelve Sunday schools in the city, attended by about 600
men, women and children. Of these one is held in a chapel, one in a
Government school-house, three in private houses, and the rest in
rooms belonging to, or hired by the mission. Thirty Christians
attached to the congregation teach in these Sabbath schools. There


32
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
are three Christian Endeavour societies connected with the congre-
gation, containing in the aggregate more than 125 members. One of
these, which is for adults only, is responsible for all the evangelistic
work done in the city in connection with the mission, which employs
no paid preachers. In this way, preaching, Sunday-school work and
tract distribution, are managed here by the native church, not by the
mission. There is a school for native Christian children. It includes
primary, intermediate and high school departments, and is attended
by 130 girls and boys in nearly equal proportions.
In connection with this day-school there is a boarding department
containing forty-two girls, and a similar one in which are thirty-six
boys. There are seven vernacular schools for native children. The
aggregate number attending these schools is about 225. Three are
for girls only, and one more is for girls and boys. There are two
papers published by the mission, one of which is a weekly paper in
English and Marathi, and now in its forty-ninth year. The other is
an illustrated young people's monthly magazine, in Marathi, of
sixteen pages. It is now in its eighteenth year. The work in con-
nection with Bible-women is at present under the charge of Miss
Abbott.
The Established Church of Scotland has a mission under the
charge of Rev. A. B. Wann, B.D., who lives in the Carnac Road. Mr.
W. F. Milvin is the principal of a high school of 220 pupils, in
which he has the assistance of twelve non-Christian teachers.
This mission was established in 1835. There is a small church of
eighteen communicants.
The Salvation Army have their headquarters in Esplanade Market
Road. Their work is as yet in its infancy; but their methods are
full of interest to the student of Christian missions, and ought not to
be passed by without careful attention. They are doing good work
among sailors and other Europeans, besides rescue work and prison
visitation. They are held in high esteem by many of the leading
Parsis and Hindus, who subsidise the army for temperance work
among the cotton-mill hands.



CHAPTER n.
SURAT.
jmAT is a large town on the banks of the river
Tapti, and is well worth a visit. There is
no hotel, but there are bedrooms at the rail-
way refreshment-rooms, and a town bungalow.
The city is densely populated, and has often
been ravaged by fire; the main thoroughfares
are lined with handsome houses, the resi-
dences of wealthy Parsis and Brahmans,
whose facades, decorated with rich and
elaborate wood-carving, are extremely quaint.
Surat was founded in 1540, by a Turkish
general, in the service of the Gujarat kings, who built the castle
and the two walls; it has been a notable military fortress from
that time till 1862, when the troops were withdrawn. The city
is surrounded by a brick wall, about six miles in circumference,
flanked by small bastions, now in a very tumbledown condition.
It has twelve gates. There is a smaller inner wall, protecting the
castle.
The castle, a place of great historic interest, stands in a commanding
position on the bank of the river, about the centre of the city. It is a
mass of irregular fortifications, flanked at each corner by round towers,
from which fine views of the city, park, and river may be obtained.
The castle itself is a very picturesque building; the walls are eight
feet thick, covering about an acre, and the main tower is 80 feet high.
It is garrisoned by half-a-dozen native soldiers, whose main occupa-
tion, when I visited it early one morning in 1889, appeared to be the
amusement of sundry offenders imprisoned in a sort of Wombwell's
menagerie cage, with a barred front, and whose crime was that of
D


34
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
having drunk too much fermented toddy the night before. Near the
castle is a pretty garden of eight acres, in which are specimens of the
trees and shrubs indigenous to Surat, beyond which, across a small
creek, is a brick dam with six sluices, to prevent the Tapti, in the

HOUSE OF CARVED TEAK, BURAT.
rainy season, flooding the town. Within a few yards of this dam are
some tolerably well-preserved portions of the old city wall.
From the promenade of the public gardens a good view is obtained
of one of the finest railway bridges in India, constructed by 17 spans
of lattice girders, carried upon cast-iron columns, which are sunk
through 43 feet of sand and mud, the accumulation of ages of rainy
seasons; the cost of this bridge was £70,000. From the castle a fine
road runs through the station to a lofty clock-tower, 100 feet high,


SURAT.
35
which can be ascended, by eighty-five steep steps, for the view. A
little further on is the Town Hall, a handsome quadrangle, built 250
years ago as a travellers' bungalow, when Surat was in its splendour.
The English, Dutch, and Portuguese factories, massive buildings,
strong and solid, interesting relics of the last century, are now used as
private dwellings. The mosques and temples of the city are quaint
and picturesque, but without any special antiquarian or architectural
interest.
The hospitals for sick animals are well worth visiting; there are
three or four in Surat, and about 1000 head of cattle can be accommo-
dated by them. The sick are physicked, the feeble taken tenderly into
the suburbs to graze on green pastures, and the chance calves nursed
into maturity and used as servants to the hospital patients. There are
cages of deteriorated street dogs—a gruesome sight—fowls with hope-
less pip, attenuated sheep and goats, ragged old cage-birds; and at
Ovington hospital, even insects are cared for, for in a separate chamber
bugs, fleas, and other vermin are fondly cherished.
The most interesting sights of Surat are the old cemeteries, in
which lie buried governors, soldiers, and merchants who died in the
palmy days of the city. The English cemetery is at the end of a
long dirty lane; a wooden doorway opens into an expanse of weeds,
long grass, and brushwood, scattered with huge Oriental-looking
tombs, and backed by fine trees. Some of the mausoleums are forty
or fifty feet high, the quaint inscriptions dating from 1630 to 1820.
We are told that a president of the Honourable Company of English
Merchants " went unmarried to the heavenly nuptials in the year of
Christ 1649," and that Mistress Mary Price, a governor's wife,
"through the spotted veil of small-pox, rendered a pure and
unspotted soul to God."
The Dutch cemetery is more neglected and wild than the English.
There are a good many fruit trees scattered about the ground, the
fruit of which is offered for sale by the guardian, who lives in the
ruinous little lodge at the gate. The principal monument is that of
Baron Van Reede.
Leading out of the Dutch cemetery is the Armenian, a small
enclosure with graves at one end; the slabs have epitaphs in Armenian
characters, each ornamented with carvings of two cherubs and a
candlestick.
At the time when these cemeteries were in use, Surat was a very
d 2


3«
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
different place from to-day. Then it was the most thriving city in
India, with a population close upon a million, and with the main trade
of India centering on its wharves. The trade of the district to-day is
a mere ghost of its former magnitude, Bombay having entirely
superseded Surat. The exports are now small, being only about
£450,000 for the seven ports of Surat district. Grain, cotton, timber,
bamboos, cocoa-nuts, and mahua flowers for distilling native spirit, are
the main articles of commerce. Surat is said to be the most drunken
city in India.
The spinning and weaving of cotton cloth employs the great bulk of
the population, and there are some fine mills. Silk brocade and
embroidery are also largely manufactured by hand-looms. An after-
noon may be pleasantly spent in a ramble through the bazars.
The present population of Surat is 107,000, of whom 74 per cent.
are Hindu, 20 per cent. Muhammadan, and 6 per cent. Parsis. Thero
are about 350 Christians in the city.
There are some excellent conjurers and snake-charmers at Surat,
and if the traveller finds time hang heavily, he may take the opportu-
nity of sending for some of these wonderful people, and have an
exhibition of their powers.
The first Christian Missionaries to occupy Surat were the Capuchin
Friars, who in the middle of the 17th century established a monastery
near the buildings now occupied by the Irish Presbyterian Mission.
The Capuchins exercised considerable influence in Surat from 1660
till 1670, and were able to induce so cruel a tyrant as Sivaji to spare
their own lives and those of others who took refuge with them.
A Protestant Mission was first established in Surat in 1812. It
was in connection with the Baptist Mission in Bengal, and was
conducted by C. C. Aratoon, a Baptist convert. Messrs. Fyvie and
Skinner, agents of the London Missionary Society, arrived in Surat
in 1815. The present Mission Press, from which millions of
Christian books and Scriptures in Gujarati have been issued, was
started by Mr. Skinner in 1820, and the whole of the New Testament
was printed in it before the end of 1821. This may fairly be con-
sidered the first edition of the Scriptures in Gujarati, as the edition
in that language printed and published at Serampore in 1820 and
handed over to the London Mission at Surat, is not intelligible.
In 1846, the London Mission concentrating their forces in other


SURA T.
37
parts of their extensive field, retired from Surat. Just then the Rev.
Robert Montgomery of the Irish Presbyterian Mission, on account of

TRAVELMNO SNAKE CHARMERS AND JUGGLERS.
the conversion of a well-known Muhammadan Munshi A. Rahman,
was compelled by the Rana to withdraw from Porbandar in
Kathiawar; and arrangements having been made for the transference


38
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
of Surat from the London Mission to the Irish Presbyterian Church,
Mr. Montgomery was appointed to Surat, where he remained till his
retirement in 1877.
The Irish Presbyterian Mission, except the Salvation Army, which
in 1888 and 1889 commenced operations in Gujarat, is the only
aggressive organization for the spread of Christianity in Surat.
There are English Episcopal and Roman Catholic churches in the
city, one for each communion, but for the sole benefit of the
Christians attached to these denominations. The Episcopal Protes-
tant Church was consecrated by Bishop Heber in 1827, and a service
is held in it in English, every Sunday, if a chaplain is sent from
Bombay- for the purpose, or a layman can be got to read the prayers.
The small Roman Catholic population, chiefly composed of Goanese
servants, is under the spiritual care of a Goanese priest.
The Irish Presbyterian Mission Church, which is primarily for the
use of the native Christian congregation, but sometimes used for
English services when a European congregation can be got together,
was built in 1835. There are two Gujarati services, the first at
8 a.m. and the second at 5 p.m., held in it on Sundays. A short
service for the benefit of the Christians residing in the immediate
neighbourhood, is held in it at 9 a.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays,
Thursdays and Saturdays.
The Irish Presbyterian Mission at the present date—December,
1889—has a working staff of the following agents at Surat:—
Missionary, Rev. William Beatty, B.A.; Principal of the English
School, Mr. Alfred S. Jervis, assisted by seven Native Christian
Agents.
The agencies at work are :—
I. A Mission Press, from which there is a continuous flow of
Christian books. It has also a type-founding establishment. Nearly
8,000,000 pages, of which upwards of 5£ million were of purely
religious literature, issued from the Mission Press, Surat, in 1888,
and 110,835 books were bound in it.
II. One High School, and one Branch English School, with a staff
of twenty-two teachers, and 520 pupils.
m. Five Vernacular Boys' Schools, with a staff of twenty teachers
in all. All the boys of the schools in Surat are brought together on
Wednesday mornings for examination on religious subjects by the
Missionary and Catechists.


SURAT.
99
IV. An Evangelistic or Preaching Staff, which consists of:—
1. The Missionary.
2. The Catechists and four Bible Teachers.
3. The Colporteur.
V. An Orphanage for Girls, which is under the care of Miss Beatty,
the daughter of the Missionary, as a voluntary worker without
salary. There are 23 inmates cared for and educated in it. Already
366 girls have enjoyed its fostering care, and many of those who were
brought up in it are now in positions of usefulness, and even of trust
and affluence.
VI. Sunday Schools. There are five Sunday schools connected
with the station, three for Christians and enquirers, and two for
purely Hindu children.
VII. There are three lady missionaries in charge of the Zenana
department. One of them, Mrs. Philip Jacob, daughter of the Rev.
B. Montgomery, who lived so long at this station, works at her own
expense, under the direction of the Zenana Mission. The other
workers are Miss McKee and Miss Stavely. The former has charge
of the Anglo-Vernacular and High School for Girls, the Female
Normal Class, and the six vernacular schools and two Sunday schools.
Mrs. Jacob has the superintendence of two Bible-women, who are
supported by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
The Anglo-Vernacular School for Girls is in a very prosperous
state, owing to the unremitting attention and hard work of Miss
McKee. The grant-in-aid earned this year nearly trebled the amount
gained at the previous examination, and exceeded the amount allowed
to be drawn according to Government rule by Rs. 120. It has attained
this year the status of a High School.
The Training Class for teachers, also under Miss McKee, consists
of twelve girls. They are all qualifying for Mission work as Christian
teachers for Vernacular schools or Bible-women. Miss McKee is
assisted by a teacher trained in the Ahmedabad Training College.
VIII. Christian community. The total number of baptized persons
connected with this mission station at the end of 1888 was 190, and
the community numbered 224.
The town of Broach, which is midway between Surat and Baroda,
has no attractions to the traveller, except for a few days in November,
when the great religious fair is held at Sakaltirth, 10 miles above


40
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
Broach, on the banks of the sacred Narbada. At Sakaltirth, on an
island, is a very famous banian tree, said to form cover for 10,000 men,
which tradition says grew from the toothpick of Kabir.
Broach is a great cotton market, with a population of 40,000.
It presents a picturesque appearance from the river, from the edge of
which a massive stone wall runs for about a mile, with the town
standing on rising ground behind it. It is an ancient place, and was
settled in the 1st century by a Hindu sage called Bhragu, whence the
name, and quickly became an important trading centre. The English
had a factory there in the 17th century. The magnificent bridge over
the Narbada has 25 spans of 180 feet. The supporting columns are
sunk in the bed of the river to a depth of 125 feet below the level of
the road.
The Rev. T. McAulis and seven assistants carry on a vigorous
mission in connection with the Irish Presbyterian Church.


CHAPTEE III.
BARODA. —


ARODA is a non-tributary inde-
pendent Native State of the
first rank, in direct political
relation with the Government
of India. Its ruler is called
"the Gaekwar," which signi-
fies "a cowherd." His terri-
tories are scattered patches of various sizes,
intermixed with British Territory, some of
which stretch into the peninsula of Kathiawar.
The central division, in which the capital is
placed, is a fine fertile plain, perfectly flat, beau-
tifully wooded, with rich alluvial soil of great
fertility, well watered by streams that never dry
up, and good wells and reservoirs. It is one
of the gardens of India, and the suburbs of
the city are extremely beautiful. The total area
of the Gaekwar's territory is 4,400 square miles, with a population
of 2,185,000. Of these 90 per cent. are Hindus, 2 per cent. Jains, 8A
per cent. Musalmans. There are about 8,000 Parsis, and less than 200
Christians. The Parsis are almost all settled at Navasari, a thriving
little town on the Bombay and Baroda line, where the sacred fire of
this wonderful people has been burning for 500 years. They are
mainly engaged in weaving the fine cotton for which the central State
of Baroda is famous. There are two ancient hill forts, Songarh and
Saler, within easy reach of Navasari.
Travellers who are studying Indian arts and manufactures will
find much to interest them in the State of Baroda. At Vohora


43
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
Kathor, a famous deep-red dye is manufactured from the roots of
the moringa tree; Sojitia is famous for knives and edge-tools;
Daboi, within an easy railway journey of Baroda city, is noted for
turbans, saris and other loom work of fine quality; Patan, for a fine
quality of pottery, light and strong, very tastefully decorated. Mr.
Dinshaw A. Talyarkhan, the municipal commissioner of Baroda city,
has a most interesting collection of the arts and manufactures of the
whole state, which I had the advantage of studying. He takes much
pleasure in assisting English visitors to see the various towns and
villages whence these products come, and a letter written to him
will secure every facility to the traveller. Mr. Talyarkhan is a
cultured Parsi gentleman, who speaks English perfectly, with a very
wide knowledge of many important native states.
Daboi is within an easy journey of Baroda by the Gaekwar's Railway.
It is an old town surrounded by a quadrangular rampart, two miles in
circumference, built of large hewn stones; inside the rampart there is
a beautiful colonnade; within the walls is a large masonry tank with a
noble flight of steps round it, and many fine temples on the embank-
ment. The ramparts are surrounded by fifty-two towers, and in each
face is a double gate. The handsomest of these is called the
"Diamond Gate." A temple adjoining this gate is a singularly fine
specimen of Hindu architecture. It is 320 feet long, the upper
story being supported by rows of elephants cut in stone. All parts of
the temple are covered with elaborate sculptures of warriors in various
combats, lions, camels, birds, snakes, flowers, fruit and what-not.
Fifteen miles from Bahadarpur is the ancient city and historic
fortress of Champaner, situated on an isolated rock of great height.
The upper fort is almost impregnable, though it was captured by the
Emperor Humayun in 1535, who climbed in with a few chosen
followers by iron spikes driven in the face of the rock. The old city,
deserted entirely a hundred years ago, is now a jungle, strewn with
the ruins of wells, mosques and palaces, ghosts of the vanished
splendour of Sultan Mahmud Begara. There is no accommodation
there, and it is not healthy, but it makes a pleasant day's excursion
on horseback from Bahadarpur, a thriving little place with a good
timber trade. Arrangements for the journey should be made before-
hand, by writing to the Bahadarpur station-master.
The military force maintained by the Baroda State is five batteries
of artillery, a small cavalry force of 120 officers and men, and six





n
2a


44
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
regiments of infantry. There is also a large irregular force of about
13,000 men. This army, more ornamental than useful, costs the
Gaekwar nearly £400,000 a year.
Luxuriant crops are grown of grain, cotton, tobacco, opium, sugar-
cane, and oil-seeds, and Baroda is famous for a breed of white cattle
of great size and strength, of which splendid specimens may be seen
in the royal stables.
The population of Baroda city is about 110,000, of which 84,000 are
Hindus, and 20,000 Musalmans. There is a good Bungalow a mile
and a half from the station, and some very indifferent sleeping ac-
commodation in the railway refreshment rooms. The three or four
main streets of the city are singularly picturesque, lined with fine
houses belonging to merchants, bankers and nobles, many of the
facades being finely-carved teak-wood. The rest of the town consists
of a labyrinth of mean and overcrowded alleys. Near the water-gate
are some interesting aviaries and menageries, and the Filkhana, or
elephant stables, where there are some fine specimens of these noble
animals. Khande Rao kept up a stud of about a hundred, perhaps
the finest in India, but thero are less than half that number now.
The college and high school is a fine building with a remarkably
handsome central-domed hall, and a large number of students, many
of whom graduate at Bombay University.
There are a great many Hindu temples in Baroda, some of which
will repay a visit. The most notable are those of Vithal Mandir,
Swami Naryan Mandir, and the temple of Khandoba, the tutelary
god of the Gaekwars.
The Maharaja is always glad to see European travellers, and there
is no difficulty about procuring an interview. He spends most of his
time at his country palace, about seven miles from the town. He sees
visitors without any ceremony, in his reception room, a large apart-
ment with windows at both ends, handsomely furnished in European
fashion, with a few good pictures, by well-known English and French
artists, on the walls, a view of Windsor Castle, painted by his order,
to commemorate his visit to the Queen, being in the place of honour.
He speaks English perfectly.
This fine young prince succeeded to the throne after the deposition
of Malhar Rao for attempting to poison Colonel Phayre, the British
Resident, with a cup of pomelo juice in which ground diamonds had
been mixed. He had previously tried the same trick on his brother





46
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
and predecessor, Khande Bao, and was a bad lot all round—an
Eastern tyrant of the worst description. After his deposition tbo
widow of Khande Rao was allowed to exercise the right of adoption,
and her choice fell upon the present Gaekwar, then a lad of eleven,
the descendant of a distant and obscure branch of the family. He
had the best tutors possible, and showed himself possessed of rare
qualities of mind and earnestness of purpose. Five years ago he was
formally installed on the throne, and invested with full sovereign
powers. He applied himself with such energy to his new re-
sponsibilities that his health soon broke down under the strain,
compelling him to spend a year in England and some of the European
capitals. His entire administration is Indian. He has surrounded
himself with the best advisers he could get, many of whom have been
transferred to his service from the British Government. Great
reforms have been effected in the management of the State finances.
The lavish expenditure of his immediate predecessors has disappeared,
and their most vexatious taxes have been abolished. Eegular courts
of justice, a fine police force, good sanitation, waterworks, markets,
hospitals, dispensaries, schools and colleges have taken the place and
absorbed the cost of wild beast fights and other barbaric splendours.
It is less than twenty years since his predecessor lavished a million
rupees on the festivals incident to the marriage of a favourite pigeon
to one belonging to the Prime Minister.
The Gaekwar has just completed a superb modern palace, estimated
to cost £300,000. It is the most elaborate specimen of Indo-
Saracenic style in all India, and its internal decorations are wonderful
in detail and variety.
A visit must be paid to the old Nazar Bagh Palace in the heart of
the city to see the treasure-room. Huge cheetahs, carefully muzzled,
used for hunting bucks, are usually to be seen on the palace steps.
The Regalia of Baroda is valued at £3,000,000 sterling. The jewels
worn by the Maharaja on state occasions are those shown to strangers.
These consist of a gorgeous collar of 500 diamonds, some of them as
big as walnuts, arranged in five rows, surrounded by a top and bottom
row of emeralds the same size; the pendant is a famous diamond
called " The Star of the Deccan." An aigrette to match is worn in
the turban. The rest of the jewels consist of strings of pearls of per-
fect roundness, graduated from the size of a pea to a large marble;
wondrous rings, necklaces, clusters of sapphires and rubies as big as


BARODA.
47
grapes; and, greatest marvel of all, a carpet, about ten feet by six,
woven entirely of strings of pure and coloured pearls, with great cen-
tral and corner circles of diamonds. This carpet took three years to
make, and cost £200,000. It was one of Khande Rao's mad freaks,
and was intended to be sent to Mecca to please a Muhammadan lady
who had fascinated him, but the scandal of such a thing being done by
a Hindu prince, was too serious, and it never left Baroda. Behind
the Nazar Bagh is situated the great walled arena where former
Gaekwars held wild beast fights and other shows for the amusement of
their court and the populace of the city.
At a little distance from the palace are two guns, weighing 280
pounds each, of solid gold, with two companions of silver, the ammu-
nition waggons, bullock harness, and ramrods being all silver. These
were made at the order of Malhar Rao as a piece of extravagance in-
tended to take the shine out of Khande Rao's carpet. I suspect the
present Maharaja would like nothing better than to coin them down
into good money, and build that Technical School, which it is one of
his dearest hopes to possess.
A public park, just outside the city, has been established for the
use and pleasure of the people. The river meanders through, and its
banks are dotted with pretty summer-houses and pavilions tenanted
by lions, tigers, and other interesting beasts. Deer and antelope are
tethered on the lawn, while every tree swarms with the beautiful birds
that are one of India's greatest charms. Bulbuls, pheasants, mynas,
green parrots with a flight as beautiful as the pigeons in their
company, hoopoes, shrikes, kites, sun-birds, and peacocks, with many
others, forming a vast aviary, rendered doubly attractive by the tame
freedom of its inhabitants.
There are some remarkable Baulis in the neighbourhood of Baroda
that ought not to be overlooked. They are nearly 500 years old.
Some of them are circular wells, with galleried apartments round
them, below the surface, while others are surrounded with open
pavilions, of Hindu architecture, with pyramidal roofs. They contain
excellent water. The finest of these is the Nine Lakh Well, which
cost 900,000 rupees.
Baroda is not an easy country to travel through, as there are
not more than 30 miles of good road in the whole principality; but
the best and most cultivated land is round the capital, and readily
accessible.


48
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
The total revenue of the State in 1881, was £1,120,000, which is
made up of the following items :—
Land revenue, £850,000; customs, £94,000; taxes on castes and
trades, £31,000; ahkari (liquor and opium), £42,000; forests,
£7,000; tributary states, £64,000; justice, £26,000.
The administration consists of the Diwan, or Prime Minister, who
exercises supervision over the whole. Under him are four cabinet
ministers: (1) political and military; (2) judicial and educational;
(3) police, jail, municipality, health, and public works; (4) treasury
and mint.
Their salaries are about £1,500 a-year each.
Baroda has the right of coinage, which is hand-made at present;
but shortly machinery will be introduced into the Mint. The coins
are curious and worth collecting.
The only place of interest between Baroda and Ahmadabad, is
Mehmadabad, a town of 8,000 inhabitants. It was built by Mahmud
Begara, King of Gujarat, from whom it takes its name, in 1479; the
gateways of the old walls, a step-well in the town, the Dhundia reser-
voir, and two beautiful tombs built by Mahmud in 1484, are worth
seeing.
At Anand Junction, a small branch railway leads to Godhra, the
little capital of the Panch Mahal country, long famous for the sport
afforded by its wild tracts of jungle, and for the excellent fishing in
the Mhye Kiver. At Dakor, 20 miles along the line from Anand, is
the celebrated temple where the holy image of Krishna, brought from
Dwarka, is now enshrined. The idol's throne is a masterpiece of
wood-carving, overlaid with silver and gold, presented by the Gaek-
war at a cost of £12,000. During the full moons of October and
November, from 50 to 100,000 pilgrims repair to the temple at
Dakor.
Cambay, 18 miles from Anand Junction, is a seaport town of 35,000
inhabitants. It was mentioned by Marco Polo (a.d. 1300) as a place
of great trade, but the harbour has silted up. It is a picturesque
city, with a fine old mosque built by Muhammad Shah in 1325 a.d.
It is celebrated for the manufacture of agate, carnelian and onyx orna-
ments, the stones being found in the neighbourhood.


CHAPTER IV.
AHMADABAD. +.

HMADABAD is the chief city in the district
of the same name, in the province of Gujarat,
with an area of nearly 4,000 square miles,
and a population of 000,000. The city has a
population of 180,000, of which 68 per cent.
are Hindus and 22 per cent. Musalmans, the
balance being mostly Jains, who are very strong and influential, and a
large sprinkling of Parsis.
Ahmadabad is one of the most beautiful and picturesque cities in all
India, and no traveller should pass it by. It stands on the left bank
of the Sabarmati Biver, the Fort and its dependencies occupying the
w hole of the river frontage; the walls, which are bastioned every 50
yards, are in good preservation, stretching east and west about a mile,
enclosing an area of about two square miles. The fourteen fine gate-
ways, whose great teak doors are studded with spikes as a defence
against battering elephants, are worthy of notice. The river is about
000 yards wide, but during the winter months, the stream is shallow,
and not more than 100 yards across. The surrounding country is
fertile, well wooded, with good cultivation, rendered additionally
interesting by the remains of old suburbs, with their mosques,
temples, and Musalman tombs. The walls and fort were built by


PICTURESQUE INDIA.
Ahmad Shah (1413—43), the second Musalman King of Gujarat,
after whom the city is named, but they have been altered and repaired
since, till not much of the original fabric is left. Ahmadabad has a
great history, and in the height of its prosperity contained a population
of nearly a million.
There are three or four nicely furnished bed-rooms at the railway-
station, and travellers who don't mind a little noise, will find them-
selves very comfortable. The Town Bungalow is a well-ordered place,
nearer the centre of things. The water supply is bad all through the
city, the municipality being at present engaged upon new waterworks
of some magnitude. Strangers had better keep to soda-water or tea.
The chief attractions of Ahmadabad, are the superb buildings of
ancient Musalman architecture, which, more than in any other city
in India, illustrate the results of the contact of Saracenic and Hindu
forms. Here, the vigorous aggressiveness of Musalman art, which
has all its own way at Agra and Delhi, has been forced to submit itself
to the influence of Hindu or Jain architects, the Jain predominating.
Even the mosques are, in all their detail and decoration, entirely
Hindu.
The mosques of Ahmadabad are among the finest in the East,
though the most beautiful are not remarkable for size. It is best to
devote a day to the mosques and tombs alone, if the traveller is not
pressed for time. The mosques best worth seeing are: the Jama
Masjid, the Queen's, the Rani Sipri, Muhafiz Khan's, Sidi Sayyid's,
Sayyid Alam's, and Shujat Khan's. There are of course a score
of others worthy of the notice of an archaeologist, but these are the
finest, and contain within themselves illustrations of every architectural
detail peculiar to their class.
The Jama Masjid is in the Manik Chauk, in the very centre of
ihe city; the entrance is poor and mean, but opens out into a great
quadrangle 382 feet by 258, at one end of which is the mosque, with
its 260 pillars and 15 domes, the three central ones being much larger
than the rest. The minarets are gone, having fallen during an earth-
quake some fifty years ago, and have never been rebuilt. This mosque
was built by Ahmad Shah, whose splendid tomb is within an enclosure
on the east side. It is a building about 36 feet square, paved with
parti-coloured marbles. The central sarcophagus is that of the great
king himself, the other two being those of his son and grandson;
they are of white marble, richly carved with floral designs. A short





5a
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
distance off, down a narrow dirty lane, are the tombs of the queens of
Ahmad Shah, choked up with mean buildings. They are placed in a
rectangular court, with a colonnade running round it. Some of the
sarcophagi are finely carved.
The Queen's Mosque is close to the Town Bungalow. There are
three domes, each crowning compartments entered by lofty archways.
On either side of the centre arch are minarets, which are only carried
up as high as the top of the facade. It is not known whether they
were ever finished, or if they were, like those of the Jama, destroyed
by some earthquake. The mosque is a little over 100 feet long, by
44 feet deep; it is beautifully proportioned, and with the exception of
the minarets, is not elaborately sculptured. Near the mosque is a
fine mausoleum, the tomb of a princess named Rupavati, about 40
feet square, in excellent preservation, having been recently restored.
This tomb is ornamented with the chain and censer, a favourite Hindu
device.
The mosque and tomb of Rani Sipri, or Isni, are two of the most
exquisitely beautiful buildings in all India; Mr. Sheppard Dale's
illustrations will give a better idea of the charming and infinite detail
of their architecture than pages of description. They are small
buildings, the mosque being 54 feet long by 19 feet wide, and the
tomb 36 feet square. Rani Sipri was a daughter-in-law of Ahmad
Shah, and her mosque and mausoleum were built by herself and
completed in the year 1431. Both are in red sandstone, and the
mosque windows are perfect specimens of fine carving, one of which
is drawn on page 54; their designs are various, and will repay the
most careful study. There are six double pillars in front of the
mosque, and six single ones behind, all of which are about ten feet
high. The two minarets are about fifty feet high, with four stories
tapering up to the top. The whole building, from the base of the
pillars to the topmost stone of the minaret, is one continuous triumph
of the sculptor's art. The tomb contains two sarcophagi, and its
windows are beautiful pierced work.
The mosque of Muhafiz Khan is about 300 yards walk from the
Town Bungalow. It was built in 1465 by a governor of the city
whose name it bears. It is in almost perfect preservation, and is a
beautiful little building, 51 feet by 36, with two minarets 50 feet high.
Its details are nearly equal in merit to those of Rani Sipri, which
they closely resemble. i





PICTURESQUE INDIA.
Sidi Sayyid's Mosque is situated within the walls of the fort; it is
now desecrated, and is an office connected with the local administra-

A CORNER OF RANI SIPRl's MOSQUE.
tion. The interior is without interest, but on going round to the
back of the building, five arched windows are seen; one of these has
been destroyed, but the remaining four form the finest examples of
pierced marble lattice-work in existence, and are alone worth coming





56 PICTURESQUE INDIA.
to Ahmadabad to see. These windows will be familiar to all who
have visited the Indian Museum at South Kensington, where there
are good copies of the two best. I give an illustration of one, which

WINDOW IN SIHI BAYYID's MOfQUE.
is a conventional treatment of a tree. Another window is a design of
palms, and the others are panelled in various patterns. The greatest
possible skill is displayed both in the artistic treatment of the designs,
and in the perfection of the carving itself. Beautiful as are the
windows of the Taj Mahal at Agra, they are distinctly inferior in
both design and workmanship to those of Sidi Sayyid's Mosque at
Ahmadabad.
Shah Alani's Mosque is reached by a drive of about half-an-hour
beyond the city walls; it was built about 1420, and with its adjacent
tombs forms a very fine and richly decorated group of buildings. On
the west side of a great court is the mosque, with handsome minarets
nearly 100 feet high, the stories being surrounded by galleries sup-
ported with brackets. The tomb is one of the most notable in
Gujarat, and in its pristine splendour was adorned with gold and


AHMADABAD.
precious stones, the beautiful hammered and perforated brass gates
fully illustrating the ancient skill of the natives of Gujarat in metal-
work. The drive may be continued a mile or two further, to Butwa,
to see the mosque and tomb of Kuth-ul-Alam, returning by way of
the enchanting Kankariya Tank.
These are but a few of the many beautiful and interesting mosques
with which Ahmadabad abounds. Those who wish to thoroughly
master their details should study Chapter V. of the "Indian Saracenic

BTREET SO ENE, AHMADABAD.
Architecture " section of Fergusson's volume, or the more expanded
criticism contained in " Architecture of Ahmadabad," by Messrs. Hope
and Fergusson. The general character of all of them is alike: a mosque
proper, with minarets, containing spaces for worshippers, and a
mimbar from which the Koran is read. This is placed at one end of
a colonnaded courtyard, in the centre of which is a large tank for


PICTURESQUE INDIA.
ablations. Leading out of this yard is the Rozah, a garden or open
space, in the centre of which is the mausoleum covering the tombs of
the founder of the mosque and his family. These Rozahs should
never be passed by, as they all contain beautiful little buildings,
generally of marble, with exquisite pierced windows and sculptured
columns. These are grouped in picturesque confusion round the
larger mausoleum of the founder, and are tombs of his family, his
favourite ministers, or some holy man who was his spiritual adviser
and guide. The Rozah of Shah Alam's Mosque is the most charming
of them all, every nook and corner presenting a picture of sculptured
column and lace-like screen or window that would make Alma
Tadema's mouth water. In the flush of Ahmadabad's glory, towards
the end of the 16th century, there were not less than a thousand
mosques, tombs and cenotaphs in city and suburbs, all surrounded
by carefully kept gardens. They are beautiful enough in their ruin
and decay to give some idea of what they must have been when those
who built them, or whose fathers were buried in them, loved and
tended them.
The Hindu temples of the city are hardly worth notice, but a visit
should be made to the magnificent shrine of Hathi Sing, a rich Jain
merchant, who built it, some thirty years ago, with the adjacent
mansion and rest-house for pilgrims, at a cost of £100,000. This
temple is just outside the Delhi Gate, and is dedicated to Dhar-
manath, one of the Jain Tirthankars, whose image crowned with
diamonds is in the inner temple.
The temple stands in a quadrangle of about 50 pagoda domes, and
is 150 feet long by 100 wide; there is a fine corridor surrounding the
inner courtyard. All round the corridor are rooms, or chapels, in
which are placed figures of the Jain Tirthankars, or saints, of whom
Dharmanath stands in the front rank.
The whole building is a mass of elaborate carving, tesselated marble
pavements, and richly coloured decorations, and is probably the noblest
modern sacred building in all India.
In and round Ahmadabad are several Baulis, or wells, round which,
deep down beneath the surface of the soil, are pillared galleries
of great extent and beauty, built as cool refuges from the fierce heat
of summer. The finest of these is that known as Dada Hari's, at the
end of a sandy line just outside the Daryapur Gate. Steps lead down
from portico to portico, all as elaborately carved as the Mosque and


AHMADABAD.
59
Rozah above, until at last a circular well, surrounded by pillars, is
reached, 30 feet below the surface; the length of the whole series is
more than 150 feet. There is an older well, about 100 yards further,
called Mata Bhawani, in the final portico of which is a small temple
to Bhawani. These wells are very curious and interesting, and should
not be left unvisited.
The Tin Darwaza, or Triple Gateway, is a richly carved building
crossing the main street, built by Ahmad I.; it appears in the initial
illustration of this chapter. Opposite the middle arch is an ancient
fountain called the Karanj.
The large Pinjrapol, or Hospital for Sick Animals, is an inclosure
of about 3 acres, surrounded by sheds and cages, in which about
1,000 aged and diseased domestic animals have their declining years
made easy. To such a degree is this care for animal life carried, that
a room is reserved for the vermin which trouble the bodies of the
ultra-Faithful, who will not even kill an attacking flea, which,
when captured, is reverently conveyed to Pinjrapol. These in-
teresting prisoners are fed on the bodies of men poor enough, for
a small consideration, to pass the night on a bed in their private
apartment.
A few yards from the entrance to Pinjrapol are some curious old
tombs, more ancient than any other building in the city, called the
Nan Gaz Piri (the nine yard saints). They are nine in number, and
about 18 feet long.
The Bhadr, or citadel, is in the centre of the town. Azim Khan's
palace is the only important building within its area, except Sidi
Sayyid's mosque, already described. The palace, which was built in
1636 by the viceroy whose name it bears, was originally a serai,
or hotel, for the use of country nobles. In the Peshwa's time
it was used as an arsenal, and is now the city jail. There is
an imposing tower, about 60 feet high. Behind the jail, and
across the compound, is the handsome residence and offices of the
collector.
No one should quit Ahmadabad without driving out to the ruined
and deserted city of Sarkhej. This beautiful place was one of those
splendid freaks of extravagance which makes it possible to believe any
of the wildest stories of the " Arabian Nights." In the middle of
the 15th century, Sultan Mahmud Begara thought he would like a
country villa. He proceeded to dig out a large lake of 18 acres in


Go
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
oxtent, with 30 feet of water in it. This he surrounded with splendid
(lights of steps, above which rise a succession of palaces and pavilions.
Here is the resplendent tomb of a favourite vizier, that would cost
£50,000 to reproduce; here also he buried his queen in like mag-
nificence, and provided a similar mausoleum for himself when his
time came. Behind this rozah, in a cloistered square of over an acre,
he built a mosque, only second in pretensions to the famous Moti
Masjid at Agra. All this ruined grandeur now stands solitary and
forgotten, the home of storks, crows, parrots, monkeys, jackals, and
alligators, with trees and brushwood choking its stately courtyards,
visited only two or three times in the year by some tourist who has
the good sense to give more than twenty-four hours to Ahmadabad,
sis he scrambles on for Delhi and Agra.
The drive to Sarkhej is across the Sabarmati River, fordable for
carriages throughout the winter. Hundreds of gaily-dressed men and
women are washing themselves or their clothing, or baling water into
great earthenware pots on bullock-carts; in those picturesque groups
which can only be seen in this land of supple grace and flowing
garments (see pages 51 and 65). Then for six miles along a sand\,
dusty road, through fields and past ancient tombs. The massive bric!c
tomb, about two miles from Ahmadabad, is that of Azam, the Persian
architect of Sarkhej. The mosque and rozah of Sarkhej are entered
by a raised terrace and covered gateway. The first building on the
left is the tomb of Mahmud Begara and his two sons. Beyond is a
delightful portico, leading to a terrace and steps, overlooking the tank.
Passing a pretty well and fountain, a covered pavilion, also over-
looking the tank, leads into the tomb of Bibi Rajbaie, Mahmud s
queen. Across the courtyard is a noble pavilion, raised on a stepped
platform, the richly-decorated roof crowned with domes, and supported
by sixteen pillars. Opposite this is the gorgeous tomb of Gunj
Baksh, begun by Mahmud Shah in 1445 and completed by Begara
in 1451. Gunj Baksh was the vizier and spiritual guide of Sultan
Ahmad, who retired to Sarkhej at the death of his great master,
living himself to the venerable age of 111 years. The whole structure
is about 150 feet by 165; it is crowned by a great central cupola,
surrounded by fifty-two smaller ones. The shrine is octagonal, sur-
rounded by finely-worked lattice windows of brass, the floor being
coloured marbles, and the roof heavily gilt. A small door leads from
the yard of the tomb to that of the mosque, perhaps the loveliest of





62
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
all the Ahmadabad group. On leaving the mosque the carriage may
be sent to the other end of the tank, and joined after visiting the
supply-sluice of the tank, which, like all other tank supply-sluices, is
beautifully decorated, and a stroll through the deserted palaces and
pavilions along the margin.
The art manufactures of Ahmadabad are famous all over India. An
old proverb of the place says, "Ahmadabad hangs on three threads—
gold, silk, and cotton," and the proverb still holds good, as these
three threads still support a large portion of the population. The
trades of Ahmadabad, like those of most other large Indian cities, are
vested in guilds, composed of all the freemen of the trade caste,
governed by two hereditary seths, or chiefs of the guild, and some
elected colleagues called mahajans. Membership is also hereditary;
but outsiders may be admitted, on proof of capacity, by payment
of an entrance fee, varying from £2 to £50. Every boy born into
one of these trade castes learns his father's handicraft as a matter
of course, entering the guild as a full member when he has mas-
tered it. The Nagar-seth, or city lord of Ahmadabad, is the titular
head of all the guilds, and is the highest personage in the
city. The smallest infringement of the rigid rules of these guilds
is punished by heavy fines, which form their chief source of
income. Under this ancient system the beautiful art manufactures
of India, which for centuries have been encouraged by the great
native chiefs, and sought for by European wealth, were founded and
fostered.
Ahmadabad has always been famous for its brass and copper work.
The lovely gates and screens of Shah Alam's tomb give evidence of
the power of its brass-workers nearly 500 years ago. The braziers of
to-day still produce graceful and delicately-cut brass screens, beautiful
boxes covered with intricate tracery, rings, lamps, chains, idols, jewel-
caskets, and inkstands, besides a great variety of domestic utensils,
some of which are even more perfect, as works of art, than the purely
ornamental.
The leather-workers are a large community; they make boots and
shoes, slippers and saddlery, handsomely-painted leather shields,
which look well on the wall of an English hall, and finely-embroidered
leather mats.
The jewellers are numerous, their special work being the chopped-
gold form of jewellery worn throughout India, the art of which is


AHMADABAD.
63
carried to the highest perfection at Ahmadabad, and which is in great
request among the people of Gujarat. "It is made of chopped
pieces, like jujubes, of the purest gold, flat, or in cubes, or by the
removal of the angles made octahedrous, strung on red silk. It is
the finest archaic jewellery in India. The nail-head earrings are
identical with those represented on Assyrian sculptures. It is
generally in solid gold, for people in India hoard their money in the
shape of jewellery, but it is also made hollow to perfection at Surat,
the pieces being filled with lac."—Birdwood.
The exquisite stone carving, which decorates alike the ancient
mosques and Hathi Sing's new temple, finds its match in the craft of
wood-carvers. The city is full of specimens of this beautiful art, on
the door-frames, balconies, windows, and wooden pillars of the houses
in every bazar and side street; some of the mansions of the richer
merchants are more picturesque than any in Nuremburg, being one
mass of carving, figures, animals, trees, and flowers, from roadway to
roof, often gaily painted.
There is also a considerable trade carried on in the Blackwood
furniture and other decorative objects, already referred to at page 21.
Lacquered wooden bracelets, toys, and other turnery are also largely
produced at Ahmadabad.
In spite of the rapid growth of cotton mills in India, the hand-
weaving of cotton cloth still thrives in the city. Large quantities of
English yarns are used, and worked up into saris, dhotis or loin-
cloths, chalotas or waist-cloths, and quilts, which find their way to
every village bazar in the Bombay Presidency. Calico printing is
also a craft of some consequence, and its products are very well worth
the attention of the connoisseur in such art fabrics. At one time
cotton hand-weaving was the most important industry of Ahmadabad,
but it appears doomed to eventual extinction by the mechanical
productions of Manchester and Bombay. A strong effort, however,
is being made by the wealthier merchants, led by Mr. Ranchorelal
Chotalal, CI.E., to secure its permanence in Ahmadabad, even though
it must be transferred from hand to machine. There are now four
or five factories at work in the city, representing a capital of between
£300,000 and £400,000, employing about 3,000 hands at good wages.
While the cotton "thread " of the proverb still holds, the "gold
thread" is stronger than ever, for the drawing of gold and silver
wire and thread, the making of gold and silver lace therefrom, with


64
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
foils and tinsel, is one of the most thriving industries of the bazars.
Nothing is prettier than the drawing out by hand of gold and
silver wire. You may give a rupee to one of these clever crafts-
men, and he will presently return it to you a coil of 800 yards of
silver wire. The lace which is made from these fine gold and
silver threads, and the thin foils and spangles, are used for trimming
shoes and caps, for the edging of saris and jackets, turbans and
petticoats, for stamping muslins and chintzes, embroidering shawls
and other woollen fabrics, the manufacture of gold and silver cloths of
state, and especially for the manufacture of the kincobs or brocades
for which Ahmadabad and Benares are so famous.
"Silk thread" successfully defies machinery, and is as flourishing
as of old. All the processes of silk manufacture are carried on in this
city. The raw silk comes from different parts of India, from China,
Persia, and even Bokhara, the yearly import being about 200,000
pounds, valued at £150,000. It is reeled, sorted, spun, warped,
dyed, dressed, woven and brocaded. The most beautiful silk fabrics
in the world are made here.
Kincobs are highly ornamented gold and silver-wrought silk
brocades, some of which are literally stiff with the precious metals.
Those produced at Ahmadabad are more highly prized than any
other. Sir George Birdwood maintains that the kincobs of India
were worn by Ulysses, Helen of Troy, Solomon, Queen Esther, and
Herod. These beautiful fabrics are of course costly, but small pieces
are manufactured, suitable for cushion-covers or table-mats, which
may be purchased as specimens. A " piece " of kincob large enough
for a robe costs anything from £40 to £1,000. Some lovely table-
cloths can be had, in white, black, or cream-coloured silk, with kincob
borders, from £3 to £10 each. To weave these brocades, or kincobs,
a more complicated loom is necessary than for ordinary silk weaving.
A kind of inverted heddles, called the naksh (design), are hung above
the warp immediately behind the heddles, the other end of the cords
being fastened to a horizontal band running below the warp. Like
the cords of a heddle, the naksh strings when they cross the warp
have loops, through which certain of the warp threads are passed.
But instead of getting an up-and-down motion from treddles pressed by
the weaver's foot, the naksh is worked from above by a child seated on
a bench over his father's head. The little fellow holds a bar of wood,
and by giving it a twist, draws up the cords attached to the threads of


AHMADABAD.
65
the warp, which, according to the naksh, or pattern, are at any time to
appear in the surface of the web. The weaver at the head of the
loom adds variety to his design by working silks of divers colours
into the woof, along with threads of silver and gold; and thus the
vision grows in the sight of the young child seated aloft.
The spread amongst wealthy natives of the European fashion of
plain dressing, is seriously affecting the piece trade in Kincobs, which
are now only worn as State robes. A pure " cloth of gold" is also

WATER-CARTS IN THE SARARMATI BIVER.
made at Ahmadabad, called " Soneri," and of silver, called " Ruperi."
Silk muslins and nets are made here, which are also brocaded, or
stamped with gold leaf, and of course, an infinite variety of dyed
silk piece goods, turbans, and cummerbunds.
The common pottery of Ahmadabad is very artistic and decorative,
superior to most other earthenware manufactures of India; the
natural colour of the clay is brightened with ochres and mica; no
glaze is used, but the surface of the pottery is polished by bamboo
sticks and agates. The potter's wheel is primitive, being a hori-
zontal fly-wheel, two or three feet wide, loaded round the rim to make
it spin truly and steadily. The great jars, four or five feet high,


66
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
ranged round the potter's shop, are used by the natives for storing
their grain or pulse, or for bringing water from the river. The rest
of his products are water-pots, bottles, tiles, bricks, idols, and toys.
The consumption of pottery is enormous in India, as cups and basins
are seldom drunk out of twice, and never by two persons. The
native liquor shop, where mowra and other spirit is retailed, may be
easily found by the debris of broken potsherds scattered about the
pavement.
Ahmadabad is a great paper-making place, though the manufacture
is suffering sadly from foreign competition. Its trade in hand-made
paper is mainly with native states, and native merchants whose
methods of business require a good tough article. It is made
principally from jute rags. The paper-makers here turn out large
quantities of those mock ornaments for idols which are so common
in every Hindu temple. They are cut out of thick paper, in various
shapes, and stuck over with bits of many-coloured tinfoil, peacock's
feathers, &c. The great occasion for the use of these ornaments is
the birthday of Krishna. A rich Hindu will often spend two or
three hundred rupees in decking a single image of his god with this
paper rubbish.
All these great staple trades, combined with the endless variety of
the ordinary handicrafts of the country, carried on in houses and
shops that are themselves marvels of glyptic art, place the bazars of
Ahmadabad among the most delightful and amusing in India.
The cantonments of Ahmadabad are about two miles out of the city,
at the end of a well-made road, lined with fine trees. Very few troops
are stationed here, being only a half battery of artillery, a company of
European infantry, and a battalion of Native infantry.
Of the modern buildings in Ahmadabad, one that will attract the
notice of a visitor is the large English High School built by the
Irish Presbyterian Mission in 1874, at a cost exceeding 30,000
rupees. It stands facing the Oliphant Road, and almost touching the
Government Training College for Teachers. The Mission school has
at present an attendance of about 200 boys, whom it prepares for the
entrance examination of the Bombay University. Scripture instruc-
tion forms a part of the daily lessons in each class. The same
mission has in the city three Vernacular Schools for boyR, and two for
girls, with a very large attendance of scholars. A Mission Dispensary
for women and children was opened in 1886, and has been from the


AHMADABAD.
first under the charge of a fully-qualified lady doctor. Divine
service in Gujarati is conducted in the hall of the Mission High
School every Sunday morning and afternoon, and daily prayers are
held in the same building each evening.
One of the chief features of the mission work at the Ahmadabad
station is the Christian colony established in 1860 at the village of
Ranipur, about four miles from the city. There some 300 native
Christians live together, supporting themselves solely by farming,
their land being rented by themselves direct from the Government.
This village has its church, built from subscriptions raised entirely in
India, and largely from the native Christian community; its school
for boys and girls, its mission bungalow, and its resident native
evangelist. The colony would seem to have thriven, for it can show
many fairly comfortable houses; its buffaloes and bullocks are fat and
strong; both well and tank supply the village with water for man and
beast, and its irrigated fields are tilled by English ploughs. In con-
nection with the different mission stations in Gujarat of the Irish
Presbyterian Church, no less than four other similar Christian colonies
have been founded—Wallacepur, Bhalaj, Brookhill, and Carrypur—
each one of which forms a distinct nucleus for manifold Christian
agencies, while at the same time attaining a prosperity beyond the
average of most villages in the district.
A little to the north-east of the Queen's Mosque at Mirzapur is the
Episcopal church, at which divine service in English is held every
Sunday. This building can seat 140 persons, and was erected in
1848 at a cost of 12,000 rupees. The chaplain resides in the canton-
ment, three miles distant, where very recently a second and larger
English church has been built.
A few yards south-east of the same mosque stands the Roman
Catholic church. The resident priest occupies a building in the
same compound, and a small English school is conducted on the
premises.
In the neighbourhood of the railway station the Salvation Army
has its headquarters for Gujarat, a district where this organisation is
exceptionally busy.
In 1573 Ahmadabad was, with the rest of Gujarat, subjugated by
Akbar. During the 16th and 17th centuries Ahmadabad was one ot
the most splendid cities of Western India. There were, according to
Ferishta, 360 different wards, each surrounded by a wall. The decay
r 2


6S
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
of the Mughal Empire, and the rise of the Maratha power, led to
disastrous changes. Early in the 18th century the authority of the
Court of Delhi in Gujarat had become merely nominal, and various
- leaders, Musalman and Maratha, contended for the possession of
Ahmadabad. In the year 1738 the city fell into the hands of two of
these combatants, Damaji Gaekwar and Momin Khan, who, though of
different creeds, had united their armies for the promotion of their
personal interests, and now exercised an equal share of authority, and
divided the revenues between them. The Maratha chief, Damaji
Gaekwar, having subsequently been imprisoned by the Peshwa, the
agent of his Mughal partner took advantage of his absence to usurp
the whole power of the city, but permitted Damaji's collector to
realize his master's pecuniary claims. Damaji, on obtaining his
liberty, united his forces with those of Ragunath Rao, who was
engaged in an expedition for establishing the Peshwa's claims in
Gujarat. In the troubles that followed, combined Maratha armies
gained possession of Ahmadabad in 1753. The city was subsequently
recaptured by Momin Khan in 1755-56, and finally acquired by the
Marathas in 1757. In 1780 it was stormed and captured by a
British force under General Goddard. The British, however, did not
then retain it. The place was restored to the Marathas, with whom
it remained till 1818, when, on the overthrow of the Peshwa's power,
it reverted to the British Government.
In the days of its prosperity the city is said to have contained a
population of about 900,000 souls; and so great was its wealth, that
some of the traders and merchants were believed to have fortunes of
not less than one million sterling. During the disorders of the latter
part of the 18th century Ahmadabad suffered severely, and in 1818,
when it came under British rule, was greatly depopulated and became
a melancholy wreck.
Kathiawar.—The traveller with ample time on his hands may find
it worth while to spend a few days in seeing this very interesting
peninsula, which has within the last year or two been opened up
by railway. Kathiawar is a political agency under the government of
Bombay, having under its control the 187 separate states, which make
a map of the district more like a tesselated pavement than anything
else. Of these, 13 pay no tribute, 97 pay tribute to the British
Government, 78 to the Gaekwar of Baroda, 134 also paying tribute to
the Nawab of Junagarh. These states are divided into seven classes.


AHMADABAD.
69
Chiefs of the 1st and 2nd classes exercise plenary jurisdiction; the
judicial powers of the remaining classes are graded in a diminishing
scale, the residuary jurisdiction being vested in British political officers,
the Political Agent superintending the whole, as may be expected.
Society is not too well ordered in this district, and there are bands of
outlaws and dacoits who give the government a great deal of trouble.
The Nawab of Bhavnagar has
done very much to improve
his principality by the in-
auguration of municipal insti-
tutions and other reforms, and
the State of Porbander, which
formerly gave much cause for
anxiety, has been brought into
a condition of much prosperity
by Mr. F. S. Lely, one of the
ablest civil servants in the
Bombay Presidency.
The towns of importance
opened up by the railway are
Bhavnagar, Junagarh, and
Somnath. The train leaving
Ahmadabad at 8 a.m. reaches
Bhavnagar at 5 p.m., and
Junagarh at 9.30 p.m. the
same day. Verawal, the sta-
tion for Somnath, is about
four hours journey from Juna-
garh. These remote and
primitive cities have much to
interest the traveller. The
town bungalows of all the leading towns in Kathiawar are clean and
well built. Bhavnagar is one of the largest states, with a population
of 400,000, mainly Hindus. The capital is a great centre for the
cotton trade, and exports to Bombay about £1,500,000 worth of
raw cotton yearly. It has a good safe harbour. There are no
buildings of importance, and it is hardly worth a visit from the
ordinary tourist. The politician, if well introduced to the Maharaja,
would find much interest in the various improvements of recent years

BHIL WOMEN OF KATHIAWAR.


7o
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
—waterworks, a college and high school, an hospital and dispensary.
He has also built a lovely pavilion of white marble on the pearl
lake to the memory of his wife. His country was dry-nursed for him
during a long minority by British administrators, and the Thakur,
being an enlightened young prince, has raised upon the foundation
thus laid a model native state.
Junagarh is the capital of the state of the same name, next in
importance to Bhavnagar. It is one of the most picturesque cities
in India, surrounded by high hills, and full of historical and anti-
quarian interest. The tombs of the Nawabs, new buildings of the
present century, are, of their kind, very beautiful. The Lip-arkot or
citadel is a very old building, parts of it dating back to the time of
Asoka, B.C. 270. The walls of this ancient fortress are 60 or 70 feet
high, with three massive gateways. The citadel contains some
interesting Buddhist caves, and the moat, which is cut out of the
solid rock, is honeycombed with curious caves; a Hindu temple
converted into a mosque, a very ancient underground Hindu temple,
some fine tombs, old cannons, and deep wells, the bottoms of which
are reached by long flights of steps.
Near Junagarh is the sacred mountain of Girnar, 3,700 feet high,
on the road to which is the finest of Asoka's stone columns, carefully
preserved under a shed. Girnar is one of the holy places of Jainism.
A rock at the foot of the mountain is covered with a set of Asoka's
inscriptions, and there are other inscriptions 200 or 800 years
older still. The temples of Girnar are clustered on a ledge 600
feet from the summit, and were probably erected in the 10th, 11th and
12th centuries. A full description of these will be found in Fergusson's
"History of Indian Architecture," page 228. The view from the
summit of Girnar is superb.
Somnath is an ancient city, whose grandeur is lost in the obscurity of
history, and only suggested by the vast area of ruined temples, mosques,
and tombs which surround it. Between the railway terminus at Verawnl
and Somnath is a very large temple and tank, sacred to Sri Krishna,
who died here. There is a large Gujarat fortress, entrenched with a
rock-cut moat. The Junagarh gate is triple, of Hindu architecture,
and probably dating from the 7th or 8th century. The bazar is
narrow, full of quaintly-carved old houses. The old temple, from
which the famous " gates of Somnath," now in the fort at Agra, were
taken by Mahmud of Ghazni in 1026 a.d., had a fabulous reputation


71
iu old times for its wealth and splendour : though now almost a ruin,
it furnishes enough to show that it must have been a place of great
magnitude and importance.
The town of Verawal is a flourishing seaport and commercial
centre, from which Somnath is distant two or three miles. There is
probably a town bungalow of some sort at Verawal, but as the train
leaves Junagarh at 8 a.m., arriving at Verawal about noon, returning
at 2.80 the same clay, it will be better to persuade the Junagarh station-
master to allow a 1st class compartment to remain at Verawal over-
night till next day, sleeping in it, and taking cooked provisions. This
will give thirteen or fourteen hours of daylight available for visiting
Somnath.
Fifteen miles from Songad station are the marvellous Jain temples
of Palitana, of which a full description will be found in Fergusson's
''Indian Architecture," p. 226. These temples and shrines are scattered
by hundreds over the summits of the two peaks, about 2,000 feet high,
of Satrunjaya Hill, the holiest of all the fine Jain sacred mountains,
viz., Satrunjaya, Girnar, Abu, Parasnath, and Gwalior. Conveyance
from Songad to Palitana may be obtained by writing to the deputy
political agent at Songad.
At Siddhpur, sixty-four miles north of Ahmadabad, are the gigantic
fragments of a famous Shiva temple of great holiness, to which many
thousands of Hindu pilgrims resort. Palanpur is the capital of a
small native State, with nothing of great interest about it.


CHAPTER V.
ABU.


FTER the heat of the Red Sea, Bombay,
Baroda and Ahmadabad, the traveller will
find a welcome change in a few days
spent on the heights of Mount Abu, a
celebrated sacred mountain in Rajputana.
The journey from Ahmadabad had better be taken at night, reach-
ing Abu Road about 7 a.m. There is a refreshment-room at the
station; but it is best to write the day before to the messman at the
travellers' bungalow, which is about half a mile from the station on
the way to the mountain, ordering a breakfast to be ready on arrival.
A small party can have sleeping accommodation here if required.
The distance from the station to Abu is sixteen miles, which can be
done in about four hours on ponies, or in six hours on Jhampans,
chairs carried by coolies. These conveyances, whichever may be
preferred, should be ordered a day or two previously. A line to the
station-master will suffice. The road is bad, and winds along the
edge of precipices. It is hardly safe to travel by night on ponies, and
the journey should be taken by daylight, both for this reason, and
that the exquisite scenery may not be missed.
There is a good hotel at Abu, but rather small, and a travellers'


ABU.
73
bungalow of two rooms. During the cold season accommodation is
always to be had, but it is better to write beforehand.
Mount Abu is a striking object in the landscape for about thirty
miles of the Rajputana Railway. It stands out of the great plain, a
huge island of granite, finely wooded to the summit, which is an undu-
lating plateau, the topmost point being 5,650 feet above the sea. In

A JHAMPAN, MOUNT ABU.
the midst of this plateau, cut up by granite rocks of fantastic shapes,
is Abu, a picturesque village on the margin of a pretty lake, dotted
with green islands, whose banks are bright with bungalow and garden.
Here is the summer residence of the British agent for Rajputana, an
English church, a military sanitarium, the Lawrence school, the hotel,
and many private bungalows. The lake is surrounded by a path,
from different points of which pleasant views are obtained. The air
is rare and refreshing, and the temperature at night quite cold.
Good sport may be had in the dense jungles, which clothe the flanks


7-4
of Mount Abu, and the native Bhils are famous hunters. Bears may
be shot, and by good chance a panther or tiger may bo found, but
they have to be looked for.
The great sights of Mount Abu are the famous Jain temples, the
finest in India, and these alone, without the scenery, fully repay the
journey. These temples, called the Delwara, are about a mile from
the hotel, and an order to view them must be obtained from the

hotel-keeper to get them when
writing for rooms. They date from the 11th century, and are in
perfect preservation. They are built entirely of white marble, and, as
no quarries of that material exist nearer than 300 miles, the labour in
transporting it across the plains, and dragging it up to the top of
this steep mountain, must have been an undertaking worthy of ancient
Egypt.
The older of the two was built a.d. 1032 by a merchant named
Vimala Sah, and is simpler and bolder than the other, which was
built by two brothers, Tejpala and Vastupala, about a.d. 1200.
These brothers had previously built almost as fine a temple at Girnar,
a sacred mountain of the Jains in Kathiawar, near Junagarh.


75
The Vimala Sah temple is enclosed in a courtyard about 140 x 90
feet, surrounded by a double colonnade of pillars, which form
porticoes to a range of 55 cells. Each cell is occupied by a cross

INTERIOR OF THE VIMALA SAH TEMPLE.
legged image of Parswanatha, the Jain saint to whom the temple is
dedicated. Over the door of each cell, and on the jambs, are
sculptured scenes from his life, elaborate devices of human figures
interspersed with foliage.
It is an important point in the Jain religion, that the patron saint


76
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
of the temple should he honoured by a great number of his images,
and that each should enjoy a separate shrine.
Within this marvellous courtyard is a still more marvellous temple,
which, as in other Jain temples, is a cell, lighted only from the door,
containing brazen images of Parswanatha. This cell is covered with
the pyramidal roof, called a Sikra, which is common alike to Jain
and Hindu temples all over India. The portico of the cell consists
of forty-eight elaborately carved pillars, which, rising to a certain
height, branch off into curious angular struts of white marble,
between which, springing from the capitals of the thicker columns,
are dwarf pillars. These forty-eight columns form an octagon, on
which rests a dome that in richness of ornament and delicacy of detail
is probably unsurpassed in the world. Above two rows of ornament
are sixteen pedestals, on each of which is mounted a finely-carved
image, and in the centre is a marvellous pendant of rare beauty.
Facing the entrance to the temple is a square building containing
nine white marble elephants, on each of which is a male figure,
though some have been broken away. This represents Vimala Sah
and his family going in procession to the temple. Vimala Sah
is represented by the clay figure on horseback, the original statue
having been destroyed by some Moslem iconoclast.
The picturesqueness of the situation and surroundings of these
splendid temples adds greatly to their charm. There are five in all,
but the Delwara are incomparably the finest. They are reputed to
have cost eighteen millions sterling, and to have occupied fourteen
years in building. They are all, however, worth careful inspection,
the temple of Rishabhanath, the first of the twenty-four Tirthankars,
or deified men whom the Jains worship, being larger than either of
the Delwara. The shrine here has four doors, and the image of the
saint inside is fourfold, facing each door; the two others are known
as the Dailak and Gorakhalanchau.
Three days should be given to Mount Abu for the full enjoyment
of its invigorating air, beautiful scenery, and wonderful temples; but
it is quite possible, by arriving at Abu Road in the early morning, to
spend twenty-four hours on the summit, and catch the mail train for
Ajmere or Jodhpur at four o'clock the next day.


CHAPTEE VI.
AJMIR-JODHPUR—UDAIPUR.

I.Mill is the administrative headquarters of the
important British province of Ajmir-Menvara,
an isolated area of 2,700 square miles, with
a population of 460,000, entirely surrounded
by independent Rajput states. It is placed
on tho crest of the great llajputana water-
shed, the fort of Taragarh, which dominates the city, being 2,855 feet
above sea level. It is an ancient, beautiful city, full of interest,
both historical and architectural; its gay busy bazars, and its old
houses with carved fronts, some of which are among the finest in
India, giving an added attraction to its superb situation. It is a
town of 49,000 inhabitants, of which about 30,000 are Hindu, and
18,000 Musalman. A well-built stone wall, with five gateways, sur-
rounds the city. There is an excellent town bungalow, and one of
the nicest hotels in India, the " Rajputana."
The finest specimen of early Indian Mahommedan architecture is to



THE ARHAI-DIN-KA-JHONPRA MOSQUE.


AJMIR.
79
be found at Ajmir. The "Arhai-din-Ka-Jhonpra" Mosque, which
literally translated is "the house of two and a half days," is
beautifully situated on the lower slope of the hill opposite the Fort of
Taragarh. It was originally a very fine Jain temple, dating from
about the tenth century, but in the year 1236, Altamsh, having
conquered the city and slain its Raja, converted it into a Musalman
mosque in two days and a half; hence its name. Only the west side
of the Jain temple was left standing, in front of which Altamsh
erected a screen of seven arches, similar to, but much more beautiful
than, the mosque of the Kutab-Minar at Delhi. The central arch is
twenty-two feet wide, the two right and left thirteen and a half feet,
and the outer ones ten and a half feet. The height of the screen over
the great central arch is fifty-six feet. This arch is flanked by two
minarets, which seem to have crumbled away to mere stumps,
ornamented with convex flutes alternately semi-circular and rect-
angular, like the decoration of the Kutab-Minar at Delhi. The
decoration of the whole facade of this wonderful screen is of unique
beauty.
Fergusson expresses the opinion that no mosque in Cairo or Persia
is so exquisite in detail, and that nothing in Spain or Syria can
approach these mosques of Altamsh at Ajmir and Delhi for beauty
of surface decoration. Nothing can exceed the taste with which the
Cufic and Togra inscriptions are interwoven with the more purely
architectural decorations, or the manner in which they give life and
variety to the whole, without ever interfering with the constructive
lines of tho design. The buildings, when I visited them in 1888,
were in a shameful condition of neglect and decay, but I was informed
that the Government had at last determined to take some steps
towards repairing and restoring this supremely interesting and
historical mosque.
The Dargah, situated on the southern side of the city, is a strange
group of buildings clustering round the burial-place of a famous
saint, one Kwnja Sahib, who died at Ajmir, a.d. 1235. His memory
is revered, and tomb held sacred, by both Hindus and Musalmans,
and his eldest lineal descendant holds to-day the lucrative appointment
of curator of his shrine. It is imperative that the shoes be removed
before entering the enclosure. Many of the courtyards never see the
sun, and the pavements are as cold as ice, so it is best to come
wearing two or three pairs of thick socks, or with a large pair pulled


8o
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
over the shoes. The magnificent gateway is called the Dilkusha, or
"heart expanding," opening out into a wide courtyard, containing

THE PARC AH, AJMIR.
two vast iron pots, in which messes of rice, oil, sugar, raisins and
almonds are cooked and distributed to the pilgrims who come from
a distance to the great annual festival of the holy Kwaja. Some
10,000 lbs. of ingredients are cooked in the larger, and nearly


A/MIR.
8r
6,000 lbs. in the smaller. The cost of filling the large pot is over
£100; they are called the great and little Deg. When the pudding
is ready, a supply is ladled out for the pilgrims, and then the men of
the suburb of Indrakot and the servants of the Dargah 'have the
hereditary right to scramble for what is left. Swathing themselves
in cloths to the eyes, to save themselves from being burnt, the
strongest of them finally tumble into the caldron, and scrape it clean.
The courtyard is crowded with thousands of spectators, for this is one
of the great annual feasts of Ajmir; but the traveller need not time
his visit to see this gruesome spectacle.
The tomb of the Kwaja is a square domed building with two door-
ways, one of which has a silver archway. The mosque, which was
built by Akbar, has fallen into decay. Further on is a beautiful
mosque of white marble, built by Shah Jahan, the builder of the
Taj Mahal. It has eleven arches, and a Persian inscription runs
the whole length of the building under the eaves. This building will
charm the traveller who has not yet reached Delhi and Agra. In the
centre of the inclosure is a deep well or tank cut in the solid rock,
round which are grouped many fine tombs. This well is reached by a
succession of wide steps, up and down which a stream of worshippers
are continually passing. This great tank, all in warm shadow,
surrounded by white marble tombs, intermingled with the deep green
foliage, topped with the lofty hills which surround Ajmir, ablaze with
sunlight, forms a picture not easily forgotten.
When visitors return to the entrance-gate, and have made their
expected gift of a couple of rupees to the shrine, they are subjected to
the pretty custom so prevalent throughout India: garlands of sweet-
smelling flowers are hung round their necks, which politeness requires
should not be taken off till home is reached.
Just outside the entrance of the Dargah, are two small venerable-
looking pavilions, with carved pillars. These are probably Hindu
temples, though they are not now used as such.
The old fortress of Taragarh is seen from every part of the city,
perched on the summit of a lofty and steep hill, 1,000 feet above the
streets. It is a stiff walk, and most visitors go up in jhampans, or
litters, carried by eight coolies. The fort covers an area of 80 acres,
and was an impregnable place in its day. There is nothing of
architectural interest in its buildings, but the view is superb,
especially in the early morning.
a


82
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
The Ana Sagar, one of the loveliest tanks in India, is about three
miles out of the North gate. This is a lake of many hundreds of
acres in area. It is best viewed from the beautiful marble pavilion
built by Shah Jahan, in the Daulat Bagh, or garden of splendour, a
beautiful park full of fine old trees, in the midst of which is the
residence of the Chief Commissioner. The water of this lake is
conveyed by two underground aqueducts to Ajmir, for the supply of
its inhabitants. Going or returning, the strongly-fortified old palace
of Akbar, now used as public offices, should be observed, and a visit
paid to the Mayo College, conspicuously placed in the centre of a fine

THE DAULAT BAOH, AJMIR.
park, represented in the initial illustration to this chapter. This
college, whose object is to provide an education in accordance with
European ideas for the sons of Rajput nobles, was established by
the Earl of Mayo in 1870. It is supported by endowments given by
Rajput princes, by the contributions of the pupils, and by Govern-
ment grants. This valuable institution has already borne excellent
fruit in the growing enlightenment of the Rajput populations.
Seven miles from Ajmir is the lake and village of Pushkar. The
road passes through a deep defile on the far side of the range of
mountains seen from the pavilion at Ana. Sagar. The shore of the
lake, in front of the village, is lined with a succession of temples and
bathing ghats, which during October and November are crowded with


A J MIR.
83
pilgrims, over 100,000 repairing to the sacred Melas held during
those months. At these Melas, like all others in India, a regular
fair is held, and a large trade done in sheep, cattle, horses, camels,
and merchandise of all sorts. The temples are all modern, without
interest, except that one is the only temple in India dedicated to
Brahma, who here performed a sacrifice so holy, that paradise is
gained by bathing in the lake on a certain day in the year.
The Bazars of Ajmir present the same interesting features as
other Indian towns—the only artistic product special to the place
being carved animals in white marble and reddish sandstone, excel-
lent in workmanship and moderate in price.
The cantonment of Nasirabad is 14 miles from Ajmir, with lines
for about 2,000 troops, native and English.
A mission of the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland was
established at Ajmir in 1862. The present Missionaries are: Rev.
James Gray and Rev. Dr. Husband. Zenana Missionaries :—Mrs.
Dignan and Miss Dr. Grant. The work carried on consists of one
Anglo-Vernacular and seven Vernacular village schools, two hospitals
and dispensaries, in which 50,000 patients were treated during the
last year, three girls' schools, Zenana visiting, eight Sunday schools,
a mission printing press, in which about thirty men are employed,
and a Christian settlement eight miles from Ajmir. There is a
Christian community of 226, while the native church numbers 108
members, only a few of whom are in any way supported by the
Mission. Bazar and village preaching is regularly carried on by the
Missionaries and their helpers. Two English services are kept up
by the Missionaries: one in the Railway Institute on Sunday evening,
the other in the Mission Church on Tuesday night.
The Church of England Mission is under the care of Rev. B. H.
Skelton. Services are held in All Saints', near the Law Courts,
every Sunday morning; in St. Mary's, a new church, morning
and evening on Sunday, and on stated days during the week.
The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel established a
mission in 1882. It is managed by a native pastor—Rev. Jara
Chand; the membership is 123; there is one school with sixty pupils
on the roll. Public preaching is carried on by Mr. Chand and two
Catechists in the town and villages around.
The Methodist Episcopal Church Mission is conducted by Rev.
A. Gilruth. English and vernacular work is carried on. Two
o 2





JODHPUR. 85
English services in the church on the Beawar road, each Sunday,
morning and evening.
The Roman Catholic Church has a large congregation, composed
mainly of Portuguese and Eurasians; the chapel is near Government
College.
Jodhpur, or, as it is sometimes called, Marwar, is the largest of
the Rajputana States; its greatest length is about 300 miles, and its
greatest width 130 miles. It contains an area of 37,000 square miles.
The population of the state is about 3,000,000, 86 per cent. Hindus,
10 per cent. Jains, with 4 per cent. of Muhammadans. The Rajput
caste predominates.
The aspect of the country, viewed from the short line of sixty-four
miles from Marwar Junction to the capital, is that of a sandy plain,
from which rise here and there picturesque conical hills, from 600 to
1,000 feet in height. Some of these are crowned with temples, and
on the summit of one, the Nadolai Hill, has been placed a colossal
stone elephant.
The soil is poor and sterile, except in the valley of the Loni River,
where are excellent crops of cereals. This river is crossed about
half-way between Marwar and Jodhpur.
The villages are groups of beehive-shaped huts, the larger houses
seen in some of them being the residences of the Thakurs, to whom
concessions of land have been made, and who owe feudal or military
service to the Maharaja, paying a money share of the produce as well.
The city of Jodhpur was founded by the Maharaja Jodha in 1550,
and has been the seat of the capital ever since. Jodhpur is one of
the most picturesque towns in India, standing on the edge of a rocky
ridge of sandstone, 400 feet above the plain, with a splendid citadel
dominating it, perched on an isolated rock 800 feet high. The
palace covers nearly half of the area of the citadel, which is, roughly,
500 yards by 200. The Diwan, or Hall of 1,000 Pillars, is a large
and handsome building, and the view from the upper fort is very
extensive.
The main streets of the city are lined with fine houses, palaces of
the Maharaja, and the town residences of the nobles and thakurs,
many of whom are very wealthy. A strong wall, six miles in cir-
cumference, with seven gates, encircles the city. There are many
beautiful tanks of strong masonry, with steps descending to the
water, surrounded by glittering temples, and handsome wells.


86 PICTURESQUE INDIA.
The suburb of Maha Mandir, a quarter of a mile outside the city
walls, has a fine pagoda, visible from a great distance, with a richly-
decorated interior. There are two palaces near this temple, in one of
which the Maharaja's confidential priest lives in considerable state.
The ghost of his predecessor lives in the other, with a golden canopy
over his bed; no living person is allowed to sleep in this building.
A pleasant drive of three miles leads to another suburb, where are
the ruins of Mandor, the site of the ancient capital of Marwar,

STREET SCENE, JODHPI li.
previous to its conquest by the Rajputs. The mound on which these
ruins are built is called Jodhagir, or the Warrior's Hill. Here are
scattered the tombs of the princes and nobles of the country, and
there are many curious stone effigies of these chieftains.
A little further out into the country- are some fine gardens,
surrounding a clear deep lake, and three miles further on is the Bal
Samundar, another sheet of water half-a-mile in length, with crags of
red sandstone and fine palm-trees fringing the shores.
The deserted palace of Ajit Singh is worth a visit, though it is
dirty, and full of bats and other vermin. It is interesting from the
gigantic figures of divinities and other heroes with which it is
decorated.


87
Udaipur.—In my introduction to this book, I have urged all
travellers in India to see something of country life in districts remote

TOWER OF VICTORY, CIIITOR.
from railways and Europeans. A visit to the beautiful city of
Udaipur, in Rajputana, makes an excellent opportunity.
Leaving Ajmir at 1.40 p.m. the train arrives at Chitor Station at


88
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
11 p.m., close to which is a gocd Dak bungalow. From Chitor a new
road has recently been constructed to Udaipur, along which a mail-
tonga runs daily; the distance is seventy miles; the fare is fifteen
rupees. A special tonga may be engaged by writing to the mail-
agent, or the station-master at Chitor, who will take care that the
order is placed in the right hands. It is better to write a week or ten
days beforehand, and thus make sure by written confirmation that
your instructions are clearly understood.
There are four Dak bungalows on the road—Banin, 14 miles; Mun-
gerwar, 30 miles; Minar, 43 miles; Daboke, 59 miles, from Chitor,
and if it is intended to break the long tonga journey, it will be best to
leave it to the mail-agent to decide which shall be chosen, though
Minar is the best, containing two good rooms. There is a good
bungalow at Udaipur, where accommodation may be had. I advise
travellers to write to the Residcnt, making full inquiries about it
beforehand. Probably Messrs. Thos. Cook & Son, Bombay, would
arrange the whole trip from Ajmir and back, with timely notice.
Chitor is an ancient city, crowned by a famous fortress, called
Chitorgarh. The town is surrounded by a wall, connecting with the
fort. Chitor was the capital of the surrounding country as far back
as a.d. 700, but it has been deserted since its capture by the Emperor
Akbar. The fort is 200 to 300 feet above the town, on the summit
of a long precipitous rock, covered with dense jungle. It is worth
visiting for the sake of a venerable Jain monument, called the
Khowasin Stliamba, a remarkable square pillar, 75 feet high, 30 feet
thick at the base, and 15 feet at the top, covered with sculptured Jain
figures, and inscribed with the date a.d. 896. The whole of tho
interior of the fortress is covered with ruined temples, tanks, and
palaces, the remains of the ancient city. Among these is a notable
column, erected in 1450 to commemorate a great victory, 122 feet
high, 35 feet broad at the base, tapering in nine storeys to a diameter
of 18 feet under the cupola. It stands on a terrace 42 feet square,
and is covered with sculpture representing mythological subjects.
In a.d. 1290 Chitor was taken by storm by Ala-ud-din. On this
occasion the women of the city, rather than fall into the hands of the
Musalmans, performed the awful sacrifice of "Johur." Several
thousands of them, including the queen, were suffocated in the vaults
of the fort; the men all dying in battle.
The palace of Bhim, of the 13th century, and that of Khumbo


UDAIPUR.
89
Rana, early 15th century, are well preserved, and the beauty of detail
is considerable. The Ram Pol is the finest of the gateways, and
Mira Baie's temple (a.d. 1450) is a very magnificent ruin. A pleasant
and profitable day may be spent at Chitor, wandering among these
interesting and historical remains of the ancient Rajput capital, whose
brightest days were a thousand years ago.
Udaipur is the capital of a native state in Rajputana of the same
name, with a total population of 1,500,000, mainly Hindus; the

THE PALACE, UDAII'UR.
population of the city itself being about 40,000. The scenery
throughout the state is very beautiful, and that of the Aravalli
mountains, above the capital, is said to equal Kashmir. The state is
well provided with lakes and tanks, some of which are very large.
The Dhebar tank, 20 miles from Udaipur city, is 9 miles long, 5
broad, and covers an area of 21 square miles. The masonry dam is
1,200 feet long, by 95 feet high, 50 feet thick at the base, and 15 at
the top. There are three distinct tribes of aborigines in the hills of
Udaipur—the Nehairs, Minas, and Bhils.
The city of Udaipur, with its noble palace overlooking a romantic
lake, surrounded by wooded hills, its great temple of Jagannath, the


9°
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
mansions of its Rajput nobles, its cenotaphs, flower-gardens, fountains,
orange and lemon groves, is one of the most beautiful and picturesque
in the world.
The Royal Palace has been thus described: "It is a most imposing
pile, of a regular form, built of granite and marble, rising at least 100
feet from the ground, and flanked with octagonal towers, crowned with
cupolas. Although built at various periods, uniformity of design has
been very well preserved; nor is there in the East a more striking and
majestic structure. It stands upon the very crest of a ridge running
parallel to, but considerably elevated above, the margin of the lake;
the terrace, which is at the east and chief front of the palace, extends
throughout its length, and is supported by a triple row of arches from
the declivity of the ridge. The height of this arcaded wall is full 50 feet;
and although all is hollow beneath, yet it is so admirably constructed
that an entire range of stables is built on the extreme verge of the
terrace, on which the whole personal force of the Rana, elephants,
horse, and foot, are often assembled. From this terrace the city and
valley lie before the spectator, whose vision is bounded only by the hills
shutting out the plains; while from the summit of the palace nothing
obstructs its range over lake and mountain."—Tod's Annals of
Rajasthan.
Many other beautiful palaces and mansions surround the lake, and
occupy the wooded islands dotted over its surface. The only boats
permitted are those belonging to the Maharana; but, like all Indian
princes, he is politeness itself, and a request for the use of a boat,
made through the Resident, will be certain to be met with a favour-
able reply. Every island is a grove or garden, with noble palaces or
pavilions, and each forms a subject for a fresh picture. The most
interesting is the Jagmandir, noted as the asylum of Shah Jahan,
when in revolt against his father, Jahangir; this splendid palace was
built for him during his residence at Udaipur.
A chain of fortresses, surrounding the city wall, commanding every
road leading thereio, adds greatly to the charm of the scenery. Two
miles from the capital is the lovely burning ground where the
Maharanas, their wives and families, have been cremated since
Udaipur became the capital in 1580. Here, in a beautiful garden full
of trees and flowers, are scattered hundreds of tombs, great and small,
but the smallest and meanest a work of art worthy of notice. The
finest is the cenotaph of Singram Sinh, a famous king of Udaipur,





92 PICTURESQUE INDIA.
who was burned here with twenty-one of his wives, a.d. 1733. The
\ ariety of style and architecture is infinite. It is a fifty-six pillared
portico, with an octagonal dome in the centre, supported on eight
pillars with carved brackets. There is a chapter on cenotaphs in
Fergusson, page 470, which give details and illustrations of some of
these beautiful monuments, which, with their lovely sylvan surround-
ings, form the most charming cemetery imaginable.
The fortified hill, south of the city which it commands, is called
Eklingarh. At the foot of the hill is an interesting building called
the Gobardan Belas, a country residence and farm-house of the royal
family.
Twelve miles north of Udaipur, at Eklingji, in a narrow defile, is an
interesting shrine and temple sacred to Mahadeo, the tutelary divinity
of the Mewar Rajputs. The shrine is of white marble, under an open
vaulted temple, with a colonnade. The Maharana, as vice-regent of
Siva, performs the ceremonies instead of the priests, on the occasion of
his visit to the shrine. There is a beautiful lake here, surrounded by
hills, the embankment of which is studded with temples and shrines of
various kinds. At the further end of the Eklingji gorge a gateway is
built across the mouth, with a wall crowning the heights on either
side.
The Maharana of Udaipur is a "sacred man" of the Hindu
pantheon, and is an object of worship. He is the representative of
the Solar Race. According to his genealogy, he is the lineal descen-
dant of a triple royal line. He is the living representative of the
legendary hero of the Ramayana, descending in direct line from Rama,
from the Sassanian kings of Persia, and from the Caesars of Rome.
He is always portrayed with an aureole round the head.
The Maharana has fifty-one feudatory nobles, who enjoy rights and
privileges which do not exist in other parts of Rajputana. They main-
tain much pomp and state in their own localities. When a feudatory
noble enters the Maharana's presence the whole court rises. Tho
reputed income of these nobles is about two millions of rupees, and
that of the Maharana about three and a half millions. The military
force of the state is about 26,000 men of all arms.
Much of the lac so largely used all over the north and west of India
for the manufacture of native jewellery, is collected in the neighbouring
forest by the Bhils.
Twenty-four miles from Udaipur is Nathdwara, where is one of the


93
most sacred shrines in India, dedicated to Vishnu. The idol was
brought from Muttra during the persecutions of Aurangzeb. There is
a splendid road from Udaipur, made by Mr. G. T. Williams, the Raj
engineer, during the liesidency of Dr. Stratton; Mr. Williams also
ompleted the Dak road from Chitor. The road to Nathdwara passes
t'arough Eklingji, the scenery is very picturesque all the way, and on
t'ae Eklingji Ghat magnificent.
Eight miles beyond Nathdwara is the superb tank of Raj Samund,
the bund of which is some two miles long, all of white marble. In
the centre of the bund is the town of Kankroli, with a temple sacred
to Vishnu, almost as old as Nathdwara.
The United Presbyterian Church of Scotland has a small mission-
station at Udaipur city.


CHAPTER VII.
JAIPUR.

AIPUR is a place of great interest,
being the capital of the most im-
portant of that group of indepen-
dent states known as Rajputana.
The state of Jaipur contains an
area of 14,465 square miles, and a
population of nearly two millions,
of whom about one-eighth are Rajputs,
five-eighths other castes of Hindus, three-
sixteenths Muhammadans, and about one-
sixteenth Jains, who are a very influential
and wealthy section of Rajput society.
The scenery of Jaipur is very fine, the
country being crossed by ranges of lofty
hills, and isolated peaks of a very striking
character rising abruptly from the plain. There
are vast and arid tracts of desert, in which
some of the smaller rivers are absorbed. The
hills to the north of the largest desert have been broken up by some
remote geological disturbance, exposing deposits of alum, cobalt,
copper, and nickel ore, some of their products being used in the
manufacture of the fine Jaipur enamels which, with the cutting of
carbuncles and garnets found in Southern Jaipur, forms one of the
staple industries of the capital.
The Maharaja is the descendant of a long line of kings, founded in
a.d. 967, by Rama, king of Adjodya, in Oudh. He represents the
thirty-fifth generation. His father was one of the most public-spirited


JAIPUR.
95
princes in India, who set aside the extravagant splendour of his pre-
decessors in favour of expenditure for the benefit of his people at
large. His memory is revered by all the population of the state.
The military forces of the Maharaja consist of about 1,000 artillery-
men, 4,500 cavalry, and 16,000 infantry. The income of the state is
£1,200,000, of which more than half is devoted to religious grants of
one kind or another. The city of Jaipur is about 1,500 feet above the
sea; it is a delightful place. The temperature in winter is com-

THE FOUNTAIN SQUARE, JAIPUR.
paratively cool and pleasant, and the climate dry and healthy. It is
the largest and most prosperous of all the Rajput capitals, and is
undoubtedly the finest of modern Hindu cities. It is beautifully
situated in an amphitheatre of rugged and precipitous hills, whose
summits are crowned by picturesque fortifications, the chief of which,
the Tiger fort, dominates the city on the top of an inaccessible scarped
rock. A solid crenellated wall, twenty feet high, and nine feet thick,
surrounds the whole city, pierced with seven gateways, strengthened
by screen walls. At intervals, in the walls, are bastions and towers
armed with old-fashioned cannons.
Jaipur is remarkable for its fine wide streets. The main thorough-





JAIPUR.
97
fares are 111 feet wide, the side streets 55 fest, and even the back
lanes and slums are 28 feet; all running at right angles to each
other.
The streets are crowded with a stalwart race of men, superior in
every way to the poor, ill-fed people of so many districts of Bengal or
Bombay. There are signs of wealth on every hand. The scene from
the fountain, where the four great thoroughfares of Jaipur converge,
is one of the most picturesque in the world. The great open space is
filled with stalls of fruit, vegetables and cereals; gay piece goods from
Cashmere, Cawnpore, or Manchester are displayed from others;
thousands of pigeons walk in and out on the pavement, taking the
greatest interest in the gaily dressed bargainers in front of every
stall.
A continual stream of traffic flows up and down sach broad road-
way, foot-passengers mingling with smartly caparisoned elephants,
trains of camels, white donkeys, and bullock-carts; the syces, or run-
ning footmen of some Rajput noble, cry passage for their master, who
prances gravely in from the country on his white horse, with green
and gold saddle, himself armed to the teeth with musket, pistol,
sword and dagger; or some groom of the Maharaja comes along, lead-
ing a muzzled panther or leopard.
The houses are all washed rose colour, and glow warmly in the
bright sunlight against the deep cobalt of the sky. On the roofs are
smart groups of women and children, clad in wondrous colours, with
flocks of parrots, pigeons, and crows sweeping round them, fluttering
about the eaves, or perched on every corner.
In the shops below every possible handicraft is carried on, for
nothing is done by machinery in India. Here are women in bright
red dresses grinding at the mill, and singing as they work. Men, all
the colours of the rainbow, stand in front of the dyers, waving long strips
of green, red, or blue cloth in the drying sunshine. Others squat on
the side walk being shaved, or wash themselves at the gutter with
bright brass basins full of clean water. Cotton ginning, wheat winnow-
ing, copper smelting, the potter's wheel, the spinning wheel, the gem-
grinder's wheel, the gold-wire drawer, the silversmith, the shoemaker,
with fifty other trades and their tools, clattering and noisy, make the
busy scene a mass of moving colour and life such as I have never
seen equalled elsewhere.
There is a good town bungalow at Jaipur, as well as two or three
H


98 PICTURESQUE INDIA.
hotels, of which the Kaiser-i-Hind is the best. Good carriages may
be hired by the day, and there are two or three reasonably intelligent
guides. The traveller, immediately on arrival, should write a note to
the British Resident, asking for permits to see the old Palace of Amber
and the palace and stables of the Maharaja. The note should be left,
with cards, at the residency, and the orders will be sent to the hotel

THE HALL OF THE WINDS, JAIPUR.
during the day. If only a short visit is being made to Jaipur, it will
be better to write a day or two beforehand.
There is nothing of historical or archaeological interest in Jaipur,
the main charm of the place consisting of the wonderful picturesque-
ness of the people and the streets.
The palace and gardens of the Maharaja lie in the angle formed
by the two main streets, covering a seventh of the area of the entire
city. The grand entrance to the Palace, the Siran Deorhi, is opposite
the College, in the most central part of the city. The only portion of
the palace visible from the street is the singularly beautiful building


JAIPUR.
99
called the Hawal Mahal, or Hall of the Winds, described by Sir
Edwin Arnold as "a vision of daring and dainty loveliness, nine
stories of rosy masonry and delicate overhanging balconies, and latticed
windows, soaring with tier after tier of fanciful architecture in a
pyramidal form, a very mountain of airy and audacious beauty, through
the thousand pierced screens and gilded arches of which the Indian
air blows cool over the flat roofs of the very highest houses. Aladdin's
magician could have called into existence no more marvellous abode,
nor was the pearl and silver palace of the Peri Bauou more delicately
charming."
This building is part of the quarters assigned to the ladies of the
Zenana. Much of it is a mere mask of stucco, and most critics would
refuse to accept Sir Edwin Arnold's poetic tribute to its beauty. It
is, however, a unique bit of Indian architecture, well worth careful
observation.
In the first great square, after entering the palace gates, is the
largest of the five great observatories erected early last century, by Jai
Singh, the celebrated Hindu astronomer and mathematician. It con-
tains dials, azimuth masonry, altitude pillars, astrolabe, and a double
mural quadrant, of enormous size and height, built of massive
masonry smoothed with plaster, on which the gradations have bee a
carefully marked. Passing on, the Diwan-i-Khas, or Private Audience
Hall, is reached, a great marble building, beyond which is the Chanda
Mahal, or " Silver House," the great palace of the Maharaja himself,
seven stories high. Some favour or influence is required to gain
admission to the apartments, which are furnished with the usual
garish splendour of modern Indian palaces, the only thing worth
seeing being the magnificent view from the roof, and a fine illuminated
manuscript of the time of Akbar in one of the rooms of the ground
floor.
A very pleasant hour may be spent in the lovely and well-kept
gardens of the palace, especially if the Maharaja's band, carefully
trained by an experienced European band-master, should be playing.
All about the courtyards, and on the steps of the Diwan-i-Khas,
lounge picturesque smartly dressed groups of the innumerable servants
of the Maharaja, who seem to spend an easy and idle life. Leading
from the central quadrangle is a long bazaar, where food and other
necessaries are retailed to these retainers.
The fine tower, just outside the main entrance to the palace, which
h 2


IOO
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
dominates the street, is called the Ishwari Miliar Swarga Sul,—the
minaret which pierces the sky. It is not permitted to ascend this
tower, but the view cannot be finer than that obtained from the roof of
the palace.
The Maharaja's College is a pretty and interesting sight when
school is in session, and its thousand brightly attired lads are all
assembled in their classes, grouped on the floors and verandahs of the
great courtyards. Several of the professors and teachers speak
English fluently, especially the accomplished Professor of History,
Mr. Amritalal De, and, justly proud of their institution, they gladly
show it to visitors, putting their clever students through their paces.
This college was opened in 1844 with forty pupils, and now has up-
wards of 1,000 on its register.
The scholars are mostly Hindu. The college staff consists of fifteen
English-speaking teachers, twelve Maulavis or Persian teachers, and
four Hindu pundits, with others. Many of these gentlemen are
graduates of Calcutta University, with which the college is affiliated.
The other schools of Jaipur worth visiting are the High School for
the sons of Rajput nobles; any of the thirty-three elementary schools
for boys; and the charming female schools which the late Maharaja,
with great liberality, has established, and which contain 700 or 800
pupils. The best of these is in the handsome house of Nattani, a
former Minister of State.
One of the finest buildings in the city is the School of Art, with
remarkably well-appointed technical classes, in which a large number
of young men receive instruction in drawing, carpentry, iron-work,
electroplating, engraving, metallurgy, gold and silver work, damascen-
ing, gem grinding and setting, enamelling, watch-making,
wood-carving, sculpture, embroidery, weaving, and all those other
native arts for which India in time past has been famous, but which
have in some cases died out before European machinery and
competition.
The public garden of seventy acres is extremely beautiful, and is
partly zoological and partly botanical. The handsome building of
white stone with a lofty clock tower at the entrance of the garden on
the city side, is the Mayo Hospital with a hundred beds, an excellent
and well-appointed institution built by the late Maharaja in memory of
his fast friend, the Earl of Mayo. In the centre of the garden is the
museum, one of the noblest modern buildings in all India, in which is


JAIPUR.
101
an interesting collection of Indian and European art. Here are cases
of objects illustrating every variety of Indian arts, industries, and
antiquities; loom work of all kinds, carpets, sculptures, brass, silver
and gold work, glass, enamels, jewellery, and natural products,
gathered together at great cost from every corner of India. This
museum is a favourite resort of the people, 150,000 passing its
turnstiles during the year.
The public garden cost 400,000 rupees to lay out, and 30,000
rupees a year are spent to keep it up. The fine bronze statue is that
of the Earl of Mayo.
All these splendid institutions are monuments to the enlightened
and public spirited prince, who has by their aid raised his little capital
to the position of one of the most modern and civilized cities in the
world.
The menagerie is near the north gate, and here are ten or twelve
huge man-eater tigers, confined in strong cages, fed at the Maharaja's
expense. The amiable creatures to which we are accustomed at home,
at Regent's Park or in Sanger's menageries, are quiet tabby cats com-
pared with these horrible monsters, who shake the strong bars of their
cages with impotent rage and fierce glare, growling with every tooth
exposed, at any person who approaches. One huge brute is known to
have killed and eaten fifteen human beings, another ten, and a third
seven. These tigers are trapped in pitfalls, where they are left for
many days until they have been starved into extreme weakness; then
they are dragged off to imprisonment for life.
Mr. G. P. Sanderson writes thus of man-eater tigers in his
"Thirteen Years among the Wild Beasts of India:" "This truly
terrible scourge to the timid and unarmed inhabitants of an Indian
village is now happily becoming very rare; man-eaters of a bad type
are seldom heard of, rarely survive long. Before there were so many
European sportsmen as there are now, in the country, a man-eater
frequently caused the temporary abandonment of whole tracts; and
the sites of small hamlets abandoned by the terrified inhabitants, and
which have never been reoccupied, are not uncommonly met with by
the sportsmen in the jungles. The terror inspired by a man-eater
throughout the district ranged by him is extreme: the helpless
people are defenceless against his attacks. Their occupations of
cattle-grazing or wood-cutting take them into the jungles, where they
feel tbat they go with their lives in their hands. A rustling leaf, or a


102
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
squirrel or bird moving in the undergrowth, sets their heart beating
with a dread sense of danger. The only security they feel is in
numbers. Though the bloodthirsty monster is perhaps reposing with
the remains of his last victim miles away, the terror he inspires is
always present to every one throughout his domain. The rapidity
and uncertainty of a man-eater's movements form the chief elements
of the dread he causes. His name is in every one's mouth; his
daring, ferocity, and appalling appearance are represented with true
Eastern exaggeration, and until some European sportsman, perhaps
after days or weeks of pursuit, lays him low, thousands live in fear
day and night. Bold man-eaters have been known to enter a village
and carry ofl: a victim from the first open hut. Having lived in a
tract so circumstanced until I shot the fiend that possessed it, and
having myself felt something of the grim dread that had taken hold of
the country-side, where ordinary rambling about the jungles, and
even sitting outside the tent after dark except with a large fire, or
moving from the encampment without an escort, were unsafe, I
could realise the feelings of relief and thankfulness so earnestly ex-
pressed by the poor ryots when I shot the Jezebel that had held sway
over them so long.
"The man-eater is often an old tiger (more frequently a tigress), or
an animal that, through having been wounded or otherwise hurt, has
been unable to procure its usual food, and takes to this means of
subsistence. It is invariably an ex-cattle-killer that, from constant
intercourse with man, has become divested of its natural dread of our
race, and interference with whose kills has caused collisions between
itself and cow-herds which have finally led to its preying upon the
hitherto dreaded man when other food fails. The man-eater is as
cowardly as it is cunning, fleeing before an armed man, between
whom and a possible victim it discriminates with wonderful sagacity.
The slightest sound of any one in pursuit of it, even the whisper of a
single sportsman with one or two trackers in its haunts, starts it at
once; it will then probably travel for miles, though even whilst
fleeing it may pounce upon some unwary victim, as I have seen an
ordinary tiger seize a bullock when itself the object of hot pursuit.
This combination of cowardice and audacity constitutes the difficulty
there always is in bringing a man-eater to bay.
"Though the belief that some tigers confine themselves entirely to
human flesh is undoubtedly erroneous, a man is so much more easily


JAIPUR.
103
overcome than any other animal that man-eaters frequently seize cow-
herds in preference to the cattle they are in charge of. It is this
which has led to the belief that, after having once tasted human flesh,
the tiger prefers it to any other. The reason why tigresses should
be more frequent offenders than their lords is difficult to conjecture.
Perhaps it is that when their cubs are young they are often put to
great straits to obtain food for them, or urged to acts of boldness in
their defence; or the fact that tigresses are as a rule more vicious,
sly, and enterprising, as also more ferocious when pushed to ex-
tremities than tigers, may partly account for it. This may seem an
ungallant representation by a sportsman (and who is more tender-
hearted, more ready to overlook the sex's failings than the true sports-
man ?), but it is the truth.
"How the belief arose that man-eaters are usually mangy animals
it is difficult to understand. I do not remember to have read of a
single instance of any sportsman finding this to be the case. Were
tigers apt to lose their hair, or to become lean in old age, a foundation
for the belief might exist; though to say that this was the result of
eating human flesh would be erroneous. But old animals merely
become lighter in colour, the black stripes narrowing and becoming
further apart, and very slightly mixed with grey hairs, whilst the
yellow turns to a paler hue than in youth. As far as my own experi-
ence goes, I have never seen a mangy or lean tiger."
The Maharaja's stables are worth seeing. Here are kept many
varieties of carriages, some of which are ancient and curious; also a
fine stud of three hundred horses, about fifty elephants, and a number
of cheetahs and hunting leopards.
There are many interesting excursions into the suburbs of Jaipur.
The alligator tank is a shallow lake just outside the walls, in which
are a considerable number of these loathsome reptiles. As visitors
approach the bank, the native cadgers who haunt all places of resort
in India come forward. One goes off to the slaughter-house, to
fetch a mass of the inwards of a bullock, while the others rim to the
margin of the tank, uttering shrill and weird cries. Presently the
surface of the water is broken by the serrated backs of alligators, who
in response to the yells of the loafers, emerge from their mud, seeking
what they may devour. They swim slowly to the bank, sticking out
expectant snouts, and gaping their white mouths and cruel jaws.
Presently, the sky is almost obscured by kites, also attracted by the


104
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
cries of the men. Now comes the messenger, with a lump of lights
and offal, and a long rope. This is twisted round and round the bait,
and thrown among the alligators, who fight for its possession—the
kites swooping in at every gap, snatching off bits of meat. The
lucky one slowly bolts it down, rope and all, when, with screams of
joy, a dozen loafers seize the rope, and the tug-of-war begins. By
degrees the huge monster, fifteen or sixteen feet long, is slowly

THE JAI SINUH SAWXI, JAIPUR.
dragged out of the water, snapping and snarling, till the rope breaks,
the loafers fall back in a yelling heap, and the alligator sails slowly
away, with six feet of rope waving behind him like a following snake,
to digest his meal of hemp and offal at his ease. It is a gruesome
spectacle, and hardly worth the couple of rupees which the loafers
expect for their pains. It is, however, a very pretty sight to watch
the kites swoop down with wonderful grace, catching bits of meat
thrown up into the air, eating them as they hover, waiting for more.
The cenotaphs of the Maharajas are placed in charming gardens,
just outside the north-east wall. The trees are full of monkeys,


JAIPUR.
105
which abound all round the suburbs of Jaipur. The finest of these
cenotaphs is that of Jai Singh Sawai, of the purest white marble—a
dome supported by an octagon of eight beautifully carved pillars.
The cornice is finely decorated with scenes in alto-relievo from the
Hindu mythology, and the slabs round the base are groups of soldiers
on elephants and horses, and other striking subjects. There is an
excellent model of this beautiful work of art in South Kensington
Museum.
A pleasant morning excursion may be made to the Temple of the
Sun, and the sacred shrines of Galta. The Sun Temple is on the top
of a hill about 350 feet high, two miles and a half from the hotel.
The road is too bad for carriages, but a bullock-cart can go the
greater part of the way, and will furnish a new experience in locomo-
tion. The iemple is a very ordinary affair, but the view over the
plain, with the minarets and gardens of Jaipur glistening at the foot
of the hill, is well worth the climb. It is interesting to note how the
sand of the great Rajputana desert is encroaching upon the town.
The houses and gardens of a near suburb lie deserted and almost
buried in the sand, which has blown up the ravines of the hills, scores
of feet deep.
The road descends rapidly from the Temple of the Sun into a dark
gorge, narrowing into a pass about twenty feet wide, at the end of which
is a group of ancient temples surrounding iwo deep pools of water.
These temples are greatly venerated, and at limes great hosts of
pilgrims resort to them. Below the second tank are some minor
temples and priests' houses, beyond which is the wide plain, dotted
with rocks, some of which are crowned with old fortifications.
The old Palace and Temple of Sanganer is distant a pleasant drive
of seven miles from Jaipur. The town is entered by a gateway,
beyond which are two Tirpauliyas, as they are called—gateways with
three openings and three stories; they are in a somewhat tumble-
down condition. Passing two temples, dedicated to Krishna and
Sitaram, the palace is reached—a vast wilderness of ruins, with some
lovely fragments here and there.
In one of these the doors are panels of sandal-wood inlaid with
ivory, leading into a charming courtyard with a ruinous old garden
and fountains, that is very picturesque. Beyond the palace is the
Sanganer Temple, dating from tho 9th century. In a hollow of the
outer wall is a rude stone idol covered with vermilion, called Bhojaji,


ic6
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
supposed to be thousands of years old. The main entrance to the
temple is of fine white marble. The inner courtyard is about sixty
feet by forty, ornamented by rows of pillars with elaborately carved
struts, surmounted by figures of gods.
The gateway leading into the inner court is also of marble, and is
one mass of sculptured decoration; the sill is held up by heads of
fearsome demons. Within this inner court is a shrine, into which
none but the faithful may enter. Under a canopy sit three white
marble figures of Parswanath, with six smaller black figures in front.
There are several other temples, Hindu and Jain, worth visiting,
and two or three hours may be pleasantly spent in wandering about
this decayed old city.
The greatest of all the attractions to Jaipur is Amber, the ancient,
but now deserted and ruined, capital of Jaipur. An early start, not
later than six o'clock, should be made on the day for which permission
has been obtained through the Resident. The route from the hotel
passes through the city, out on the other side into a road lined with
the handsome gardens and mansions of Rajput nobles; presently a fine
spacious lake is reached, in the centre of which is a deserted palace,
only accessible by boat. Basking on the banks and small islands are
a number of enormous alligators, while others swim slowly about with
their ugly backs just above the water. Two miles beyond this lake,
and six from the hotel, the foot of the hill leading up to Amber is
reached, where two or three elephants in smart trappings have been
sent to meet the party, by the kindness of the Maharaja. These are
placed by him at the disposal of every stranger who obtains a permit
through the Eesident; the mahouts expect two or three rupees as a
present. The elephants take the visitor up to Amber—a distance of
two miles, in about an hour, wait while the palace is visited, and then
make the return journey.
The city of Amber is quite deserted, except by a number of fakirs
or Hindu ascetics, who have taken possession of the empty houses.
It is a weird looking place enough, and as the huge elephants plod
slowly through its streets, no human being is met with, except some
unkempt and ash-strewn creature looking silently out of a window or
over the edge of a roof. There is nothing stranger in all India's past
than the desertion by some monarch, for reasons now lost in obscurity
or only guessed at, of his splendid palace and well-built capital, taking
not only his court, but the entire population with him.


JAIPUR.
107
The palace is a fine pile of buildings of the later period of Musal-
inan art. Its situation is extremely picturesque, being built along
the slopes of a lofty hill, immediately over the lake, the summit being
crowned with a powerful fortress. The surrounding hills are topped
with smaller castles, linked to the fort by long walls of thick
crenellated masonry. The old deserted garden of the palace,
stretching far out into the lake, is a place of wondrous beauty,
and its rich dark green foliage throws up in strong relief the whole
facade of the great range of white and yellow buildings. Reproduced
in the mirror of the still lake, it makes a picture not easily to be
forgotten.
The elephants wind slowly up the steep slopes which lead to the
entrance of the palace, which is defended by a narrow and curtained
approach with three massive gateways, the last of which opens on a
great desolate square, where the visitor dismounts, if "elephant-
sickness " has not dismounted him earlier. I have obtained permis-
sion to quote at length the description of this marvellous palace,
given by Sir Edwin Arnold in his "India Revisited":—
"A rich nakdr-khana, with brass doorways and alcoves of em-
broidered marble, opens the way into a second courtyard, paved with
white and red stone, and surrounded by the most graceful buildings
imaginable. One is the Diwan-i-Khas, a pavilion formed by columns
of white marble and red sandstone, its inner walls of laced and pierced
stonework, and its roof delicately embellished with colour. On
another face of this 'Court of Honour' rises magnificently the
gateway of the Mardana or 'Men's Abode,' which has been
pronounced the finest portal in the world. It is in truth too lovely in
tints, material, artistic labour, and ensemble to be described—a
matchless portico, such as might provide the door to Paradise.
Through this you reach across a green and cool garden—the Jey
Mandir, or 'Hall of Victory,' adorned by panels of alabaster, inlaid
with birds, flowers, and arabesques in various colours, the roof
glittering with the mirrored and spangled work for which Jaipur art
is renowned. There are bathing-rooms here, all of pale, creamy
marble, looking forth upon the dead city and the fair valley through
screens of fretted stone; chambers painted with curious pictures of
towns, temples, and hunting or mythological scenes; and one
beautiful apartment entirely lined with plates of mica let into the
white walls and vaultings, between lines and floriated ornaments of





JAIPUR.
109
grey, the effect being as though this royal retreat were filled with
moonlight. Then we traverse the tiny but elegant chambers of the
zenana—for the palace is at present empty—shut from the world by a
jealously high wall, in which pierced lattices permit the imprisoned
ladies to gaze upon the world without. There is a delicious little
pavilion above this, on the roof of the great gate, styled Sohag
Mandir, from which those secluded princesses could watch the
Durbars in the square of the Diwan-i-Khas; and over the 'Hall of
Victory' is built a Jas Mandir or 'Alcove of Light,' which literally
glows with bright and tender colours and exquisite inlaid work, and
looks through arches of carved alabaster and clusters of slender
columns upon the sleeping lake and the silent mountains. If this
portion of the palace must be regarded as a prison, it is the most
beautiful gaol imaginable; and the grey old Rajput in charge
explains that when the Maharaja's court is here, the men are
sometimes all excluded, and the princesses have the run of the entire
edifice.
"Yet the palace is not quite empty even to-day. At the side of the
main enirance, beneath the ramp, exists a temple dedicated to Devi, and
here it is the custom every morning in the year to sacrifice an animal.
At the Durga festival, a whole herd of buffaloes and a flock of sheep
are offered to the dread goddess, but the daily tribute is a goat, which
replaces, it is said, the human victim whose life used to be taken every
morning in this gloomy fane before the times of our British Raj. It
chanced that we entered the temple just at the hour of sacrifice, and,
although the ladies would by no means view the sanguinary ceremony,
a brief conversation with the attendants induced them to admit Dr.
Hendley and myself, to the presence of the goddess. She sat—the
awful blood-loving Kali—all black and red, upon a platform inside the
darkest part of the adytum of the temple, with eyes of glittering
mother-o'-pearl and a necklace of skulls. At the foot of the platform
was a heap of sand, and near it some wide-mouthed brass vessels, and
a broad heavy-bladed sword. A Rajput was worshipping in the corner,
and the priest, with two assistants, moved grimly about, arranging for
the matutinal rite. The victim, a black goat, stood placidly enough
upon the heap of sand, sniffing curiously at the edge of the stone plat-
form where so many of his predecessors had perished. Suddenly a
bell was touched, and the priest took the heavy sword and laid it in
front of the image, while he made the ' ashtanga ' or eight-fold pros-


1 IO
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
tration, and repeated the mantra of expiation. Then the two atten-
dants laid hold of the goat quite gently, one steadying it at the tail,
and one keeping its head straight with a cord lightly fastened round
the neck and ears. The poor animal, quite unalarmed and uncon-
cerned, stood perfectly still, while the priest bared his right shoulder
and squared himself athwartwise; the sword, grasped by both hands,
balancing under the goat's neck. Abruptly he raised it, swung it back
far behind him, and then brought it whistling round with a blow
which combined the cut and draw.

There was a slight sound, as
when a soft stick is chopped, and
the blade had shred clean through
the goat's neck-bone and neck, so
that the boy with the cord caught
up the severed head into the air
before it could touch the earth.
The body of the victim fell side-
ways, guided by the other atten-
dant, who directed the bleeding
arteries into one of the brass
vessels. Taking the goat's head,
the priest then laid it on the
platform, before the glaring eyes
of the goddess, and placing his
brow on the earth, repeated the
prayer prescribed. Thus the
horrid propitiation ended, but we
learned that the priests of the
a corner of tue DiwAN-i-KHAs, amber. temple, being of a special caste,
themselves ate daily five seers of
the goat's flesh, and had the right to sell the remainder in the bazaar.
The palace pays seventeen rupees monthly to the contractor who
supplies these innocent victims. The priest said that the goddess
would be very angry if the goat were not decapitated at a single blow,
and that he could cut off the head of a buffalo with equal certainty
in one attempt."
The excursion to Amber takes about six or seven hours to go, stay
for two hours, and return. The student of architecture, the sketcher
or photographer, will not, however, be content with so short a visit,


JAIPUR.
iII
and it is better to set aside a whole day for Amber, taking luncheon
from the hotel.
Jaipur, like all native capitals, is a great place for processions.
While I was there, in the winter of 1888, a new British Resident had
come, and the Maharaja paid him a state visit, with full processional
honours. The first indication of his leaving the palace was an
enormous elephant, painted all over with gorgeous devices in brilliant
colour, on whose back was a trumpeter, and another man bearing aloft
a great flag. This beast was a " trotter," and went lumbering by at
eight miles an hour, to clear the way for his Highness. The proces-
sion followed hard after. It was led by about fifty camels, each
mounted with soldiers armed with big guns, that threw a 6 or 8 oz.
ball. Following these was a company of artillery, then a group of
horsemen beating big drums, the king's horse-guards, tall fierce
Rajputs, bearing lances with bright pennons, and the Maharaja
himself, a resplendent object encrusted with jewels, in an open
barouche drawn by four horses. Behind him rode a regiment of
cavalry, another of mounted police, carriages containing his diwan,
his ministers, the members of his council, and a large number of
nobles who had come in from the surrounding country. The whole
procession was closed by a number of fine elephants with splendid
trappings, and several cart-loads of Nautch girls! It was a brave and
imposing spectacle.
Jaipur is a great centre for the manufacture, as well as the distri-
bution, of Indian artistic workmanship. Makers of enamels, damas-
cened work, shawls and chuddars, state umbrellas and chauris, marble,
wood, and ivory-carving, printed muslins and chintzes, and every
description of native jewellery, may be seen at work in Jaipur, in its
various bazars and back lanes.
The Jaipur enamels are exceedingly beautiful, in depth, translucency,
and purity of colour, ranking before all others in the world. Its
principal form is that known as champleve, in which the pattern is cut
out of the gold or silver vessel, or jewel, and filled in with the enamel,
which is fused on to the metal. The trinkets thus produced axe
plates, dishes, cups, saucers, spoons, bowls, boxes, inkstands, and
jewellery. In all cases the more costly specimens of the art are
embellished with precious stones, and the enamels are as lustrous and
transparent as the emeralds and rubies set in their midst. Some-
times the art is used with much effect in the hilts of the swords every


112
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
true Rajput chief still feels bound to carry about with him whenever
he goes abroad.
If the visitor wishes a modest specimen of this beautiful Jaipur
enamel, he cannot do better than buy a ring. They are made of pure

WAITING FOB THE MAHARAJA, JAIPUR.
gold, from Mohurs, in pretty designs, such as twisted snakes, or
clasped hands, costing from 20 to 40 rupees, or double that amount
if precious stones have been used. There arc also many other speci-
mens of enamelled jewellery made, such as ear-rings, pendants, and
necklaces. Some very effective and brilliant enamelled trinkets may


JAIPUR.
113
sometimes be purchased at Jaipur, which are manufactured at Part-
abghar, in southern Rajputana, described in a later chapter (see
"Bhopal—Indore").
Jaipur is celebrated for its garnet jewellery, which is manufactured
very largely here. It is very effective and cheap. The principal
manufacturer is Mr. Saith Mull Chand Golcha, who also keeps a large
stock of enamels and other Rajput jewellery. He is a very accom-
plished gentleman, and speaks English fluently. If any visitor who
calls upon him is really interested in art manufacture, Mr. Golcha, or
his secretary, Mr. Ganput Lal, will show him all sorts of beautiful
things.
The Damascened work of Jaipur is very inferior to that of
Kashmir, Gujarat, and the Panjab, and is confined mostly to the
decoration of shields, spears, swords, and other weapons, familiar in
London shop-windows, and altogether unworthy of the connoisseur's
attention.
The beautiful white marble, so plentiful in Jaipur State, is worked
up into carved elephants, tigers, and other animals, and Hindu gods
and goddesses, the marble being richly painted in a very effective way.
The weaving, dyeing, and printing of cotton fabrics is one of the
great features of bazar life, and the printed muslins and cotton cloths
of Jaipur are sold all over India for the purity and brilliance of their
dyes. There is no better market anywhere for the traveller who
wishes to purchase specimens of the skill of Indian weavers, dyers,
and cotton-printers. Here are made large cotton darts, striped in
various colours, gold and silver-printed muslins, turbans, bed-covers,
and many other beautiful cotton fabrics. A day or two may be well
spent in Jaipur in the study of all these various native industrial arts,
where everything is made by hand, machinery practically unknown,
and where the methods and processes have been virtually the same for
a thousand years. The ordinary hotel guide is not much use, as he
has no ideas beyond the rubbish sold on the verandah, or the small
dealers who will give him a commission.
The only Christian Mission in Jaipur was established in 1866 by
the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland. There are two British
agents, several native preachers, and some excellent schools well
worth seeing.
A day may be spent while at Jaipur, in visiting the interesting salt
lake at Sambhar. A convenient train leaves Jaipur at 6.0 a.m.,
1


114
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
reaching Sambkar at 8.20; returning thence at 3.40, arriving at
Jaipur at 7.10. The manager of the hotel at Jaipur will, if instructed,
write the day before, ordering a conveyance to meet the train on
arrival at Sambhar—probably a bullock-cart. The lake is an irregular
sheet of water 20 miles long, very shallow, nowhere more than four
feet deep. It is surrounded by arid rocks, abounding in lime and
salt, and, during the rains, the water pouring down the sides of these
hills becomes strongly impregnated with salt. As soon as the dry
season sets in, the water of the lake begins to evaporate, and a crust
of salt forms on the surface of the black mud which forms the bottom.
This salt is red and blue, as well as white, the colours being caused
by the presence of subaqueous microscopic plants. The harvesting of
this salt goes on from October to March. Hundreds of men and
women are employed in wading out through the mud to break off
large cakes of this salt, bringing it in baskets to solid ground, where
they load it into country bullock-carts to be taken to the railway-
station. The evaporation of the lake is six inches in fifteen days.
There are one or two rickety boats, if adventurous visitors choose
to run the risk of being upset in two feet of water and one of plastic
mud; but nothing is to be seen thereby that cannot be equally well
contemplated from the shore. The mud smells strongly of carburetted
hydrogen.
The lake is in Rajputana, one shore belonging to Jaipur, the other
to Jodhpur, but it is leased to the British Government. The average
out-put of salt is about 4,000 tons, and supplies nearly all the
markets of Rajputana, the Panjab, the North West, and Central
India.
If time permits, after visiting the lake, an excursion may be mado
to Naren, the headquarters of the sect of Dadu Panthis, where there
are some fine temples, a tank, and some magnificent specimens of
Ficus indica, one of which measures nearly sixty feet in circumference
round the trunk four feet from the ground. There is also a mosque
built of the ruins of an old Jain temple, and a handsome gateway
with an arch forty feet high.


CHAPTEK VIII.
ULWAR.

iLWAE is an important native
state in. Rajputana, under the
political superintendence of the
Government of India. It has an area
of 3,000 square miles, with a popula-
tion of about 800,000, of whom three-
fourths arc Hindus, and one-fourth
Musalmans. The hills of Ulwar
abound in large game, and the capital
is considered a good centre for sport.
The lakes of Siliserh and Deoti are
full of fish, and also abound in teal and other wild fowl. Tigers and
panthers are to be found in the hill jungles; and sambhar, nilghai,
black buck, and pig in the plains.
The Raja has a revenue of about £250,000, and maintains an army
of 2,000 cavalry, 5,500 infantry, and 300 artillerymen. He is an
enlightened prince, on excellent terms with the British Government.
The city of Ulwar is well deserving of the traveller's notice, and if
time presses, may be visited en route from Jaipur to Delhi in a single
day. The mail-train leaves Jaipur at 7 a.m., reaching Ulwar at 11.30,
a slower train leaving for Delhi at 4.30 p.m., giving five hours at
Ulwar.
Ulwar is a picturesque town of 50,000 inhabitants. It is protected
i 2.





ULWAR.
"7
by a rampart and moat on all sides, except that which is closed in by
the lofty rock crowned by the fort. There are five gates, and the
streets are well paved and clean. The Dak Bungalow is a few
yards from the station, and a note posted the day previously will
secure breakfast being ready on arrival of the train, though that
meal may be had at Bandikui at 9.30, the mail stopping for the
purpose.
The conspicuous building near the station is the tomb of one Fath
Jung, and dates from 1547. It has a fine dome, and has lasted
longer than the memory of him in whose honour it was erected, for
nobody in Ulwar, or anywhere else, appears to know who Fath Jung
was or what he did.
The town is about a mile from the station. The fine temple in the
market-place is in honour of Jagannath, and the curious ancient tomb
which crosses the main street is called the Tirpolia, and dates back
to about a.d. 1350. Taiang Sultan, brother of Firoz Shah, lies buried
there.
The Banni Bilar palace is a handsome modern building, with very
beautiful gardens, and a fine Durbar Hall, from the roof of which a
splendid view is obtained of the fort, the temples, the cenotaphs, and
the tank. This pavilion is of white marble, its roof and walls
decorated with pietra dura.
Close at hand is the Raja's modern palace. The library is very
rich in Oriental manuscripts of great rarity, some wonderful
illuminated scrolls, ancient Korans, and one book, a copy of the
Gulistan, valued at 500,000 rupees, whose pictures are a marvel of
delicate colour. The librarian is always willing to show them to
appreciative strangers. In the courtyard are two cenotaphs of white
marble, adorned with pierced lattice-work, and further on are some
marble temples to Vishnu, and the elegant cenotaph of Maharaja
Bakhtawar Singh. The view from the pavilion of this cenotaph is
one of the most beautiful in India. Sir Edwin Arnold writes of it:—
"You look upon this bright landscape, full of old legend and busy
traffic, from balconies of pierced marble—delicious little bowers of
carved and fretted embroidery, where the satin polish of the stone, the
cool, smooth floors, the light filtering through sheeny windows of close
and complex patterns; the tinkle of fountains falling on the pave-
ment, the breeze sighing through the feathers of the palm trees, and
the broad flags of the banana, make up a sense of luxury and graceful


118
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
life, which words cannot convey There is no dead king's
spirit which might not be proud of such a tomb, and no artist who
would not confess it a perfect subject for his pencil, with the wild
peacocks dropping their gorgeous trains down its white walls, and the
water reflecting every line and angle of its noble contours."
In the armoury will be found a remarkable collection of ancient
swords, with hilts of gold, decorated with jade, pearls, enamels, and
other jewelling. Ulwar has always been famous in Indian art, for its

BAKHTAWAB SINOH'S CENOTAPH, ULWAR.
fine workmanship in steel. The weapons and armour of Bani Singh,
grandfather of the present Raja, are those of n man of great propor-
tions, his coat of mail weighing sixteen and a half pounds—the whole
set are studded with diamonds.
The Treasure House contains great teak chests of gold mohurs and
costly jewels, an emerald cup cut out of a large single stone, another
like it of ruby, magnificent strings of pearls, and a diamond valued at
100,000 rupees. Ranged round the walls are gorgeous trappings for
elephants and horses, costly robes and shawls, and cupboards stored
with priceless perfumes for the Zenana ladies.
The Shish Khana, or Hall of Mirrors, is furnished with a table of


ULWAR.
119
silver, with quaint crystal channels, in which coloured crystal fish are
placed.
The stables are the Maharaja's special pride, for he is passionately
fond of horses, and keeps up a fine breeding stud of the best Indian
and English thoroughbreds. The cavalry of Ulwar, are the best
mounted troops in India. Just beyond the stables are the kennels,
where are kept lithe hunting-leopards, lynxes, and cheetahs, for
chasing black buck, and other wild deer, as well as some handsome
falcons.
All these places may be inspected by any reputable European
traveller, but if his visit is to be a short one, he will do well to
write for permission a few days beforehand, to the Diwan of Ulwar,
or to the Maharaja's secretary.
The best time to see the Fort is early in the morning—it is a stiff
climb, but litters or jhampans can easily be obtained by ordering them
over-night through the mess-man of the Dak bungalow. There is
nothing worth seeing in the fort itself, the magnificent view of the city
and surrounding country being the only reward for the fatigue, except
some curious old cannons. The ramparts run along the hills for a
circle of two miles.
The streets of Ulwar are full of interest, and the bazars well worth
strolling through; the people are tall and stately, the women wearing
gay dresses of crimson and yellow, with saris embroidered with little
round bits of looking-glass, which glitter like diamonds. In one of
the squares is a small menagerie, with the usual cages of savage,
man-eater tigers, and some other wild beasts. A short distance off
is the famous elephant carriage, used by the Rajah at the feast of the
Dasara. It is drawn by four elephants, will carry fifty persons, and
is two stories high; it is a piece of barbaric splendour, of no artistio
merit or interest.
A pleasant drive of about eight miles, through cotton fields, and
between rocky hills, leads to the fine lake of Seliserh, where the
Maharaja has built a pretty palace, and keeps a small steam-launch.
The lake is an artificial tank about a mile long, embanked within the
hills of a green valley. It not only supplies the capital with pure
water, but irrigates much of the surrounding country.
The United Presbyterian Church of Scotland has a mission and
schools at Ulwar.
Eewari. This station is the junction for the Rewari-Ferozpur


120
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
section of the B. B. & C. I. Railway. — Travellers intending
to go through to Lahore, will save about six hours by taking this
route. The line runs through alternate tracts of sandy waste, and
rich wheat and rice lands; the only towns of any importance being
Hisar, Sirsah, and Ferozpur. At the two former there are extensive
ruins of Mughal cities, but they are not worth stopping to see.
Ferozpur is a comparatively modern place; a military cantonment,
and the principal arsenal of the Panjab. The battle-field of Sobraon
is twenty-four miles from Ferozpur, by a bad road only fit for country
carts.
A very interesting cross-country journey may be made from
Ferozpur to Lodiana, by a good road through the finest wheat district
in India. The distance is sixty-four miles, and the whole route is
alive with busy country life, and studded with large, prosperous
villages. There is a good Dak bungalow half way at Jagrama.


CHAPTEE IX.
DELHI.

i ELHI is one of the ancient historic cities of the
world, and has exercised a controlling influence
over the politics of India from a period which
loses itself in the distance of ages. It had a
distinct history 1500 years before the Christian
era, whose traditions are at any rate as marked
as those of Nineveh, Babylon or the Exodus.
Seven ancient and ruined cities, with colossal fortresses, splendid
palaces, stupendous wells, magnificent temples and mosques, and
gorgeous tombs stretch for twelve or fifteen miles on the great plain
which lies between the Ridge and the river Jumna. Delhi may rank,
for architectural beauty, historical associations, or present social
interest with Rome, Athens, Cairo, Venice, or Constantinople.
Delhi cannot be seen in a day. It undoubtedly competes with Agra
and Benares, for the right to be considered the most historical and
profoundly interesting city in India.
Delhi has plenty of hotel accommodation. The hotels are mostly
the property of natives, who rent them furnished to a caterer. The
management changes continually, and the traveller must find out from
Thomas Cook & Son, or from another traveller, which hotel has the


122
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
best reputation at the time. There is now no Dak bungalow—it has
become an hotel. For those who don't mind the noise of a railway
station, the railway refreshment-rooms will be found central and com-
fortable, with good bed-rooms.
The guides who hang about the hotels are very ignorant, and few
can speak more English than is sufficient to get themselves engaged.
It is always best to settle a programme for a morning or afternoon,
and get the hotel-keeper to give clear instructions to the driver of
your carriage.
The modern city of Delhi is called Shahjahanabad, or else New
Delhi. It abuts on the river Jumna, which flows under the walls of
its famous fort. The city is surrounded by a lofty wall, strengthened
with a ditch and glacis. The circuit of the wall is about six miles;
there are ten gates, of which the principal are the Kashmir and Mori
gates on the north, the Kabul and Lahore on the east, and the Ajmir
and Delhi on the south. The population is about 180,000, pretty
equally divided between Hindu and Muhammadan, who hate each other
very heartily, and are ready to show their hatred at a moment's notice.
The best hand-book for Delhi is a charming little volume of eighty
pages, by Mr. H. G. Keene, published by Thacker, Spink & Co.,
Calcutta, which I advise every traveller to buy who intends making
any stay. It contains more detailed information than I am able to
give, and is written up to date with each edition.
The Imperial Palace of the Mnghals, known as the fort, was built
in a.d., 1628—58, by Shah Jahan, the most magnificent of the
imperial builders of India. In its glory, it was probably the most
splendid palace in the world. As its massive and lofty red-sandstone
walls, towers, and noble gateway burst upon the view on entering the
Maidan in front, it is as impressive as the first sight of Windsor
Castle from the Thames. The area within these walls is more than
1,000 yards long by 500 yards wide, and contains many buildings of
unique beauty and interest, though many others have been cleared
away by the ruthless exigences of a British military barracks. The
Lahore, or as it is now called, the Victoria gate, is the main entrance,
and faces the Chandni Chowk, separated from it by a fine park
planted with trees. It is a singularly beautiful building, soaring
140 feet above the plain, its interior being a vaulted hall, 375 feet
long, which Mr. Fergusson says forms the noblest entrance known to
belong to any existing palace, presenting very much the effect of tho


DELHI.
123
nave of a gigantic gothic cathedral. There is a magnificent view of
the city and surroundings from the top. Passing on through a
bazar, in which stores of various kinds are sold, chiefly to the troops
stationed in tho fort, the vast court of the palace opens out. The
homely brick buildings right and left, are the modern barracks of
English soldiers, and greatly mar the beauty of this marvellous palace.
A ground plan of the whole fort, as it existed in Shah Jahan's time,
will be found, with explanations, on page 592 of Fergusson's Indian
Architecture.
The first of the original buildings is the Diwan-i-am, or public hall
of audience, a beautiful colonnaded structure of red sandstone and
inlaid marble. In the centre of the back wall is the royal throne and
canopy, of white marble, decorated with pietra dura, representing
flowers, fruits, birds, &c. Many of the bits of precious stone have
been picked out and stolen. About one hundred yards further on a
long range of buildings is reached, whose backs look over the Jumna.
These are, beginning on the left, the Moti Masjid, the Akab baths,
the Dewan-i-Khas, the Rung Mahal and the Zenana. A gateway
under the Zenana leads out to an exercise ground on the river's bank,
from which a good view of the whole line of buildings may be got.
The Dewan-i-Khas was the private hall of audience. It is a building
of pure white marble, ornamented without and within by inlaid work.
The ceiling is richly decorated in gold and colour, and at one time
was plated with silver, coined into rupees by the Maratha invaders in
1760. In the centre of this hall stands a white marble dais, on
which was once placed the famous peacock throne, a seat between two
peacocks, whose spread tails were encrusted with sapphires, diamonds,
rubies, emeralds and other precious stones, in imitation of the natural
colours; over the back was a parrot, said to have been carved from a
single emerald. This throne is reputed to have cost three to five
millions sterling; it was realised by Nadir Shah in 1739. Over the
north and south arches of the hall is a Persian inscription, raised and
gilt, which may be translated: "If there be a paradise on earth, it is
this, it is this, it is this." This hall is probably the most beautiful
of all Shah Jahan's costly buildings, always excepting the Taj Mahal.
In design, proportions, and decorations, it is choice to perfection. It
measures ninety by seventy feet. The Akab baths lead out of the
Dewan-i-Khas. They consist of three large rooms, lined and floored
with white marble, delicately inlaid in patterns of pietra dura. They


12 A
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
are crowned with marble domes, and are lighted from the roof.
These chambers have been recently restored.
A courtyard on the other side leads into the lovely Eung Mahal,
the entrance to which is one of the most perfect specimens of pierced
marble screen work in all India. There is a small window in the
centre of the screen, above which is the symbol of a pair of scales.

THE PEARL MOSQUE, DELHI.
The building contains a charming suite of rooms, with the usualpiet.ra
dura decoration, the arches of the doors leading from one to the other
being inscribed with Persian couplets. The other buildings connected
with the Rung Mahal are now used as officers' mess rooms, and a
very horrible mess has been made of all their charming details!
Opposite to the Akab baths is the jewel-like Moti Masjid, or Pearl
mosque, sixty feet square, the daintiest little building in all India, a
veritable "pearl of price." It was built in 1635 a.d. by Aurangzeb.
The arches are Saracenic, and it possesses a bronze door of remark-
able beauty.


DELHI.
125
Ex pede Herculem! From these brilliant remnants of this truly
imperial palace, we may form some feeble idea of what it was in all its
original glory, when the Burj-i-Shameli, the great marble bath-room,
the Metiaz-Melial, a huge quadrangle of palaces enclosing a garden
300 feet square, the Nobatkhana, or Music gate, the Golden mosque,
the Hareem courts, and fifty other lovely pavilions, fountains and
gardens, were thronged with the courtiers and retainers of the mighty
Mughal emperors. These, and other glories of the palace, have all
been swept away by successive barbarians. Nadir Shah, Ahmed
Khan, and the Maratha chiefs, were content to strip the buildings
of their precious metals and jewelled thrones; to the Government of
the present Empress of India was left the last dregs of Vandalism,
which, after the mutiny, pulled down these perfect monuments of
Mughal art, to make room for the ugliest brick buildings from Simla
to Ceylon.
Mr. Fergusson, commenting on this in his "Indian Architecture,"
says, "the whole of the Hareem courts of the palace were swept off
the face of the earth to make way for a hideous British barrack, with-
out those who carried out this fearful piece of Vandalism thinking it
even worth while to make a plan of what they were destroying, or
preserving any record of the most splendid palace in the world. Of
the public parts of the palace all that now remains is the entrance
hall, the Nobut Khana, the Dewani Aum, the Dewani Khas, and
the Rung Mahal, now used as a mess-room, and one or two small
pavilions. They are the gems of the palace, it is true; but without
the courts and corridors connecting them they lose all their meaning,
and more than half their beauty. Being now situated in the midst of
a British barrack-yard they look like precious stones torn from their
settings in some exquisite piece of oriental jeweller's work, and set at
random in a bed of the commonest plaster."
The Jama Masjid is without rival among mosques. Nothing in
Cairo can be ranged with it, and the great Constantinople mosque is
only the converted Christian church of St. Sophia. It stands grandly
isolated on a plateau of rock between the fort and the city, and is
built of red sandstone, inlaid with white marble. It was begun by
Shah Jahan in the fourth year of his reign, and finished in the
tenth. There are three stately gates, approached by great flights
of forty steps, the lowest of which is 150 feet long, on which
hundreds of Musalmans lounge in picturesque groups. The


126
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
principal gateway is finer than the other two, and faces the east; they
lead into a vast courtyard, 450 feet square, surrounded by a cloister
arcaded on both sides. The roof of this cloister is worth notice,
being formed of sandstone slabs fifteen feet long. The court is paved
with granite inlaid with marble. At one end is the mosque, 260 feet
long and 120 feet wide. It is entered by a flight of marble steps,
leading up to the great central archway eighty feet high. It is
crowned by three domes of pure white marble, with two lofty minarets
of marble and sandstone in alternate stripes. The best view of Delhi

THE JAMA MASJID, DELHI.
is obtained from their summits. The floor of the mosque is paved
with slabs of white marble, with a border of black marble; each slab
is three feet long by one and a half broad, and forms a "pew" for one
person on Friday, when the mosque is thronged at noon with ten
thousand devout Muhammadans.
The only other mosque in Delhi, with any architectural interest, is
the Kalan Masjid, or Black mosque, near the Turkman gate. It was
built in a.d. 1386 by Firoz Shah Tughlak, and was part of the city of
Firozabad. It is a massive, undecorated building, though the open-
ings of the walls are filled with some fine screen work in red sand-
stone. It is worth studying as an excellent and characteristic
specimen of the Pathan architecture of the 14th century.
The mosque of Roshun-ud-Daula, with its three golden domes, is


DELHI.
127
near the Northbrook fountain in the Chandni Chowk. Its interest is
only historical, being the mosque from which Nadir Shah witnessed
the terrible slaughter of the inhabitants in 1732. Near by is the
Kotwali mosque, where Hodson exposed the dead bodies of the Delhi
princes.
There are no Hindu temples worth visiting in Delhi city, but the
beautiful Jain temple described and illustrated on page 259 of
Fergusson's " Indian Architecture," situated up some winding lanes
behind the Jama Musjid, may be viewed from 4 to 5 p.m.
The celebrated Chandni Chauk, or Silver street, the main thorough-
fare of Delhi, is one of the most striking and picturesque streets in all
India. It is nearly a mile long, and seventy-four feet broad. Down the
middle runs an old aqueduct, now used as a footpath, shaded by a
double avenue of neem and peepul trees. It is lined on both sides
with the shops and handsome dwelling-houses of merchants, whose
touts are the scourge of Delhi, swooping down upon every stranger
like swarms of flies, pestering him to come and see their wares,
cramming cards and circulars into his unwilling hands, screaming in
the same breath the praises of their own shops, and the most terrible
slanders of their opponents. These pests wake you in the morning,
hang about you at breakfast, swarm round the hotel doors and
verandahs, ride on the steps of your carriage, take short cuts, and
come upon you unawares when you fondly hope you have got rid of
them at last, and finally assemble at the railway station to curse you
when you leave. Stony indifference is the only treatment.
The shops in the Chandni Chauk are full of Cashmere shawls,
chadars, kincobs, brocades, gold and silver embroidery, wonderful
loom-work, painting, jewellery, metal-work, enamels, carpets, pietra
dura, pottery, weapons, armour, and all the other artistic melangerio
for which India is famous. Travellers will do best in the long run by
asking their bankers to recommend some firms of known respecta-
bility, and buy only from them. Manick Chand, for shawls,
embroideries, and loom work generally, and the well-known firm of
Ram Chand and Hazari Mull, for jewellery, are substantial men of
good character and reputation. I have had satisfactory dealings with
both firms. If a buyer tells them to ask a fixed price and stick to it,
absolutely refusing to bargain, they will be reasonable enough. If,
however, bargaining should be preferred, Caccat emptor, and he will
eventually buy at one third less than the price asked, and a trifle more


128
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
than he would have done on fixed price. With regard to the ruck of
smaller men, no European or American can approach them in
wiliness, or staying power in a bargain.
The visitor will pass repeatedly through the Queen's Gardens, which
lie between the railway and the Chandni Chauk. These are well laid
out with beautiful trees and shrubs, and abundant water from a branch
of Ali Mardan's Canal. There is a small collection of wild beasts.
The fine building facing the Chauk is the Institute, which contains
the station library, a reading-room, the municipal-offices, a museum,
public-hall, and a pleasant suite of rooms, used for dances and other
social reunions of the English residents. Visitors find admission to
all its privileges easy enough, through their bankers or any resident
European.
Just outside the building, in the gardens, is a huge stone elephant,
of considerable but unknown antiquity, brought here from Gwalior by
Shah Jahan in 1645. The stone figures in the verandah of the
museum, are those of two notable Rajput generals named Jaimal and
Patta, who were slain by Akbar at the siege of Chitor. Keene's
Guide contains a careful chapter on these ancient sculptures. There
is not much to be seen in the museum. There is a fine clock tower
opposite, in the Chandni Chauk, 128 feet high, built by the munici-
pality at a cost of 25,000 rupees.
The handsome native hotel, called the Queen's Serai, is in the
Queen's Road, near the railway-station, and well deserves a visit. It
is a huge quadrangle of separate rooms or small buildings, in each of
which some native commercial traveller or merchant is located.
There are strangers from all parts of India to be seen here at times.
The fine church in the same road, is St. Mary's, Roman Catholic.
The old fort of Salimgarh, lies on the river between the Fort and
the bridge. It was built about 1530, and possesses no features of
special note.
The cemetery is near the Kashmir Gate, and contains many in-
teresting tombs and monuments. Among them is that of the hero of
the siege of Delhi, during the mutiny, General John Nicholson, who,
leading the assault, was struck down mortally wounded at the moment
of victory. There is an older grave-yard hard by, filled with nameless
graves. A pretty cross, twenty-five feet high has been erected, with
an inscription to the memory " of those whose nameless graves lie
around."


DELHI.
129
The Memorial Church of St. James is in the same neighbourhood,
in a charming and well-kept garden. It was built by Colonel Skinner,
at his sole cost, as stated on a tablet facing the altar, "in fulfilment
of a vow made, while lying wounded, on the field of battle, in grateful
acknowledgment of the mercy of Divine Providence, and in testimony
of his sincere faith in the truth of the Christian religion." Round the
walls of the church are many memorial tablets, chiefly to those who
were murdered during the horrors of the mutiny.
The Kashmir Gate, and its story, are too familiar to Englishmen
to require any lengthy comment. It is a plain double-arched gateway
in the city wall, left in the semi-ruined condition of the siege, great
holes pounded by cannon-balls being visible not only in the gate itself,
but in the wall on each side.
Few Englishmen will care to leave Delhi without visiting all the
scenes of the famous siege of 1857. The best general view of the
British lines is obtained from the Mutiny Memorial, on the top of the
Ridge, a mile or so outside the Kashmir or Mori Gates. This is a
beautiful monument, 110 feet high, from the summit of which an
expert can point out all the various batteries and other details of the
siege operations. Keene's excellent little Guide Book gives all the
needful information, with some simple maps giving the positions of the
contending forces. It would not be possible for a civilian to write any
adequate description of this heroic and historic struggle; but the
traveller who wishes to visit all the battlefield, and master its smaller
details, will find the information he requires, in the book-shelves of
the Institute Library.
Having exhausted New Delhi the traveller will want to make
arrangements for visiting Ferozabad, Indraput, Siri, Jahanpuna,
Lalkot and Tughlakabad, all of which were in their turn Imperial
cities, and together form the district, some thirty square miles in area
now known as " Old Delhi."
If time presses they can all be visited in a day, by sending a spare
pair of horses over night to Lalkot, and starting at daybreak. It
is, however, hurried work, and leaves very little time for detailed
observation. It is better to take two days, spending the night at tho
comfortable bungalow under the Kutab-Minar at Lalkot, and making
a special morning excursion some other day to Ferozabad and Indra-
put, which are only a mile or two outside the city wall.
The road to the far-famed Kutab-Minar is quite an Indian
K


13°
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
"Appian Way," both sides being lined with tombs and mausoleums,
the bulk of which, however, have no architectural or historical interest.
The first important building is the " Jantar Mantar," one of the
huge observatories built by Jai Singh, Rajah of Jaipur, 1730 a.d.
The largest of the group is an enormous equatorial dial called the
Semrat Yantar, or " Prince of Dials." The dimensions of the gnomon,
which may be ascended by sixty-six steps, are :—.
The building is rather dilapidated, and is only of interest to those
who have some rudimentary knowledge of the uses of an observatory.
There are also structures for taking observations of the stars by
means of converse globes, an astrolabe, and others.
Three miles further on, the mausoleum of Safdar Jang is reached,
standing in a walled inclosure about 900 feet square. It is raised to
the memory of a successful general and vizier, who died a.d. 1753.
It is built of red sandstone and white marble, and contains a richly
decorated sarcophagus. It is a good specimen of the degraded Moghal
architecture of the last century.
Half way on the cross road between this mausoleum and
Humayun's, is an interesting group of four tombs and a mosque, the
exact date of which is lost in controversy. By some authorities they
are of the Lodi period, 15th century, while others maintain they are
much older; I can only state that I found them very beautiful both
in design and surroundings, and well worth visiting if time permit.
After leaving Safdar Jang's tomb, a building is seen across the
fields to the right of the road. This is the tomb of Firoz Shah, who
died a.d. 1388. It is placed on the bank of a still more ancient tank,
100 acres in extent, constructed by Ala-ud-din in the 13th century.
This tank is now quite ruined and dry, the bottom being under culti-
vation. There is no road to it, but it can be reached by walking ono
and a half miles.
On the left, about a mile short of the Kutab-Minar, are scattered the
ruins of Muhammed Toglak's city of Jahanpuna, about a.d. 1330, and
Siri, built by Sultan Ala-ud-din a.d. 1300. Both these cities have
been used as stone-quarries for 500 years, and there is nothing left
of Jahanpuna but huge mounds of rubbish and a section of the city
Length of hypotkenuse
„ base.
,, perpendicular
118- 5 feet.
104- 0 „
56'75 „


DELHI.
wall. At Siri, the remnants of the old fortress of Shahpnr, within
which was the famous palace of Hazar Minar, or the thousand
minarets, of which enough details are still distinguishable to give
some faint idea of the splendour of Ala-ud-din's city.
Another mile, and the glory
of Delhi, the soaring Kutab-
Minar, is reached. This mag-
nificent tower is 238 feet high,
twice the height of the Dnke
of York's Column, tapering
from nearly fifty feet in dia-
meter at the base to nine feet
at the top. It is divided into
five stories. The lower story
is ninety-five feet high, and
consists of twenty-four faces
in the form of convex flutings,
alternately semicircular and
rectangular. In the second
story, which is fifty-one feet
high, these projections are all
semicircular; in the third
lloor, forty-one feet, they are
all rectangular; the fourth,
twenty-six feet, is a plain
cylinder; the fifth, twenty-five
feet, is partly fluted and partly
plain. Each story is divided
by a boldly projecting gallery
running round the tower. The
whole structure is encrusted
with chapters from the Koran
sculptured in low relief. A circular staircase of 375 steps leads
to the top, and no traveller, who is equal to the exertion, should
forego the view to be obtained from it. Spread out like a map
is the whole Delhi plain, on which may be picked out the well-
defined walls limiting the great fortified palaces and citadels which
have one by one disappeared with the successive dynasties which
created them, leaving only Titanic ruins as the memorials of their
k 2

THE KUTAB-MUiAlL


152
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
vanished empires. The Kutab-Minar is supposed to be the most
perfect, as well as the second loftiest tower in the world. Its carvings
are as fresh as though they were of yesterday's date, though it is 650
years since it was finished. Its beauty of form and colour—red sand-
stone and white marble, contrasted with the intense blue of an Indian
sky—cannot be described at all. I do not know of anything that can
be compared with it for beauty of design and perfection of proportion,
except that wonderful masterpiece of Italy's great architect, the
Campanile of Giotto, at Florence, which was erected about the same
period, and which is thirty feet higher. The Kutab-Minar was com-
menced by Kutab-ud-din, in the latter part of the 12th century, and
finally completed by Altamsh, his successor, about a.d. 1210—-20.
It is a Tower of Victory, and has looked down upon the Hindus
conquered by its founder, under an unbroken Muhammadan sway,
from its completion, until the Mutiny in 1857.
About 150 yards from the Kutab-Minar, a second tower of twice its
dimensions was begun by Ala-du-din, Altamsh's successor, but the
project was abandoned before it had reached a height of fifty feet. It
stands on the opposite side of the Delhi road.
The Kutab-Minar rises from the centre of the old Hindu fortress
of Lalkot, built about a.d. 1060, whose massive walls, thirty feet thick,
still surround it in sufficient preservation to enable the spectator to
trace them distinctly from the summit of the tower. Considerable
sections are still standing, sixty feet high, with great bastions at the
angles. In the west wall portions of two or three gateways can still
be made out. The inner walls are altogether two and a quarter miles
in circumference. The outer walls, which extend further into the
plain, belong to a later fortification, built during the following century
by Raja Pithora, the last champion of Hindu independence in Upper
India, who was defeated by Muhammad of Ghor, a.d. 1191, in a
great battle under the walls of the fortress which still bears his name,
and put to death afterwards in cold blood.
The group of buildings surrounding the Kutab-Minar possess, like
the " Two and a half days " Mosque at Ajmir, built also by Altamsh,
the peculiar features of a Muhammadan mosque constructed from the
spoils of Hindu temples. This mosque of Altamsh at Lalkot has all
its walls of Musalman architecture, while its columns are Hindu.
The pillars are very elaborate, though much injured by iconoclasm;
but figures of Jain saints may be seen here and there in the roof and


DELHI.
133
obscure corners. The great central range of arches, extending about
380 feet, consists of three large and eight smaller arches, the central

MOSQUE AND IRON PILLAR, LALKOT.
one being fifty-three feet high and twenty-two feet wide. The great
central arch is in excellent preservation, but the smaller ones are
much dilapidated.
In the centre of the courtyard of this mosque an ancient iron pills*


134
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
stands, which is one of the most curious things in India. It stands
twenty-two feet above the ground, and its base, which is bulbous, is
rivetted to stone slabs two feet below the surface. Its diameter at the
base is 16'4 inches, and at the capital 12"05 inches. It is a malleable
forging, welded together in sections. The iron is quite pure, without
alloy. There are six lines in Sanscrit inscribed upon it; it is dedi-
cate! to Vishnu, and is a memorial of victory, erected by one Raja

ALA-UD MK'S GATEWAY, LALKOT.
Bhava, to commemorate "the defeat of the Bahilkas, near the seven
mouths of the Indus," which fixes the date of its erection as
a.d. 360—400. It weighs about six tons, and it is a striking fact
that the Hindus, so long ago, could forge a bar of iron larger and
heavier than any that have been forged, even in Europe, until a very
recent date.
Just outside the north-west corner of the mosque stands the tomb
of its builder, Altamsh, who died a.d. 1236. It is very beautiful in
its details, especially in its interior decorations. It was built by
his son and daughter, and is the oldest Musalman tomb known


DELHI.
to exist in India. The roof has gone, but it is otherwise in fair
preservation.
The noble southern gateway of the mosque was added by Ala-ud-
din, seventy or eighty years later, and is supposed to be the finest
specimen extant of the early Pathan style of architecture. The whole
of this wonderful group of buildings which includo and surround the
Kutab-Minar, is fully described in Fergusson's " Indian Architecture,"
pp. 500—510.
About half a mile to the south-west of the Kutab-Minar, are the
beautiful white marble tombs of two Maulavis, called Jamala and
Kamalu; the side walls are richly decorated with coloured glazed
tiles. The mosque of Faizullah Khan is close by, and is worth seeing.
On the road to the neighbouring village of Maharoli, is the tomb of
Adham Khan, one of Akbar's generals, now a police station. At
Maharoli, a mile distant from the Dak bungalow, are a collection of
tombs of kings and nobles about and after the time of Aurangzeb, the
ruins of a palace and gateway, some tanks, and other picturesque
remains. But it is impossible even to mention all the numerous
and splendid ruins, which are scattered about the plain within a radius
of two miles from the Kutab-Minar.
The vast and desolate fortress of Tughlakabad, the stronghold and
capital of the Emperor Tughlak, lies about four miles from the Kutab
bungalow. This cyclopean group of buildings was erected a.d. 1321,
and consists of a citadel, a vast enclosing fortress with thirteen gates,
and a huge hexagon of outer walls including an area five miles in cir-
cumference. Tughlak Ghazi Khan was a successful military adventurer,
whose life was oneof those topsy-turvies onlypossible in oriental empires.
He started life as a Turki slave, who, after being raised by his master,
a renegade Hindu Emperor, to the position of Governor of the Punjab,
rose in revolt against him, murdered him, and seized the throne.
His dynasty, a series of ferocious ruffians whose kingdom was in
continual revolt, lasted nearly 100 years, and was finally wiped out by
Tamerlane a.d. 1398. Timur stormed Tuglakabad| had a five days'
slaughter of the inhabitants, after the manner of the times, and left
the city in ruins, the abode of the vulture, the panther and the jackal,
whose descendants are the sole inhabitants to-day.
"The fort of Tughlakabad may be described with tolerable accuracy
as a half-hexagon in shape, with three faces rather more than three-
quarters of a mile in length each, and a base of one mile and a half,


136
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
the whole circuit being only one furlong less than four miles. The
fort stands on a rocky height, and is built of massive blocks of stone,
so large and heavy that they must have been quarried on the spot.
The largest stone which I observed measured fourteen feet in length
by two feet two inches, and one foot ten inches in breadth and thick-
ness, and must have weighed rather more than six tons. The short
faces to the north-west and east are protected by a deep ditch, and the
long face to the south by a large sheet of water, which is held up by
an embankment at the south-east corner. On this side the rock is

tuqhlak's tomb.
scarped, and above it the main walls rise to a mean height of forty
feet, with a parapet of seven feet, behind which rises another wall of
fifteen feet, the whole height above the low ground being upwards of
ninety feet. In the south-west angle is the citadel, which occupies
about one-sixth of the area of the fort, and contains the ruins of an
extensive palace. The ramparts are raised as usual on a line of
domed rooms, which rarely communicate with each other, and which
no doubt formed the quarters of the troops that garrisoned the fort.
The walls slope rapidly inwards, even as much as those of Egyptian
buildings. The rampart walls are pierced with loopholes, which serve
also to give light and air to the soldiers' quarters. The parapets are
pierced with low sloping loopholes, which command the foot of the
wall, and are crowned with a line of rude battlements of solid stone,


DELHI.
137
which are also provided with loopholes. The walls are built of large
plainly dressed stones, and there is no ornament of any kind; but the
vast size, the great strength, and the visible solidity of the whole give
to Tughlakabad an air of stern and massive grandeur, that is both
striking and impressive. The fort of Tughlakabad has thirteen gates,
and there are three inner gates to the citadel; it contains seven tanks
of water besides the ruins of several large buildings, as the Jama
Masjid and the Burj Munder. The upper part of the fort is full of
ruined houses, but the lower part appears as if it had never been fully
inhabited."— Cunningham.
The tomb of Tughlak is opposite the fort, in a small but strong
citadel, surrounded by what was once a lake, but which is now dry
and grass-grown; the causeway by which the tomb was reached, still
remains. It is a solid, simple but very impressive building in much
better preservation than the fortress. Inside the mausoleum are the
tombs of Tughlak himself, his queen, and his son and successor
Muhammed, who built the fortress on the opposite hill of Adilibad.
The powerful rock-like sloping walls, and massive towers, which
surround the tomb, and the stern uncompromising architecture of the
mausoleum itself, are fitting surroundings to the last resting place of
this fierce warrior king. Very few travellers visit Tughlakabad.
Guides and drivers look upon it only as added trouble, and are
dissuasive. I passed it by myself on my first visit to Delhi, but
afterwards spent a day wandering through its desolate streets, and
deserted fortifications. It has made as lasting an impression on my
memory as anything in India.
Humayun's tomb is about four miles from Delhi. It was built by
Akbar the Great about 1560 a.d. in memory of his father the Emperor
Humayun. It took sixteen years to build, and cost fifteen lakhs of
rupees. It stands in the midst of a great garden of eleven acres, now
a tangled waste, raised on a lofty double platform adorned with arches.
It is built of red sandstone, decorated with marble inlay, crowned by a
superb dome of white marble, estimated at three fourths the size of that
of St. Paul's, London. The tomb itself is a large octagonal chamber.
Four sides are occupied by doorways, and the other four lead into
small octagonal chapels, rendering the building nearly square on the
outside dimensions. It is about sixty-five feet in diameter, and seventy
feet high to the top of the dome.
The enclosure is surrounded by a wall, the main gateway being a


138
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
lofty and fitting entrance to this splendid tomb. Humayun's mausoleum
has a special interest, from being the first of that succession of royal
mausoleums for which India is renowned, of which Akbar's tomb at
Sikandra, and the Taj Mahal at Agra are the more excellent sequels.
Five of Humayun's successors to the crown of Delhi lie buried here, as
well as eleven other viziers, generals and statesmen, deemed worthy
of interment under the same royal dome. Some of the tombs are
finely carved, and there is much beautiful pierced marble and stone-
work throughout; it is undoubtedly one of the most striking buildings
in all India. It was to this building that the two sons of the last king
of Delhi fled, after the storming of the city in 1857. They were
discovered by Hodson, who shot them afterwards.

THE TOMB OF HUMAVUN.
The beautiful cemetery of Nizam-ud-din is a short distance from
Humayun's tomb, where lies buried the brilliant Shah Nizam-ud-din,
Ala-ud-din's general, reputed to be the founder of Thuggism, and
the murderer of Tughlak, whose tomb, hoary and time-worn, is
enclosed in a very finely-pierced marble screen, surrounded by a
verandah of white marble; the roof of the verandah is painted in a


DELHI.
139
flower pattern. This singular and remarkable tomb is surrounded by
many others of great beauty, notably those of the poet Khusru, the
laureate of Tughlak's court, whose songs are still popular in India;
of Muhammad Shah, Emperor of Delhi from 1719 to 1748; of
Jahanara Begum, daughter of the Emperor Shah Jehan, whose
inscription begs that nothing but grass may cover her, a wish still
respected, and the lovely modern tomb of Mirza Jahangir.

NIZAM-UD-DINS TOM&
Nizam-ud-din's Baoli, or well house, is within the enclosure, and the
idlers of the place jump into the water, feet foremost, a height of seventy
feet, for the pleasure of visitors, and for half rupees for themselves.
Indrapat, or Purana Kila, is the most ancient of all the dead cities
of the Delhi plain. It was founded 2000 years B.C., by Yudisthira,
first king of the Pandu dynasty of Indraprastha, whose subjects were
the earliest Aryan immigrants into India. He was succeeded by
thirty generations of successors to the throne, until his line was
extinguished by the usurpation of Visarwa, prime minister of the last


140
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
king. Indrapat, neglected and allowed to fall to decay by its
Musalman conquerors, was at last rebuilt by Humayun, whose capital
it became. Most of the walls and the citadel date from his time, but
portions are still pointed out, which antiquarians allege are as old as
1500 B.C. Every gateway is now built up except the one illustrated
below. Passing through its portals, and continuing through a squalid
village, the singularly beautiful, but now desolate, mosque of Shir
Shah, a.d. 1541, is reached. The fine octagon of red sandstone,
seventy feet high, beyond the mosque, is called the Shir Mauzil, and
was Humayun's library. The little chapel near the bazar is a station
of the Baptist mission at Delhi.

INDRAPAT.
The ruins of Firozabad lie about a mile outside the Delbi gate on
the banks of the Jumna. There is hardly one stone left upon another
of the old capital built by Firoz Shah Tughlak, a.d. 1351-88. The
only building not in absolute ruins is the Kotila, a three-storied house
erected as a platform for the famous Stambha or Lat of King Asoka.
/ This remarkable pillar is a monolith of pink sandstone, 42 ft. 7 in.
long, and about 3 ft. 6 in. in diameter. The inscriptions on the pillar
are mainly the edicts of Asoka, promulgating his religion of reformed
Buddhism. A careful explanation of the Lats of Asoka, which are
found at Allahabad, Tirhut, Sankisa, and many other places, will be
found in Fergtisson, pp. 52—56.
I have now briefly described the chief points of interest in this


DELHI.
141
great plain of ruined cities. If my readers wish for more detailed
information than can be found in these pages, which will probably be
found sufficient for the ordinary traveller who is not a student of
architecture, he will find it in the pages of Fergusson, or in the more
extended writings of General Cunningham, the great authority on Delhi
archeology. His works will be found on the shelves of the Institute
Library in the Chandni Chauk.
Delhi is a city of merchants rather than handicraftsmen, but it
enjoys a high reputation for gold and silk embroidery, jewellery, ivory
painting, and carving, and other ornamental goods of fine workmanship,
and its glazed pottery is only second in quality to that of Peshawar.
The foundation of its art manufactures, especially loom fabrics, was
laid by Akbar, who brought together at Delhi the best workmen he
could get from various parts of India, Persia, and even Europe.
Sir George Birdwood writes, in his Industrial Arts of India:
"It has been through the encouragement given by the great native
princes and chiefs, and the cultivated taste of the common people,
that the sumptuary arts of India have been brought to such artistic
perfection. From the Ayin Akbari, or Institutes of the Emperor
Akbar[A.v. 1556—1605], written by Abdul Fazl, Akbar's great minister,
we learn that the Mogol emperors of Delhi maintained in their palaces
skilled workmen from every part of India. It is said that Akbar took
a great delight in painting, and had in his service a large number of
artists, in order that they 'might vie with each other in fame,
and become eminent by their productions.' Once a week he inspected
the work of every artist, when in proportion to their individual merits
they were honoured with premiums, and their regular salaries were
increased. In the armoury also the emperor personally superintended
the preparation of the various weapons which were forged and
decorated there in every stage of their manufacture. In the workshop
of the imperial wardrobe the weavers and embroiderers of every country
were to be found, and whatever was made by them was carefully kept,
and those articles of which there thus came in time to be a superfluity
were given away in presents of honour. Through the attention of the
emperor the manufacture of various new fabrics was established at
Delhi. The skill of the imperial manufacturers increased also with
their number, so that the cloths of Persia, Europe and China became
drugs in the market. The emperor was very fond of woollen stuffs,
particularly shawls; and the Ayin Akbari gives a list of all the varieties


142
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
made in the palace, which were classified according to their date, value,
colour, and weight. He had a vast establishment of jewellers, inlayers
in gold, silver, crystal, and carnelian; damascene workers, chiefly for
ornamenting arms; enamellers; plain workers in gold and silver; and
pierced workers; embossers; 'inlayers with little grains of gold,'
whose art will be further noticed in connection with the modern
jewellery of Delhi; makers of gold and silver lace [simbqfi] for sword-
belts, &c.; engravers and workers in a sort of nillo; stone engravers,
and lapidaries, and other artists. Sir John Chardin, who travelled in
the East from 1664 to 1670, in his Journal du Voyage [London, 1686,
Amsterdam, 1711], tells us that the kings and nobles of Persia also
then maintained, as they do now, manufactures of all the arts and
trades in their ' carcones ' [karkhanas] or workshops. He compares
these factories to the galleries of the Grand Duke of Florence and of
the Louvre.
"They entertain in these places a large number of excellent
master-workmen who have a salary and daily rations for their
lives, and are provided with all the materials for their work. They
receive a present and an increase of salary for every fine work they
produce. Their appointments were hereditary. This was formerly,
and is now also, the case in India. In the Indian Museum collection
of jade there is a large engraved bowl, on which a family of
lapidaries, in the employ of the emperors of Delhi, was engaged
for three generations. It is only in this way that artistic excellence
in works of industry can ever be attained, and it is thus that the
finest enamels and damascened work and shawls are still produced in
India in the royal factories respectively of Jaipur, Hyderabad and
Srinagar."
Delhi has always been a great centre for the manufacture of
gemmed and enamelled jewellery. Its wealthy merchants, such as
Ram Chand and Hazari Mull, will spread out on the floor of their
house a stock of tiaras, aigrettes, head-ornaments, earrings, ear
chains, nose rings and studs, necklaces of pearls, diamonds and
other precious stones, cubes and tablets of gold set with stones on
one side, and covered with brilliant enamel on the other, armlets,
anklets, bracelets in gold and silver, of endless variety of form and
beauty of decoration. The merchants, however, are very reluctant to
show these exquisite specimens of native jewellery to Europeans, who,
I regret to say, seldom buy them, while they will pay far larger price3


DELHI.
143
for jewellery set and designed in European fashion, which is pretty
and cheap enough in its way.
The exquisite miniatures, known as "Delhi paintings," are drawn
in colours on ivory, with a fine pen. They are mostly portraits of
famous Rajas and views of well-known buildings, but the artists will
produce portraits from photographs, in which they manage at once to
preserve the likeness and transform the subject into a Hindu. These
pictures are very expensive if painted by really good artists, but are
not of much real value, except as specimens of a unique art.
Delhi has always been famous for gem engraving. The old Delhi
work in engraved and gem-encrusted jade of the Mughal period is of
priceless value. There are some exquisite specimens in the Indian
Museum at South Kensington. The modern imitation of this beau-
tiful jewellery is very tasteful and pretty. Much of it is made in
Delhi and also imported from Jaipur for sale by the Delhi jewellers.
There are many clever carvers in ivory and wood in the bazars of the
city, whose work is exposed for sale in the Chandni Chauk shops.
There is no better place than Delhi in which to collect the native
ornaments which make even the poorest Hindu woman look smart
and well dressed. The large beads worn round the neck, and the
bracelets and armlets of the humble folk in the bazars are generally
lacquered wood, or bronzed, silvered or gilt. The silvering is
produced by mixing tinfoil and lac together till they amalgamate;
this, when thoroughly purified is boiled up into a solution, spread
upon the wooden beads, and burnished when dry. The gilt is got by
boiling myrrh, copal, and sweet oil together, and applying with a
brush. The imitation of the genuine metal is excellent, but is often
spoilt by having coloured glass stuck about the beads to imitate
precious stones. I bought a biscuit-box full of the most charming
and effective sham jewellery for a few rupees. They look very
pretty, grouped with brass lotas and Indian glazed pottery, in a
corner cupboard.
Delhi is famous for its leather work, and produces any quantity of
cheap slippers, embroidered in pinchbeck and imitation silver, to the
great detriment of the genuine gold and silver embroidered slippers of
Lucknow. There is also a considerable manufacture of musical
instruments, many of which are not only interesting as curiosities,
but also remarkable for the beauty and variety of their forms.
Delhi is, after Calcutta and Bombay, the largest market in India for


144
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
cotton goods, many Manchester houses finding it worth while to have
resident agents to look after their trade. Manchester does not have
all its own way, for there are two or three cotton-mills recently
established, besides innumerable hand-loom weavers making every
variety of native dress pieces. Delhi is noted for its muslin turbans,
which are in great request all over India. I have bought most
artistic pieces of native cotton fabrics, hand-printed, in the Delhi
bazars for a few coppers. Delhi is a great depot of the crafts of
gold-lace weaving, spangle making, gilt embroidery, and all the
trades connected with silver-gilt wire drawing, and gilt thread. The
weavers, however, do not produce the rich and costly brocades and
kincobs made at Ahmadabad and Benares, and inexperienced travellers
should be very careful indeed in buying this description of loom work.
Many of the cashmere shawls offered in the Chandni Chauk have
been embroidered in Delhi with inferior tinsel thread. There is some
very pretty cheap embroidery with coloured floss silk upon muslin,
which is special to this city. The Delhi pottery, both glazed and
enamelled, is excellent, and some good pieces may be picked up in
the bazars. It is not, however, equal to that made at Lahore,
Peshawar, or Multan. The traveller who is not able to go into the
Punjab, yet wishes to take away with him some specimens of the
finest loom-work and embroideries produced there, will find splendid
and well-assorted stocks in the warehouses of the Delhi merchants,
who indeed are able among them to produce good specimens of
almost every art-manufacture in India, North, South, East, and West.
There are two extensive Christian missions at Delhi, in connection
with the Baptist Missionary Society, and the Society for the
Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts. The Society for the
Propagation of the Gospel has three missionaries, six or seven
Cambridge Brethren, nine catechists, fourteen readers, twenty-
eight schools of all sorts, eight churches and chapels, about 200
communicants, and 1,400 pupils in their schools. It also
has an active Zenana Mission, consisting of fifteen ladies, and ten
Christian native teachers. The beautiful memorial church used by
the Indian adherents of this mission is in the very centre of the city,
in the road leading from the railway-station to the Chandni Chauk;
it possesses the unusual feature of two Baptisteries, a font for
sprinkling infants, and a larger one for the immersion of adult
converts who may prefer this method. There is always a crowded


DELHI.
US
congregation at the Vernacular services on Sunday. This is one of
the most interesting missions in India, and the Cambridge brethren
are always glad to show the work to appreciative visitors.
The Baptist Mission and College are situated on the Maidan, a little
beyond the Jama Masjid. There are four missionaries in charge of
Delhi, three European and one Indian, and about twenty-six village
stations in the district. There is also a well-organized Zenana Mission,
under the superintendence of Miss Thorn, a lady of great ability and
experience, assisted by six or seven Englishwomen, and several native
teachers. The number of communicants is about 400, and the
children in the various day-schools about 600.
The Baptist College is an institution for training native Christians
for the Ministry. There are usually about twenty students, who
receive a careful education in arts and theology. English services are
conducted by the Baptist missionaries every Sunday in a handsome
chapel in the Chandni Chauk, for the benefit of English residents in
Delhi, and the garrison.
Meerut is the principal military station of the North West, and
is the military head-quarters of a division, including the garrisons
of Delhi, Agra, Fatehgarh, Muttra, Dehra Dun, Landaur, Rurki, and
Chakrata. The traveller who wishes to see something of Indian
cantonment life, cannot do better than stay a day or two at Meerut,
especially if he has introductions to residents there. There are good
hotels and a Dak bungalow, a fine church seating 3,000 persons, but
nothing of Indian interest. The Mall is accounted one of the most
beautiful drives in India.


CHAPTER X.
SAHARANPUR.—SIMLA.-AMRITSAB.

greatly
inferior
Darjiling.
AHARANPUR is a well-built
town, of 50,000 inhabitants, with
a good hotel and Dak bungalow.
There are some excellent agri-
cultural and botanical gardens
established by Government, an
old fort used as a courthouse,
and a few handsome tombs, but
nothing worthy of serious atten-
tion. There is a vigorous and
thriving American Presbyterian
Mission. From Saharanpur there
- is a good carriage road to Dehra
Dun and Mussoorce—two popular
hill stations. Mussoorce is about
7,000 feet above the sea, and in
popularity as a health resort,
ranks next to Simla. The views
of the snowy ranges of the
Himalayas are very fine, but
Mussooree is much colder than
Darjiling, and during the winter months is subject to heavy falls
of snow. It is a twelve or fourteen hours' journey from Saharanpur.
Dehra Dun is a very beautiful district, with an increasing tea crop on
the slopes of the hills. It is a famous district for sport of all
kinds, the Mahscer fishing being the best in India.
Simla is the summer capital of India. The "Simla exodus"


SIMLA.
U7
from Calcutta, as soon as the hot weather fairly sets in, is the
great Anglo - Indian event of the year, the whole of the Govern-
ment departments transferring their offices to this beautiful hill
station. During the winter Simla is deserted. The town is seventy-
eight miles from Ambala—an important cantonment and trading
centre on the North Western Eailway. The journey is made by
Dak gharries or mail tongas, and takes about twelve hours to
accomplish.
Ambala is a native walled city of 25,000 inhabitants, with a
cantonment of about the same population, the garrison consisting of
two regiments each of native and British troops, with three batteries
of artillery. It is a good centre for sport. The American Presby-
terian Board of Missions and the Church Missionary Society have
stations here.
The traveller should, if possible, time his departure from Ambala
bo as to reach the foot of the hills by daybreak, that he may enjoy to
the full the beautiful scenery which awaits him. There are good hotels
at Kalka, thirty-eight miles from Ambala, nearly half way. Four
hours' journey from Kalka is Kasauli, 6,300 feet above the sea, a
popular hill station and sanitarium, situated in the midst of lovely
scenery. Here is the Lawrence Military Asylum, a valuable orphan
school maintained by the Government.
Twenty-seven miles beyond Kalka, by the longer route, is Solan,
where there is a good Dak bungalow, from whence it is thirty miles
more to Simla. From Solan the scenery is magnificent, the roafl
twisting in and out between high rocks, and hanging over precipitous
valleys. The shorter road passes through Haripur and Siri. It is
best to go one way and return the other.
The population of Simla, in the winter, is 'about 15,000. This
number is greatly increased on the arrival of the "Simla exodus,"
when the Government and all the departments come up from
Calcutta. The mean elevation above sea level is 7,084 feet. It is
very cold during the winter, and is often covered with a deep fall of
snow.
"Lieutenant Ross, Assistant Political Agent for the Hill States,
erected the first residence—a thatched wooden cottage, in 1819.
Three years afterwards, his successor, Lieutenant Kennedy, built a
permanent house. Officers from Ambala and neighbouring stations
quickly followed the example, and in 1826 the new settlement had
l 2


H8
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
acquired a name. A year later Lord Amhurst, the Governor-General,
after completing his progress through the North-West, on the con-
clusion of the successful Bhartpur campaign, spent the summer at
Simla. From that date the sanitarium rose rapidly into favour with
the European population of Northern India. Year after year,
irregularly at first, but as a matter of course after a few seasons, the
seat of Government was transferred for a few weeks in every summer
from the heat of Calcutta to the cool climate of the Himalayas.
Successive Governors-General resorted with increasing regularity to
Simla during the hot weather. Situated in the recently annexed
Punjab, it formed an advantageous spot for receiving the great
chiefs of Northern and Western India, numbers of whom annually
come to Simla to pay their respects to the British Suzerain. It also
presented greater conveniences as a starting-point for the Governor-
General's cold-weather tour than Calcutta, which is situated in the
extreme south-east corner of Bengal. At first only a small staff of
officials accompanied the Governor-General to Simla; but since the
administration of Sir John Lawrence (1864), Simla has practically
been the summer capital of the Government of India, with its
secretariats and headquarters establishments, unless during ex-
ceptional seasons of famine on the plains, as in 1874.
"Under these circumstances the station grew with extraordinary
rapidity. From 80 houses in 1830 it increased to upwards of 100 in
1841, and 290 in 1866. In February, 1881, the number of occupied
houses was1141. At present the bungalows extend over the whole
length of a considerable ridge, which rims east and west in a crescent
shape, with its concave side pointing southward. The extreme ends
of the station lie at a distance of six miles from one another.
Eastward the ridge culminates in the peak of Jako, over 8,000 feet in
height, and nearly 1,000 feet above the average elevation of the
station. Woods of deodar oak and rhododendrons clothe its sides,
while a tolerably level road, five miles long, runs round its base.
Another grassy height, known as Prospect Hill, of inferior elevation
to Jako, and devoid of timber, closes the western extremity of the
crescent. The houses cluster thickest upon the southern slopes of
Jako, and of two other hills lying near the western end. The Viceregal
Lodge, formerly named PeterhofF, stands upon one of the latter, while
the other is crowned by a large building erected for an observatory,
but now uBcd as an ordinary residence. A new and more com-


SIMLA. 149
modious Viceregal residence is now (1886) in course of erection on
the Observatory hill, a little to the west of the present Government
House. The church stands at the western base of Jako, below which,

SIMLA.
on the south side of the hill, the native bazar cuts off one end of the
station from the other. The eastern portion bears the name of Chota
Simla, while the most western extremity is known as Boileauganj.
A beautiful northern spur, running at right angles to the main ridge


PICTURESQUE INDIA.
and still clothed with oak and rhododrendron trees, has acquired the
complimentary designation of Elysium. Three and a half miles from
the western end a battery of artillery occupies the detached hill of
Jutogh. The exquisite scenery of the neighbourhood is unrivalled.
"The public institutions include the Bishop Cotton Scbool, the
Punjab Girls' School, the Mayo Industrial Girls' School, a Roman
Catholic convent, a hospital, a dispensary, and a handsome town hall
now [1886] approaching completion. The Government buildings
comprise a district court-house and treasury, tahsUl and police office,
post-office, telegraph station, &c. Until recently, the various offices
were located in ordinary private houses, in many cases widely distant
from each other. Since 1884 the offices of the Imperial Government
have been concentrated in blocks of handsome buildings, centrally
situated, and constructed at a cost of upwards of half a million
sterling" (Hunter).
The commerce of the town consists mainly in the supply of
necessaries to the summer visitors and their dependents; but a
brisk export trade exists in opium, charas (an intoxicating preparation
of hemp), fruits, nuts, and shawl-wool, collected from the neighbour-
ing hills, or brought in from beyond the border, vid R&mpur.
Numerous European shops supply the minor wants of visitors, most
of them being branches of Calcutta firms. The station has three
English banks, a club, and several churches; and two European
breweries are situated in the valley below. The great deficiency of
Simla lies in its inadequate water supply. A water supply by means
of pipes supplies Simla with water from the Mahasu range; but the
constantly increasing population puts a strain upon the works which
thoy are at times scarcely able to bear, and a further extension of the
works, by the construction of additional reservoirs, is now well
advanced towards completion. The springs are few in number, and
several of them run dry during the summer months, when the demand
for water is greatest.
There is a Baptist Mission in Simla, under the superintendence of
Rev. James Smith.
Patiala.—This interesting city lies about an hour's railway journey
from Rajpur junction. It is the capital of a Sikh state, the principal
of the group of native states known as the "Country of the Cis-Sutlej."
The state of Patiala has an area of 5,412 square miles, and a popula-
tion of 1,600,000. The young Maharaja, Rajendra Singh, who came


AMRITSAR.
to the throne in 1888, is a cultured and enlightened ruler. His palace
is a magnificent building, of modern Indian style, surrounded by fine
gardens. The audience chamber is a gorgeous specimen of the very
worst kind of decoration, ablaze with those glass chandeliers of which
native princes are so inordinately fond. There are 100 huge
chandeliers, and a vast glass candelabrum in the centre of the hall, in
imitation of a fountain. This room is credited with an expenditure of
over £100,000. The Maharaja's regalia is one of the costliest in
India, one of his diamonds having cost £40,000.
Sirhind.—At this place there are several interesting tombs of
Afghan princes and others, many of them being finely decorated with
coloured encaustic tiles; a large brick mansion, known as the Haveli,
and a great Sarai of the Mughal Emperors, portions of which date back
to the 10th century. These buildings, however, have not enough
interest to detain the traveller; but to those who take any interest in
public works, it is quite worth while to spend a day at Sirhind for the
purpose of visiting one of the most important of the great irrigation
canals of India. The Sirhind Canal draws its water from the Sutlej,
near Rupar, and runs through the Ambala, Lodhiana, and Firozpur
districts. Branches traverse some of the native states of the Punjab,
including Patiala, Nabha, and Jind, terminating at Sirsa and Karnal.
This magnificent work has cost nearly £7,000,000, part of which was
contributed by native states, but mostly by the Indian Government.
There are over 2,000 miles of channel, and it irrigates 800,000 acres
of land.
Ludhiana is a thriving town of about 50,000 inhabitants, prin-
cipally Muhammadans. There are a large number of Kashmeri and
Pathan settlers. It is a great central grain market, and maintains
a considerable manufacture of shawls of the fine Rampur wool,
cotton cloth, turbans, and other textile fabrics. There are some
interesting Christian Missions here, under the charge of American
Presbyterians, who also have a station at Jalandhar, but otherwise
there are no attractions for the ordinary traveller.
Jalandhar is a Musalman city of 60,000 inhabitants, which has a
conspicuous place in ancient history. The only antiquities are a
couple of tanks with some scattered ruins. There is a Cantonment
here, with two regiments stationed.
Amritsar is the most populous, thriving, and wealthy city in the
whole of the Punjab. It is not only of political and religious interest


152
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
as the sacred city of the Sikh nation, but it is the seat of many artistic
manufactures, and the great commercial gateway from India into the
North Himalyan countries, and Central Asia. It is the 13th city in
India as regards population, which is 152,000. The value of its imports
and exports are about £4,000,000 yearly. Its merchants exchange
the products of Bokhara, Khokand, Thibet, Afghanistan, and Persia,
with those of Calcutta, Bombay, Manchester, and Birmingham. Its
tazaars are thronged by a score of nationalities, and present a variety
of type and dress only to be equalled by those of Peshawar.
There are three hotels and a town bungalow, the Amritsar Hotel
being the best. It is pleasantly situated about half a mile outside the
city, in a large garden. There is also a fair hotel near the railway
station.
The great attraction to Amritsar is the famous Golden Temple, built
by Ranjit Singh in the beginning of this century, in the centre of the
sacred tank which gives Amritsar its name (literally, "the pool of im-
mortality "). This temple has the double interest of its own intrinsic
beauty as a work of art, and of being the heart of the Sikh religion.
The Sikhs are not a nation, but a religious sect bound together by
the tie of military discipline. They are the product of a reformation
of the 15th century, when Nanak Shah endeavoured to preach in the
Punjab the doctrines of the great Bengal reformer, Kabir, whose aim
was to found a unitary religion which would unite in the same faith,
Musalman and Hindu, and whose teaching still survives in a small
Hindu sect called "Kabir-panthis," whose headquarters are at
Benares. The Sikh religion is grounded on Monotheism and moral
purity. Their Bible, called the Granth, was commenced by Guru
Nanak Shah, consolidated by his 5th successor, Guru Arjun, about
a.d. 1600, and completed by the last Guru, the famous Govind Singh.
The leading features of this Sikh Bible are the importance attached to
moral precepts, and the ordering of worship stripped of every vestige
of idolatry, raised to a high platform of simplicity and spirituality.
The original copy of the Granth of Guru Arjun, is jealously preserved
in the Golden Temple.
With the exception of Amritsar, which is the religious centre, and
a few sanctuaries in places where Gurus and martyrs have lived or
died, they have no holy places. Their temples are entirely houses
for prayer and worship. Here they recite portions of the Granth,
or Bing hymns from the same sacred book. The congregation





»54
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
separates after each person has partaken of the Karah Prasad, or
"effectual offering," a cake consecrated in the name of Guru. They
have no objection to well-conducted strangers taking part in the
service, and even offer them participation in the Karah Prasad. An
account of this interesting people will be found in Barth's Religion of
India, pp. 238—251.
Few of the great cities of the world can boast such a noble square
as that which surrounds the beautiful sacred tank in the centre
of Amritsar. In the middle of the lake, reflected in its glassy surface,
is the Golden Temple shining in the sunlight like some jewelled
casket. All round the square are noble palaces, the dome-topped
residences of wealthy Sikh princes and chieftains, white and dazzling
amidst the dark green foliage of their gardens. High above them
are soaring minars and lofty towers, while the white steps of the tank,
the tesselated marble pavements of the terraces, and the causeway to
the temple, are thronged with many-coloured pilgrims. The best
view of this wonderful scene is obtained from the platform of the
clock tower.
Visitors are met at the entrance gate of the Temple by an official
guide; their shoes are removed, and their feet covered in canvas socks.
A causeway, about seventy yards long, conducts to the temple itself.
On both sides of the way are rows of beggars and musicians, to
whom every worshipper gives a few grains of rice or other cereal.
There are also nine curious gilt lamps on each side of the pier. The
Golden Temple stands on a square platform surrounded with a hand-
some marble balustrade, except on the outer side, when the temple is
flush with the tank and pierced by a handsome water-gate. It is not
a large building, being only fifty-three feet square, but it is the most
splendid temple in India, so far as richness of decoration is concerned.
Its details, and indeed its general architecture, are disappointing; its
charm consists more in the beauty of its surroundings, and the
splendour of its colour.
The interior is richly carved and decorated with floral patterns. In
the centre sits the chief priest, reading from the Granth, sur-
rounded by pious worshippers who chant with him the verses from
the sacred book. There is a small and beautifully sculptured
pavilion on the roof. The domes, cupolas and the upper portion of
the walls are covered with thin plates of gold, hence the name
"Golden Temple."


AMRl TSAR.
'55
In the handsome gateway, at the beginning of the causeway, whose
beautifully wrought doors should be carefully observed, are kept the

THE ATAL TOWER, AMRITSAR.
various "properties" of the temple in a huge silver chest; gilt
maces, a bejewelled gold canopy, and sundry necklaces and diadems of
precious stones. These are used on processional occasions. In the
Akal Bungah, a building in the outer courtyard opposite the gateway,


156
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
is kept the sword of the mighty Guru Govind Singh, sundry
other historic weapons, and an ark containing the vessels used for
initiation into the membership of the Sikh Church.
Here the visitor will be presented with cups of sugar-candy, which he
should carry conspicuously in his hand until he is clear of the premises,
whatever he may do with them after.
In the beautiful garden of the temple, thirty acres in extent, well
planted with orange, lemon, pomegranate and other flowering trees
and shrubs, are several pretty pavilions, and the Atal Tower, 131 feet
high, which may be ascended for the fine prospect of the city enjoyed
from its summit.
On the other side of the temple square are the two lofty and im-
posing towers, called the Ram Garhuja Minars, 130 feet high, built
170 years ago by an ancestor of the Mangal Singh family. They are
not fine specimens of Minar architecture, but their massive whiteness
tells out against the blue sky, and adds variety and charm to this
stately square.
The public gardens are about forty acres in extent, and in the
centre is a pavilion which was used as a residence by Ranjit Singh,
when he visited Amritsar.
The fort of Govindgarh was built by Ranjit Singh to dominate the
town, and inspire the turbulent pilgrims who came to the sacred
shrine, with some sense of the presence of authority. It is a place of no
great interest, being merely a modern Indian fort of the present century.
It is at present occupied by a small number of British troops.
If the traveller has a day to spare from the attractions of Amritsar,
he will find it worth while to drive twelve miles to Taran-Taran, which
was the city of Guru Arjun, and is counted only less sacred than
Amritsar. Arjun constructed here a magnificent tank nearly 1,000
feet square, and built by its side a Sikh temple, decorated inside and
out with frescoes.
The tank is said to possess miraculous healing powers, especially
towards lepers, who are cured by swimming across it. Ranjit Singh
greatly revered this temple, overlaying it with copper gilt, and richly
ornamenting it. The tall column which stands by the tank is 140
feet high, and was erected by Prince Nao Nihal Singh. This city is
famous in history as the stronghold of the Sikhs, and the country
round furnishes most of the recruits of those Sikh regiments which
are the flower of the native Indian army.


AMRITSAR.
If any desire is felt to see Indian leprosy, there is plenty of it at
Taran-Taran, in spite of the healing tank. One of its suburbs is in-
habited by a tribe of hereditary lepers, who claim direct descent from
Guru Arjun himself, whom tradition says was afflicted with this
terrible disease. There is also, outside the town, a large leper
asylum.
The Serai at Amritsar is one of the most interesting sights in
India, and the hotel guides never dream of taking visitors to such
places. It is a great open space, surrounded by small houses, in
which are lodged the travelling merchants from Central Asia. In
front of the houses are groups of various Asiatic nationalities, who
have brought the produce of their country to exchange for Manchester
piece goods, Sheffield cutlery, iron, copper, and other foreign commo-
dities. Here are white-skinned Kashmeris, stout Nepalese, sturdy
little Beluchis, stately but filthy Afghans, Persians, Bokharans,
Khivans, Khokandis, Turcomans, Yarkandis, Kashgaris, Thibetans
and Tartars, and even the ubiquitous Chinaman. These various types
of the human race, with their strange national dress, cannot be seen
anywhere else in India except Peshawar. They are all very good-
natured, seem to like being stared at, and will show anything which
may excite curiosity, such as the ingredients of a cooking-pot, their
jewels and ornaments, their clothing, their babies, dogs, ponies, or
iheir merchandise.
These people bring to Amritsar the raw material for the great
staple manufacture of the city,—the soft fine down, or under-wool, of
goats of the Great Thibet plateau and Kashmir, from which Kashmir
shawls are woven. This craft is carried on by Kashmeris who
settled here early in the century. In every side street looms are
visible through the open fronts of the houses, and there are altogether
upwards of 4,000 of them at work in the city. The weavers are
delighted to show their processes to any stranger who is interested.
If any time is taken up, a few annas should be given.
Besides the shawls of home manufacture, Amritsar is the chief em-
porium for those of a similar kind made in Kashmir. The great
houses of London, Paris and Vienna have their resident buyers in
Amritsar, and it is said that they pay as much as a quarter of a
million sterling every year for these beautiful fabrics. A full-sized
shawl, of the finest quality, costs £40 to £50, though smaller sizes,
equally good as an example, can be bought as low as £10 to £15.


i58
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
This craft, one of the most skilled in the world, is learned by the
weavers from their earliest childhood. Those made in Kashmir are the
finest in quality and pattern, as Amritsar has been somewhat cor-
rupted by French designs and Magenta dyes. The Kashmir shawl
craft is an ancient and important one, whether it be simple loom-
weaving or embroidered with the needle on the plain fabric. The
well-known cone pattern with its flowing curves and minute diaper of
flowers, is the one most in vogue. Many other articles are made in
Amritsar from the down of the Kashmir goat, as well a3 from camel's
hair, which is even finer still; also from Kerman wool, which so
closely resembles that of Kashmir and Thibet, that only an expert can
detect the difference.
The plain shawls, white, blue, gray or crimson, known as Rampur
chadars, are largely woven in Amritsar, and cost anything from 20 to
500 rupees, according to their fineness. They make charming
presents to take home for ladies, old or young. These chadars are
often embroidered along the border with the same needlework as the
Kashmir shawls.
There is a large manufacture of silk goods at Amritsar. The silk
piece goods are of solid worth, thick, strong and rich, a marked con-
trast to European silks, which have never been able to find a market
in India. Here is woven the smart and gay striped silk, in common
wear throughout the Punjab, called gulbadan. Pale green or dark
green with scarlet stripe, yellow and crimson stripe, purple and yellow
stripe, crimson and white stripe, white with various colours, are those
mostly kept in stock. Other fabrics are shot with various colours,
checked, or enriched with gold and silver fringes. There is a deep
scarlet silk, with broad gold border, that is exceedingly beautiful, and
also exceedingly costly.
Very choice carving in ivory may be procured at Amritsar, which is
one of the chief places in India for its manufacture. The subjects are
manifold, processions of Rajas, scenes from the Hindu mythology,
hunting scenes, groups of birds, animals, trees and flowers, are carved
in relief on combs and bracelets. Richly caparisoned elephants, state
barges, palanquins, tigers, cows, peacocks, and other animals are
carved as statuettes. They are wonderfully cheap.
Some of the finest carpets in India are woven at Amritsar. One
dealer, just inside the first gate entered from the railway station and
hotels, employs from 700 to 1,000 hands in carpet-weaving, at a


AMRITSAR.
wage of from three to six annas a day. He works mainly for three
or four great London firms, and I have seen no worthier results in
any of the carpet manufactories I have visited up and down India.
No hotter opportunity will present itself to the traveller for studying
this artistic and peculiarly Indian loom-work than this particular
factory at Amritsar. Sir George Bird wood, in his " Industrial Arts
of India," says—
"These pile carpets are called in India specifically kalin and
kalicha. The foundation for the carpet is a warp of the requisite
number of strong cotton or hempen threads, according to the breadth
of the carpet, and the peculiar process consists in dexterously twisting
short lengths of coloured wool into each of the threads of the warp, so
that the two ends of the twist of coloured wool stick out in front.
When a whole line of the warp is completed, the projecting ends of
the wool are clipped to a uniform level, and a single thread of wool is
run across the hreadth of the carpet, between the threads of the warp,
just as in ordinary weaving, and the threads of the warp are crossed as
usual; then another thread of the warp is fixed with twists of wool in
the same manner; and again, a single thread of wool is run between
the threads of the warp, across the carpet, serving also to keep the
tags of wool upright, and so on to the end. The lines of work are
further compacted together by striking them with a blunt fork (Jkangi),
and sometimes the carpet is still further strengthened by stitching the
tags of wool to the warp. Then the surface is clipped all over again,
and the carpet is complete. The workmen put in the proper colours
either of their own knowledge or from a pattern. No native, however,
works so well from a pattern as spontaneously. His copy will be a
facsimile of the pattern, but stiff, even if it be a copy of his own
original work. His hand must be left free in working out the details
of decoration, even from the restraint of the example of his own
masterpieces. If he is told simply, 'Now I want you to make some-
thing in this style, in your own way, but the best thing you ever did,
and you may take your own time about it, and I will pay you whatever
you ask,' he is sure to succeed. It is haggling and hurry that have
spoiled art in Europe, and are spoiling it in Asia.
"Apart from the natural beauty of the dyes used, and the know-
ledge, taste, and skill of the natives of India in the harmonious
arrangement of colours, the charm of their textile fabrics lies in the
simplicity and treatment of the decorative details. The knop and


i6o
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
flower pattern appears universally, but infinitely modified, never being
seen twice under the same form: and the seventi and lotus, which
have been reduced, through extreme conventionalisation, to one
pattern. We have beside the shoe flower, and parrots, and peacocks,
and lions and tigers, and men on horseback, or on foot, hunting or
Cghting. These objects are always represented quite flat as in mosaic
work, or in draps cntailles, and generally symmetrically and in
alternation. The symmetrical representation of natural objects in
ornamentation, and their alternation, seems through long habit to
have become intuitive in the natives of the East. If you get them to
copy a plant, they will peg it down flat on the ground, laying its
leaves, and buds, and flowers out symmetrically on either side of the
central stem, and then only will they begin to copy it. If the leaves
and flowers of the plant are not naturally opposite, but alternate, they
will add others to make it symmetrical, or at least will make it appear
bo in the drawing. The intuitive feeling for alternation is seen in
their gardens and heard in their music, and is as satisfactory in their
music as in their decoration, when heard amid the associations which
naturally call it forth. When the same form is used all over a fabric,
the interchange of light and shade, and the effect of alternation, are at
once obtained by working the ornament alternately in two tints of the
same colour. Each object or division of an object is painted in its
own proper colour, but without shades of the colour, or light and
shade of any kind, so that the ornamentation looks perfectly flat, and
laid, like a mosaic, in its ground. It is in this way that the natural
surface of any object decorated is maintained in its integrity. This,
added to the perfect harmony and distribution of the colouring, is the
specific charm of Indian and Oriental decoration generally. Nothing
can be more ignorant and ridiculous than the English and French
methods of representing huge nosegays, or bunches of fern leaves tied
together by flowing pink ribbons, in light and shade, on carpets, with
the effect of full relief. One knows not where to walk among them.
Continually also are to be seen perfectly shaped vases spoiled by the
appearance of flowers in full relief stuck round them, or of birds
flying out from them. Such egregious mistakes are never made by
the Indian decorative artist. Each ornament, particularly in textile
fabrics, is generally traced round also with a line, in a colour which
harmonises it with the ground on which it is laid. In embroideries
with variegated silks, for instance, on cloth, or satin, or velvet, a gold


AMRITSAR.
161
or silver thread is run round the outline of the pattern, defining it,
and giving a uniform tone to the whole surface of the texture. Gold
is generally laid on purple, or in the lighter kincobs on pink or red.
An ornament on a gold ground is generally worked round with a dark
thread to soften the glister of the gold. In carpets, however gay in
colour, a low tone is secured by a general black outline of the details.
All violent contrasts are avoided. The richest colours are used, but
are so arranged as to produce the effect of a neutral bloom, which
tones down every detail almost to the softness and transparency of
atmosphere. The gold-broidered snuff-coloured Kashmir shawl in
the collection of the Prince of Wales presents this ethereal appearance.
Light materials are lightly coloured and ornamented, heavier more
richly, and, in the case of apparel, both the colouring and the
ornaments are adapted to the effect which the fabric will produce
when worn and in motion. It is only through generations of patient
practice that men attain to the mystery of such subtleties. It is
difficult to analyse the secret of the harmonious bloom of Indian
textures, even with the aid of Chevreul's prismatic scale. When
large ornaments are used, they are filled up with the most exquisite
details, as in the cone patterns on Kashmir shawls. The vice of
Indian decoration is its tendency to run riot, as in Indian arms, but
Indian textile fabrics, at least, are singularly free from it, and
particularly the carpets."


CHAPTEE XI.
LAHORE.

AHORE is the capital city of the Punjab, aml
the administrative headquarters of Lahore
division and district. Its population, inclu-
sive of the military suburb of Mian Mir,
is 150,000. The bulk of the inhabitants
are Musalman, 86,000; there are 54,000
Hindus and 5,000 Sikhs.
Lahore is an ancient city, but did not attain any importance before
the Mughal empire, when it was a place of considerable size and
magnificence and its population probably twice or thrice that of to-day.
Akbar enlarged and strengthened the fort, and surrounded the city
with a strong wall, portions of which still remain, built into the
modern fortifications of lianjit Singh. Jahangir erected the Kwabgah,
the Moti Masjid, and the Mausoleum of Anar Kalli, and Jahangir's
own mausoleum is one of the most beautiful buildings in the Punjab.
The Jama Masjid was the work of Aurangzeb.
Modern Lahore bears the stamp everywhere of the great Maharaja
Ranjit Singh. His buildings are tawdry and in bad taste, and have
very little artistic or architectural interest. Ranjit's city covers an
area of 640 acres, is surrounded by a dull brick wall 30 feet high, and
a moat, which has recently been filled up and planted as a garden.


LAHORE.
163
There are 13 gates, connected on the outside of the ramparts by a good
macadamized road.
The city itself is raised above the plain 011 the ruins of its pre-
decessors. The streets are narrow and winding, forming a perfect
labyrinth of quaint and picturesque scenes. The houses are lofty,
many of them richly decorated. The bazars are densely crowded,
very dusty and evil-smelling, but full of interest, like every Punjab
bazaar.
The European quarter is handsomely laid out on the south side
beyond the wall. The Mall, as the main thoroughfare is called, is

THE HAZURI BAOH, LAHORE.
about three miles long, studded on each side with public offices,
private houses, fine shops, and churches. There are several good
hotels in and near the Mall.
The principal group of ancient buildings in Lahore is the Fort and
those clustering round it. The Fort is shorn of much of its former
splendour, and what little is left does not suggest that in its palmiest
days it would bear comparison with Delhi or Agra. It is entered
by the Roshanai Gate, whose imposing facade is decorated with the
coloured tiles so much in use throughout central Asia, introduced into
the Punjab by Persian artizans.
The visitor is met inside the gate by an intelligent non-com-
missioned officer who acts as guide, pointing out and explaining the
various objects of interest. The first building on the left is the Moti
11 2


164
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
Masjid, or pearl mosque, erected by Jahangir, a.d. 1598. Its arched
entrances are now built up; the whole structure is desecrated by
British whitewash, and used as the strong-room of the Government.
A little farther on is a small modern Sikh temple, and beyond it is
what is left of Akbar's palace, to which additions were made by Shah
Jahan and Aurangzeb. The facade is quaintly decorated with
enamelled tiles representing hunting and mythological scenes. In
this group is a Shish Mahal, or palace of mirrors, a quadrangle about
130 feet by 100, and the Nau Lakha, a pavilion of white marble inlaid
with pietra dura. The Shish Mahal has a sentimental interest as
the place where the sovereignty of the Punjab was transferred to the
British Government.
The armoury contains a singularly fine collection of old Indian
weapons. The shield and battle-axe of Guru Govind Singh hangs on
the wall, with other curious and historical armour, swords, guns, and
harness. The view from the summit of Akbar's palace is superb,
commanding the city on one hand, and on the other the vast fertile
Punjab plain, dotted with tombs and villages, the river Ravi
meandering through it like a silver ribbon.
The other buildings in the Fort are the Diwan i Khas and the
Kwabgah i Kalan, both of which must have been splendid halls in
their prime, but their beauty of decoration can hardly be discerned
under their thick coat of whitewash, and their proportions have been
shorn for the utilitarian purposes of a British barracks.
Leaving the Fort again by the Roshanai Gate, and turning to the
right through a doorway, the Hazuri Bagh is entered. It is a dis-
hevelled garden of surpassing beauty, in the centre of which is a
pretty marble pavilion. On the right hand side of this garden is a
lofty crenellated wall, in the middle of which is a fine gateway, now
built up, which in Akbar's time was the entrance to the citadel.
The towers of this gateway are remarkable. On the left of tho
garden is a desolate mosque, the Jama Masjid, desecrated by Ranjit
Singh, who used it as an arsenal. It is now restored to the
Musalmans as a place of worship, but it is little used and greatly
neglected. The quadrangle, which is 530 feet square, is over-
shadowed by fine trees, the dark green foliage acting as a charming
contrast to the deep, rich, warm red-sandstone. A splendid flight of
twenty-two steps, ninety feet long at the base, leads up from the
garden to the mosque, the minarets of which cut the sapphire sky


LAHORE.
165
150 feet in height. The whole forms one of the most beautiful
pictures to be found in nil India.
The somewhat garish white building which glitters in bright
contrast to the solemn and sombre mosque is Ranjit Singh's Samadh,
or burning-place. The interior decoration of this building is fantastic,
and is inlaid with convex mirrors. In the centre of the floor is a
raised platform on which is carved a lotus flower, surrounded by eleven

ranjit singh's samadh, Lahore.
smaller ones, marking the place where Ranjit Singh's body was burnt,
"ith eleven ladies of his Zenana. The temple-tomb just outside the
gate of the Huzuri Bagh is the shrine of Arjun, the fifth Sikh Guru;
the Granth, of which he was the author, is read daily in Rangit Singh's
Samadh.
There are some fine old mosques within the city walls. The mosque
of Vazir Khan was built in 1634 by a Vazir of the Emperor Shah
Jehan. The walla are richly decorated with coloured tiles. The
courtyard is 130 feet square, the facade of the mosque being covered
with carved inscriptions from the Koran. A climb of eighty feet


166
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
reaches the summit of the minaret, from which a very fine view of
this peculiarly oriental city may be obtained. In the centre of the
mosque is the tomb of Abdul Ushak, a great resort for gossip and
bargains. The streets in the neighbourhood of this mosque are very
striking, the balconies of the houses and the frames of the doorways
being richly carved. The finest house in Lahore is that of Raja Har
Bans Singh, near the Masti Gate, which should be visited. It was
built in the reign of Jahangir. The Golden Mosque (Soneri Musjid)
is more modern, dating from 1753. It is finely placed at the angle of
two streets, amid picturesque surroundings, its three golden domes
glittering in the sunlight. Behind it is a curious well of great size,
with a stone staircase descending to the water. In the open space
called Hira Mandi throngs of gaily-dressed natives swarm, and many
types of Afghans, Kashmiris, and other Himalayans and Central
Asians may be observed. Driving a carriage through the streets of
Lahore is no sinecure, and there is so much dust, dirt, and crowd that
pedestrians who have come to stare about them are somewhat dis-
agreeably, but not unkindly, jostled. The wonderful picturesqueness.
of the bazars is, however, ample compensation for the inconvenience.
The tomb of Anar Kali, now converted into St. James's Church, is
near the Mall. Anar Kali (pomegranate blossom) was a lady of
Akbar's court, who loved "not wisely, but too well" Salim, one of
Akbar's sons. The tradition is, that, being detected, she was buried
alive by Akbar, after whose death Salim erected this beautiful
mausoleum to her memory. The sarcophagus, which stood in the
centre of the building, has been removed to an ante-room, where it may
be seen. It is one of the most beautiful and perfect specimens of carv-
ing to be seen in India. It is of white marble, and its decoration con-
sists of the ninety-nine names of Allah, and an inscription stating that
the tomb was erected to Anar Kali's memory, by Salim, or Jahangir.
The tomb with the fine blue-tiled dome is that of Sheikh Musa,
called Ahanjar, or the Ironmonger. This tomb was once covered with
Nakkashi tiling, but it has been almost all stripped off. A hundred
yards off is a smaller tomb, the walls of which are much better
preserved, and contain good pieces of this beautiful encaustic tile-
work. Another building which gives a good illustration of coloured-
tile ornamentation is that called Chauburji, or the Four Towers; it is
the fine gateway to a garden, and is faced with green and blue
encaustic decoration.


LAHORE.
The chief public buildings of the European town are situated on
the Mall; they do not call for much comment. The Punjab
University, with its senate hall, is worth visiting; also the Oriental
College, the Lahore Government College, the Central Training
College, the Medical School, the Law School, the High School, and
the Mayo Hospital, a fine building, with capacity for 110 beds.
The best-managed and most successful School of Art in India is at
Lahore, under the superintendence of Mr. J. L. Kipling, CI.E., who

TOMB OF ANAR KALI, LAHORE.
is also curator of the Lahore Museum. Mr. Kipling and his talented
pupils have rendered great service in the completion of the collections
in the India Museum at South Kensington, and man}7 of the beautiful
plates in " The Journal of Indian Art," published in London under
the patronage of the Government of India, are contributed by them
also. No traveller interested in Indian art should leave Lahore with-
out a visit to the Mayo School of Art and the Museum.
The world-renowned Shalimar Gardens (the Abode of Love) are
about six miles from Lahore. These beautiful gardens are about
eighty acres in extent, entered by an imposing gateway, and


168
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
surrounded by a lofty wall, with pavilions at each corner. The land
slopes, and is divided into three terraces, connected by flights of
steps; they were laid out by the Emperor Shah Jahan in a.d. 1637.
Canals carry water to all parts of the garden, and in the centre is a
large tank, with an island in the middle. There are innumerable
small fountains everywhere. The buildings are rather mouldy, and
the garden ill-kept, but in its day it must have been a lovely place.
There are other gardens in the neighbourhood, all of which will
repay the searcher after picturesqueness. The best of these is the
Gulabi Bagh (or Rose Garden), half-a-mile from Shalimar; this was
laid out in 1655. It is entered by a well-preserved gateway of some
beauty, being richly decorated with Nakkashi work—the coloured
tiles already referred to as the ornamentation of the mosque of Vazar
Khan, and the Roshanai Gate of the Fort.
The cantonment of Meean Meer is three miles from Lahore, and
is a dull and dreary place. Here are stationed two batteries of
artillery, one regiment of British infantry, one of native cavalry and
infantry, and a regiment of Punjab Pioneers. The place is named
after a Mussulman saint of the time of Aurangzeb, whose tomb stands
in the centre of a square on a fine marble platform, a few hundred
yards from the cantonment. It is a handsome domed building of red
sandstone and white marble.
There are several other tombs in this neighbourhood, the most
noteworthy being that of Pakdaman (the chaste lady), the holiest
shrine in the Lahore district. She and her sisters, who are buried
here with her, are said to be nieces of Ali, the successor of the
Prophet; she died, a.d. 728, at the age of ninety. The tomb itself is
an ancient and simple brick structure, thirteen or fourteen feet square.
There are some curious old trees about the place, reputed to have
more than 800 years' growth.
The magnificent mausoleum of the Emperor Jahangir is at Shah
Darrah, four or five miles out of Lahore, on the right bunk of the
River Ravi. The road leads through a well-timbered country, across
an interesting bridge over the Ravi. This tomb is placed, as usual,
in the centre of a great walled garden, now a tangled wilderness,
1,600 feet square, entered by a fine gateway of white marble and red
sandstone, some fifty feet high. (Sec chapter initial.)
The great feature of this remarkable mausoleum consists in a vast
platform over 200 feet square, with a tesselated pavement of coloured


LAHORE
169
marble. At each corner is a soaring minaret over 100 feet high, of
singular beauty, and built of massive blocks of stone. Hound the
platform, originally, ran a richly-carved marble wall, which for some
cause or other was destroyed by Ranjit Singh, who replaced it with
the rubbishy substitute now standing. A splendid view of Lahore
and the valley of the Ravi may be obtained from the topmost gallery
of one of the minarets. The central dome of the tomb is small, and,
in proportion to the noble platform and minarets, insignificant; the
sarcophagus within is a good specimen of carving in white marble, the
decoration being as usual the ninety-nine names of God.
To the west of Jahangir's tomb, through a doorway in the wall, is
the tomb of Asij Jah, in the midst of a ragged and neglected garden.
Judging from the beautiful fragments still remaining of the Nakkashi
decorations of this building, it must have been one of the finest
specimens of this art. The big ugly tomb farther to the west is that
of Nur Jahan, and is not worth visiting.
If a somewhat prolonged stay is being made at Lahore, an interest-
ing day's excursion may be arranged to Shekohpura, an ancient town
twenty-two miles distant, which contains a ruined fort built by
Jahangir, and a huge brick palace, built by Ranjit Singh for one of
his queens. Here is also a large disused tank, with a marble pavilion,
and minaret over 100 feet high, of the time of Jahangir.
Lahore is a good centre for sport. Wolves, leopards, and nilgai
are sometimes found in the wild country across the Ravi, and in the
forest plantations antelope, deer, wild hog, hares, quails, sandgrouse,
and peafowl are abundant. Ducks, geese, cranes, pelicans, and other
wading birds are plentiful along the Sutlej, the Ravi, and other rivers,
also crocodiles and alligators. There is good mahseer and other
fishing to be had within easy distance.
There are four Missionary Societies represented in Lahore—the
American Methodist Episcopal, the Church of England, the American
Presbyterian, and the Indian Female Normal School and Instruction
Society.
The Methodist Mission employs two missionaries, whose work lies
chiefly among Europeans and Eurasians. Their church building is
near the railway station.
The Church Missionary Society (whose headquarters for the
Punjab are in Amritsar) began work in Lahore in the year 1867.
At present there are two English missionaries and one native pastor


PICTURESQUE INDIA.
connected with this mission. The former occupy the extensive
premises enclosed by a high wall, which were once held by a wealthy
Sirdar, and hence are known as " Mahan Singh's Garden." Within
this enclosure are the mission-house, a hostel for native Christian
young men coming to Lahore from other stations for instruction in
the schools, or employment in the offices, and a pretty little chapel
for religious services. Divinity classes were begun in 1869 by Mr.
French (afterwards Bishop French). The English missionaries are
engaged mainly in superintending the hostel, instructing classes in
Divinity, and preaching in bazaar chapels. The native pastor
ministers to a large community of native Christians, scattered
through that part of Lahore called "Anarkali," whose place of
worship, "Holy Trinity," is a well-built structure situated in a
central position.
The American Presbyterian Mission here is the oldest in point of
time, and strongest in point of numbers. At present there are six
American missionaries and several native helpers. The mission was
opened in 1849, with the approbation of the highest authorities
(especially Sir Henry and Sir John Lawrence), by Messrs. Newton &
Forman, who are still alivo and on the field, esteemed and honoured
throughout India. At that time the country was thought by many to
be in an unsettled state, and new insurrections were looked for, the
Punjab having just been annexed. The new missionaries were, there-
fore, advised by the civil authorities to desist temporarily from street
preaching. This was carried on, however, after a few months, quietly,
and then more openly, and from that time to this scarcely a day has
passed without the voice of the preacher being lifted in the broadest
thoroughfares, and before the great gates of the city. A day-school
for boys was first started in the missionaries' house—at that time
within the city. It opened with three pupils, all Hindu Kashmiris.
Now there are about 1,100 boys and 400 girls in the various schools.
In those days boys had to be bribed with books to come to study
English—now nothing could bribe them to stay away, and English
is of paramount importance. There is a Mission College, whose
imposing buildings occupy a fine site granted by Government. There
are now about 150 students preparing for the Intermediate and B.A.
examinations, to whom, besides the regular University curriculum,
daily instruction in the Bible and the Christian religion is given.
When the missionaries first came to Lahore there were no native.


LAHORE.
171
Christians; ncm it is said that there are over 1,000 who claim to
belong to one Christian denomination or another.
The Presbyterian native congregation worship in a neat brick
building, which, with the Mission premises, are at Naulakka, near
the railway station. English services are held every Sunday by the
missionaries in the Presbyterian church in Anarkali.
The Indian Female Normal School and Instruction Society have
been at work here nearly twenty-five years. At present they are
represented by five ladies. Of these, two are engaged in the manage-
ment of a large and flourishing boarding-school for Christian girls.
The other three ladies devote themselves entirely to city and village
work. They have the supervision of day-schools, in which are collected
women and girls to the number of about 450. They visit, besides,
nearly ninety zenanas, where instruction, especially in the Bible, is
given.
Pathankot is reached by a branch line from Amritsar in about four
hours. It is a quaint old place, with a fort built by Shah Jahan.
Fifty-seven miles farther into the Himalayas is Dalhousie, a charming
hill station, 7,700 feet above the sea, built upon three peaks, whose
flanks are covered with beautiful forest. This is a very pleasant
sanatorium, and the winter is less severe than at Simla or Mussoorie.
The scenery is superb, especially at Chamba, twelve miles distant,
the curious little capital of an ancient Hindu principality, which is
surrounded by mountains from 14,000 to 20,000 feet high. The
Kangra Valley, which lies between Dalhousie and Simla, contains
some of the sublimest scenery in the world, but it cannot be visited
during the winter, except with considerable difficulty and hardship.


CHAPTER XII.
RAWAL PINDL—SEALKOT.—ATTOCK.—THE INDUS.—PESHAWAR.

AWAL PINDI is a modern town, with
a population a little over 50,000,
pretty equally divided between
Mohammedans and Hindus. It is
a clean, bright, well-planned city,
planted with fine trees, the head-
quarters of a military division, with
a garrison of three European and
three native regiments, two batteries
of artillery, and three mountain bat-
teries. It boasts a handsome public
burden, an extensive and singularly
beautiful park, the favourite evening
and morning resort of the European
residents, a huge garrison church and
the usual public offices and buildings
pertaining to a commissioner's district of
- nearly 1,000,000 souls. Its situation is pic-
turesque, at the foot of the Murree hills, sandstone
buttresses of the Kashmir Himalyas clothed with magnifi-
cent forest trees of pine, oak, acacia and other hard woods.
Leopards, wolves, hyenas, jackals, foxes, barking deer, ravine deer,
hares, partridges, jungle fowl and pheasants, are plentiful all over
the Murree hills, and good Mahseer fishing may be had in most of
the streams. The popular hill station of Murree is thirty-nine miles
from Rawal Pindi, 7,500 feet above sea level. There are several
good hotels. This is one of the most beautiful of the Himalyan


SEALKO T.—A TTOCK.
>73
sanitariums; its cottages and bungalows, nestled in mingled forest
and cultivation, enjoy a superb panorama of the sun-clad Kashmir
mountains. The old town of Rawal Pindi is a group of narrow
crooked bazaars, the population consisting of a mixture of Ghakkars,
Bhattis, Awans, Khattris and Kashmiris.
The fort and arsenal is a strong pentagon, with a bastion at each
angle, armed with heavy guns. It is designed to resist a siege by a
fully equipped European army.
The missionaries stationed at Rawal Pindi belong to the American
Presbyterian Board.
Sealkot and Jummoo are reached by a branch line just opened
from Wazirabad junction.
Sealkot is a trading centre of rapidly increasing importance, with
a large manufacture of paper. It has a population of about 30,000.
The remains of the ancient fort of Raja Salwan crown a low circular
hill in the middle of the town. The suburbs are very handsomely
laid out. There is an interesting Sikh shrine, much resorted to by
pilgrims, and the fine old Musalman tomb of Imam Alf-ul-hak. It
is a military cantonment. The Church of Scotland and the
American United Presbyterians have missions at Sialkot.
Jummoo is an ancient capital of Kashmir, once the seat of a Rajput
dynasty, whose dominions extended over the plains of Sialkot. The
town and palace are on the right bank of the River Tavi, and a grand
old fortress overhangs the opposite bank on a cliff 150 feet above the
water. It is a striking and picturesque place, with curious and
interesting ruins scattered through the suburbs, giving evidence of
its former magnitude and prosperity. The scenery in the immediate
neighbourhood is very beautiful. There is no accommodation, but
the Sealkot stationmaster will arrange for a railway carriage to be
shunted for a sufficient time to enable visitors to see the place. The
principal road to Srinagar, the present capital of Kashmir, starts
from Jummoo, the distance being about 170 miles.
Attock is the great historic fortress on the Indus, at its junction
with the Kabul river. The fort, which was built by the Emperor
Akbar in 1583 a.d., is an irregular polygon built on the end of a
spur running down to the Indus. Ranjit Singh subdued Attock in
1813, the fortress remaining in the hands of the Sikhs till the British
conquest of 1849. Before 1883, the Indus was crossed by a bridge of
boats for eight months of the year, the rest of the time a good ferry





ATTOCK.—THE INDUS.
being maintained. There is also a curious tunnel under the river, a
costly and useless piece of work. On the opposite side of the Indus
is another massive fortress, Khairabad, the two places being now
connected by the magnificent bridge of the Northern State Railway,
which has a subway for carts and foot-passengers. The fort at
Attock is a huge citadel, and, when built, must have been im-
pregnable. It is one of Akbar's fortresses, and was built a.d. 1583.
It is finely situated on the spur of a hill running down into the Indus.
Attock is surrounded by mountains from 2,000 to 3,000 feet high, and
the scenery ranks with the finest in India. The town is small, but
very picturesque, especially the old Lahore gate; the population about
4,000, chiefly Muhammadans. The junction of the two rivers is about
half a mile above the town, the Indus coming down from the
Himalyas, a fine, clear, blue stream, the Kabul running into it at
right angles, dark and turbid. Below the meeting of the waters, a
whirlpool eddies between jutting precipices of black slate, known as
Kamalia and Jalalia, from the names of two famous Roshanai heretics,
who were flung, each from a summit, during the reign of Akbar, into
the boiling pool below. Gold is washed out on the shores of the
Indus and Kabul rivers above Attock, giving employment to about
300 men.
A very interesting excursion may be made by travellers who are
prepared to rough it a little, by a boat voyage down the Indus from
Attock to Dera Ismail Khan. Good native boats, with a deck-house
of reeds or straw, may be hired for twenty or twenty-five rupees a day,
and a polite note a week or two beforehand to the Assistant-Com-
missioner at Attock will, no doubt, be sufficient to get one of them
engaged, and ready by the starting day, with a suitable crew and
pilot. Some instalment of pay will probably have to be sent before
the boat could be fitted up, but the A. C. will furnish the necessary
information. The daily stages are Khushalgarh, Mokbad, Kalabagh,
Kafir Kot and Deva Ismail Khan, five days in all, though so much
depends on the state of the river, that it may be necessary to allow
seven days.
Bnkkur station, on the Sind Sagar Railway, is only a few miles by
good road from Dera Ishmail Khan, and twelve hours by rail from
Multan. It will be necessary to take provisions for the whole voyage,
as supplies cannot be depended upon.
The scenery is very fine, and there are some formidable rapids here


l76
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
and there that lend excitement to the voyage. The Ghora Trap is a
narrow gorge, about thirty yards wide, through which the river rushes
with great speed. There is, however, no danger to the light

KHUSUALOARH.
passenger boat. All the way from Attock to Kalabagh the Indus runs
through a succession of magnificent mountain gorges. At Khushal-
garh, the military road to Kohat, Thal and the Kuran valley, crosses
the Indus by a fine bridge of boats. The cliffs rise to a great height,


THE INDUS.
»77
and on the right bank are picturesquely crowned by an old fort.
There is a good Dak road to Kohat (first class fare four rupees) at
the foot of the Safia Koh and Afridi mountains. Mokbad is a
thriving little town of over 4,000 inhabitants, a quaint old place, with
a roofed bazaar, crowded with Afghan traders. There is a good road
back to Attock from here, with a series of Dak bungalows; the
distance is about 100 miles.
Kalabagh is a striking place. The old town is piled up the side of
a steep hill of rock salt, like a great staircase, the roofs of one row of
houses forming the street in front of the row above. A great cliff of
rock salt towers above the town. There are important quarries of salt
at Mari, just opposite to Kalabagh, where there are workable seams of
pure salt lying between alternate strata of impure salt and marl.
Between 3,000 and 4,000 tons are blasted out and sent away by the
Indus during the year. There is also an alum industry in the neigh-
bouring valleys, and a manufacture of iron implements of various
kinds. A good road runs from Kalabagh to Piplan on the Sind-Sagar
Railway, distant about seventy or eighty miles.
From Kalabagh to Dera Ismail Khan the river flows tranquilly
through very beautiful river scenery, with fine views of the distant
Suleiman Range. At Kafir-Kot there are some very interesting ruins
built of huge blocks of smoothly chiselled stone, intermingled with
ancient Hindu temples or sanctuaries. There are quaint carvings here
and there representing idols. These ruins are placed on the crest of
a spur of the Khisor hills, perched over the river bank. The towers
are connected with the Indus by a wall. There is another ruined
castle on the opposite bank. Their origin is lost in obscurity.
General Cunningham's Archaeological Survey, which may be seen in
any good Indian library, contains full particulars of these strange
buildings, vol. xiv. p. 254.
Beyond Kafir-Kot, the Khisor range comes down to the water's
edge in a precipitous mass, the peaks rising 4,000 or 5,000 feet above
the plain. The banks are covered with patches of forest, and tho
tamarisk-covered islands are very lovely.
Dera Ismail Khan is a cantonment for three native regiments, and
the administrative headquarters of a district. It is a new town of
25,000 inhabitants, and a favourite residence with Pathan and Mul-
tani nobles. The distance to the west is closed in by the two lofty
peaks of Tukt-i-Suleiman, the highest of the great Suleiman range,
a


178
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
11,300 feet above the sea. It is a dull place, and the traveller will be
glad to drive away from it by the excellent road which leads to
Bukkur, a station on the Sind-Sagar Railway, 208 miles, or fifteen
hours from Lala Musa junction northwards, and 147 miles, or eleven
hours from Multan southwards.
Peshawar.—This ancient and historic city is situated in the midst
of the " debateable ground" of our Indian Empire. Its traditions go
far back into the earliest days of Aryan colonization. It was men-
tioned by the historians of Alexander's Conquest of India, and in the
eighth century of the Christian era fell into the hands of the Afghans,
since which it has been held by a score of successive conquerors,
until in 1848 it became British.
The city and cantonment has a population of 80,000, of which
58,000 are Musalmans, 18,000 Hindus, 3,000 Christians, and less than
2,000 Sikhs. It is surrounded by a mud wall, built by the Sikh
general, Avitabile, an Italian adventurer, which is pierced with sixteen
gates, all of which are closed at sun-down.
The main street is entered by the Kabul gate, and is fifty feet wide,
consisting of a double row of shops. This street is usually thronged
with people, and is one of the most picturesque bazars in India. On
each side of this main road are twisting narrow lanes opening out in
small squares, in many of which are situated handsome mosques.
The large building known as the Ghor Khattri was originally a
Buddhist monastery, then a Hindu temple, and is now a native Serai
or hotel, swarming with quaint and strange people from every part of
Central Asia. A magnificent view of the entire Peshawar valley and
its lofty snow-clad mountains may be obtained from the roof.
Just outside the walls is a quadrilateral fortress, called the Bala
Hissar, on a hill completely dominating the city. Bastions stand at
each corner, with a powerful armament of guns and mortars. The
walls are of sun-dn'ed brick, and rise nearly 100 feet from the ground.
The suburbs of Bnana Mari and Baghban are a succession of beau-
tiful gardens, producing quinces, pomegranates, plums, limes, peaches,
apples, and other fruit. North of Peshawar is a public pleasure-
ground, the Bagh Shahi, or old royal gardens. Two miles west of the
city lie the military cantonments and civil offices. The city was at
one time completely surrounded by a chain of watch-towers, some of
which are still standing, though most have become ruins.
Peshawar, from its geographical position, and from being a railway





i8o
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
terminus, ought to be the great emporium for all the trade between
India and Afghanistan, Persia and Turkestan, but it has failed hitherto
to become more than a halting-place on the great highway, and the
traffic only streams through it. The bazars are, however, rendered
very interesting from the variety of people passing through in charge
of this trade, making Peshawar almost an Afghan city. The Afghan
traders are extremely dirty, being dressed in loose coat and trousers
of coarse cotton-cloth, never washed, with thick woollen or sheep-
skin overcoats. Their shaggy unkempt black locks hang down be-
neath enormous turbans. They find their way through Peshawar to
the most distant corners of India, hawking strings of weedy horses,
raw silk, cochineal, drugs, fruits, and other miscellaneous products of
their country. The little wooden boxes of yellow grapes packed in
cotton, sold at every railway station in India, are all brought from
Afghanistan by these wandering traders.
The local manufactures of Peshawar are cutlery and weapons, copper-
chasing, embroidery, coarse cloth, and very beautiful lungis or scarves,
for which Peshawar is famous. The dark blue lungis, with crimson
edges, or ornamented with gold borders, are the most characteristic.
They are made both in silk and cotton. The mass of the population
is divided into petty trade guilds, recruited from miscellaneous tribes
of every race in northern India and its adjacent countries; and almost
every kind of art craft can be found at work in the bazaars of
Peshawar.
The stony plain of Peshawar is the eastern mouth of the celebrated
Khyber pass, which has played so conspicuous a part in the history of
India, and especially in the series of wars between British India and
Afghanistan, of which it is to be hoped we have seen the last.
It has been the great route into India for ages, whether for war,
conquest, or commerce. The pass commences at the fort of Jamrud,
ten miles from Peshawar, and twists for thirty-three miles through
mountains 6,000 or 7,000 feet high, till it debouches on the plain of
Jalalabad at Dhaka. The fort of Jamrud stands on a hill about .100
feet above the plain. It has three encircling walls of stone, and is a
strong place. Three miles from Jamrud, at Kadam, a little village on
the top of a hill, the pass is entered. The mountains close in, and in
less than half a mile, the pass narrows to 150 yards, and a mile
further, to about thirty yards, the rocks rising in sheer precipices of
60 or 100 feet, then sloping back. Six and a half miles from Jamrud,


PESHAWAR.
Ali Masjid is reached, and here the width is fifteen yards only, the
mountains on either side rising 1,000 to 1,300 feet sheer from the
floor of the pass. The pass rises altogether about 1,700 feet to the
summit of the pass at Landi Kotal. A permit must be obtained from
the commanding officer of the cantonment at Peshawar, before the
Khyber can be visited; indeed, at times it is necessary for visiting
Jamrud, and under no circumstances can the pass be traversed beyond
Ali Masjid. It is better to make application by letter a few days
beforehand, as an escort is necessary beyond the British frontier.
The only Missionary Society for the male population engaged in

Peshawar, is that of the
Church Missionary Society, which
was commenced in 1855, in re-
sponse to a gift of Rsl 0,000 and
an appeal from Major W. J.
Martin, backed up by a very jamrud.
influential committee, held on Dec. 19th, 1853, under the chair-
manship of the commissioner, Major [afterwards Colonel] Sir Herbert
Edwardes.
The first Missionary was the gallant major himself, who severed his
connection with Government, and was soon joined by the Revds.
R. Clark and Dr. Pfander. There has ever since been a staff of two,
three, or four Missionary Clergy, who live in the Mission clergy-
house, close to the Cantonment Station, where there is a large and
valuable library of some 4,000 volumes, not only on Theology, but on
India, Afghanistan, Central Asia, Persia, Secular and Ecclesiastical
History, Biography, Philosophy and the various Sciences.
The Mission is to Afghans, who believe themselves to belong to


PICTURESQUE INDIA.
the Ten Tribeo of Israel. Their tradition, history, customs, and
physiognomy support the theory. The Afghans are a fine manly race
of men, and whatever their faults are, hospitality is one of their
greatest virtues, for which they will often go into debt. The
hospitality the Missionary Clergy everywhere receive, is reciprocated
by them in the guest-house they have erected in their compound, to
which men of all classes come, from all parts of Afghanistan. They
have also here a boarding-school for Afghan lads, representing many
of the neighbouring tribes, and who attend as day-scholars the large
Mission School in the city.
The Church of All Saints, which was erected in 1885 in the city of
Peshawar to the memory of departed missionaries, is a very pretty
oriental building, containing much handsome carving and decorated
with Peshawar tiles. The Church, Pastor's house, library, &c, form
one of the most complete places of Missionary energy in North
India. The resident Native Pastor is always glad to show the church
to visitors. Divine service is held every morning and evening in the
vernacular.
The school, which is close by, opposite the Kohati Gate, while
possessing no architectural beauty, is admirably adapted for the
education of several hundred scholars in English, taking them up to
the Panjab University Matriculation Examinations, under the super-
intendence of an English M.A. The scholars gathered from many
nationalities, when assembled for the roll-call, seated on the large
gallery, tier above tier, dressed in their many-coloured garments, is a
very interesting sight. The school has been named after Sir Herbert
Edwardes, whose memory is much revered for the great interest he
always took in the mission, and for the immense pecuniaiy assistance
he aflbrded.
The Literary Institute, called after the late Colonel Martin, is a
building in the Pipal Mandi, containing a reading-room for educated
Indians, and also a lecture-hall in which religious and scientific
lectures are delivered, and evangelistic services are held.
The Church of England Zenana Missionary Society for women
has several ladies working in connection with it: two for visiting
native ladies and superintending girls' schools, and two for medical
Missionary work. The latter have their head-quarters at Gorkhatri,
in the highest part of the city, where they have a dwelling-house, and
a small temporary hospital which H.H. the Duchess of Connaught, at


CHAPTEE XIII.
MULTAN AND SIND.
ULTAN, though of great antiquity and
historic interest, is seldom visited by
European tourists. It is only ten hours'
journey from Lahore, and, although I
have never been there myself, I strongly
advise the traveller who has a margin of
time to fill, to pay it a visit. Multan has
had a continuous existence in history for
2,700 years, and is one of the most fre-
quently besieged cities in the world. It
made a desperate resistance to Alexander
of Macedon, who, after subduing it, left
a Satrap in charge of the province. The
coins of the Graeco-Bactrian kings are
frequently found in the neighbourhood of
the city. Among its other famous sieges may be counted that of
Sultan Mahmud in 1005, that of the Sikhs under Runjit Singh in
1818, and the storming of the city by the British in 1849, the
crowning victory which led to the annexation of the Panjab.
Multan is built on a huge mound, the accumulated debris of
previous cities, four miles from the present course of the river Chenab.
It is surrounded on three sides by a ruined wall, the fourth side facing
the dry bed of the old course of the river Ravi, which once flowed past
the city, leaving two islands in its stream, the one that on which the
city now stands, the other picturesquely crowned by the citadel. The
suburbs of Multan are straggling and irregular, mingling with remains
of the old fortifications, dismantled by the British in 1854. Within
the city walls there is one broad street lined with shops called the


MULTAN AND SIND. 185
Chauk, made by the British in 1850. The other streets are narrow
winding cul-de-sacs. The population is about 70,000, of whom more
than half are Muhammadans. Multan is, and always has been, a
great trading centre. Before the railway was made it was the collect-
ing depot for the trade of the central Panjab, down the Ravi and
Jehlam rivers, whence large quantities of produce were sent by the
Indus flotilla to Karachi for shipment to Europe. The railway
appears to have increased instead of diminished its prosperity, the
exports and imports of Multan being over £1,300,000 annually.
The Fort is a massive group of buildings. Some of its most
interesting details have been almost obliterated by the explosion of the
powder-magazine during the siege of 1849, but many buildings remain
with great artistic and picturesque interest, differing greatly from any
others in India. The shrine of Ruku-i-Alam is an octagon of finely
polished brick, fifty-two feet in diameter, topped by a smaller octagon,
leaving a narrow passage all round, crowned by a magnificent dome.
The whole structure is over 100 feet high. It is placed on the summit
of the mound on which the citadel is built, and the whole outside
surface is decorated with raised tiles of blue and white glaze. It was
built by the Emperor Tuglak in 1340—50.
The great obelisk near by, seventy feet high, was erected to the
memory of two British officers, whose treacherous murder by the viceroy
of Multan in 1848, led to the war which ended in the annexation of the
Panjab.
The tomb of Bhawal Hakk is another octagonal mausoleum within
the walls of the citadel. It has been rather barbarously restored, and
some of the original tiles, a.d. 1270, are still stuck about in the
plaster. The sarcophagus is decorated with green tiles of fine colour
and workmanship.
The only other ancient monument within the Fort worthy of notice is
the ancient Hindu temple of the Narasinha Avatar of Vishnu, greatly
injured by the explosion in 1849.
Within the city walls is the shrine of Muhammad Yusef, an ancient
tomb of 1150 a.d., covered with encaustic tiles, excellent specimens of
this beautiful ceramic decoration, and some other tombs of more
recent date; and the fine mosque of Shah Gutlej.
The artistic crafts of Multan have held high position in India for
centuries. Beautiful enamel work, similar in character to that of
Jaipur, brilliant glass bangles, silk and cotton fabrics, especially



ENTRANCE TO THE SHAH GUTLEJ MOSQUE, MULTAN.
DECORATED WITH GLAZED TILES.


MULTAN AND SIND.
chintzes and scarves, figured and damasked silks, known as Suja
Khani, are all to be seen in the bazaar, and possess peculiar cha-
racteristics.
The art of glazing earthenware has probably been possessed by
Multan longer than any other district in India, and the city still
maintains its supremacy. It dates from the earliest years of the 13th
century, and is said to have been brought from China by Ghengiz
Khan, after his invasion and conquest of that country. The following
sentences are condensed from Sir Geo. Birdwood's "Industrial Aits
of India " :—
"It is said that the invasion and conquest of China by Ghingiz
Khan, 1212, was the event that made known to the rest of Asia and
Europe the art of glazing earthenware; but, in fact, the Saracens
from the first used glazed tiles for covering walls, and roofs, and pave-
ments, and of course with a view to decorative effect. The use of
these tiles had come down to them in an unbroken tradition from the
times of the 'Temple of Seven Spheres,' or Birs-i-Nimrud, at
Borsippa, near Babylon, of the temple Sakkara in Egypt, and of the
early trade between China and Egypt, and China and Oman, and the
valley of the Tigris and Euphrates. Diodorus, describing (after
Ctcsias) the circular wall of the royal palace of Babylon, says:—' The
whole portrayed a royal hunting scene, beautified with divers coloured
forms of men and beasts, baked in the clay, and much like unto nature.
.... There was Simiramis, killing a tiger, and by her side her
husband Ninus, piercing his spear through a lion.' Glazed tiles had,
however, fallen into comparative disuse before the rise of the Saracens,
and it was undoubtedly the conquests of Ghingiz Khan, a.d. 1206—
1227, which extended their general use throughout the nations of Islam.
The glazed pottery of the Panjab and Sind probably dates from this
period, and as wo shall presently see, was directly influenced by the
traditions surviving in Peria of the ancient civilisations of Nineveh
and Babylon. It is found in the shape of drinking-cups and water-
bottles (cf. pot, and Latin poto, I drink), jars, bowls, plates, and
dishes of all shapes and sizes, and of tiles, pinnacles for the tops of
domes, pierced windows, and other architectural accessories. In form,
the bowls, and jars, and vases may be classified as egg-shaped,
turban, melon, and onion-shaped, in the latter the point rising and
widening out gracefully into the neck of the vase. They are glazed in
turquoise, of the most perfect transparency, or in a rich dark purple,


188
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
or dark green, or golden brown. Sometimes they are diapered all
over by the pdtesur-pdte method, with a conventional flower, the
seventi, or lotus, of a lighter colour than the ground. Generally they
are ornamented with the universal knop and flower pattern, in com-
partments formed all round the bowl, by spaces alternately left un-
coloured and glazed in colour. Sometimes a wreath of the knop and
flower pattern is simply painted round the bowl on a white ground.
"Mr. Drury Fortnum, in his report on the pottery at the Inter-
national Exhibition of 1871, observes of the Sind pottery:—' The
turquoise blue painted on a paste beneath a glaze, which might have
been unearthed in Egypt or Phoenicia—a small bottle painted in blue
or white—is of the same blood and bone as the ancient wares of
Thebes. . . . But the tiles are very important They are in
general character similar to, although not so carefully made as, the
Oriental tiles known as Persian, which adorn the old mosques of
Egypt, Syria, Turkey, and Persia The colours used upon
them are rich copper green, a golden brown, and dark and turquoise
blue. . . . The antiquary, the artist, and the manufacturer will do
well to study these wares. As in their silk and woollen fabrics, their
metal-work, and other manufactures, an inherent feeling for and a
power of producing harmony in the distribution of colour and in
surface decoration exists among the Orientals, which we should study
to imitate, if not to copy. It is not for Europeans to establish schools
of art, in a country the productions of whose remote districts are a
school of art in themselves, far more capable of teaching than of being
taught.'
"It is a rare pleasure to the eye to see in the polished corner of a
native room one of these large turquoise blue sweetmeat jars on a fine
Kirman rug of minimum red ground, splashed with dark blue and
yellow. But the sight of wonder is, when travelling over the plains of
Persia or India, suddenly to come upon an encaustic-tiled mosque. It
is coloured all over in yellow, green, blue, and other hues; and as a
distant view of it is caught at sunrise, its stately domes and glittering
minarets seem made of purest gold, like glass, enamelled in azure and
green, a fairy-like apparition of inexpressible grace and most enchant-
ing splendour.
"The enamelled pottery of Sind and the Panjab is a sumptuary and
not a village art, and is probably not older than the time of Ginghiz
Khan. In all the Imperial Mughal cities of India where it is practised,


MULTAN AND SIND.
189
especially in Lahore and Delhi, the tradition is that it was introduced
from China, through Persia, by the Afghan Mongols, through the
influence of Tamerlane's Chinese wife; and it is stated by indepen-
dent European authorities that the beginning of ornamenting the
walls of mosques with coloured tiles in India was contemporary with
the Mongol conquest of Persia. But in Persia the ancient art of
glazing earthenware had come down in an almost unbroken tradition
from the period of the greatness of Chaldaea and Assyria, and the
name kasi, by which the art is known in Persia and India, is probably
the same Semitic word, has, glass, by which it is known in Arabic
and Hebrew, and carries us back direct to the manufacture of glass
and enamels, for which 'great Zidon' was already famous 1,500
years before Christ. The pillar of emerald in the temple of Melcarth,
at Tyre, which Herodotus describes as shining brightly in the night,
'can,' observes Kendrick, 'hardly have been anything else than a
hollow cylinder of green glass, in which, as a Gades, a lamp burnt
perpetually.' The designs used for the decoration of this glazed
pottery in Sind and the Panjab also go to prove how much it has
been influenced by Persian examples, and the Persian tradition of the
ancient art of Nineveh and Babylon. The 'knop and flower'
pattern, which we all know in Greek art as the 'honeysuckle and
palmette ' pattern, appears in infinite variations on everything.
"The old glazed tiles to be seen in India are always from Mahom-
medan buildings, and they vary in style with the period to which the
buildings on which they are found belong; from the plain turquoise
blue tiles of the earlier Pathan period, a.d. 1193—1254, to the
elaborately designed and many-coloured tiles of the latter part of the
great Mughal period, a.d. 1556—1750. Wherever also the Muham-
madans extended their dominion they would appear to have developed
a local variety in these tiles.
"It is the vigorous drawing, and free, impulsive painting of this
"pottery which are among its attractions. The rapidity and accuracy
of the whole operation is constant temptation to the inexperienced
bystander to try a hand at it himself. You feel the same temptation
;n looking on at any native artificer at his work. His artifice appears
co be so easy, and his tools are so simple, that you think you could
do all he is doing quite as well yourself. You sit down and try.
You fail, but will not be beaten, and practise at it for days with all
your English energy, and then at last comprehend that the patient


MULT AN AND SIND.
191
From Multan to Karachi by the Indus Valley Railway is 611 miles.
The time occupied on the journey by the mail-train is twenty-six and
a half hours. Siud does not present great attractions to the general
tourist, but as Karachi has, since the opening of the railway, become
an important port for the arrival and departure of European passenger-
steamers, this book would not fulfil its purpose if all information was
omitted concerning the various points of interest on the line of
railway.
The first place of any importance is Bahawalpur, the capital of a
native state of the same name, on the western border of Rajputana,
and on the edge of the vast sandy desert which stretches across to
Bikaneer. The area of the state is 16,000 square miles, and the
population 573,000. The nawab is an intelligent young prince, thirty
years of age, ranking next to the Maharaja of Patiala on the list of
Panjab chiefs.
The city of Bahawalpur has a population of about 15,000. It is
surrounded by a wall four miles in circuit. The nawab's palace is a
huge square pile, with towers at each corner. The great reception
hall is sixty feet long, and fifty-six feet high; the vestibule of the
palace is 120 feet high, and from the summit an extensive view may
be had across the vast Bikaneer Desert.
Ruk Junction is the station for the Sind-Pishin Railway to Quetta.
It has always been a regret to me that I have not been able during
either of my journeys through India to visit Quetta and the Afghan
frontier. My readers, however, are gainers thereby, as they have the
advantage of the experience of one of the greatest authorities on
Indian frontier questions—the Hon. George N. Curzon, M.P., who
has been so kind as to condense his experience into the last chapter of
this volume, where the traveller will find all the information he
requires.
Larkhana is a busy town in the midst of the most fertile tract of
arid Sind. There is nothing of special interest except an old fort and
tomb, and the irrigation works.
Sehwan has a population of about 5,000, a large number of whom
are professional beggars, supported by the charity of pilgrims to the
great shrine of Lal Shahbaz, an old Musalman saint, whose tomb,
dating back to 1356 a.d., is a beautiful specimen of encaustic tile-
work. The fort is one of the most interesting relics in India, having
been built by Alexander the Great. It is a huge artificial mound


192
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
about 250 feet high, the summit of which is about 1,500 feet by 800,
surrounded by a dilapidated wall; the remains of several towers are
visible. Sehwan is probably the most ancient place in Sind. There
is a good Dak bungalow.
A few miles from Sehwan is Manchhar Lake, which, when the
Indus is in full flood, covers an area of twenty miles by ten, but in
the dry season shrinks to about half its size. The space left by the
receding water yields splendid crops of wheat and other cereals. The
lake is full of fine fish, twelve or fifteen varieties, affording employ-
ment to hundreds of fishermen, who spear
the fish, as the lake is too weedy for
nets. The Government take one-third of
the catch as royalty. During the winter
months the lake swarms with every kind
of waterfowl.
Rohri and Sukkur are two towns on
opposite sides of the Indus, with the
Island of Bukkur lying between.
The Jama Masjid at Rohri was built
about 1570 a.d.; it is a fine building of
red brick, with handsome domes. The
whole surface is covered with glazed
encaustic tiles. The Idgah Masjid dates
from 1593, and the War Mubarak, a
building about twenty-five feet square,
was erected by Prince Mir Muhammad, for the reception of a hair
from the beard of the Prophet. This hair is set in amber, and
enclosed in a gold case studded with precious stones. Rohri is
very picturesque, many of the older houses being lofty brick build-
ings, whose flat roofs are surrounded by balustrades. The town is
built on the top of a precipitous rock forty feet high, overhanging
the river. There are some important irrigation works here, with
powerful sluice gates, feeding a series of canals, which have cost
over a million sterling. Sukkur is a modern town of no interest
beyond the busy life of the river bank, crowded with river boats and
steamers.
Five miles from Rohri is the ruined city of Aror, formerly the
capital of the Hindu Raja of Sind, built on the old banks of the Indus.
There is a fine old mosque in good preservation among the ruins, and

AT ROHRI.


MULTAN AND SIND.
193
a curious cave sacred to the goddess Kalka Devi, much resorted to by
pilgrims.
Bukkur is a fortified island, composed of a great limestone rock
800 yards by 300 wide. The fortress covers the whole area of the
island, which is surrounded by a double wall thirty feet wide. It has
an ancient history, and has been fought for incessantly by rival states.
There are two very pretty islands north and south of Bukkur, beati-
fully wooded, called Jind Pir, and Sadh Bela, on which are venerable
and very holy shrines. A good steam ferry plies between Sukkur and
Rohri.
Kotri is the station for Haidarabad, the capital of Sind, which is
reached by steam ferry, and a short drive of three miles. Kotri has
a population of about 10,000, and is practically the terminus of the
downward traffic of the river Indus. The bank presents a lively
scene, crowded with river craft of every kind, loading or discharging
their various cargoes. Railway sidings are laid down to the river
brink in zig-zags, so constructed as to do their work however low or
high may be the river's level. The railway has greatly diminished the
importance of Kotri.
Haidarabad is the old capital of Sind, with a population of 50,000.
It is approached from the river by a very beautiful avenue of
trees, and the town itself is finely placed on the hills of the Ganjo
range, a site of great natural strength. The fort was a strong place
when it was built, more than 100 years ago, but it has no modern
improvements. It contains the arsenal of the province. It is irregular
in shape, following the natural shape of the rock, surrounded by a
Persian spear-head battlement, and approached by a bridge over a deep
trench, leading to an intricate gateway. The whole building is very
picturesque both as a whole, and in its details. The mosques,
barracks and other buildings, which originally filled the interior, have
all disappeared, with the exception of the palace of Mir Nasir Khan,
now used by the commissioner as a residence. The "painted
chamber" in this palace is a curious specimen of Indian decorative
art. A splendid view is obtained from the massive circular tower that
was the treasure-house of the Amirs of Sind.
On a hill near the city is a famous Musalman shrine dedicated to a
saint, one Shah Makkai, a place of great resort for pious Moslem
pilgrims. The Green Mosque is an interesting but dilapidated ruin-
The tombs of Gulam Shah Kalhora and those of the Talpur family
o


MULT AN AND SIND.
195
are just beyond the market place of new Haidarabad. They are ex-
ceedingly beautiful mausoleums, of yellow marble, with finely carved
and pierced windows, roofed with encaustic tiles. The old bazar
clusters round the gateway of the fort, and is a busy scene full of life
and trade. Many of the shops and merchant's houses are very quaint.
The silver tissues of Haidarabad are noted all over India, and there is
also a large manufacture of embroideries in silk and gold. In the
days of the Amirs, this city was also famous for its enamelling and
damascene work, chiefly employed in the decoration of swords, match-

THE GREEN MOSQUE, HAIDARABAD.
locks and other weapons. There are still interesting survivals in
the bazar, and some fine specimens of enamelling on gold and
silver may be obtained. They are, however, inferior to those of
Jaipur, Partabgarh, and other Rajput enamels. There is also a con-
siderable amount of seal-engraving carried on, and if the traveller is
remaining a day or two, he may bring away as a memento a carnelian
or silver seal, with his name engraved on it in Persian or Arabic,
mounted on an enamel handle. The jewellery of Haidarabad is
similar to that prevalent throughout the Panjab, and is mostly gold
and silver. Solid silver torques, anklets and bracelets, of a severe
style of rectangular construction and ornamentation are the usual
forms.
o 2


196
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
The best of the lacquered wooden and papier mache boxes and trays,
now so familiar in English fancy shops, are largely made at Haidara-
bad. They are produced by laying variously-coloured lac in succession

OLD PAVILION, TATTA.
on the boxes, while turning on the lathe, and then cutting the design
through the various colours. Other work is simply etched and painted
with hunting scenes, natural or conventional flowers, animals, birds.
&c., and then varnished. Furniture, such as chairs, and the legs of
bedsteads are often lacquered in this way.


MULT AN AND SIND.
197
Haidarabad is a hot and dusty place, the average rain-fall in the year
being only six inches.
Tatta is twelve miles from Jungchahi. It is a decaying and un-

I facture of the Tatta lungia or scarves,
well known as among the best specimens of this class of loom work.
They are thick, rich, variegated fabrics of cotton and silk. The
only antiquities of any note at Tatta are Musalman. There is a series
of remarkable tombs of the governors of Sind under the Mogul
dynasty, built of brick and decorated with encaustic tiles in the


198
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
Persian style, of great beauty of pattern and exquisite harmony of
colouring. These tombs date from a.d. 1500 to 1650, and are well
worth a visit (See Fergusson, page 567). They are on the Makli hills,
a mile from the town, and are undoubtedly the work of Persian
artizans. They are all grouped behind an immense Idgah mosque.
Some of them are built of yellow marble, carved with flowers and
other decorations in low relief, and covered with domes of brilliant
tiles. They are scattered over a vast cemetery six square miles in
extent, said to contain a million tombs, and to have been a sacred
burial ground for over twelve centuries.
The Jama Masjid is in the centre of the town. It was built by
Shah Jahan a.d. 1647 and finished by Aurangzeb. It is a magnificent
ruin 315 feet long and 190 feet wide, of brick, with a great central
stone arch. The 100 domes with which the roof is surmounted
are painted in different colours. The interior is beautifully coated
with encaustic, the delicacy and harmony of the colours being very
perfect.
Kalyan Kot is a venerable brick fortress, much dilapidated, ascribed
to Alexander the Great. All that can be said on this point, however,
is, that it was built before the invention of cannon. It is a curious
old place, full of quaint ruins, the abode of countless pigeons.
Karachi is a brand-new English seaport of about 90,000 inhabitants,
which of late years, owing to the Indus Valley railway, has become a
place of great importance, drawing most of the traffic from the
Panjab away from Bombay. The distance by rail from Lahore
being 820 miles, as compared with 1,304 from Lahore to Bombay.
The rival ports meet at Saharanpur, so far as railway traffic is
concerned.
In 1844, the first year of British rule, the trade of Karachi was only
£122,000; in 1856 it had reached £1,235,000, and in 1889 its total
was no less than £5,390,000. The town is handsomely built and well
laid out, but apart from the interest of a great and thriving Indian
seaport, it offers no attractions to the traveller. The British India
Company run frequent steamers from Karachi to Bombay, a distance
of 808 miles, and a voyage of three days.
The Sind stations of the Church Missionary Society are at Sukkur,
llaidarabad, and Karachi, and they are also represented at Quetta and
Bhawalpur.


CHAPTEE XIV.
AGRA.


j GRA is the second city in the North-West Pro-
vinces, both in size and importance. Its popu-
lation in 1881 was 100,000. It is finely situated
on a great bend of the River Jumna, which is
crossed by a fine railway bridge of sixteen spans
of 142 feet each, and further up by a clumsy bridge of boats. The
famous Fort is placed in the angle of the peninsula formed by this
bend, on the very edge of the river, which in the rainy season, washes
the base of its walls.
The old walls of the city encircle about eleven square miles, about
one half of which is covered with houses. Agra is a well-built town,
with a large number of thriving citizens, whose houses are better and
handsomer than those of other cities of the North-West.
It is, without doubt, the most interesting place in all India. It
marks, as no other city does, the crowning period of the Great Mogul
Dynasty, which, beginning with Baber the Lion, sixth in descent from
Timour the Tartar, has sat upon the throne of Delhi till it was finally
cut off by Hodson in the tomb of Humayun, after the siege of Delhi.
Akbar the Great removed the seat of his government from Delhi to


PICTURESQUE INDIA.
Agra, and in 1566 built the noble Sandstone Fort, whose red battle-
ments stand uninjured to the present day.
The following is a brief summary of the history of Agra, from Sir
W. W. Hunter's "Imperial Gazetteer of India."
"Before the time of Akbar, Agra had been a residence of the
Lodi kings, whose city, however, lay on the left or eastern bank of
the Jumna. Traces of its foundations may still be noticed opposite
the modern town. Babar occupied its old palace after his victory
over Ibrahim Khan in 1526; and when, a year later, he defeated the
Rajput forces near Fatehpur Sikri, and securely established the
Mughal supremacy, he took up his permanent residence at this place.
Here he died in 1530, but his remains were removed to Kabul, so
that no mausoleum preserves his memory amongst the tombs of the
dynasty whose fortunes he founded for a second time. His son
Humayun was for a time driven out of the Ganges valley by Sher
Shah, the rebel Afghan governor of Bengal, and after his re-esta-
blishment on the throne he fixed his court at Delhi. Humayun was
succeeded by his son Akbar, the great organiser of the imperial
system. Akbar removed the seat of government to the present Agra,
which he founded on the right bank of the river, and built the fort
in 1566. Four years later he laid the foundations of Fatehpur Sikri,
and contemplated making that town the capital of his empire, but
was dissuaded, apparently, by the superior advantages of Agra, situated
as it was on the great waterway of the Jumna. From 1570 to 1600
Akbar was occupied with his conquests to the south and east; but in
1601 he rested from his wars, and returned to Agra, where he died
four years later. During his reign the palaces in the fort were com-
menced, and the gates of Chittor were set up at Agra. The Emperor
Jahangir succeeded his father, whose mausoleum he built at Sikandra.
He also erected the tomb of his father-in-law, Itmad-ud-daula, on the
left bank of the river, as well as the portion of the palace in the fort
known as the Jahangir Mahal. In 1618 he left Agra and never
returned. Shah Jahan was proclaimed emperor at Agra in 1628, and
resided here from 1632 to 1637. It is to his reign that most of the
great architectural works in the fort must bo referred, though doubtless
many of them had been commenced at an earlier date. The Moti
Masjid, or Pearl Mosque—the Jama Masjid, or Great Mosque—and
the Khas Mahal, were all completed under this magnificent emperor.
The Taj Mahal, generally allowed to be the most exquisite piece of


AGRA.
201
Muhammadan architecture in the world, commemorates his wife,
Mumtaz-i-Mahal. In 1658 Shah Jahan's fourth son, Aurangzeb,
rebelled and deposed him; but the ex-emperor was permitted to live
in imperial state, but in confinement, at Agra for seven years longer.
After his death Agra sank for a while to the position of a provincial
city, as Aurangzeb removed the seat of government permanently to
Delhi. It had often to resist the attacks of the turbulent Jats during
the decline of the Mughals; and in 1764 it was actually taken by the
Bhartpur forces under Suraj Mall and the Swiss renegade Walter
Rernhardt, better known by his native name of Samru. In 1770 the
Marathas ousted the Jats, and were themselves driven out by the
imperial troops under Najaf Khan four years later. Najaf Khan then
resided in the city for many years with great state as imperial minister.
After his death in 1779 Muhammad Beg was governor of Agra; and
in 1784 he was besieged by the forces of the Emperor Shah Alam,
and Madhuji Sindhia, the Maratha prince. Sindhia took Agra and
held it till 1787, when he was in turn attacked by the imperial troops
under Jhulam Kadir and Ismail Beg. The partisan General de
Boigne raised the siege by defeating them near Fatehpur Sikri in
June 1788. Thenceforward the Marathas held the fort till it was
taken by Lord Lake in October 1803. From this time it remained a
British Frontier fortress, and in 1835 the seat of the government for
the North-Western Provinces was moved here from Allahabad.
"The English rule continued undisturbed until the Mutiny of 1857.
News of the outhreak at Meerut reached Agra on the 11th of May,
and the fidelity of the native soldiers at once became suspected. On
the 30th of May two companies of the Native Infantry, belonging to
the 44th and 67th regiments, who had been despatched to Muttra to
escort the treasure into Agra, proved mutinous, and marched off to
Delhi. Next morning their comrades were ordered to pile arms, and
sullenly obeyed; most of them then quietly retired to their own
homes. The mutiny at Gwalior took place on the 15th of June, and
it became apparent immediately that the Gwalior contingent at Agra
would follow the example of their countrymen. On the 3rd of July
the Government found it necessary to retire into the fort. Two days
later the Nimach (Neemuch) and Nasirabad (Nusserabad) rebels
advanced towards Agra, and were met by the small British force at
Sucheta. Our men were compelled to retire after a brisk engage-
ment, and the mob of Agra, seeing the English troops unsuccessful,


202
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
rose at once, plundered the city, and murdered every Christian,
European or native, upon whom they could lay their hands. The
blaze of the bungalows was seen by our retreating troops even before
they reached the shelter of the fort; the mutineers, however, moved
on to Delhi without entering the town, and on the 8th partial order
was restored in Agra. During the months of June, July, and
August, the officials remained shut up in the fort, though occasional
raids were made against the rebels in different directions. The
Lieutenant-Governor of the North-Western Provinces (John Colvin),
the seat of whose government lay at Agra, was one of the officers
thus shut up. Ho died during those months of trouble, and his tomb
now forms a graceful specimen of Christian sculpture within the fort
of the Mughals. After the fall of Delhi in September, the fugitives
from that city, together with the rebels from Central India, advanced
against Agra on October 6th. Meanwhile Colonel Greathed's column
from Delhi entered the city without the knowledge of the mutineers,
who unsuspectingly attacked his splendid force, and were repulsed,
after a short contest, which completely broke up their array. Agra
was immediately relieved from all danger, and the work of recon-
stituting the district went on unmolested. The Government con-
tinued to occupy the former capital until February, 1858, when it
removed to Allahabad, which was considered a superior military
position. Since that time Agra has become, for administrative
purposes, merely the head-quarters of a division and district; but the
ancient capital still maintains its natural supremacy as the finest city
of Upper India, while the development of the railway system, of which
it forms a great centre, is gradually rendering it once more the com-
mercial metropolis of the North-West."
The European quarter of Agra lies to the west of the city, beyond
Laurie's Hotel, and contains the barracks of the garrison, the church,
Havelock's memorial chapel, the judges' court, the Government college,
and some handsome bungalows, all scattered through well-timbered
maidans. The Catholic mission and orphanage is worth a visit,
being one of the oldest missionary foundations in India, going back to
the time of Akbar. Behind the mission is the old European cemetery,
in which have been buried successive generations of Christians, some
of the inscriptions being nearly 300 years old.
In viewing the city from the other side of the river, the great
central object is the huge crenellated fortress of sandstone, with its


AGRA.
vast red walls and flanking defences surrounded by the white marble
domes and towers of its Royal Palace. This stupendous fort, im-
pregnable at the time it was built, is a mile and a half in circuit,
its frowning walls being 70 feet in height. During the mutiny in
1857, it sheltered within the walls of its barracks and palaces the
whole European and Christian population of Agra and the district
round, over 5000 in number. It commands the whole town, and also
dominates every possible approach by the river. The enceinte is a
later work, supposed to be by Shah Jahan.
The only entrance to the Fort is by the Delhi Gate, a splendid

DELHI GATE, AGRA FORT.
building of red sandstone, reached by a drawbridge which spans the
wide moat. Passing through this gateway, which is guarded by tall
Sikhs, a winding road mounts to the long flight of steps which leads
to the entrance of the famous Moti Masjid, or pearl mosque, the
private chapel of the court of the Mughal Emperors, occupying much
the same relative position to the great palace of Agra as St. George's
Chapel does to Windsor Castle. When the doors of the gateway are
thrown open, the dazzling whiteness of this lovely mosque, standing
in the full blaze of the noon-day sun, is simply blinding, and can only
be seen through coloured glasses. Against the pure azure of the
cloudless Indian sky, "all sapphire and snow," stands a corridor of
three rows of beautifully-proportioned Saracenic columns and arches,


PICTURESQUE INDIA.
roofed over with a row of exquisite cupolas, crowned by three lofty
domes. These three aisles stand open to a great court-yard, surrounded
by cloisters, formed by fifty-eight slender twelve-sided pillars on
square bases, with a large fountain, or tank for ablutions, in the
centre. Court-yard, cloisters, corridors, cupolas, windows and domes
are all alike of the most beautiful white marble, enriched with fine
carving in low relief. The mosque itself, i.e., the three arched
corridors, is 142 feet long by fifty-six feet deep, the courtyard being
100 feet wide from mosque to gateway. At each end of the mosque
are marble screens of floriated tracery; the columns, arches, and
vaults, exquisitely decorated, intersecting one another with infinite
grace and beauty when viewed from the outer corners. The Moti
Masjid was built by Shah Jahan in 1654, and the only ornament not
strictly architectural is an inscription in black marble, inlaid in the
frieze of the mosque. This inscription tells us that the mosque may
be likened to a precious pearl, for no other in the world is lined
throughout with marble. The gateway is exceedingly beautiful, and
must not be overlooked in the dazzling beauty of the mosque. During
the occupation of the fort by the British refugees at the time of
the Mutiny, the pearl mosque was used as a hospital.
A few minutes' walk from the Moti Masjid brings us to the great
square of the Fort, flanked on one side by the Diwan-i-Am, or public
audience hall, built by Aurangzeb in 1685, 192 feet long by 64
feet wide, the roof being supported by a succession of colonnades
of red sandstone, covered with plaster and painted white and gold. In
the centre of this hall is a curious alcove of marble, inlaid with
mosaics of precious stones, within which the Emperor sat, watching
the administration of justice in the court immediately beneath him.
Here the Prince of Wales, the future Emperor of a vaster India
than that of the Great Mughal, held a durbar, or public reception of
native princes and nobles, during his visit to India in 1876.
The great square, now cumbered up with ugly British buildings,
was where the Emperors held their jousts—elephant fights, and other
sports of the period, the public being admitted to the cloisters which
still surround three sides of it.
Passing through a small door at the back of the alcove within the
Diwan-i-Am, a flight of steps leads into what is undoubtedly the most
beautiful and unique monument of Saracenic art, the succession of
buildings which form the palace of Shah Jahan.


AGRA.
205
The quadrangle first entered is the Machhi Bhawan, or Fish-
square. A corridor runs all round, except on the side facing the river,
where there is a wide terrace. From this terrace there is a splendid
view of the Taj Mahal, reflected in the glassy surface of the Jumna.
On the north side of the square is a small white marble mosque, which
was reserved as a private chapel for the Emperor and his family.
This dainty miniature house of prayer is entirely made of the finest
and purest marble without gilding or inlaying of any sort. It is
perfect in its way. The brass-pierced doorways are made from guns
captured bj Akbar at Chitor. Further on the same side of the

TERRACE OF THE MACHHI BHAWAN, AGRA FORT.
square, are a succession of apartments used by the court officials.
Returning to the west side, passing the entrance door, two or three
small chambers contain some chairs and a marble throne, relics of past
Emperors. On the south side is a raised platform with a marble
canopy, from which the courtiers used to angle, when the tank below,
now dry and grass-grown, was full of clear water stocked with gold
and silver fishes. On the terrace over the river, is a black throne,
with a white seat opposite. The crack in the black throne is said to
have occurred when the throne was usurped by a Jat invader.
At the south end of the terrace is the Diwan-i-Khas, or hall of
private audience, consisting of two corridors, sixty-four feet long,
thirty-four broad, and twenty-two feet high, built in 1637. There is
nothing in India excelling the exquisite low relief carving of this
building. The decoration of the pillars and walls is "pietra dura."


2o6
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
Most of this has been finely restored at the cost of Earl Northbrook,
who found it much dilapidated by Indian and British Vandals.
Descending a few steps a two-storied marble pavilion is reached,
surmounting one of the circular bastions on the river face, which
possesses an unrivalled elegance and refinement, forming one of the
most picturesque features of this marvellous palace. This is called
the Saman Burj, or Jasmine tower, and is said to have been the
boudoir of the chief sultana. The terrac" in front is marked out in
divisions of grey and white marble, and was used for playing paehisi,
a kind of magnified draughts. Beyond this are a series of charming
apartments, overlooking the Jumna, leading to the Khas Mahal, a
small pavilion of white marble, the walls and ceiling of which were
once richly gilt and coloured. A corner of the decoration has been
recently restored. This pavilion opens out into the Anguri Bagh, the
pretty garden of the Zenana, a fine quadrangle some 300 feet square.
This is surrounded by various buildings, once devoted to the ladies of
the Hareem, the most curious of which is the Shish Mahal, or palace
of glass, an oriental bath, the walls and ceiling of which are decorated
with thousands of small, circular, convex mirrors arranged in intricate
patterns.
In another room are preserved the celebrated gates of Somnath,
double emblems of conquest: firstly, when Mahmud of Ghazni carried
them off from Somnath in Gujerat in the 11th century; and, secondly,
when they were brought back as a trophy from Ghazni 800 years
afterwards, and paraded through Northern India by a victorious
British army. It is to be feared that our trophy is but a clumsy
forgery, or, at best, the gates of Mahmud's sepulchre. It is even
doubted if Mahmud ever took away any gates from Somnath at all.
Archaeologists, now-a-days, leave us none of our cherished myths.
An Afghan horse-shoe, nailed on the middle of one of the doors, shows
how wide-spread and venerable is the old superstition of luck
connected therewith.
On the south side of the garden is a doorway leading to the oldest
buildings within the Fort, the Jahangir Mahal, built during Akbar's
reign as private apartments for the prince, his successor. These are
built of red sandstone. The entrance gateway is exceptionally fine.
The facade of the palace is decorated with relieving lines of white
marble; the two inner courts, one of which is seventy feet square, aro
very massive, with carved brackets that at one time supported a


AGRA.
209
hanging on them. Below there was nothing to be seen but great
silken tapestries, very rich, of an extraordinary length and breadth.
In the court there was set abroad a curtain tent, as long and large as
the hall, and more. It was joined to the hall by the upper part, and
reached almost as far as to the middle of the court: meantime it was
all inclosed by a great balistre covered with plates of silver. It was
supported by three pillars, being of the thickness and height of a
barge-mast, and by some lesser ones, and they all were covered with
plates of silver. It was red from without, and lined within with those
tine chittes, or cloth painted by a pencil of Masulipatam, purposely
wrought and contrived with such vivid colours, and flowers so
naturally drawn, of a hundred several fashions and shapes, that one
would have said it was a hanging parterre. Thus was the great hall
of the Am-kas adorned and set out. As to those arched galleries which
I have spoken of that are round about the courts, each Omrah had
received order to dress one of them at his own charges; and, they now
striving who should make his own most stately, there was seen nothing
but purfled gold above and beneath, and rich tapestries under foot."
From every window and terrace of the palace fortress at Agra, the view
closes in with the shining domes and minarets of the sublimely beautiful
tomb erected by Shah Jahan over the body of his beloved wife, Arjamand
Banu, who died giving birth to her eighth child. It was completed
a. d. 1648. The famous Taj Mahal is probably the most renowned
building in the world. Like that other great tomb, the Pyramid of
Cheops, the enjoyment of its wondrous loveliness is marred by the
recollection that it was built by forced labour, and reared on thp
lives of hundreds of its makers. 20,000 workmen were employed for
seventeen years in building and decorating the Taj Mahal. They were
half starved, and their families wholly starved, producing great distress
and mortality. The total cost is estimated at over £4,000,000 sterling.
The road to the Taj from Agra passes the ruins and debris of many
ancient palaces, and leads up to a superb gateway of red sandstone,
inlaid with floral designs and passages from the Koran in white
marble. This gateway is, in itself, one of the most beautiful
buildings in all India. The roof is adorned with Moorish cuspcd
arches, kiosks, and pavilions. A magnificent view of the Taj itself,
with its surrounding gardens and the Jumna flowing beyond, is
obtained from the roof. Passing through this splendid entrance,
which is 140 feet high and 110 feet wide, and pausing on the top of a





AGRA.
211
flight of wide steps, the eye travels down an avenue of sombre
cypresses, the floor of which is a long tank of white marble, covered
with water about a foot deep, and reaching away for 300 or 400 yards.
This lovely vista closes in with a vaet dome of white marble, posed on
a building whose perfect symmetry and absolute finish of every detail,
Hashes like some priceless jewel in the glorious blue setting of the
Indian noon-day sky. Words are worthless in describing a building
which, as a whole—whether in its details, its surroundings, its
exterior, or its interior—is absolutely faultless.
The enclosure in which the Taj is placed is a great garden in which
orange and lemon trees, pomeloes, pomegranates, palms, flowering
shrubs and trees, with marble fish ponds and fountains, speak of the
East in every whisper of their leaves and plash of their waters. This
garden is a third of a mile square, surrounded by a wall of rich
beauty. The marble-paved avenue of cypresses runs through its
entire length, closed at one end with the dazzling white tomb, and at
the other with the rich red gateway. The Taj Mahal is 186 feet
square, and 220 feet high to the top of the dome. It is raised upon
a plinth of white marble 313 feet square, and 18 feet above the
level of the garden. At each corner of the plinth stand four tapering
minarets 137 feet high. At each side of the Taj, 400 feet back
across a great court flagged with marble, are splendid mosques of red
sandstone richly decorated with mosaics of white marble, topped with
three marble domes, only inferior in beauty to that of the Taj itself.
These mosques are among the finest in India, and are apt to be over-
looked in the all-entrancing beauty of the tomb to which they are comple-
mentary. I never saw a prettier picture than a picnic party of thirty
or forty Hindus in every variety of bright holiday attire, grouped
against the sunlit brightness of the marble pavement of the yard in
front of one of these mosques.
Inside the Taj the emperor Shah Jahan and his beloved queen lie
buried side by side in marble tombs, inlaid with rich gems, lighted
by double screens of white marble trellis-work of the most exquisite
design and workmanship, one on the outer, the other on the inner
face of the walls. In England a building thus lighted would be
gloomy and dark; under the blazing sun of India it only tempers a
glare that would otherwise be intolerable, while giving light enough
to seo the infinite lace-like details of the wonderful screen of open
tracery surrounding the cenotaphs.
v 2


212
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
The Taj is even more beautiful in the silver dress of moonlight than
in the golden robes of the noonday sun. By day or night alike it
makes an impression on the memory that nothing can obliterate.
Many hours may be spent in studying the details of the decoration
if the Taj and its adjacent buildings. The lower walls and panels are
rovered with tulips, oleanders, lilies, and other flowers carved in low
relief on the white marble. The pietra dura inlaying is equal to
tha finest Florentine, and is probably the work of a European artist,
Austin of Bordeaux. The whiteness of the great mass of marble is
tlius broken with carving and inlaid flowers done in precious stones,
combined in wreaths, scrolls, and frets. These are brilliant enough

i
1
SI
A PANEL OF THE TAJ.
when looked at closely, but at a distance blend and tone the white-
ness, giving a delicate suggestion of colour without losing the all-
prevailing sentiment of pearliness, quiet and calm.
I am so sensible of my own impotence to do any measure of justice
to this wonderful "dream in marble," that I have obtained permission
from the poet of India, Sir Edwin Arnold, to quote both a prose and
verse description from his ever facile pen:—
"the wonder of Agra and the 'Crown of the
World,' the Taj, the Peerless Tomb, built for the fair dead body of
Arjamand Banu Begum, by her lord and lover, the emperor Shah
Jahan. In truth, it is difficult to speak of what has been so often
described, the charm of which remains, nevertheless, quite in-
describable. As a matter of course, our first hours in Agra were
devoted to contemplation of that tender elegy in marble, which, by its
beauty, has made immortal the loveliness that it commemorates.


AGRA.
"3
The Tarter princes and princesses, from whom sprang the proud Lion
of the Moguls, were wont in their lifetime to choose a piece of
picturesque ground, to enclose it with high walls, embellish its
precincts with flower-beds and groves of shady trees, and to build
upon it a Bara-duri, a 'twelve-gated' Pleasure House, where they
took delight during the founder's life. When he died, the pavilion
became a mausoleum, and never again echoed with song and music.
Perhaps the fair daughter of Asuf-Khan, Shah Jahan's Sultana, had
loved this very garden in her life, for her remains were laid, at death,
in its confines, while the Emperor commissioned the best artificers of
his time to build a resting-place for her dust worthy of the graces of
mind and body which are recorded in the Persian verse upon her grave.
"In all the world no queen had ever such a monument. You
have read a thousand times all about the Taj; you know exactly—so you
believe—what to expect. There will be the gateway of red sandstone
with the embroidered sentences upon it from the 'Holy Book,' the
demi-vault inlaid with flowers and scrolls, then the green garden,
opening a long vista over marble pavements between masses of heavy
foliage and mournful pillars of the cypress, ranged like sentinels to
guard the solemnity of the spot. At the far end of this vista, beyond
the fountains and the marble platform, amid four stately white
towers, you know what a sweet and symmetrical dome will be
beheld, higher than its breath, solid and majestic, but yet soft and
delicate in its swelling proportions and its milk-white sheen. Pre-
pared to admire, you are also aware of the defects alleged against the
Taj, the rigidity of its outlines, the lack of shadow upon its unbroken
front and flanks, and the coloured inlaying, said to make it less a
triumph of architectural than of mosaic work, an illustration some-
what too striking and lavish of what is declared of the Moguls, that
they ' designed like giants, and finished like jewellers.' You deter-
mine to judge it dispassionately, not carried away by the remembrance
that twenty thousand workmen were employed for twenty-two years in
its construction, that it cost hard upon two millions pounds sterling,
and that gems and precious stones came in camel-loads from all parts
of the earth to furnish the inlayers with their material. Then you
pass beneath the stately portal—in itself sufficient to commemorate
the proudest of princesses—and as the white cupola of the Taj rises
before the gaze and reveals its beauty—grace by grace—as you pace
along the pavemented avenue, the mind refuses to criticise what


214
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
enchants the eye and fills the heart with a sentiment of reverence for
the royal love which could thus translate itself into alabaster. If it
be time of sunlight, the day is softened to perpetual afternoon by the
shadows cast from the palms and peepuls, the thuja trees, and the
pomegranates, while the hot wind is cooled by the scent of roses and
jasmine. If it be moonlight, the dark avenue leads the gaze
mysteriously to the soft and lofty splendour of that dome. In either
case, when the first platform is reached, and tho full glory of the
snow-white wonder comes into sight, one can no more stay to criticise
its details than to analyse a beautiful face suddenly seen. Admira-
tion, delight, astonishment, blend in the absorbed thought with a
feeling that human affection never struggled more ardently,
passionately, and triumphantly against the oblivion of death. There
is one sustained, harmonious, majestic sorrowfulness of pride in it,
from the verse on the entrance which says that 'the pure of heart
shall enter the Gardens of God,' to the small, delicate letters of
sculptured Arabic upon the tombstone, which tell, with a refined
humility, that Mumtaz-i-Mahal, the 'Exalted of the Palace,'lies here,
and that 'Allah alone is powerful.'
"The garden helps the tomb, as the tomb dignifies the garden.
It is such an orderly wilderness of rich vegetation as could only be
had in Asia, broad flags of banana belting the dark tangle of banyan
and bamboo, with the white pavements gleaming crosswise through
the verdure. Yet if the Taj rose amid the sands of a dreary desert,
the lovely edifice would beautify the waste, and turn it into a tender
parable of the desolation of death, and the power of love, which is
stronger than death. You paco round the four sides of the milk-
white monument, pausing to observe the glorious prospect over the
Indian plains, commanded from the platform on that face where
Jumna washes the foot of the wall. Its magnitude now astounds.
The plinth of the Taj is over 100 yards each way, and it lifts its
golden pinnacle 244 feet into the sky. From a distance this lovely
and aerial dome sits therefore above the horizon like a rounded cloud.
And having paced about it, and saturated the mind with its extreme
and irresistible loveliness, you enter reverently the burial-place of the
Princess Arjamand, to find the inner walls of the monument as much
a marvel of subtle shadow and chastened light, decked with delicate
jewellery, as the exterior was noble and simple. On tho pure surface
of this Hall of Death, and upon the columns, panels, and trellis-work



THE TAJ, AGRA. VIEWED FROM THE SUMMIT OF THE GATEWAY.


2I6
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
of the marble screens surrounding the tomb, are patiently inlaid all
sorts of graceful and elaborate embellishments — flowers, leaves,
berries, scrolls, and sentences—in jasper, coral, bloodstone, lapis-
lazuli, nacre, onyx, turquoise, sardonyx, and even precious gems.
Moreover, the exquisite Abode of Death is haunted by spirits as
delicate as their dwelling. They will not answer to rude noises, but
if a woman's voice be gently raised in notes of hymn or song, if a
chord is quietly sounded, echoes in the marble vault take up the
music, repeat, diversify, and amplify it with strange combinations of
melodious sounds, slowly dying away and re-arising, as if Israfil,
'who has the sweetest voice of all Allah's angels,' had set a guard of
his best celestial minstrels to watch the death-couch of Arjamand.
For under the beautiful screens and the carved trellis-work of
alabaster is the real resting-place of the 'Exalted One of the Palace.'
6he has the centre of the circular area, marked by a little slab of
snow-white marble; while by her side—a span loftier in height,
because he was a man and emperor, but not displacing her from the
pre-eminence of her grace and beauty—is the stone which marks the
/esting-spot of Shah Jahan, her lord and lover. He has immortalised,
if he could not preserve alive for one brief day, his peerless wife; yet
the pathetic moral of it all is written in a verse hereabouts from the
Hudees, or 'traditions.' It runs, after reciting the styles and titles
of ' His Majesty, King of Kings, Shadow of Allah, whose Court is as
Heaven':—' Saith Jesus (on whom be peace), This world is a bridge.'
past thou over it, but build not upon it! This world is one hour;
give its minutes to thy prayers; for the rest is unseen.'
For, through the vaulted door, opens to sight
A glorious garden—green, for ever green,
Since hither comes no harsh nor biting time
To strip the buds, but, all the warm year through.
The palms rise feathered, and the pipal-boughs
Whisper men's doings to the listening Gods
With watchful leaves; citrons and rose-apples
Keep their bright blossoms and their jewelled fruits,
And broad bananas flaunt their silken flags.
The spacious Pleasaunce shows on either hand
Dark verdant banks of various foliage —
Cooling the eyes, and quieting the heart—
With parterres interspersed, and rose-thickets,
And sheets of fiery Indian marigolds,
Moon-flowers, and shell-ilowers; crimson panoply


AGRA.
Of the silk-cottons, and soft lilac light
Where sunbeams sift through Bougainvilliers:
Pink oleander-sprays you mark, fig-blooms,
Stars of the champak, tulip-cups, and spikes
Of silver-studded aloes, with red gold
Of peacock-bushes, and fair deadly bells
Of white datura. What most holds the eye,
Leading it onward towards the sight of sights,
Is yon black avenue of thuja-trees
With cypress intermixed ranged, all the way,
On either border of the broad paved path,
Like sentinels of honour. From the gate
Straight to the threshold, of the Taj-Mahal
Those trees of mourning marshal you! Between
Gleams the paved way, laid smooth in slabs of white
River-like running through the banks of green;
And, on this middle pavement—all its length—
Wan water lies entanked, its crystal face
Rippled with gliding fish, and lotus-leaves
By the wind rocked, and rain of fountain-drops;
For—all its length—jets of thin silver dart
Into the Blue, and sparkle back to the Blue
Reflected in those marble-margined pools.
Led thus by sombre cypresses, and lines
Of dancing water-jets, and lilied tanks,
And glittering garden-causeway, the gaze lights
On that great Tomb, rising prodigious, still,
Matchless, perfect in form, a miracle
Of grace, and tenderness, and symmetry,
Pearl-pure against the sapphire of the sky
Enchanted, the foot follows the fixed gaze,
Which marks no more the garden'3 wealth, the poola,
The tall, dark sentry-trees, the shining path,
The enlaced and rustling bamboos, the plumed palms
With doves and sun-birds in their swinging crowns;
Only it dwells on that strange shape of grace
Instinct with loveliness—not masonry!
Not architecture! as all others are,
But the proud passion of an Emperor's love
Wrought into living stone, which gleams and soars
With body of beauty shrining soul and thought,
Insomuch that it haps as when some face
Divinely fair unveils before our eyes —
Some woman beautiful unspeakably—
And the blood quickens, and the spirit leaps,
And will to worship bends the half-yielded knees,
While breath forgets to breathe: so is the Taj;
You see it with the heart, before the eyes



J


AGRA.
Have scope to gaze. All white! snow-white! cloud-white I
Like a white rounded cloud seems that smooth domr
Seated so stately mid its sister-domes,
Waxing to waist, and waning to wan brow;
White, too, the minaret", like ivory towers,—
Four tall court ladies tending their Princess—
Set at the four shorn corners. Near and far
The garden clasps the Sanctuary in folds
Of rounded verdure; on its right and left
Rise fair two Musjids, chapels of the shrine,
Themselves in other spot majestical:
The one which looks to Mecca is for prayer,
This other, the Juwab—for symmetry—
Oilers a resting-house where men may sit
And hear the Bulbul singing to the Rose,
And talk of Arjamand, and Love and Death.
Behind the glorious Tomb a court, a wall,
A bank which drops to Jumna, and, beyond—
Over the river, where her emperor died— .
Lrindaban, and a hundred leagues of plain. )
f
Hushed, you advance—your gaze still fixed! heart, soul
Full of the wonder; drinking in its spell
Of purity and mystenr) its poise
Magical, weird, aerial; the ghost
Of Thought draped white—as if that Sultan's sigh
Had lived in issuing from his love and grief
Immense, and taken huge embodiment
Which one rash word might change from Tomb to Cloud.
r>ut mount the. first great platform—sandstone, red,
A thousand feet each way—and, coming nigh,
You shall perceive the sovereignty of this
Which utmost loveliness did somewhile hide.
Now grows the mighty greatness of the Taj
Plainer 1 'lis eighty feet of marble snow
From the embroidered fillet of yon Dome
To its gold Crownal, glittering in the sky
A hundred " yards of Akbar" from the ground.
Under that Saracenic entry-arch
These palms might grow, nor brush a topmost plume
Against the kcy-stc nc. Hence, too, shall you see
As if the Empress' self drew near, and near,
Till her blue veins showed, and her brows, and gems,
How opulent the unsullied marble spreads
With ornament, how decked with precious work
Of scroll and spray, volute and chasery,
And grave texts written clear in black and red
Inlaid upon the white; not marring it


220
PICTURESQUE INDIA
More than those blue veins mar a lady's neck;
More than her pencillings of lash and brow
Break totalness of spotless skin and limb.
Mount, now, this second stair, arriving so
On upper platform, paved with marble pale,
Each way three hundred feet. Here stands the Taj I
This is the snowy table-land wherefrom
Rises the House of snow, mountainous, pure,
As any topmost peak of Himalay!
A massy square; the angles shorn; each face
Pierced with a vaulted entrance, parted off
From too keen worship of the Sun—who loves
Arjamand's bed—from too direct a ray
Of Indian moonlight, by those panelled doors
Of lace-cut alabaster. Nearer draw
And note their wond'rous toil—the white rock wrought
To exquisite, entangled, tracery
Intricate-patterned j knit, like midnight dreams
Of some geometer, in governed curves
Cissoid, parabola, and lemniscate,
Rhombus, and rhomboid, cirque, trapezium,
Each absolute, if eye shall follow them;
Strong as cast steel, but delicate as veil
Of filmy web from Dacca's patient loom
Ten folds whereof left Akbar's daughter bare,
So that the Mogul cried: "Com'st thou unclad 1"
Thus by a hundred marble lattices
Passes the daylight to their place of rest,
Shorn of its glare ; but you—before you pass—
Note, too, this diaper-work of branch and leaf
On door-post, lintel, and long cornices;
And how the black embroidering lines and texts,
Strict marshalled from the Arab alphabet,
Serve the broad beauty of the pearly walla
For softening shadows, how the Finial—
Pointing with gold the moon-round cupola—
Crowns with thin crescent its fair-lifted swell;
How—near approached—faint stains and wandering veins
Show on the marble-azure, saffron, rose—
So that it hath not coldness, like to snow,
But in large purity, takes glad the sun,
And answers him with tender tint and glow,
As if the milky marble lived, indeed.
You enter, reverent:—for a Queen is here,
And the dead King who loved her; and Death's self
Who ends all—and begins all; and Love's might


AGRA.
Ml
/ Which greater is than Death, and heeds him not.
/ White! white! tenderly, softly, white—around,
/ Ahove, beneath, save that the praying floor
v Is laid in dark squares^md the architrave
Buns comely with adornings staid and script
Of Toghra text
• •••••
Four tombs
Of Princes and Princesses—kindred bones—
Surround the shrine; here, in the heart of all,
With chapels girdled, shut apart by screens,
The shrine's self stands. White, delicately whito!
White as the cheek of Mumtaz i-Mahal
When Shah Jahan let fall a king's tear there,
White as the breast her new babe vainly pressed
That ill day in the camp at Burhanpur,
The fair shrine stands, guarding two Cenotaphs:
For when the trumpet of Serafil blows,
They shall not rise herefrom; their happy dust
Sleeps in one earth beneath, where two plain stones,
Hers in the midst, and his—raised half a span
[For lordliness of sex and Empery]
But close beside it—mark their very graves.
This is but record of them, two Death-chests
O'er-flowered upon white marble with bright sprays
And coloured buds and blooms, posies of Death
Softly enamelled: on the Emperor's bier
The Kalamdan, noting a Mussulman
Dead in the Faith; on hers verses in black
Praising the name of Allah, and her name,
And when she lived and died—of all that time
The Glory, and the Cynosure, and PearL
All which rare work is over-canopied
With vaulted inner roof of milk-white blocks
Contracting, tier by tier, 'till far above,
A cap-stone shuts the canopy, so high
Those letters of the "Throne verse " cubit-long
Show like the little writing on a gem.
And ever, in the womb of that white roof,
Echoes sigh round and round, low murmurings,
Voices aerial, by a word evoked—
A foot-falL Yet it will not render back
111 noises, or a rude and scurril sound:
But if some woman's lips and gentle breath
Utter a strain, if some soft bar be played,
Some verse of hymn, or Indian love-lament,


2 2 2
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
Or chord of Seventh, the white walls listen close,
And take that music, and say note for note
Softly again; and then —echoing themselves—
Reverberate their melting antiphones,
Low waves of harmony encountering waves
And rippling on the rounded milky shores,
And making wavelets of new harmonies.
Thus—fainter, fainter—higher, higher—sighing
The music dieth upwards; hut so sweet,
So fine and far, and lingering at the last,
You cannot tell when Silence comes: the air,
Peopled by hovering Angels, still seems full
With stir celestial, with foldings down
Of pinions; and those heavenly parting notes
As tender, as if great Israfil's self—
Who hath the sweetest voice in all God's worlds—
Still whispered o'er the tomb of Arjamand 1
The milk-white marvel of this inner shrine
Is carved in Jali-work of tracery—
One panel of the tracery a slab
Five cubits every way, fretted and pierced
To marble gauze—so that the sunbeams, dimmed,
Steal, like gold twilight, to their mighty names
And show them well nigh as if whispering them.
But yet a greater wonder! for its sides—
Where the wan stone spreads whole—holds inlaid wealth
Of fair delicious fancies, wreath and sprig,
Blown tulip, and closed rose, lilies and vines,
All done in cunning finished jewellery
Of precious gems—jasper and lazulite,
Sardonyx, onyx, blood-stone, golden-stone,
Carnelian, jade, crystal, and chalcedony,
Turkis, and agate i and the berries and fruits
Heightened wjlj[?coral points and nacre-lights
r0j**wrlgle" spray set here with five-score stones^
fSo that this place of death is made a bower
With beauteous grace of blossoms overspread;
And she who loved her garden, lieth now
Lapped in a garden.
And all this for Love 1
A visit to the mausoleum of Prince Itmad-ud-Daulat provides *
pleasant morning's drive across the Jumna by the old bridge of boats;
a gay and busy scene, thronged with bull-carts from the country, the
gravelly banks of the river on each side crowded with washermen and


AGRA.
223
.water-carriers. The tomb of Itmad-ud-Daulat stands on the margin
of the river, a mile or so above the bridge. This prince was tho
father-in-law and prime minister of the Emperor Jahangir, and his
mausoleum i3 one of the most beautiful tombs in India, a masterpiece
of pierced and carved marble and pictra dura. It stands in a lovely
garden overhanging the river. It consists of two stories; the lower
.one is inlaid on the outside with precious stones in geometrical
patterns, diagonals, cubes, and stars. The numerous niches in tho

10MB OK ITMAD-UD-DAULAT.
walls are decorated with enamelled paintings of vases and flowers.
The principal entrance is a marble arch, groined, and finely carved
with flowers in low relief. The interior is decorated with brightly
coloured enamel paint. Tho upper story, surrounded by four towers,
is reached by a staircase; it consists of pillars of inlaid marble, and a
series of perforated marble screens stretching from pillar to pillar, tho
whole being roofed over with a canopy of marble.
The well-kept garden is entered by a great gateway of red sand-
stone. From the terrace, a fine extended view is obtained of the
River Jumna, and some amusement may be found in watching the


224
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
enormous turtles swimming about under the walls. Some of these
are four or five feet long, with great horny beaks; they have been
known to attack men swimming across the river, and pull them under
water.
There are one or two other tombs further up the river, worth
visiting, if the traveller has plenty of time on his hands. The most
interesting of these is the Chini-ka-Roza, or china tomb, so called
from its ornamentation, a sort of coarse enamelling on the plaster
which has a look of porcelain. It is the resting-place of Afzul Khan,
one of Jahangir's ministers of state.
The Eam Bagh, or Garden of Repose, close by, is extensive and
well kept. The patcbed-up palace on the edge of the river was the
residence of the Empress Nur Jahan, though it is doubtful if much of
the original building remains. It is said the Ram Bagh was first laid
out by Baber, the founder of the Moghul dynasty.
The Jama Masjid of Agra was constructed by Shah Jahan in 1644r
in honour of his devoted daughter Jahanara, whose tomb lies side by
bide with the poet Khusru, in the beautiful cemetery of Nizam-ud-dinr
near Delhi. The main building of the mosque is divided, as usual,
into three compartments, each of which opens on the courtyard by a
fine archway, roofed by a low dome curiously built of white and red
stone in oblique courses. The mosque is a stately building, 130 feet
long by 100 wide, and anywhere else but Agra would attract the
attention it deserves.
The Kalan Masjid is the oldest mosque in Agra, having been built
by Sikandar Lodi, and is a fine, though somewhat dilapidated,
specimen of the earliest style of Hindustani art.
The only other buildings in and round Agra worth noting are the
usual modern surroundings of an important Indian city. There are
two or three churches in the cantonment, and the Havelock memorial
chapel.
The Roman Catholic church and convent are about half a mile
from the fort, not far from the Central Jail, which is one of the
largest in India, containing generally about 2,500 prisoners. Some
of the finest carpets in India are made here. The Government
College is in Drummond Road.
Firoz Khan's tomb is three miles on the Gwalior road. It is a
beautiful building of Akbar's period, decorated with coloured encaustic
tiles and fine sculpture of animals.


SIKANDRA.
225
The only art-craft of importance in the Agra bazaars is that of
inlaying on marble, inferior specimens of which are offered for sale on
the verandahs of the hotels. This mosaic work is somewhat akin to
that of Florence, but its best work is very inferior to the modern
Florentine. It is produced by an inlay of various precious stones
upon white Jaipur marble, consisting chiefly of agates, carnelians,
chalcedonies, bloodstone, jasper, and lapis lazuli; but tho costlier
specimens are worked up with pearls, topazes, crystals, turquoise,
garnets, coral, amethysts, and even sapphires. It is applied to
various household trinkets, trays, boxes, paper-weights, inkstands,
and table-tops. This beautiful craft was brought into Agra by Austin
de Bordeaux, the reputed architect of the Taj Mahal, and has been
greatly revived of late years under the influence of Dr. J. Murray, late
Inspector-General of Hospitals for Bengal. In purchasing specimens
it is necessary to avoid those which pander to European decoration,
and buy only those which illustrate purely Indian ornamentation. A
careful study of the Mosaics of the Taj and the fort will assist the
traveller in making a wise selection.
Sikandra.—Tho tomb of the Emperor Akbar at Sikandra is, after
the Taj, the noblest mausoleum in all India. The early morning is
the best time of tho day to visit Sikandra, which is six miles distant
from Agra cantonments. The road is bordered with tombs, more or
less rained. The most interesting group will be found in a field about
half way. One of them has an adjacent hall of sixty-four pillars, and
commemorates one of Akbar's generals, a nephew of Etmad-ud-daulat.
Not far off, close to the road, is a large baoli, or scries of chambers
built round a well, as a cool retreat in hot weather.
The pillars which stand by the wayside every two and a half miles
are kos minars, or milestones (1 kos = 2 miles, 4 furlongs, 158
yards), built by Jahangir on the Imperial highroad to Lahore. Four
miles from Agra, in front of a lofty arched gateway, is an old stone
horse, supposed to have been placed there by Sikandar Lodi of Jaun-
pur, who founded tho village of Sikandra, and built a palace there in
1495, the Barah-dari, now used as part of the buildings of the Famine
Orphanage of tho C. M. S.
Haifa mile farther on is tho Guru-Ka-Tal, a fine tank of red sand-
stone, now dry and weed-grown, with a mausoleum said to bo Sikandar
Lodi's tomb. This tomb is generally known as that of the Begam
Mariani, tho Portuguese Christian wife of Akbar, who was buried here.
Q


226
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
Her tomb is in tho vault below, and the cenotaph in the upper
chamber. Close to Sikandra, a handsome gateway of carved stone
leads into an enclosure in which is an elaborately sculptured red sand-
stone building of the period of Jahangir.
Fergusson speaks of the noble mausoleum at Sikandra as the most
characteristic of all Akbar's buildings, quite unlike any other tomb
built in India before or since, and of a design borrowed from a Hindu,
or more correctly a Buddhist, model. It stands in a desolate but
charming walled garden filled with fine trees, 150 acres in extent,
entered by a splendid gateway of red sandstone, adorned with a wide
scroll of Tugghra writing. At each corner of its roof rise white marble
minarets sixty feet high, disfigured by the absence of their upper por-
tions, which are said to have been shot off wantonly by cannon balls,
during the sacking of Agra by the Jats.
The view from the roof of the gateway is magnificent; not only be-
cause it is tho best point from which to get a general view of the
garden and tomb, but for the splendid prospect it affords of the sur-
rounding country; the river Jumna winding through the fertile plain
like a blue ribbon, the domes and minarets of the mosques and palaces
of Agra and the Taj Mahal glistening like precious beads in its great
loop, and the towering entrance of Fatehpur Sikri cutting the hori-
zon in the far-away south.
Passing through this gateway, a broad paved road 150 yards in
length leads through the garden to the tomb itself.
This building has five stories, or arched causeways of hewn stone
richly carved, the bottom story being 320 feet square, with towers at
each angle; it is thirty feet in height, with ten lofty arches in each
face; the entrance to the tomb being about sixty feet high, topped
with an exquisite marble cupola. The grand simplicity of this vast
platform forms the best of settings for the more ornate terrace which
stands upon it, measuring 186 feet each way, and fifteen feet in
height. Upon this stand a third and fourth story of similar design,
the whole building so far being of red sandstone elaborately carved.
The fifth story is of the purest white marble, a cloistered quadrangle
within, surrounded with marble trelliswork of the most intricate and
beautiful designs, through which the blue of the sky and the dark
green of the tangled garden gleam like some jewelled mosaic. Dainty
cupolas crown the angles. In the centre is tho cenotaph of Akbar,
decorated with Arabesque tracery. A few feet from the monument





228
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
stands a marble pillar containing a receptacle, in which it is said the
Koh-i-noor was kept.
In the heart of this stupendous pile of arched terraces lies the grave
of the mighty Akbar, in a gloomy domed chamber, into which the
light of day faintly struggles through narrow apertures in the walls.
This huge mausoleum took twenty years to build, and is said to have
employed 3,000 workmen the whole timo. The total height of the
building is about 100 feet.
The Baptist mission at Agra, under the superintendance of Rev.
Daniel Jones, is just opposite Laurie's Hotel. There are three Euro-
pean agents, nine native evangelists, sixteen teachers of 300 scholars
in vernacular schools, with forty-five communicants. The Havelock
Memorial Chapel, built by subscription to the memory of Sir Henry
Havelock, who was a Baptist, is managed by the mission. Services
are held there on Sunday for the benefit of English residents and
soldiers, and part of tho building is devoted to a soldiers' institute and
reading-room.
The Church Missionary Society has extensive premises, consisting of
St. John's Church and schools, and St. John's College. The church
is under the care of a native clergyman, Rev. W. Seetal, and tho con-
gregation is about 500, with 180 communicants. The principal of
St. John's College is Rev. G. E. A. Pargeter, and the vice-principal,
Rev. T. F. Robathan. This is one of the best managed colleges in
India, and prepares students for Calcutta University with very great
success. The sons of most of the influential citizens of Agra are
educated here, and there is, besides, a boarding-house for fifty Chris-
tian students.


CHAPTER XV.
FATEHPUR SIKRL

ATEHPUR SIKRI.—The deserted city
of Fatehpur Sikri is a place of sin-
gular interest and beauty. No
traveller should pass it by, however
much he may be pressed for time.
It is distant from Agra twenty-three
miles, and it is necessary to order a
carriage the day before, that relays
of horses may be sent forward. There
is, however, so much to be seen
that if time permit, it is better to
take two days for this excursion,
spending the night in Akbar's record
house, which is now fitted up as a
Dak bungalow. There is also a messman and four beds at Birbul's
House, within the palace courtyard. In either case, it is better to
send word a day or two previously, that food may be procured.
The drive to Fatehpur Sikri takes about three hours and a half, the
road passing through a richly-cultivated country and several large
villages. If it is intended to go and return the same day, the start
should not be later than daybreak. The scenes along the road are
full of interest and variety, and much of the abundant animal life of
India may be observed. The minas and other small birds hardly take
the trouble to hop out of the way of the horses' feet. Vultures and
crows, the village scavengers, roost about on stumps and rocks,
letting one come within a few feet, when they fly lazily away to the
next mound. At every wayside pond, handsome storks, cranes and
other waterfowl abound. Wild peacocks strut about the fields, phea-
sants run across the road, pigeons, ringdoves, hoopoes, woodpeckers,


PICTURESQUE INDIA.
and bright green parrots, fly from tree to tree, and the ubiquitous and
ever-delightful palm squirrels, so full of cheerful impudence, frisk all
over the place, playing in the dusty road or chasing each other up
trunks of trees, on walls, or the roof of some village hut.
Fergusson tells us that it is at Fatehpur Sikri, more than any-
where else, that Akbar the Great must be judged of as a builder. He
was the first to occupy the spot, and apparently the last to build there,
no single building being identified with any other emperor. It is a
veritable romance in stone, the reflex of the mind of the great man
who built it.
Akbar, the real founder of the great Mughal Empire as it existed
for two centuries, came to the throne in 1556, and died in 1605,
reigning nearly fifty years, covering the entire period during which
Queen Elizabeth sat on the throne of England. Inheriting from his
father, Humayun, but a small remnant of his kingdom, scarcely ex-
tending beyond Agra and Delhi, he reconquered the Punjab in 1556,
annexed the Rajput kingdom in 1561—8, Gujerat in 1573, Bengal in
1576, Kashmir in 1586, Sind in 1592, Afghanistan in 1594, Khaudesh
in 1601, passing on to his son Jahangir an empire stretching from
Persia to Burma, and from the Deccan to the crest of the Himalayas.
Akbar removed the capital of the Mughal Empire to Fatehpur Sikri in
1570, with a view to the permanent establishment there of his court.
But within fifty years of its foundation, it was abandoned in favour of
Delhi by his successor, driven away, so it is said, by the badness of
the water supply. The whole of the buildings of Fatehpur Sikri were
therefore erected within a period of about thirty years, 1570—1605.
The road stops in an outer courtyard surrounded with red sandstone
buildings, of which the principal is the Dak bungalow. Two or three
guides are generally hanging about the door. These are all supposed
to be lineal descendants of Sheikh Sulim Chisti.
The visitor should go at once to the great gateway, and work back
through the mosque to the palace buildings. This superb entrance is
called the Buland Darwaza (or high gate), and must not be taken as
any part of the architectural scheme of the noble mosque, to which it
forms the entrance. It is really a triumphal arch, erected many
years after the mosque, in commemoration of conquest, as the
inscription on the left hand of the gate entering the quadrangle
states:—
"His Majesty, King of Kings, whose place is as Heaven, Shadow


FATEHPUR SIKRI.
231
of God, Julal-uddin Mohummud Khan, the Emperor. He conquered
the Kingdom of the South .... in the 46th year (of his
reign), corresponding to the Hyree, 1010. Having reached Fatehpur,
he proceeded to Agra." This fixes the date of the Buland Darwaza
as 1601 a.d.

THE BULAND DARWAZA, FATEHPUR 81 KM.
The corresponding inscription, on the other side of the entrance, is
translated thus:—
"Jesus, on whom be peace, said, the world is a bridge, pass over it,
but build no house there; he who hopeth for an hour, may hope for
eternity. The world lasts but an hour, spend it in devotion; the rest
is unseen." A similar inscription is on the Taj.
The other inscriptions are pious proverbs, brief prayers, exhortations
to good works, and such like.
Descending the broad flight of steps, ascending to the roof of a ruined
Hammam, or bath-house, the whole of this superb monument may be


333
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
scen to the best advantage. The plan is 130 feet long by eighty-five
feet wide, and 130 feet high from the platform at the top of the
splendid stairway. The facade is richly decorated and inlaid, pierced
by a huge concave doorway, which is said by architects to be the most
successful effort in the world to give dignity to a doorway in a great
building used by men six feet high.
The doors themselves are not out of proportion for human beings
to use, but being placed at tho back of a semidome, to which the rest
of the building is subservient, being not much more than its door-
posts and lintels, their smallness is lost, and tho full impression is
convoyed that, in spite of its size, the gateway is fit for the use of
ordinary people, and was not built for Anakim. Tho gateway is slightly
out of the perpendicular.
At the side of the Buland Darwaza is a large tank about thirty feet
deep, into which men and boys leap from tho wall of the mosque,
seventy feet above the water, running wet and breathless up the steps
after their dive to beg for annas from good-natured visitors. This is
one of those tanks or wells to be seen in most of the Mughal palaces,
which were used as cool retreats during the heat of summer.
It is worth while ascending the gateway for the bird's-eye view of
the mosque and palaces, and the wide prospect of the surrounding
country. The guide, if asked, will point out the vestiges of the great
market, or bazar, the flint pavement of which can still be traced for
more than a mile in length. The ancient wall of the city still stands,
seven miles in circumference, though little of its buildings remain
outside the precincts of the mosque and palace.
The glorious quadrangle, to which the Buland Darwaza forms the
entrance, is 433 feet long by 366 feet wide, including the mosque and
cloister; the outside measurement is 550 by 470. The mosque
occupies the greater part of the west side, the other three being sur-
rounded by a beautiful cloister of red sandstone, in which are a suc-
cession of cells for pilgrims. The inscription on the main arch of
the mosque states that it was built in the year a.d. 1571.
The mosque is crowned with three beautiful white marble domes.
It is seventy feet high. The wings are of red sandstone, with lofty
Hinduized pillars. The centre has a fine vaulted roof, is paved with
white marble, and is quaintly decorated in geometric patterns.
Passing through a door at the back of the mosque is the tomb of
the infant son of the Sheik Sulim Chisti. and some other interesting





234 PICTURESQUE INDIA.
buildings, including the house in which the Emperor Jahangir was
born, a curious mosque with S-shaped brackets built by a stone-
masons' guild for the Sheik, and the portico under which he taught
his disciples. This group is older than the buildings of Akbar.
On the north side of the quadrangle are two of the finest tombs in
all India; one is of carved red sandstone, and the other of white
marble whose pierced screens look at a distance like fine lace.
The latter is the tomb of Sulim Chisti, the holy fakir, who exercised
such influence over the Emperor Akbar as to have been almost his
alter ego. If half the legends of this singular man are true, he must
have been a shrewd and able statesman. The emperor's son, Jahangir,
was named after this saint, bearing the title of Prince Sulim until he
came to the throne. The tomb is elaborate and somewhat fantastic,
the chamber being surrounded by a deep marble cornice, supported
by curious twisted brackets of very elaborate design. Inside the
building is a canopy like a four-post bed, encrusted all over with fine
mother-of-pearl inlaid work, under which the saint reposes. Sulim
Chisti died in 1572, and his tomb was completed in 1581 a.d. Half
the village claims descent from this holy Fakir, and I believe the
guides have some right to do so.
The neighbouring tomb is that of Islam Khan, a grandson of Sulim,
who was a distinguished minister of Jahangir; it is very harmonious
in all its details, a marked contrast to the exaggerated design of its
companion.
There are many other interesting tombs on the north side of the
quadrangle, including those of the ladies of Akbar's Court.
The fine gateway on the east side of the quadrangle is the Badshahi,
or "Royal Gate," about sixty feet high. Passing through, descending
the flight of steps, and turning to the left, the pretty houses of Abul
Fuzl and his brother, Faizi, are reached, inside a courtyard. These
buildings are now used as an Anglo-Vernacular boys' school, the
scholars forming bright and picturesque groups round their masters
in different corners of the open yard. The lads are very proud of
their English, which they show off to any visitors who give them the
opportunity.
The vast range of buildings which comprise the palace of Akbar is
now entered through the stable-yard, in which over 100 horses and a
large number of camels were kept. The fittings are still intact, being
of carved stone. The next courtyard is that known as the palace of





236
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
Jodh-Bai, a princess of the royal house of Jodhpur in Rajputana, wife
of Akbar, and mother of Jahangir. This quadrangle measures 177
feet by 157, and is entered by an imposing and richly sculptured gate.
On the north and south sides are suites of rooms roofed with stone
slabs, enamelled a deep blue, in rich contrast to the sober red of the
sandstone of which the palace is built.
On the stone terrace in front of the palace of Jodh-Bai are a series
of small houses of the most delicate beauty, the most notable of which
is the apartment of Birbul, one of Akbar's Hindu ministers. It con-
tains eight rooms, each fifteen feet square, or two stories of four rooms
each. Not a particle of wood or iron is to be found in the entire
structure, which is massively built of red sandstone. The minuteness
of the sculptured decoration covering every inch of surface inside and
out, is more like the work of some Japanese carver in ivory than that
of a stonemason. The ceiling of the rooms on the ground floor is
made of long slabs of sandstone, fifteen feet long by one foot wide,
resting on bold cornices, richly carved. The rooms on the upper
floor are crowned by massive domes, got by putting a capstone on
the top of sixteen sloping slabs, each of which stands on an abut-
ment, the whole supported on eight sides, rising from the four walls
of the room.
On the opposite side of the terrace is the pavilion known as
Mariam's, or the Christian lady's house. This is said to have been
built by Akbar as a present for a Portuguese wife, and some of the
panels over the door, defaced by the iconoclastic zeal of later
Mussulmans, represent an Annunciation, and other Christian subjects.
Modern sceptics question whether Akbar ever had a Christian wife,
but it is no concern of mine to throw doubts on any legend which may
shed a halo of romance over anything I write about. It is better to
believe a pretty and quaint tradition, than to quibble over it.
Between Birbul's and Mariam's houses, are placed some gardens
with a charming little mosque, no doubt the private chapel of the
ladies of the Zenana. Close by, is the Panch Mahal, a five-storied
colonnade, sixty-five feet high. The ground-floor has fifty-six
columns, the first floor thirty-five, the third fifteen, the fourth
eight, while the fifth, or top story is a dainty little domed pavil-
lion, resting upon four columns. The capitals of the columns vary
in design. The guide points out one which is formed of two
elephants with interlaced trunks, and another of a man plucking





PICTURESQUE INDIA.
fruit from a tree, which ia said to be a fragment of some ancient
Buddhist temple.
The Khas Mahal is a nagged courtyard, 210 feet by 120, with
a pretty tank in the middle, in which fountains used to play.
The buildings on the south side are surmounted by a small and
simple chamber, known as Akbar's Kwabgah, or sleeping-place. The
walls are decorated with Persian inscriptions, which are mostly
couplets in honour of the Emperor. In one of the angles of the Khas
Mahal, is one of the most beautiful buildings in Fatehpur Sikri,
known as the house of the Stambuli Begam, one of Akbar's wives,
who is said to have come from Constantinople. Running round the
walls of this pavilion are a series of elaborately-carved panels, about
four feet high, the subjects of which are all drawn from nature, birds,
beasts, trees, flowers, one panel being an elaborate and realistic jungle
scene. Many of the pillars are also decorated with foliage and
flowers.
The Diwan-i-Khas stands at the end of a large quadrangle, 210 feet
by 120 feet, the floor of which is marked out in tesselated squares for
the game of Pachisi. It is a curious and fantastic building, appearing
from without to have two stories, but on entering it is found to be
open from floor to roof, with an extraordinary pillar in the centre
rising to the height of the upper windows. This column has au
immense, elaborately-carved capital, from which four stone causeways
lead to the four corners of the building, where they meet a landing-
place, reached from the ground by a flight of steps. An accurate
model of this column and capital stands in the India Museum, South
Kensington. It is one of the queerest buildings I have ever seen, and
none of the many conjectures of architects as to its original use
appears to me to be satisfactory explanations. I can only look upon
it as some costly freak. A colonnade, somewhat dilapidated, leads
from the Diwan-i-Khas to the Diwan-i-Am, a small building of no
great interest, placed in a vast colonnaded quadrangle, probably
devoted to pageants and wild beast fights.
The only other building within the precincts of the palace worthy of
special notice is the Ankh Michauli, or, as the words mean, "the hide-
and-seek place." My guide said that here Akbar and his friends
played blind-man's buff, and other games, while others maintain that
it was built for a playing-house for little Prince Sulim. It is more
probable that it was the treasure-house of the palace, as an examina-


FATEHPUR SIKRI.
239
tion of the doorways show hinge-holes for massive stone doors. In
front of this building, is an interesting little pavilion of pure Jain
architecture, each of the architraves being supported by two struts
coming from the mouths of monsters, and meeting in the middle like
the apex of a triangle.
There are many minor buildings scattered about in the villages of
Fatehpur and Sikri, that are of interest to the archaeologist, the most
important of which lies just outside the boundaries of the palace, of
which indeed it is the chief outer gateway, the Hathi Pol, or elephant-
gate. It obtains its name from the two colossal elephants which
flank the spandrels of the main arch, one on each side. They were
decapitated by Aurangzeb in a fit of Musalman iconoclastic zeal.
Their trunks originally were interlaced, surmounting the keystone of
the arch. A viaduct leads to a closed gallery from the Jodh-Bai to the
rooms over the Hathi Pol. Adjoining this gateway is a great bastion,
Sunjia Burj, the beginning of a series of massive fortifications begun
by Akbar, but never carried out. Below the Hathi Pol is the Hiran
Minar, or deer-tower, seventy feet high, studded with imitations of
elephants' tusks, an ugly structure past which bucks and other game
were driven for the Emperor to shoot.
The great square enclosure below the bastion is the Serai, built for
the accommodation of merchants whose caravans brought their costly
wares to Akbar's court.


OHAPTEE XVI.
GWALIOR.

WALIOR—This historical city may
be most conveniently visited from
Agra. The Sindhia Stato Rail-
way runs one train daily each
way. It leaves Agra 4.30 p.m.,
reaching Gwalior 8.30 p.m.,
returning next morning about
7 a.m.; it is therefore necessary
to stay two nights at Gwalior.
There is a Dak bungalow at
Morar, but since the departure of
the garrison, it has not been well
kept up, and may now be dis-
continued altogether. If that bo
so, the traveller should arrange
with the station-master at Agra
for the use of a carriage, which
can be dropped off and shunted
at Morar Station, to be picked
up on the return journey. The
night may be thus comfortably
spent in a railway-carriage. Of
course, cooked provisions must be taken.
Halfway between Agra and Gwalior is Dholpur, the capital of a
native state of that name in Rajputana, with an area of about 1200
oquare miles, and a population of 230,000; the whole country is
agricultural. There is a small town bungalow in Dholpur. The
railway crosses the river Chambal by a fine sandstone bridge, 2,700


GWALIOR.
341
feet long, about five miles from the town. The piers of the bridge
are sunk sixty-five feet below the bed of the river, and rise more than
a hundred feet above it. In dry weather the Chambal is only a
trickling stream, but in the rains it rises seventy feet, and runs
more than half a mile wide.
The palace of the Rana was built about seventy years ago, and is a
handsome building of no great interest. A short distance from the
town is a beautiful tank, about half a mile square, dotted with
pavilion-covered islands, and surrounded with 114 Hindu temples of
various periods, from the 15th century to the present day. The lake
is full of alligators. It is a great resort of pilgrims; Melas are held
in May and September. There is a fine bridge of boats across the
Chambal near Dholpur.
The station for Gwalior fort is Morar, where, until 1886, a British
garrison 2,000 strong was stationed. In that year, however, the
fortress of Gwalior, and the Cantonment of Morar, were restored to
the Maharaja Sindhia, after having been held by British troops since
the Mutiny in 1858. Jhansi is now the head-quarters of the military
division of this part of India. Morar is connected with the fort of
Gwalior by a good road, shaded by an avenue of fine trees.
Gwalior is the capital of the great Maratha chiefs of the house of
Sindhia, their scattered territories lying between the Jumna and
the Narbada rivers, of which the Gwalior district is the largest,
covering an area of nearly 30,000 square miles, with a population of
three and a quarter millions, inhabiting more than 10,000 towns and
villages. The people are mostly Hindus, not more than five per
cent. being Musalmans. The total revenue of the State is
£1,200,000. The Maharaja Sindhia is a staunch friend to the
British Government, and displayed great courage and unswerving
loyalty during the Mutiny. He is an Honorary General in the British
Army, a Knight of the Grand Cross of the Bath, and a Grand
Commander of the Star of India. His army consists of forty-eight
guns, 6,000 cavalry, and 5,000 infantry. The founder of his family
was a Maratha named Banoji Sindhia, who began his career last
century as slipper-bearer to the Peshwa Ranoji, by whom he was
promoted to the head of the body-guard. Ranoji then became a
.leading Maratha raider, and died prince of the territories which
have been handed down intact to his living descendant. Gwalior and
the Sindhia family have played a leading part in the history of
R


242
PICTURESQUE INDIA,
British India, and their orange flag with its cobra has carried terror
into many an Indian battle-field. Gwalior is an intensely interesting
city. As the fortress capital of one of the leading native princes of
India, it would naturally command the attention of the traveller,
without the added interest of its beauty of situation, its fine
architecture of the best Hindu period (1486—1516), its ancient
temples, and its rock-cut Jain sculptures. The great fortress stands
out of the surrounding plain on a mighty isolated rock of yellow

half miles in length, and 300 yards wide. On the eastern side
of the rock, some colossal figures have been cut in bold relief. A
rampart surrounds the fort which is reached by a vast staircase
of successive slopes and steps, nearly half a mile in length, pro-
tected on the outside by a massive wall, and swept with guns. This
long ascent is defended by six gates, all of them remarkable:
the first is called Alamgiri, built in 1660, it has no special
features; the second is Badalgarh, 100 years older, the work of
Badal, an uncle of Man Singh, and a very fine specimen of the
Hindu architecture of its time; the third is Bhairon, and bears the
date 1485; the fourth is Ganesh, built about 1440; near this gate is
an old temple, sacred to the hermit Gwalipa, who gives his name to
Gwalior; the fifth is the Lakshman, and just before it is reached a


GWALIOR.
243
temple is passed, hewn out of the solid rock, with an inscription
fixing its date as a.d. 876. Above the gate, on the surface of the
rock, are carvings of Mahadeo and his wife, and a huge sculpture of
the Boar incarnation, probably one of the oldest in Gwalior; the
sixth is the Hathija, or elephant-gate.
The citadel stands at the north-eastern corner of the enclosure, and
presents a very picturesque appearance. This venerable fortress has
been the cockpit of Central India; it has stood many a siege, and
been stormed or starved into submission a dozen times at least. The
rock was originally fortified in a.d. 773 by Surya Sen; in 1023 it was
unsuccessfully besieged by Mahmud of Ghazni; in 1196 it was
captured by Mahmud Ghori; in 1211 the Musalmans lost it again,
but Altamsh, King of Delhi, won it back in 1231, after a year's siege.
Narsinh Rai, a Hindu chief, seized Gwalior in 1398, and the
Musalmans never regained it for 120 years, Ibrahim Lodi, the
Pathan Emperor, recovering it for the Delhi throne in 1519. In
1526, Baber took it by stratagem, and in 1543 his son Humayun lost
it again to Sher Shah, to be recovered in 1556 by Akbar the Great,
who made it a prison for persons of rank. In the dismemberment of
the Delhi Empire, Gwalior was seized by the Jat Rana of Gohad;
then it fell into Sindhia's possession, who in his turn lost it to the
East India Company in 1780, who entrusted it once more to the Rana
of Gohad. Sindhia promptly retook it, and with the exception of two
years, 1803-5, it has remained with the Sindhias to this day.
Gwalior owes its strength almost as much to its never-failing water
supply, as to its steep rock; the fort is full of tanks, cisterns, and
wells.
There are several palaces in the fort, of which the Man Mandir is
the most important, being the most interesting example of early
Hindu work in India. It was built by Man Singh about a.d. 1500.
It measures 300 feet by 160, and on the east side towers 100 feet
into the air. It is perched on the edge of the cliff, and the facade is
relieved by a series of noble towers, crowned by open-domed cupolas,
originally covered with gilt copper, joined together by a very fine
lattice-work screen; the interior consists of two courts of considerable
beauty, with rooms leading out of them. Man Singh's successor,
Vikramaditya, added a still larger palace in 1516, and the Emperors
Jahangir and Shah Jahan in their turn added a couple more. Shah
Jahan's palace overhangs the city on the brink of a steep cliff, and is
h 2


244
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
an oblong 320 feet by 170. The Gujarni palace is in an outwork at
the foot of the fort, and was built for the Queen of Man Singh; it is
a long two-storied building, much dilapidated.
There are about a dozen ancient Jain and Hindu temples on the

MAN MAN'DIR PALACE, GWALIOR.
rock of Gwalior, of which the two most important are the Sas Bahu, a
Jain, and the Teli-Ka Mandir, a Hindu temple.
The Sas Bahu is dedicated to the sixth Tirthankar, Padmanatha,
and Fergusson fixes the date at a.d. 1093. All that remains standing
is the cruciform porch, measuring 100 feet through, and sixty-three
feet across the arms. Of (he rest of the building only the foundation



I


246
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
remains. The porch itself is somewhat dilapidated, but most of it
remains intact, a charming and beautiful work of the mason's art.
Its surface is covered with sculptures of figures, animals, flowers, and

TELl-KA MANDIR, GWALIOR.
diapered ornamentation. The central hall is thirty feet square, with
four stupendous pillars bearing the great pyramidal roof. This roof
is elaborately decorated.
The Hindu temple, Teli - Ka Mandir (the Oilman's temple) is a
square of sixty feet each way, rising in a succession of sculptured


GWALIOR.
247
stories to a truncated platform eighty feet high and thirty feet across.
The fine doorway is thirty-five feet high. It was originally dedicated
to Vishnu, and afterwards altered for the worship of Siva in the 15th
century. The date of its erection is put by Fergusson in the 10th and
11th century.
The most striking of the Jain work at Gwalior, are the succession of
rock-cut sculptures excavated all round the face of the cliff, about 100
in all, varying in size from a huge colossus fifty-seven feet high, to
ordinary life-size figures. These were all excavated during the thirty-
three years from a.d. 1441—74. Eighteen of these figures are over
twenty feet high. The most of the statues are representations of
Adinath, the first Jain pontiff. They may be known by his symbol on
the pedestal, a bull. A seated figure of Nemnath, the twenty-second
pontiff, is thirty feet high, his symbol being a shell.
The old town of Gwalior is a rambling dirty conglomeration of flat-
roofed houses, crowded together at the eastern base of the rock. It
contains the singularly beautiful tomb of Muhammad Ghaus, built in
the early part of Akbar's reign, of yellow sandstone, grey and hoary
from time. It is a square of 100 feet, with towers at each corner,
roofed by a lofty Pathan dome, to which a few of the rich blue
encaustic tiles which originally covered it, still adhere. The tomb
stands on a lofty platform, and is surrounded by stone lattices of
intricate pierced work, and a projecting porch on each face, crowned
by a cupola. It is a finely proportioned building, and one of the
noblest mausoleums of Akbar's time.
The tomb of Tansen, a famous musician, is hard by, and is a square
building on twelve pillars.
The Jama Masjid, a very lovely mosque of white sandstone, in
excellent preservation, is near the Alamgeri gate at the entrance to
the fort. It was built in a.d. 1665.
The new town of Gwalior is called Lashkar, with a population of
90,000. Here is the fine new palace of the Maharaja, and a beautiful
modern temple and cenotaph built by his mother.
Bundelkhand.—The extension of the Indian Midland Railway
from Gwalior to Jhansi opens up to the traveller the interesting
district of Bundelkhand, a tract of country comprising five British
districts, and three small native treaty states, Orchha, Datia and
Samthar, with about thirty other smaller states subordinate to the
Central Indian Agency. This group of native states has a total





B UNDELKHAND.
349
population of 1,749,000, ranging from 311,000 in Orchha to 800 in
Dhurwai.
A college has been established at Nowgong for the education of the
sons of the various Rajas, in memory of Lord Mayo, attended by some
twenty or more of these young chiefs.
The whole province is full of ruins, large tanks, magnificent temples
and ancient fortresses, built chiefly of granite and carved sandstone,
dating from the time of the Chandel Rajputs, who ruled the country
in the 11th and 12th centuries.
The best centre from which to explore Bundelkhand is
Jhansi, the administrative head-quarters of the British district of
that name. It is now an important military contonment, taking the
place of Morar, near Gwalior. There is a good Dak bungalow under
the management of the deputy commissioner, and other accommodation
may be had in a large building known as the Rani of Jhansi's palace.
A letter should be written beforehand to the deputy commissioner.
The fortress is occupied by British troops, and a beautiful winding drive
has been constructed by the civil authorities round the ramparts, from
which extensive views of the surrounding country and the old town of
Jhansi in Gwalior territory may be obtained. There is plenty of large
and small game in the neighbourhood, and any traveller who can get
introductions may have a good time. The scenery is fine, the plains
of Bundelkhand being diversified by a series of granite and sandstone
hills 1 to 2,000 feet high, with scattered hills at the base of the
ranges, abrupt and isolated, on which, as at Kalinjar, Ajaigarh and
others, strong scarped forts have been erected, which in time past enabled
the inhabitants of Bundelkhand to set at defiance the great Empires
of India. These hill ranges have innumerable tanks for irrigation
purposes, some of which are very ancient.
Bakwa Sagar.—Twelve miles from Jhansi, on the Nowgong road, is
the village of Barwa Sagar, with a population of about 6,000 Hindus.
This village is picturesquely situated at the foot of a rocky ridge,
on the banks of a beautiful lake, in the middle of which are two
craggy wooded islands. This lake is formed by an embankment three-
quarters of a mile long, from which flights of steps descend to the
water's edge. The plain below this embankment is planted with
mango and other trees, many of which are of great size and age.
This work was constructed by Udit Singh between 1705—37. Above
the lake rises one of the finest old castles in India, also built by Udit


250
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
Singh, Raja of Orchha, in which some rooms have been fitted up as a
Dak bungalow. Near Barwa Sagar is a venerable Chandel temple of
the 10th century, built of massive stone blocks, finely sculptured with
t 1

UDIT SINGH'S CASTLE, BARWA SAGAB..
the figures of Hindu gods. The village is divided into three sections
separated by stretches of cultivation, and the houses are embosomed
in luxuriant foliage. Barwa Sagar is one of the most picturesque
spots in India.
Orchha.—The old capital of Orchha state is within an easy drive of





252
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
Jhansi. The present capital is Tehri, forty miles distant, where the
Raja now lives. The gross revenue of the state is £90,000. The
population of the state is 311,000, and of the town of Orchha, about
20,000. The interest of Orchha centres in its magnificent fortress
palace, built for the accommodation of the Emperor Jahangir. The
fine bridge leading across the river to the main gateway, its carved
balconies, fluted domes, and gilded cupolas, with the rich foliage of
the surrounding trees, make up a charming picture. There are some
fine mausoleums of Bundela chiefs, and a very fine Hindu temple.
Datia.—The chief town of Datia state is twelve or fifteen miles
north of Jhansi, on the railway to Gwalior. It is a most quaint and
picturesque city of about 30,000 population, nobly placed on a rocky
eminence, surrounded by a stone wall thirty feet high. The streets
are narrow and intricate, but contain many fine old houses, the
residences of neighbouring chiefs. The Raja's palace stands boldly
on the banks of a small lake, within the walls of a charming garden,
planted with avenues of oranges, pomegranates and other trees. This
garden is entered by a handsome gateway, and surmounted at each
corner by embattled towers. Within the precincts is an octagonal
building surrounded by a reservoir, containing a fountain composed
of four elephants from whose trunks arises a jet of water. There are
two other noble palaces at Datia, remarkable for great size and
strength, as well as for the beauty of their architecture. On the
banks of the lake, opposite the palace, are several fine tombs, and at
Sonagie, a sacred hill four miles away, are some fine old Jain
temples.


254
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
festival times it is swelled by tens of thousands of pilgrims from
various parts of India.
Muttra abuts on the river Jumna. There is a wide street running
along the bank the whole length of the city, with a succession of
bathing ghats or flights of steps leading down to the river, surmounted
by ornamented platforms and picturesque pavilions. These are best
seen from the river itself, and boats for the purpose are to be hired.
On the city side rises a succession of temples, palaces, and mansions,
some of which are beautiful in design and elaborate in detail. They
are generally built of fine white stone; the most remarkable of these
buildings are, the Tower of Sati Burj, built in 1570, to commemorate
the Sati of the wife of Raja Bhar Mai of Jaipur; the house of Guru
Parshotomdas; that of Balamdas, a wealthy Gujerati; the temple of
Parasanath; and the great palace and temple of Lakshman Das, a
Muttra Seth, reputed to be the richest man in India. A good view of
the city is obtained by crossing the bridge of boats to the other side
of the river.
The Katra is a vast enclosure 800 by 650 feet, with two terraces,
on the upper of which is a mosque. This was the site of the magni-
ficent pagoda of Muttra, once the finest temple in India, but completely
destroyed by Aurangzeb. Its walls, of hard red sandstone, still
remain, with visible traces of their plaster modelling and graceful
ornamentation. The Katra also marks one of the oldest religious
spots in India, for it has been identified with the site of the ancient
Buddhist monastery of Upagupta. Near by is the magnificent masonry
tank known as the Patara-Kund, with high walls and steps rising
about fifty feet from the water, on three sides, the fourth being an
inclined plane, down which horses descend to drink. There are some
very fine trees surrounding this curious and imposing structure.
There is a museum at Muttra, in which are some very interesting
Buddhist sculptures discovered in the neighbourhood, reported upon
at great length by Cunningham, Vol. III.
The bazars are full of interest. The bankers and chief merchants
are very wealthy, and their houses are richly carved and ornamented,
rendering Muttra one of the most charming cities in India. Swarms of
monkeys infest the streets, and the river is full of great turtles, both
being fed by pious Hindus.
The only Musalman building of any importance is the Jama Masjid,
recently restored with white chunam and encaustic tiles. It would


MUTTRA.
hardly be worth a visit, were it not for the splendid view obtained
from the minarets.
The general characteristics of Muttra are the same as those of
Benares, but inferior in every way, and though it is full of Hindu
features, the traveller who is limited as to time, and is including
Benares in his tour, may leave it out of his arrangements without
much loss.
Six miles from Muttra is the village of Gokul, the scene of
Krishna's childhood, where there are many ruins of ancient Hindu
temples and fortifications. The most interesting is a covered court,
called Nanda's Palace, or the Assi Khamba (eighty pillars). "It is
divided by five rows of sixteen pillars, each into four aisles, or rather
into a centre and two narrower side aisles with one broad outer cloister.
The external pillars of this outer cloister are each of one massive shaft
cut into many narrow facets, with two horizontal bands of carving, the
capitals decorated either with grotesque heads, or the usual four squat
figures; the pillars of the inner aisles vary very much in design, some
being exceedingly plain, and others as richly ornamented with profuse
and often graceful arabesques."
The Methodist Episcopal Church Mission commenced operations
in the city of Muttra in 1887, by appointing William Plomer, an
ordained native Catechist, under the superintendence of the Rev. W.
R. Clancey, then missionary in charge at Agra. In January of the
following year, the Muttra circuit was formed, embracing the towns of
Muttra and Brindaban in the Muttra district, and Hathras and
Sikandra Rao in the Ali Sarh district, as centres of work, and the
Rev. J. E. Scott, Ph.D., was appointed in charge. Both educational
and evangelistic work was at once commenced and carried on during
the year, resulting in the organisation of thirteen secular schools with
an attendance of 386 pupils, and seventeen Sunday Schools, involving
nearly 1000 scholars, and the baptism of about a dozen converts.
Land was secured, and a mission-house erected thereon. In January,
1889, the mission was further strengthened by a Deaconess House
and Training School. Miss F. J. Sparkes is superintendent, and is
supported by a staff of assistants. A Medical Mission was also opened
early in the year by Miss Kate McDowell, M.D., which has proved a
great help in the work. Throughout the year almost every form of
mission work is carried on. Ten Catechists, occupying six different
centres, including Muttra, Brindaban, Hathras, Sikandra Rao,


257
are fed at this temple. The great court is 500 feet by -100, and the
temple, which fills up the centre, leaves a passage all round about
fifty feet wide. There are three gopuras or gate-towers in the outer
wall, eighty feet high, covered with sculptures of very inferior work-
manship. The outer court, which is 773 feet long by 440 broad, not
only encloses the temple and inner court, but a fine garden and tank,
with steps leading down to the water on all four sides. The main
entrance to the outer ccurt is through a pavilion ninety-three feet high,

TWO FAKIRS, BINDRABAN.
the most beautiful portion of the whole structure. In front of the god
is a huge pillar of copper, gilt, rising sixty feet, and sunk twenty-four
more in the ground. There is 10,000 rupees' worth of copper in this
pillar. This temple was begun in 1845, took six years to complete,
and cost about A'500,000 from first to last.
Two days may be well spent in a delightful excursion through the
Rajput State of Bhartpur, by laying a Dak from Muttra through
Goverdhan, Dig, and Kumbher, to Bhartpur city, the distance being
forty-three miles.
8


PICTURESQUE INDIA.
Muttrn —
Goverdhan . . .14 miles.
Dig 8 „
Kumbher . . . . 10 „
Bhartpur . . . . 11 „
There is a good well-metalled road all the way. The night must he
spent at Dig, in the Gopal Bhawan, a palace placed at the disposal of
travellers by the Maharaja of Bhartpur, who also supplies them with
food and other necessaries. It is necessary to write to the political
agent at Bhartpur for permission to use it.
Goverdhan is in British territory, but contains the cenotaph of
the Royal family of Bhartpur, which, with temples, tombs and ghats,
surround two large masonry tanks. The cenotaph of Buldeo Sing
has a curious painted roof, full of pictures of the battles between
Lord Lake and the Thakur Kanjit Singh in the siege of Bhartpur, in
which the English are being slain hip and thigh.
"One mile further eastward, in the depth of a wild, wooded country,
is the cenotaph of Suraj Mall, the virtual founder of the Bhartpur
state. It is a beautiful building marking the spot where the Thakur's
ashes were deposited. On every side of the reservoir that fronts it,
handsome landing-places run out into the still water, with deep and
wide staircases between; a venerable banyan-treo shades the south
side, and sends its pendant shoots towards the water; apes swarm on
its boughs, and, from time to time, a kingfisher quivers his flashing
colours over the lake before he strikes a fish, or a great crane makes a
swoop from one side of the woods to the other. The spot is singular
in its repose, its silence, and its irregular charm. This is the Kusum-
saroiuar, or lake of flowers, one of the stations in the ban-jatra or
autumn perambulation of the groves sacred to Krishna and his
companions."—Keene.
This beautiful sheet of water is 400 feet square; the tombs of
Suraj Mall and his two Queens, with many other charming little
kiosks and temples, crown the lofty terrace which runs along the
east side. The town of Goverdhan clusters round a vast tank called
the Mansi Gauga, where a great religious fair ia held every
autumn, resorted to by as many as 100,000 pilgrims.
Dig is reached by a long causeway above a low flat country. It
is a town of about 15,000 inhabitants, and is a place of great
antiquity, being mentioned in the Puranas. Its commanding fort was





260
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
dismantled by the British after the capture of Bhartpur by Lord
Combermere. The great feature of Dig is the superb palace, or rather
series of palaces, the work of Suraj Mall, the founder of the Bhurtpur
dynasty, a.d. 1725—63. The palace at Dig is rightly considered the
most perfect of all the many beautiful palaces of Rajputana, It is
also the last erected palace in India of the Great Mogul period of
architecture, all the Royal residences which have since been built being
bastard examples of European styles, mostly Italian.
The Gopal Bhawan, where travellers who have obtained permission
are lodged, is built on the brink of a lovely tank, full of fish, about 400
feet long by 300 broad. The other pavilions are the Nund Bhawan,
a fine marble hall over 100 feet long; the Suraj Bhawan, about the
same length, and the oldest of the group—it has a beautiful floor of
inlaid marbles; the Sawun Bhawan and the Kishun Bhawan.
These buildings are most elegant in design, and richly decorated;
with their annexes, they surround an area about 700 feet square filled
in with fountains and parterres, in true Mughal style.
The special architectural interest of these beautiful buildings
centres in their double cornices, which Fergusson says, "for extent
of shadow and richness of detail, surpass any similar ornaments in
India, either in ancient or modern buildings."
All round the palace are beautiful gardens, planted with fruit-trees
and flowering shrubs, with abundant water. The bird life of these
gardens is plentiful and various: peafowl, parrots, pigeons, mynas,
kingfishers, and twenty other gay-plumaged birds fly and hop about
with charming tameness.
A pleasant walk along the Rup Sagar Lake leads to the fort, a strong
moated building with twelve principal bastions, covering about twenty
acres. A good view of the town and neighbourhood can be obtained
from the top of one of the bastions.
Kujibher.—Halfway from Dig to Bhartpur is the town and fortified
palace of Kumbher, founded at the beginning of last century by the
Raja of Jaipur. It is a small town of 7,000 inhabitants, situated in a
plain and fortified by a mud wall and ditch. The fort stands on
a low hill commanding the surrounding country. The large palace
within the fortress was built by Budan Singh, and is in good preser-
vation. It is never used as a residence, and is full of bats and other
vermin. The place is very picturesque.
The road between Dig and Bhartpur is the main highway of tho


BHARTPUR.
State, and full of interest. The native travellers are quaintly dressed
in dark green quilted cotton clothes, looking brave and warlike with
ancient matchlocks over their shoulders and swords stuck in their
belts, worn only for harmless swagger. The women wear gay clothes
and profuse jewellery, some of which is worth purchasing in the
bazars of Dig or Bhartpur.
Bhartpur.—The traveller will stay at the Maharaja's Dak Bunga-
low, where His Highness provides lodging and entertainment free for
twenty-four hours, treating his visitors with generous hospitality.
Bhartpur is the capital of the native Bajput state of that name. It
is seventy-seven miles long and sixty-three wide, with a total area of

OLD FORT, BHARTPUR.
about 2,000 square miles, and a thrifty and industrious population of
about 700,000. The country is flat, and with few natural advantages,
being short of water, none of the rivers being navigable or perennial.
The country is thought much of by religious Hindus, being popu-
larly known as Brij, or the land of Krishna.
Its main human interest lies in the fact that it is the only Jat
principality of any importance in India, and that a great proportion of
the people are also Jats, thus belonging to the same ancient people as
their nobles and princes.
The Jats (Getse) are the survival in India of the great Scythian
invasion of the first century a.d. There are nearly five millions of
them in the country, mostly in the Panjab, where they form the most
numerous and valuable element in the agricultural population.
During the anarchy which followed the death of Aurangzeb, a band


262
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
of this hardy and brave people, under a chief named Churaman, seized
territory in Bhartpur and fortified themselves upon it. Churaman
was dispossessed by his brother, Badan Singh, who built Kumbher
and Bhartpur fortresses, and his son, Suraj Mall, enlarged his bounds
and built the fort and beautiful palace at Dig. The Maharajas of
Bhartpur have been twice in serious collision with the British power;
in 1805, when Lord Lake unsuccessfully besieged their capital, and

OLD PALACE, BHARTPUR.
in 1826, when Lord Combermere carried it by breach and assault.
However, they managed through all to keep their throne and increase
their territory. The present Maharaja holds in unbroken succession
from Badan Singh, and is in offensive and defensive alliance with the
British Government.
The revenues of the State are about £300,000 a year, and the
Maharaja coins his own money. The army consists of about 1,500
cavalry, 8,500 infantry, and 250 artillery, whose guns, however, are
only good enough for salutes. The State is well administered, and
the present Maharaja, Jaswant Singh, is an enlightened and cultured
prince.


BHARTPUR.
263
Bhartpur is a fine Hindu city of 60,000 inhabitants, with clean,
bright, prosperous bazars. It is surrounded by a wall and a dry
moat. Its name is derived from Bharat, a legendary character in
Hindu mythology. The fortress is surrounded by a canal, and is
exceedingly picturesque; there is a fine view from a bastion of the
inner fort called the Jawahar Burj. The palace is within the fort, and
is a modern building with a magnificent stone staircase; it is fur-
nished with tawdry European magnificence. The old palace is a very
interesting building. There are some handsome Hindu temples in
the city, and a mosque built by the State for the use of its Musalman
subjects.
Bhartpur is famous for its manufacture of Chauris, or fly-whisks.
The craft is confined to a few families in the employ of the Maharaja,
and the process by which the tails are made is kept a profound secret.
These tails are bunches of long straight fibres of ivory or sandal-
wood, as fine as ordinary horsehair, from which chauris are usually
made. The handles are of beautifully carved sandal-wood, ivory or
silver.
A train at five o'clock p.m., from Bhartpur, reaches Agra before eight
p.m., ending one of the most delightful little excursions in all India,
which may be accomplished in three days, or spread out into a pleasant
week, at the traveller's will.
Aligahh.—The fort and civil station of Aligarh form a suburb to
the ancient city of Koil, which has played a conspicuous part in the
history of India for the last 1500 years. It is situated in the midst of
a fertile plain lying between the Ganges and the Jumna, known as the
Doab, an almost uninterrupted sea of green and smiling cultivation.
The station is one of the prettiest in India, and the roadways are
avenues of nim, mango, peepul, mowra, and other fine trees. The
town bungalow is near the railway-station. The native town of Koil,
is handsome and well-placed, surrounding a high mound, once the site
of an ancient Dor fortress, but now crowned by Sabit Khan's beautiful
mosque, which though built during the last century, is getting some-
what dilapidated. The only other mosque worth notice is a small
Moti Musjid; the tombs of Gisu Khan and Hai Baksh are handsome
in their way. There is a very beautiful tank in the city, surrounded
by temples, pavilions, and magnificent trees, in which countless
monkeys live. These mischievous animals are a great nuisance to
the inhabitants, who are compelled to put iron gratings over the


264
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
windows of the houses to keep them out; being sacred, they cannot
be dealt with, either by slaughter or deportation.
. The fort of Aligarh is about two miles from Koil, and has no
features of interest; it is surrounded by a wide, deep moat, full of
fish. It is a strong native fortification.
The main interest of Aligarh is the fine Musalman College for the
sons of Muhammadan gentlemen, established by the energy and
patriotism of Sir Syed Ahmed, K.C.S.I., who also founded the
Aligarh Institute, with its library, news-rooms, and printing-press.
The Muhammadan Anglo - Oriental College differs from most

SABIT KHAJi's MOMJUE, ALIGARH.
other colleges in being the expansion of a political rather than a
purely educational impulse. To this feeling, the feeling that national
interests depend upon the principle it asserts, is due the support it
has received, and the extreme interest with which it is watched,
not only by the advanced school of Muhammadans, but by the British
Government. In a country under foreign rule, a knowledge of the
language and thoughts of the rulers is an absolute necessity not
merely for the progress of a people, but for the maintenance of a state
of civilization. The learned professions, government appointments,
trade, in fact all the sources from which an aristocracy and a middle-
class derive their means of subsistence, have a natural tendency to pass
into the hands of those who have the best acquaintance with the


ALIGARH.
265
ruling language. The Muhammadans, partly from instincts of pride
and conservations, partly from religious motives, have hitherto held
aloof from English learning, so much so that even at the present date
less than five per cent. of the students of colleges belong to this
formerly dominant race. Having been accustomed to the position of
rulers, with the income of the state very largely at their disposal,
occupying the most prominent posts, civil and military, with the
numerous emoluments that in an Eastern state accompany power,
they find themselves deprived of all their sources of revenue, while
saddled with the expensive tastes inherited from their forefathers.
The consequence has been national bankruptcy, and a loss of in-
fluence, of civilization, and of learning, that is one of the most
lamentable spectacles that can offer itself to a patriotic mind. The
mutiny of 1857 achieved at a stroke results as calamitous to the
Musalman gentry, who when anarchy set in rushed like a high-spirited
race into the fray, as many years of decadence. The spectacle of the
ruin of so many noble Musalman houses aroused Sir Syed Ahmed,
who during the mutiny had protected the English of his district with
the most intrepid gallantry, to devote his life to the amelioration of
his people. After years of thought he came to the conclusion that
the acquisition of English education was the only remedy for his
nation, and seeing that the Government colleges being secular and
one-sided in their education failed to attract his people, he determined
to found a college which should meet the peculiar needs of
Muhammadans. Being himself without property, though belonging
to one of the most illustrious of the old Muhammadan families, the
enterprise seemed hopeless. But the extraordinary talents he brought
to the task, coupled with an indomitable perseverance, have achieved
a success far greater than the expectation of his supporters, who knew
the lethargy and the poverty of the Muhammadans, had dared to
anticipate.
The college was started in 1875 as a small school, and has now, in
1890, some 200 boys in the school, and about eighty students reading
for their degrees in the college department. It has a staff of four
Englishmen, three of them Cambridge graduates, and several native
professors and teachers, Mr. Theodore Beck, M.A., being the prin-
cipal, to whom much of the great success of the college is undoubtedly
due. The subjects it teaches are English literature, mathematics,
philosophy, history, Arabic, Persian, and Sanscrit. It differs from


266
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
the colleges started by the State in two essential principles. In
the first place provision is made for the religious instruction of the
Muhammadans reading in its school and college departments. Five
times a day the melodious cadences of the call to prayer summon
the students from all parts of the capacious quadrangle, in which
they live, to worship in the mosque according to the faith of their
ancestors. The punctilious observation of the fixed times of prayer
is regarded as the most essential characteristic of a devout Muham-
madan, but the discipline necessary for the enforcement of this at
first irksome practice, on boys and young men in whom the religious
instinct is not strongly developed, is one of the most difficult tasks
in the management of a large Musalman institution; but scarcely
anything is valued so highly by the public, and no cause of complaint
is heard so loud against the youths, educated in government institu-
tions, as their neglect of this distinguishing mark of Islam. In
addition to the enforcement of prayers, reading of the Koran and of
books of theology and morality form part of the college curriculum.
By these and other means it is hoped that the students who leave this
college will serve to engraft the new learning on the ancient traditions,
thereby winning over the most bigoted and the most conservative of
the old school to a willingness to march with the times, and to adopt
the only way open to them of rescuing their nation from its present
depressed conditions.
The second principle, in which this college differs from the Govern-
ment institution is, while the latter devotes attention solely to the
intellectual aspect of education, and is of necessity mechanical in its
methods, the Aligarh College is based on the model of the colleges of
the English universities, the students living together in a large quad-
rangle, dining together, enjoying a healthy college life, and coming
into constant contact with their English professors. It would be
difficult to find in any country an institution inspiring a stronger
esprit de corps. To all the natural sentiments an alma mater is
capable of exciting the motive of patriotism is here added. The
hopes of the nation are bound up with the success of this institution.
It is the one great effort made towards progress and reform by a nation
in which adverse circumstances have engendered a melancholy
resignation to fate, and have sapped the springs of action. Hope finds
its birth in this community of energetic and high-spirited young men.
All the influences which give vitality to centres of education, have


ALIGARH.
267
been set on foot here by the energetic old man whose mind conceived
the scheme. The cricket team of the college holds the palm among
native teams throughout Upper India, and holds its own with the best
English station elevens. The debating society, founded on the
model of the Cambridge Union; trains the youths in the art of
public speaking and in the English method of conducting public
business. College feasts and entertainments, religious festivals,
poetic contests, cricket, foothall, and athletic sports help to diversify
the lives and call out the varied talents of the young Musalmans. To
all this an additional charm is added by the absence, as between
teacher and pupil, of any feeling of distance or prejudice arising
from difference of race. There is to be seen in Aligarh a frankness
and intimacy of social intercourse between Englishman and Indian
rarely met with in India. The English ladies and gentlemen of the
station entertain the college students at lunch, and accept their invi-
tations to dine with them in the college hall. The basis is thus laid
of feelings of goodwill which, if it spread, will be of incalculable advan-
tage both to the people of India and to the British Rule. On such
occasions the venerable old Syed has frequently uttered with impas-
sioned earnestness the wish of his heart that the Englishman and the
Muhammadau may become sincere friends and fellow-workers, and
has pointed to the college banner of a cross supported on a crescent.
The college at Aligarh is still in its infancy. It is still beset with
enemies who resist all change in the established culture of Islam.
Its buildings are not half erected for want of funds. In all ways its
existence is a struggle against financial difficulties. If any generous
persons feel drawn towards assisting this struggling institution of the
50,000,000 Muhammadan subjects of the Queen, they might remember
that "Aligarh, India," is a sufficient address to secure finding the old
Syed. But in spite of the incompleteness of the task the college has
set itself, the scarcely perceptible direct effect it has been able as yet
to exert on the fortunes of the Indian Muhammadans, it is difficult to
exaggerate the moral influence Sir Syed's work has had on the
Muhammadan community. It has deeply implanted in them the idea
that without education they can do nothing, that a thorough know-
ledge of the English language is the first condition of their progress.
It has led the way towards other humbler efforts being made in many
other parts of the country. It has taught the Muhammadans that
though depressed they are not powerless to work out their own im-


268
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
provement. It has led them to rely on their own efforts rather
than on the Government, and to accuse themselves and not their
rulers for their misfortunes. And if, as its aspiration is, the college
at some future time develop into a great Indian Muhammadan
University, the Oxford or Cambridge of Islam, it will be Sir Syed
Ahmed and Mr. Theodore Beck to whom the future historian of India
will point as educational saviours of the greatest and most illustrious
of the nationalities of that continent.


CHAPTER XVIII.
CAWNPUR.

AWNPUR.—The journey from Agra to
Cawnpur is one of eight hours. There
are three trains daily each way. Half
way is the town of Etawah, little visited
hy travellers, but a place of much in-
terest, well repaying a break for a few
hours. The mail leaves Agra at 8.30
p.m., reaching Etawah at midnight.
There is a good Dak Bungalow, and n
possible bedstead in the station, where
there is a refreshment-room. A train
leaves Etawah for Cawnpur the next
day at 5 P.m., giving ample time to see
the town and its buildings. The population is 35,000, of whom
24,000 are Hindu, and 10,000 Musalmans.
The town is picturesquely built on a series of ravines running down
to the bank of the River Jumna. The groups of buildings nestle
among fine trees, and from the top of the Jama Masjid the city
looks like a great garden. In the centre of the city is Hume Square,
a fine open space containing market-place, public offices, the magis-
trate's court, a mission-house, police station, dispensary, and the
Hume high school. The square is crowded with bright groups of
corn, cotton, indigo, and other produce merchants, for rail and river
make Etawah a busy and thriving centre. A fine serai, with a hand-
some gateway, adjoins the market-place.
Etawah is an ancient city, dating back long before the Musalman
invasions; it afforded rich plunder to Mahmud of Ghazni.
The banks of the Jumna are lined with bathing ghats, temples,


270
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
and shrines, some of which are very ancient. The finest is the Bisrant
Temple, more than 400 years old. A modern Jain building, with a
beautiful white spire, is worthy of notice.
The Jama Masjid is a curious old building, patched up nearly
500 years back from a Buddhist temple. It contains many interesting
fragments of early Hindu architecture.
The Asthal is one of the finest modern temples in India. It was
built about 100 years ago by a rich Brahman of Etawah, and is very
richly endowed.
The fort was built by the Thakur Samersi in the 11th century, and
is a striking ruin placed on the top of a hill overlooking the river.
It is reached by an underground passage. There is no detail of any
interest, except a very deep well, and some underground chambers.
Cawnpur.—This is a large modern native city, with British canton-
ments, whose population is over 150,000. Apart from the events of
the Mutiny, it has no attractions to the traveller. There are several
hotels, and comfortable quarters for a night may be had at the
refreshment-rooms at the railway station.
The following concise description of the city, from Sir W. W.
Hunter's "Gazetteer of India," will suffice to remind my readers of
the incidents which give the ghastly interest clinging to this other-
wise prosperously dull commercial city and railway junction :—
"The cantonments and civil station of Cawnpur lie along the right
bank of the Ganges, while the native city stretches inland toward the
south-west, and also fills up the space between the military and civil
portions of the European quarter. Starting from the east, on the
Allahabad road, the race-course first meets the eye of the approaching
visitor. The native cavalry lines succeed to the westward, after which
comes the brigade parade-ground. North-east of the latter lie the
European infantry barracks and St. John's Church; while the inter-
vening ground, between these cantonments and the river bank, is
occupied by the Memorial Church, built on the site of Wheeler's
entrenchments in 1857, the club, the artillery lines, and the various
military offices. The city covers the plain north of the parade-
ground; and the Ganges shore is here lined by the Memorial
Gardens, enclosing the famous well. The gardens cover nearly fifty
acres, and are prettily laid out. Over the fatal well a mound has
been raised, which slopes upwards until it is crowned by a handsome
octagonal Gothic wall, with iron gates. In the centre of the inclosure


CAWNPUR.
271
is the figure of an angel in white marble by Marochetti, with arms
crossed on her breast, each hand holding a palm branch. Over the
archway of the gate is inscribed: 'These are they which came out of
great tribulation ;' and around the wall which marks the circle of the
well: 'Sacred to the perpetual memory of a great company of
Christian people, chiefly women and children, who near this spot were
cruelly murdered by the followers of the rebel Nana Dhundu Panth of
Bithur, and cast, the dying with the dead, into the well below, on the
xvth day of July, MDCCCLVII.' The expense of the construction
of the gardens and memorial was defrayed partly out of a fine levied
on tho city after the suppression of the rebellion. A Government
grant of £500 a year is made for the maintenance of the gardens,
which are irrigated from the Ganges Canal. In the gardens, south
and south-west of the well, are two graveyards, with monuments to
those who were massacred or died at Cawnpur during the Mutiny.
Further to the west stands the civil station, with the Bank of Bengal,
Christ Church, the theatre, and other European buildings. Old
Cawnpur lies three miles farther along tho river-side, separated from
the present city by fields and gardens. The modern origin of
Cawnpur deprives it of architectural attractions; and it cannot boast
of such ancient palaces or handsome mansions as adorn Agra,
Benares, and other historic capitals. The few buildings with any
pretensions to beauty or elegance have been erected during the last,
fifty years by bankers, merchants, or pleaders. The native city was
built according to no plan, and is badly laid out, abounding in narrow
streets and passages. Except on the undulating margin of the
Ganges, or where indented by ravines, the sites of the city, canton-
ment, and civil station, are alike flat and uninteresting. The
principal landing-place on the Ganges is that known as the Sarsiya
GMt, a noble flight of steps, surrounded by a vaulted arcade of brick
and stone. Cawnpur also contains, besides the buildings mentioned
above, two Roman Catholic chapels, a Union church, a fine market-
place, high school, club, and two racquet courts, etc.
"Cawnpur possesses no historic interest in early times, being a
purely modern creation to meet the military and administrative needs
of the British Government. The city first arose after the defeats of
Shuja-ud-daula, Nawab Wazir of Oudh, at Buxar, in October, 1764,
and at Kora, in May, 1765. The nawab then concluded a treaty
with the British, granting them the right of stationing troops at


272
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
two places in his dominions, Cawnpur and Fatehgarh. One of the
detachments, however, was at first quartered at Bilgram; and it
was not till 1778 that the present site became the advanced frontier
post in this portion of the newly-acquired territory. From the
location of a large body of troops in Cawnpur, the town sprang rapidly
into importance as a trading mart, and has now developed into a
commercial city of the first rank. In 1801, the surrounding country
came finally under British rule, by cession from the Nawab Wazir,
and the headquarters of a district were fixed in the city. No events
of historical note occurred between the annexation and the Mutiny of
1857; but in that year Cawnpur was rendered memorable by the
leading part which it played in the operations of the mutineers. The
struggle with the rebels lasted from May to December, but the station
itself was never lost for more than a few days.
"News of the outhreak of the troops at Meerut reached Cawnpur
on the 14th of May. Eleven days later, the Nana Dundhu Panth of
Bithur, adopted son of the last Peshwa, Baji Rao, was placed in
charge of the treasury; and, on the 30th of May, the entrenchment of
the European barracks began. On the 6th of June the native troops
mutinied, sacked the treasury, broke open the jail, and burnt the
public offices. Next day the Nana opened fire on the entrenchments,
which had no other fortifications than a mud parapet, five feet in
height. After three weeks' cannonade the position became untenable,
and the garrison capitulated under a promise of personal security and
safe conduct to Allahabad. On the 27th they embarked in boats on
the Ganges for Allahabad, at the Sati Chaura Ghat, a landing-place
near the spot where the Memorial Gardens now stand. Before they
could put off, they were treacherously fired upon from the bank, and
all destroyed or captured, except one boat-load, which escaped for the
time into Fatehpur district. The prisoners, including women and
children, were crowded into a house at Cawnpur, and finally massacred
by the Nana's orders in the Savada Kothi, near the East Indian
Piailway, and their bodies cast into the now historic well, noticed
above. On the 16th of July, Havelock's small force entered the city,
and the Nana fled precipitately to Bithur.
"Four days later General Neill arrived with an ample reinforce-
ment of 400 Europeans. Havelock thrice advanced unsuccessfully
into Oudh, and retreated at last to Cawnpur, on the 10th of August.
Shortly afterwards, General Outram reached the city, and marched on


CA WNPUR.
273
to the relief of Lucknow, which was successfully accomplished on the
25th. Lord Clyde's and Colonel Greathed's columns passed through
on different occasions in October; and on the 26th of November the
Cwalior mutineers approached Cawnpur. General Windham attacked
and defeated the rebel force, but, being strengthened by Oudh in-
surgents, they again assaulted the city, which they wrested from us
on the 27th. They held it, however, only for a single night, as Lord
Clyde's army marched in on the evening of the 28th, drove out the
mutineers, and utterly defeated them nest day, outside the city, with
the loss of all their guns. After the reorganisation of the district the
site of the massacre was laid out as memorial gardens, and an
ornamental building was placed over the well into which the bodies
were flung. The surrounding wall is pierced with rows of lancet
windows or openings, having trefoiled mullions, and handsome bronze
doors close the entrance. Within stands the marble angel of
Marochetti, already described. This forms the chief object of interest
to visitors in a city otherwise devoid of historical interest. A
memorial church also occupies the site of General Wheeler's
entrenchments in the cantonment. The style is Romanesque, and
the material consists of massive red brick, relieved by buttresses and
copings of buff freestone."
Cawnpur is famous for its conjurers and snake-charmers. An idle
hour may be pleasantly whiled away by sending for a group of these
clever and amusing jugglers, who, for a few rupees, will perform any
number of wonderful tricks.
The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel has a station at
Cawnpur with two European missionaries, 130 communicants, and
schools with 820 pupils. The American Episcopal Methodists are
represented by three agents, but I have not been able to procure any
recent returns of their work.
The Ganges forms the natural waterway for the traffic of Cawnpur,
and still carries a large portion of the heavy trade. The Ganges
Canal, which passes just south of the city, is also navigable, and
affords means of communication for a considerable number of country
boats. The East Indian Railway from Allahabad to Delhi has a
station about a mile west of the city; and the Lucknow branch of
the Oudh and Rohilkhand Railway, after crossing the Gauges by a
girder bridge, passes between the native quarter and the cantonments,
and joins the East Indian line a little west of tho Cawnpur station.


274
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
The Grand Truiik Road from Calcutta to Delhi also runs through the
city and military lines, while other roads branch off southward to
Kalpi and Hamirpur, and northward, over the railway bridge, to Unao
and Lucknow.
The chief industry of Cawnpur consists in the manufacture of
leather goods, which is rapidly developing from year to year. A large
Government tannery and leather manufactory is situated in the old
fort, together with a steam flour-mill. Two large steam cotton-mills
give employment to a considerable number of operatives, who
manufacture yarn, cloth, and tents, and supply the native weavers
with material for their craft, and several cotton - presses, both
European and native. These two items of leather and cotton goods
make up the principal export trade of Cawnpur; but the city also
forms a great grain mart, where agricultural produce from Bundel-
khand, Oudh, and the middle Doab is collected for dispatch by rail.
The commerce of Cawnpur has steadily increased for many years past.
somewhat to the detriment of Fatehgarh, Mirzapur, and other local
trading centres, but the development of the railway system in Upper
India is already acting so as to decentralise the trade, by creating
intermediate marts.


CHAPTEK XIX
LUCKNOW.— JAUNPUR.—AJODHYA.

A§ UCKNOW, the capital of the comparatively
recent kingdom of Oudh, is a
terribly familiar word to every
Englishman. The romance of
the awful struggle of the Mutiny
centres around the ruins of its
Residency, sacred to the eternal
memory of its heroic defence by
the British garrison in 1857, and
its two equally heroic reliefs under
Havelock, Outram and Colin
Campbell.
Luckuow is quite a modern
city; after Calcutta, Madras, and
Bombay, it is the most populous in India, city and cantonments to-
gether numbering nearly 300,000 souls, of whom one-half are Mnsal-
mans. Thirty-five years ago, it was the capital of a great Muhamma-
dan kingdom, and is now the centre of administration, and the focus
of the commerce, of an important British province. Lucknow attracts
to itself much of the native Musalman aristocracy and learning, and
undoubtedly exercises more potent influence in Muhammadan society
than any other city in India, except perhaps Haidarabad. Lucknow is
wealthy and prosperous, presenting an outward appearance of magni-
ficence and splendour, though its architecture, with one or two excep-
tions, is, beyond all expression, execrable. Placed in the centre of a
province justly called "the Garden of India," the suburbs are ex-
tremely beautiful; viewed from any vantage point, the city is wonder-
fully picturesque, the debased and degraded architecture being toned
t 2


276
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
by distance, its lofty minarets and gilded domes alone visible among
the luxuriant foliage in which the whole city appears embosomed.
Nowhere in India are there more beautiful avenues, parks, and
gardens; nowhere in India are there uglier palaces, mosques and
mausoleums.
Lucknow has one quality that will be appreciated by the traveller,
weary of Dak bungalows and railway rest-houses—Hill's Hotel is one
of the best in India, centrally situated, in handsome buildings once the

palace of the King of Oudh's com-
mander-in-chief. After settling
in these comfortable quarters, or
in any other of the excellent hotels
of Lucknow, a general idea of the
city may bo obtained by a course
round the Outram, Aminabad, and Canning roads, along the river's
bank to the two bridges, and back through the native bazars: as
charming and beautiful a drive as can be found in any city in the
world.
The royal palaces of Lucknow are, without exception, the worst speci-
mens in all India; costly and extravagant, tawdry and tinsel, bad in
architectural design, worse in decorative treatment, but worst of all in
the smear of Oriental vice and degradation that still seems to cling about
them. The principal of these is the Kaisar Bagh, built in 1848—50,
at a cost of ten millions of rupees. It is difficult to imagine where
so much money is to be found in this hideous quadrangle of stucco


LUC KNOW.
277
rubbish, but probably every official, from the Prime Minister to the
clerk of 'the works, had their share of it before it reached the actual
buildings. These are already beginning to decay, and it is to be hoped
that the Government will give all the assistance in their power towards
their final destruction, and so make some amends for their Vandalism
at Delhi, Bijapur, and elsewhere. Every courtyard and pavilion in
redolent of the debauched king who built them, of his ferocious Begam,
and his tribe of concubines. The Kaisar Pasand, in the south-west
angle, the worst specimen of the group, has historic interest from
having been the prison of Sir M. Jackson and his party, previous to
their massacre.
The Chattar Manzel, or umbrella house, is another palace of the
same bizarre and debased sort, so called from a fantastic gilt umbrella
or canopy which crowns the roof. This was built 1827—37 by
Nasir-ud-din for his huge hareem, and was originally surrounded
by a lofty wall, which made it a strong place for the rebels during
the Lucknow mutiny. This palace is now handed over to the United
Service Club, which opens its doors readily to any well-introduced
stranger.
There are many other smaller palaces and mausoleums scattered
about Lucknow, all of which present a wearisome monotony of bad-
ness. They are to be avoided rather than looked for.
The only group of buildings in Lucknow of noble proportions and
architectural interest is that made up of the Great Imambara, and
the really beautiful Jama Masjid or cathedral mosque. The Great
Imambara, though its details will not bear too close an examination, is
however conceived on so grand a scale, as to entitle it to rank with
the buildings of an earlier age. The principal apartment is 162 feet
long, by 53'6 wide; on the two sides are verandahs, respectively 26"6
and 27 "3 wide, and at each end an octagonal apartment fifty-three
feet in diameter, the whole interior dimensions being thus 263 feet by
145. This immense building is covered with vaults of a very simplo
form and still simpler construction, being of a rubble or coarse
concrete several feet in thickness, which is laid on a rude mould or
centering of bricks and mud, and allowed to stand a year or two to set
mid dry. The centering is then removed, and the vault, being in one
piece, stands without abutment or thrust, apparently a better and
more durable form of roof than our most scientific Gothic vaulting;
certainly far cheaper and far more easily made, since it is literally cast


278
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
on a mud form, which may be moulded into any shape the fancy of
the architect may dictate (Feryusson).
The word Imambara signifies the " Patriarch's place," used in the
Musalman feast of the Mohurram, in celebration of the martyrdom of
the sons of Ali, the immediate descendants of Muhammad. This
huge building was erected by Asaf-ud-Daula in 1784 a.d., as a relief
work during the terrible famine of that year. Its mosque, part of the
original design, is a handsome and stately building.
The lesser Imambara is a florid horror to be escaped from as
quickly as possible. It was erected by Muhammad Ali, 1837—41.
The Jama Masjid, or cathedral mosque, is the most beautiful build-
ing in Lucknow. Its towering minarets are a conspicuous object in
the landscape for miles round. It is the only building in all Luck-
now, with the exception of the Great Imambara, worth looking at a
second time.
All round Lucknow are riverside pleasure-houses, walled gardens,
tombs, and mansions, many of which, such as the Moti Mahal, the
Sikander Bagh, Kadam Rasul, Najaf Ashraf, Khurshed Manzal, the
Lall Baradari, the Musa and Alam Bagh, the Dil Kusha, and the
ruined fort of Jalalabad, are associated with striking incidents of the
defence and relief of Lucknow; their details hardly belong to a book
devoted rather to the picturesque than to history, but they are admir-
ably set out in Mr. Keene's clever little handbook of Lucknow, which
may be purchased at any of the leading shops near Hill's Hotel.
In the Alam Bagh, a beautiful walled garden a third of a mile
square, is the tomb of General Sir Henry Havelock, surmounted by an
obelisk.
Wingfield Park is a pretty garden, of some forty acres, laid out with
much taste and skill. It is famous for its roses, and other flowers. It
is adorned with statues and little marble pavilions and fountains.
The Martiniere is a college for boys, founded by General Martin,
one of the many European military adventurers of the last century,
who took service with the Indian princes. He was a Frenchman who
in Clive's day enlisted in the British army, rising to the rank of cap-
tain, when he entered the service of the Nawab of Oudh, succeeding
to the command of his army, and accumulating a vast fortune. He
built the Martiniere, a huge bizarre building with every imaginable
style of architecture jumbled up together. Dying just as it was
finished, he left money for its completion, and its endowment as a


LUCK NOW.
279
school. About 150 boys are educated there free of cost. It is one
of the " sights " of Lucknow. A large number of the boys took a
mauly part in the defence of the residency, as hospital attendants,
signallers, and even in active combat.
The great brick bridge of thirteen arches which spans the river, was
built in 1780 by Asaf-ud-Daula, and is a very quaint and picturesque
structure.

JAMA UA8JID, LUCKNOW.
The Residency is of course the spot which, more than any other
object of interest in Lucknow, attracts the British tourist. Apart
from their romantic history, the ruins and surrounding garden form a
beautiful picture. It is impossible for the most callous to wander
unmoved through its pathetic cemetery, gay with flowers and shadowed
by feathery bamboos. Every inscription brings to mind some freah
incident of the awful defence and relief of Lucknow. Here rests
Henry Lawrence, "who tried to do his duty;" here are the graves of
the chaplain and his only child, of twelve brave women and eight little
children struck down by shot and shell, with two thousand officers


PICTURESQUE INDIA.
and men who perished by war and massacre during the mutiny
of 1857.
I leave each of my readers to select from the abundant literature of
these terrible times such books as may enable them to make an intelli-
gent inspection of the scenes of all the incidents of the defence of
Lucknow. In my opinion Malleson's "History of the Mutiny" is
the clearest and most graphic. The professional guides know all the
spots by name, especially those in and round the Residency itself.
The following extract from the Imperial Gazetteer will, however,
suffice to bring to mind the main surface facts of the Mutiny narra-
tive. A visit to the Museum, where there is a large model of the
Residency, will also be found very helpful.
"A couple of months before the outbreak at Meerut, Sir Henry
Lawrence [20th March, 1857] had assumed the Chief Commissioner-
ship of the newly annexed province of Oudh. The garrison at
Lucknow then consisted of the 32nd [British] Regiment, a weak
company of European Artillery, the 7th Regiment Native Light
Cavalry, and the 13th, 48th, and 71st regiments of Native Infantry.
In or near the city were also quartered two regiments of irregular
local infantry, together with one regiment of military police, one of
Oudh Irregular Cavalry, and two batteries of Native Artillery. The
town thus contained nearly ten Indian soldiers to every European, or
7,000 to 750. Symptoms of disaffection occurred as early as the
month of April, when the house of the surgeon to the 48th was
burned down in revenge to a supposed insult to caste. Sir Henry
Lawrence immediately took steps to meet the danger by fortifying
the Residency and accumulating stores. On the 30th of April the
men of the 7th Oudh Irregulars refused to bite their cartridges, on
the ground that they had been greased with cow's fat. They were
induced with some difficulty to return to their lines. On May 3 Sir
Henry Lawrence resolved to deprive the mutinous regiment of its
arms, a step which was effected not without serious delay.
"On May 12, Sir Henry held a darbar, and made an impressive
speech in Hindustani, in which he called upon the people to uphold
the British Government, as most tolerant to Hindus and Muhammadans
alike. Two days earlier the massacre at Meerut had taken place, and
a telegram brought word of the event on the morning after the darbar.
On the 19th Sir Henry Lawrence received the supreme military com-
mand in Oudh. He immediately fortified the Residency and the Machi


LUC KNOW.
Bhawan, bringing the ladies and children into the former building. On
the night of the 30th May the expected insurrection broke out at Luck-
now. The men of the 71st, with a few from the other regiments, began to
burn the bungalows of their officers and to murder the inmates.
Prompt action was taken, and early next morning the European
force attacked, dispersed, and followed up for ten miles the retreating
mutineers, who were joined during the action by the 7th Cavalry.

TILE RESIDENCY, LUCXNOW.
The rebels fled towards Sitapur. Although Lucknow thus remained
in the hands of the British, by the 12th of June every other post in
Oudh had fallen into the power of the mutineers. The Chief Com-
missioner still held the cantonments and the two fortified posts at the
beginning of June, but the symptoms of disaffection in the city and
among the remaining native troops were unmistakeable. In the midst
of such a crisis Sir Henry Lawrence's health unhappily gave way.
He delegated his authority to a council of five, presided over by Mr.
Gubbins, the Financial Commissioner, but shortly after recovered


2S2
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
sufficiently to resume the command. On June the 11th, however,
the military police and native cavalry broke into open revolt, followed
on the succeeding morning by the native infantry. On the 20th June
news of the fall of Cawnpur arrived; and on the 29th the enemy,
7,000 strong, advanced upon Chinhat, a village on the Faizabad road,
eight miles from the Residency. Sir Henry Lawrence marched out
and gave the enemy battle at that spot. The result proved disastrous
to our arms, through the treachery of the Oudh artillery, and a retreat
became necessary. The troops fell back on Lucknow, abandoned the
Machi Bhawan, and concentrated all their strength upon the Residency.
The siege of the enclosure began upon 1st July. On the 2nd, as Sir
Henry Lawrence lay on his bed, a shell entered the room, burst, and
wounded him severely. He lingered till the morning of the 4th and
then died in great agony. Major Banks succeeded to the civil com-
mand, while the military authority devolved upon Brigadier Inglis.
On 20th July the enemy made an unsuccessful assault. Next day
Major Banks was shot, and the sole command was undertaken by
Inglis. On the 10th August the mutineers attempted a second
assault, which was again unsuccessful. The third assault took place
on the 18th, but the' enemy were losing heart as they found the small
garrison so able to withstand them, and the repulse proved com-
paratively easy.
"Meanwhile the British within were dwindling away and eagerly
expecting reinforcements from Cawnpur. On 5th September news of tho
relieving force under Outram and Havelock reached the garrison by a
faithful native messenger. On 22nd September the relief arrived at
the Alambagh, a walled garden on the Cawnpur road held by the
enemy in force. Havelock stormed the Alambagh, and on 25th fought
his way with continuous opposition through the narrow lanes of the
city. On the 26th he arrived at the gate of the Residency enclosure,
and was welcomed by the gallant defenders within. General Neill fell
during the action outside the walls. The sufferings of the besieged
had been very great; but even after the first relief it became clear
that Lucknow could only be temporarily defended till the arrival of
further reinforcements should allow the garrison to cut its way out.
Outram, who had now re-assumed the command which he generously
yielded to Havelock during the relief, accordingly fortified an enlarged
area of the town, bringing many important outworks within the limits
of defence; and the siege began once mor.e till a second relieving


LUCK NOW.
#3
party could set the besieged at liberty. Night and day the enemy
kept up a continual firing against our position, while Outram re-
taliated by frequent sorties.
"Throughout October the garrison continued its gallant defence,
and a small party shut up in the Alambagh, and cut off unexpectedly
from the main body, also contrived to hold good its dangerous post.
Meanwhile Sir Colin Campbell's force had advanced from Cawnpur,
and arrived at the Alambagh on the 10th of November. From the
day of his landing at Calcutta Sir Colin had never ceased in his
endeavours to collect an army to relieve Lucknow by gathering
together the liberated Delhi field force and the fresh reinforcements
from England. On the 12th the main body threw itself into the
Alambagh after a smart skirmish with the rebels. Sir Colin next
occupied the Dilkusha palace, south-east of the town, and then moved
against the Martiniere, which the enemy had fortified with guns in
position. After carrying that post, he forded the canal, and on the
16th attacked the Sikandra Bagh, the chief rebel stronghold. The
mutineers, driven to bay, fought desperately for their fortress, but
before evening the whole place was in the hands of the British. As
soon as Sir Colin Campbell reached the Moti Mahal, on the outskirts
of the city proper, General Havelock came out from the Residency
to meet him, and the second relief was successfully accomplished.
"Even now, however, it remained impossible to hold Lucknow, and
Sir Colin Campbell determined before undertaking any further
offensive operations, to return to Cawnpur with his army, escorting
the civilians, ladies and children rescued from their long imprison-
ment in the Residency, with the view of forwarding them to Calcutta.
On the morning of the 20th of November, the troops received orders
to march for the Alambagh; and the Residency, the scene of so long
and stirring a defence, was abandoned for a while to the rebel army.
Before the final departure, Sir Henry Havelock died from an attack of
dysentery. He was buried in the Alambagh, without any monument,
a cross on a neighbouring tree alone marking for the time his last
resting - place. Sir James Outram, with 3,500 men, held the
Alambagh until the commander-in-chief could return to recapture the
capital. The rebels used the interval well for the fortification of their
stronghold to the utmost extent of their knowledge and power. They
surrounded the greater part of the city, for a circuit of twenty miles,
with an external line of defences, extending from the Gumti to the


284
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
canal. An earthen parapet lay behind the canal; a second line of
earthworks connected the Moti Mahal, the mess-house, and the
Imambara; while the Kaisar Bagh constituted the rebel citadel.
Stockade works and parapets closed every street, and loopholes in all
the houses afforded an opportunity for defending the passage inch by
inch. The computed strength of the insurgents amounted to 30,000
Sepoys, together with 50,000 volunteers, and they possessed 100
pieces of ordnance guns and mortars.
"On the 2nd of March, 1858, Sir Colin Campbell found himself
free enough in the rear to march once more upon Lucknow. He first
occupied the Dilkusha, and posted guns to command the Martiniere.
On the 5th, Brigadier Franks arrived with 6,000 men, half of them
Gurkhas sent by the Raja of Nepal. Outram's force then crossed
the Gumti, and advanced from the direction of Faizabad, while
the main body attacked from the south-east. After a week's hard
fighting, from the 9th to the 15th March, the rebels were
completely defeated, and their posts captured one by one. Most of
the insurgents, however, escaped. As soon as it became clear that
Lucknow had been permanently recovered, and thr.t the enemy, as a
combined body, had ceased to exist, Sir Colin Campbell broke up the
British Oudh army, and the work of reorganisation began. On the
18th of October, 1858, the Governor-General and Lady Canning
visited Lucknow in state, and found the city already recovering from
the devastation to which it had been subjected."
An interesting excursion may be made to the elephant stables of
the Commissariat Department, about three miles from the hotel
There are over thirty elephants, and the whole stud is valued at
about £10,000. These useful animals drag enormous loads, draw
water, and perform a hundred other useful functions. They and
their keepers are great friends, and they may be seen nursing the
babies in a coil of their trunks, while the father prepares their food.
They arc fed on coarse loaves, or chowpatties, and are allowed a given
number each. The elephant counts them carefully over, and if the
keeper gives him short allowance, he protests with loud trumpetings
till his tale is made up. They will search for and find with their
trunks two-anna silver bits, handing them to their keepers when found,
with much gravity of demeanour.
The native city of Lucknow affords ample opportunity for studying
all the handicrafts of India. The bazars of any Indian native town


LUC KNOW.
285
are full of unwearying interest, especially in cities where, as in
Lucknow, artistic manufactures have been stimulated by the presence
of a wealthy Indian Court. Although the royal family of Oudh is
fast vanishing into obscurity, Lucknow is still the favourite residence
of its princes, as well as of the numerous wealthy nobles and
Talukdars of Oudh. These, with the many rich merchants and the
growing stream of English visitors, foster and encourage the shops
and art-workmen of the bazars.
Different trades occupy various quarters of the Great Bazar, which
is a narrow winding street running from one end of the native city to
the other. The leading men of each craft occupy the front shops, the
smaller fry crowding into the narrow lanes and alleys behind. The
roadway is filled with a busy clamorous throng of Indians in gay
dresses and bright turbans; so dense, indeed, is the crowd, that for
many hours in the afternoon all vehicular traffic is forbidden by the
authorities, as well as elephants, camels or horses.
To see any Indian bazar to advantage, a good intelligent guide is
necessary. In Lucknow, the professional valets-de-place have got
such a low ideal of what an Englishman is likely to want to see, that
they are not much use. If possible, the traveller should get an intro-
duction to some Indian gentleman, merchant, pleader, schoolmaster or
doctor, who can speak English fluently, and persuade him to spend an
afternoon as guide through the Lucknow bazar. It will be one oi'
the most interesting experiences he is likely to have during his whole
journey, and will give a thorough insight into the native life of India.
The entrance of the Great Bazar is occupied by the silversmiths,
pale-faced Kashmiris who have formed colonies of their own in almost
every city of Oudh, the Punjab and the North-West. They sit
gravely on the floor of their open shops, chasing exquisite patterns of
floral or animal subjects on silver teapots, cream-jugs, basins, cups,
vases, bowls, rose-water bottles, boxes and other pretty trinkets.
These are sold for a certain weight of rupees. The finest designs
fetch double their weight, and simple patterns can be had for a fourth
more than their weight. The ancient craft of gold and silver smiths
has existed in Lidia for thousands of years. The oldest piece now in
existence is a beautiful and delicate Buddhist relic casket belonging to
the India Office Library, found about forty years ago in a tope near
Jalalabad in Afghanistan, dating from about 50 B.C. The gold and
silver workers of Lucknow maintain a well-deserved reputation for the


286
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
excellence of their work. The best known is the pencil-gilt silver-
work, which is mainly used in the production of Sarais, or water-
bottles. Their elegant shapes and delicate tracery, graven through
the gilding to the dead white silver below, which softens the lustre of
the gold to a pearly radiance, gives a most charming effect to this
refined and graceful work. It is said to be a Mongolian art, but
influenced and refined by the superiority which the Kashmiris possess
over all other Orientals in elaborating decorative details of good design,
whether in metal hammered or cut, enamelling or weaving. Cups

OOLD AND SILVER SMITH, LUCKNOrt'.
are also made in this work, and trays of a very pretty four-cornered
pattern, the corners being shaped like the Muhammadan arch. The
Kashmir origin of the art is manifest by the constant introduction
of the well-known cone pattern so familiar in embroidered Kashmir
shawls. No prettier present can be taken home from India than one
of these lovely pencil-gilt cups or sarais, or the cheaper but not less
beautiful engraved silver-work. Any traveller interested in the history
of the silversmith's art in India, should consult the chapter on " Gold
and silver plate," in Birdwood's "Industrial Arts of India."
Lucknow is famous for its Hukas, or tobacco-pipes, the smoking of
which is so essential a part of every Indian bargain. The clay bowls
are manufactured in the same quarter as the deftly-modelled and


LUC KNOW.
287
brightly-coloured clay figures which are sold in the same shops.
This is the potters' quarter, where every kind of earthen vessel, from
the common unglazed lota and water-jug, to turquoise imitations of
the finest Persian glazed wares, are manufactured in the sight of
every passer-by. Figures in clay representing faithfully and with
much spirit the domestic servants and handicraftsmen of the city, and
the different races, tribes and castes of Oudh and the North-west,
dressed up in muslins, silks and spangles, are sold in the potters'
bazar for two, three or four rupees a dozen, according to size and
quality. It is possible also to procure from some of the finest
modellers in clay, turbaned heads representing with great fidelity the
facial type and head-dress of literally hundreds of differing races,
castes and trades all over India. The coloured clay models of fruit
are often used by the natives as a practical joke, and I have more than
once been taken in by their striking fidelity to nature. The more
costly potter's work of Lucknow is garish, flaunting and debased, not
worth the notice of any European customer. It bears about the same
relation to the beautiful glazed pottery of the Panjab, as the Chatter
Manzil does to the Taj Mahal.
The jewellery bazar of Lucknow was, during tho time of the
Nawabs, one of the most famous in India, but now, though still
important, it ranks far behind Jaipur or Delhi. The jewellers lost all
their capital during the Mutiny, and are only now beginning to
recover something of their old position. The table and rose diamond
is cut here to a considerable extent. The finest and most elaborate
jeweller's work can be had in Lucknow for about six or seven per cent.
on the cost of the gold and precious stones. The very best artists
will work for a rupee a day. The gold-enamelling of Lucknow ranks
only next to that of Jaipur, to which it is very similar. With the
exception of the well-known diamond-cut pattern of silver bangles,
there is no specially distinctive jewellery of Lucknow; it is mainly
gemmed and enamelled gold, similar to that of Delhi. It is a pretty
sight to watch a gem-setter arranging his stones on a white cloth,
picking them out, one by one, into patterns for which the gold and
silver smiths make the setting. A clever guide may perhaps unearth
some of tho engraved gems, or gem-encrusted jade, for which Lucknow
was famous in the days of the Nawabs.
The craft for which Lucknow has the greatest reputation through-
out India is that of gold and silver wire-drawing, with it3


288
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
complementary trades of gold and silver lace, brocades, and
embroidery. There are about 1000 artisans employed in this
industry. The basis of these fabrics is gold, silver, or silver-gilt wire
drawn out by hand, or rather by that extra hand possessed by every
Indian, the foot, to an extreme thinness; sometimes used round, at
other times flattened out into fine metal ribbons, or cut into spangles

GOLD LACE MAKERS, LUCKNOW.
of various patterns: a rupee can be drawn out to 800 yards of wire.
These products are far superior to anything of the kind produced in
Europe by machinery; the wire is used largely in Ahmadabad,
Benares, and indeed all over India in the manufacture of kincob
brocades. The principal kinds of lace made at Lucknow from
gold and silver wire are called lachka, kalabatu, and lais. In lachka
the warp is of silver-gilt strips, woven with a woof of silk; it is
often stamped with patterns in high relief, and is mostly used for
edging turbans and petticoats. Kalabatu consists of strips of gilded
silver twisted spirally round threads of yellow silk, and then woven


LUC KNOW.
289
into a ribbon similar to lachka. In lais the woof is of wire, and the
warp of silk. This industry reappears in the shoe and slipper bazar,

TAILOR, LUCKNOW.
where beautiful embroidered velvet and leather slippers may be
purchased. The native kings of Oudh prohibited the embroidery of
u


390
PICTURESQUE IXDIA.
slippers with anything but pure gold wire, but the bazars of
Lucknow are now mainly filled with pinchbeck frauds from Delhi. It
is, however, possible to pick up very beautiful specimens of these old
gold-embroidered shoes of Lucknow, from some of the dealers in
curiosities who frequent the verandah of Hill's Hotel, who must not be
judged by the cheap rubbish they offer at first, for they can produce
things worth seeing and buying to anyone whom they think a likely
customer. The tailors' quarter is hard by the lace bazar, and a
tailor clad in striped muslin, with a jaunty green cap on his head,
and a gay huka by his side, stitching silver lace on a blue velvet coat,
made a quaint and pretty picture which a friend secured for me with a
"detective" camera, and which Mr. Pedder has reproduced on the
previous page. Gold embroidery is used to ador n gorgeous velvets
called makhmal, which is made into costly State canopies, umbrellas
of dignity, elephants' cloths, horse trappings, and other State
caparisons. The sumptuous gold scroll-ornamentation is in design
distinctly of Italian 16th century origin, brought over, no doubt, by
the skilled Italian workmen who flocked to the court of Akbar and
his immediate successors. The embroidered native coats of Lucknow
have a great reputation all over India.
The Lucknow cotton-cloth bazar is a famous one. There is of
course a large importation from Manchester, but there is still a
solid survival of the ancient weaving industry of Oudh. There
are about 1500 looms still at work in the city; cotton printing
by small hand-blocks is a very successful trade, and the native
chintzes, owing to the great superiority of their colour and their
freedom from sizing, command nearly double the price of Manchester
goods. Some of the most beautiful cetton fabrics and stuffs of
India are produced at Lucknow, owing more to the strength and
brilliance of their natural dyes, than to the fineness or softness
with which they are woven. It is estimated that in spite of the
enormous and increasing imports of Manchester cotton-prints into
India, that the domestic manufacture not only far exceeds it, but
is almost equal to the entire export trade of Manchester itself.
Anyone who will take the trouble to turn over the stock of some
large dealer in native-dyed cotton fabrics, will be well rewarded in
the beautiful and harmonious masterpieces of textile art he will bo
able to purchase, for a few annas each.
The whole of the mile-and-a-half to which the central bazar


LUCK NOW.
291
stretches, is one picturesque jumble of trades, following each other in
quick succession. In the fruit bazar are stalls piled with oranges,
pomeloes, tamarinds, limes, guavas, grapes, pears and apples, many of
which are brought by Afghan merchants from Kabul, who lounge
about in their dirty loose clothes and sheepskin caps.
A savoury smell filling the whole air heralds the food bazar. Here
are stalls of hot frizzling kabobs, piles of sweetmeats made of honey,
flour and ghee; bakers busy with chapatties, the flat cakes which
are the universal bread of India, and which are baked brown in two

HVEll'k KHOP, LUCKNOW.
minutes on flat sheets of iron over little charcoal fires; piles of yellow
turmeric and scarlet chillies for curry; women grinding corn, dhal
and other cereals.
Now the loud clattering of pots and pans announces the copper-
smiths' quarter, where brassworkers and tinsmiths congregate. The
work of the former, being an ancient craft, is as good as the latter, a
19th century importation, is bad. Everybody is familiar with the
beautiful brass work of India, so much used in England for household
decoration; its makers will use nothing but the finest material for
their artistic labours. The tinsmiths, however, are content to work
up disused petroleum and castor-oil canisters, and their work is on a
par with their material. Nothing is more curious in an Indian bazar
than the rapid transition from a workshop turning out the most
u 2


293
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
perfect and artistic results, to another whose jerryness and inefficiency
have no rival anywhere in the world.
A group of shops piled with rough pink lumps of mineral, like
i lferior gypsum, form the salt bazar, a Government monopoly which
brings in a revenue all over India of some £7,000,000 every year.
Here and there throughout the bazar are little shops whose entire
stock consists of a small lump of greenish pudding, which is being
retailed out in tiny cubes. This is another " Government monopoly"
and is Majoon, a preparation of the deadly Bhang or Indian hemp
known in Turkey and Egypt as Hasheesh, the most horrible intoxicant
the world has yet produced. In Egypt, its importation and sale is
absolutely forbidden, and a costly preventive service is maintained to
suppress the smuggling of it by Greek adventurers; but a Christian
Government is wiser in its generation and gets a comfortable income
out of its sale. When an Indian wants to commit some horrible
crime, such as murder or wife mutilation, he prepares himself for it
with two annas' worth of Bhang from a government majoon shop.
The little rooms, open to the street, of which the sole furniture is
some matting and a few Hukas, are Ghurras or Chandu shops, farmed
out by the government of India to provide another form of Indian
hemp intoxication which is smoked instead of eaten. The wide and
spacious shops in front of which are strewn broken potsherds, and
whose contents are two or three kegs and a pile of little pots, are
the Government liquor-farmers' establishments. The groups of noisy
men seated on the floor are drinking ardent spirits of the worst
description, absolutely forbidden to the British soldier, but sold retail
to natives at three farthings a gill, of which two farthings go to the
Exchequer. No Hindu will drink from the same vessel as any one
else, which explains the pile of little pots, and the broken sherds in
the street outside.
Here and there a large native house is passed through the door of
which streams in and out a swarm of customers. It is perhaps three
o'clock in the afternoon. Entering with them, you will find yourself
in a spacious but very dirty courtyard, round which are ranged fifteen
or twenty small rooms. The stench is sickening, the swarm of flies
intolerable, and there is something strange and weird in the faces of
those coming in from the street. This is the establishment of another
Government contractor, the opium farmer. At the entrance sits a
comely well-dressed native woman, whose husband is busy sorting





-94
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
the arriving customers into the least crowded of the side rooms. Before
her is a table on which are large bowls rapidly filling up with copper
coins; like Matthew of old, she sits at the receipt of custom, for half
these coins go to the Government treasury at Calcutta, the other half
going into the pocket of the Government tax-collector, the opium
farmer. Enter one of the small rooms. It has no window, and is
very dark, but in the centre is a small charcoal fire, whose lurid glow
lights up the faces of nine or ten human beings, men and women,
lying on the floor like pigs in a sty. A young girl some fifteen
years of age has charge of each room, fans the fire, lights the opium
pipe, and holds it in the mouth of the last comer, till his head falls
heavily on the body of his or her predecessor. In no East-end gin
palace, in no lunatic or idiot asylum, will you see such horrible de-
struction of God's image in the face of man, as appears in the
countenances of those in the preliminary stages of opium drunkenness.
Here you may see some handsome young married woman nineteen or
twenty years of age, sprawling on the senseless bodies of men, her fine
brown eyes flattened and dull with coming stupor, and her lips drawn
convulsively back from her glittering white teeth. Here is a younger
girl, sitting among a group of newly-arrived customers, singing some
lewd romance, as they hand round the pipes. There is a bonny little
lad of six or seven, watching his father's changing face with a dreadful
indifference. At night these dens are crowded to excess, and it is
estimated that there are upwards of 12,000 persons in Lucknow
enslaved by this hideous vice. Green hands can get drunk for an
anna, or even less, but by degrees more and more opium is needed,
till hardened sots require 200 or 300 drops of thick opium mixed with
tobacco, to lecure complete intoxication. An opium sot is the most
hopeless of all drunkards. Once in the clutches of this fiend, every-
thing gives way to his fierce promptings. His victim only works to
get more money for opium. Wife, children, home, health and life
itself at last, are all sacrificed to his degrading passion.
In the city of Lucknow in 1889, there were thirty distilleries of
native spirits, 201 liquor shops, twenty-four opium dens, and ninety-two
Bhops for Bhang, Churras, and other maddening and intoxicating drugs.
These bring in a substantial and steadily - increasing profit to the
Indian exchequer. The receipts of the North-West Provinces and Oudh
from the retail sale of opium, Bhang and such poisonous drugs is
about £70,000 and steadily increasing, while the revenue from spirits


LUCKNO W.
is nearly £600,000, having doubled itself during the last seven
years.
But this is not " picturesque India." Let us get away from the
reeking atmosphere of liquor shops and opium dens to the cheerful
brightness of the Nakhas, or bird bazar, where live birds of all sorts
ure sold, not for the table, but for sport or pets. Here are cages of
rare gamecocks, and pigeons trained to tumble in the air for wagers;
little open boxes of fighting quails, kept severely apart till their duels
are fought, for quail-fighting is the popular sport of Musalman
Lucknow; parrots and minas trained to talk; larks and doves,
weaver-birds, bulbuls, avadavats, and other singing-birds; tiny young
partridges, mere balls of down, to bo trained as they grow into house-
hold pets; hawks and falcons for the chase; peafowl, herons, storks,
and waterfowl for the ponds of native gentlemen's gardens. Hundreds
of small birds, of no value either as pets, songsters, or fighters, are
bought by pious people every morning, to be set at liberty again as a
work of merit, pleasing to the gods, or to serve the purpose of some
other superstition. There is no prettier sight anywhere than the
Nakhas Bird Market of Lucknow, if the eyes are discreetly closed to
much ill-treatment and cruelty to these unfortunate feathered captives.
Nothing is more surprising to an Englishman, in visiting an Indian
bazar, than the microscopic bargains which are made by the poorer
buyers, as, for instance, the various condiments that are needed to
make up a curry. The anna, in the Lucknow Bazar, can be divided
up into 912 fractions, perhaps the smallest currency in the world,
unless it be in the remoter parts of inland China. The money table
is as follows :—
4 Cowries = 1 gunda.
19 gundas = 1 pie.
3 pies = 1 pice.
4 pice = 1 anna.
The money-changers will, for a tiny commission, change an anna into
any or all of these sub-divisions.
The Christian missions at Lucknow are in the hands of the Church
Missionary Society, the American Episcopal Methodists, and the
English Wesleyan Methodists.
The Church Missionary Society is under the charge of the Rev.
A. J. Birkett and a native colleague; there are about 100 com-
municants, and 400 children in the schools.


296
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
The Wesleyan Methodists have a chapel for English people, with
thirty-seven church members, largely attended by soldiers, and a
vernacular chapel with thirty-three members. The schools have an
attendance of about 600 children. The Rev. W. D. Frater and the
Rev. J. Parsons are in charge respectively. There is a small theo- I
logical training school, with seven or eight students.
The American Mission is the most important of the three, having 1
four or five American and as many more native ministers. They
have nearly 200 communicants, and over 1,000 pupils in their various
schools, most of which are Anglo-Vernacular.
The Oudh and Rohilkhand Railway runs north-west from Lucknow
to Saharaupur junction, on the North Western, through Shah-
jahanpur, Bareilly, and Moradabad, none of which towns present any
features of interest that need attract the tourist, or which call for any
description in this book. The pretty hill station of Naini Tal, greatly
resorted to by Europeans from Oudh and the North-West Provinces,
is a long day's journey of seventy-four miles from Bareilly. It lies
on the banks of a very beautiful lake, about a mile long, 6,500 feet
above the sea. It is not, however, worth the time needful for a visit,
being inferior in grandeur and beauty of surroundings to either
Darjiling, Mussoorie, or Simla.
Southward, the Oudh and Rohilkhand Railway passes through a rich
and fertile country, through Faizabad, Jaunpur, and Benares to its
terminus, Moghal Serai, on the East India Railway.
Jaunpur is an important town and administrative headquarters of
about 50,000 inhabitants. It has borne an important part in Indian
history. Fragments of ancient Buddhist and Hindu buildings are
found in the walls of the Fort of Firoz, and there is no doubt that
Jaunpur held an important place in the kingdom of Ajodhya. The
splendid architectural monuments with which the city abounds,
belong to the Pathan period, 1360—1560. The Sharki dynasty
founded their capital at Jaunpur in 1394, and it remained in the
hands of successive Musalman dynasties until 1775, when it passed
into the hands of the East India Company.
The Fort of Firoz was built by the Emperor Tuglak in 1360. Tho
fine gateway was once decorated with glazed yellow and bine bricks,
of which some portions may still be seen. Within arc several ruined
buildings of some interest: a small mosque, a curious Jain pillar in
three stories, with an ornamental spire, a round tower, and a bath.


JAUNPUR.
297
The river face of the fort is very fine, the battlements heing 150 feet
above the surface of the water. A splendid view of the city and
surrounding country may be obtained from the top. The greater
portion of the interior structure of the fort was blown up and
destroyed after the Mutiny. The mosque in the fort is the oldest in
the town; the front rows of pillars have evidently been plundered
from an older Hindu temple; they are very richly sculptured.
One of the finest old stone bridges in India spans the Gumti at
Jaunpur. It was erected, 1569—73, by Munim Khan, measures 712
feet in length, with four central arches, and six of smaller span on
each side. There used to be shops on each side of the roadway, but
they were all swept away by a great flood 100 years ago.
The Jama Masjid is a very noble mosque, begun by Shah Ibrahim
a.d. 1419, and finished in the reign of Husain, 1451—78. The
courtyard measures 220 by 214 feet; on the western side is a range
of buildings, the centre one being covered by a finely-proportioned
dome. The front is a very remarkable pyramidal gate, like an
Egyptian propylon in mass and outline, rising to a height of eighty-
six feet. The three sides of the court were originally surrounded by
double colonnades, two stories high inside, and three outside, the
floor of the yard being raised to the height of the first storey. On
each face was a handsome gateway, but the greater part of this lovely
quadrangle has been taken down by the British authorities, being
used by them as a stone-quarry for general purposes.
The Atala Mosque is a highly-ornamented and very beautiful
building; the colonnades are four storeys deep, the outer columns
on both sides being double square pillars. The lovely gateways are
pure Saracenic, and the western faco is broken by three pyramidal
gateways, not so lofty as, but much finer in decoration than, the one
at the Jama Masjid. Fergusson considers the interior domes and
roofs superior to any other specimen of Muhammadan art of so early
an age. They exhibit the arched style of the Saracenic architects in
as great a degree of completeness as it is exhibited at any subsequent
period.
The Lall Darwaza Mosque has a richly-decorated gateway, hand-
somely carved, with panels containing bells and lotus flowers. This
gateway is boldly massive, and is a curious mixture of Hindu and
Musalman stylen. There are many other beautiful mosques and
buildings at Jaunpur, the principal of which are the Jinjiri Masjid,


298
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
with large piers upholding a screen of much beauty, built by Ibrahim;
the Dariba Mosque, and the Idgah.
Faizabad is a city of about 40,000 population, half way between
Lucknow and Benares. No special interest attaches to this city, and
the only inducement for the traveller to halt there is to see Ajodbya,
an ancient Hindu city of great holiness, five miles distant. There is
a good Dak bungalow at Faizabad, which is a modern town. The
only building possessing any architectural interest is the tomb of
Bahu Begam, who lived and died here. It is said to be the finest
mausoleum in Oudh.
Ajodhya is one of the seven sacred cities of Hindustan, a pilgrimage
to which secures eternal happiness. These seven cities are Ajodhya,
the city of Rama; Muttra, the city of Krishna; Buddh Gaya, the
city of illusion; Benares, the city of Siva; Conjeveram, Avani, and
Dwarka in Kathiawar. The interest of Ajodhya centres in its ancient
history: the scenes described in the great Hindu epic poem of the later
Vedic age, B.C. 500-300, the "Ramayana," or the adventures of
Rama, are laid in and round Ajodhya. Rama Chandra ruled in great
pomp at Ajodhya, and his epic covers the whole period of the rise and
establishment of Buddhism, and of the earlier history of the
Brahminical revolt against its influence. The beautiful description of
Ajodhya in its prime, given in that unique and fascinating poem,
"The Light of Asia," by Sir Edwin Arnold, are faithful transcripts
from the pages of the Ramayana. They furnish striking pictures of
the city, court and country life of the Buddhistic state of Kapilavastir
long before the birth of Christ. When the Raja of Jaipur prepared
his magnificent reception of the Prince of Wales in 1876, he planned
his decorations of the city and the whole ceremonial from these
wonderful descriptions of Ajodhya in the Ramayana. At this time
Ajodhya was the capital of the Aryan Empire, the most magnificent
city in India, and was probably unrivalled in all Asia. It is said to
have covered an area of ninety-six square miles. Nothing is left now
but heaps of ruins.
Ajodhya was restored on the revival of Brahmanism by King
Vikramaditya, a.d. 57. The antiquities of the place are all identified
with this period. Ramkot is the ancient fortified palace of this king,
an oblong building about 200 feet long, with thick solid walls, now
used as a temple sacred to Ram. It is, however, very doubtful if any
portion of the original building exists. It marks the spot where


AJODHYA.
259
Rama Chandra was born. The Mani Parbat is a sacred mound or
stupa attributed to Asoka, built on a spot where Buddha preached.
There are two other mounds of the same kind called the Kuver and
Sugriv Parbat. There are a great number of temples and shrines, to
which some 400,000 pilgrims repair at the time of the great
Ramnaumi Mela. There is also a singularly fine old mosque, built
by Baber, somewhat neglected, but one of the most picturesque ruins
in all Oudh.

AS AJOllllVA KAKIIl.


CHAPTEE XX.
BENARES.

ENARES is the fifth city of India in size,
population, and importance. It is a place of
great wealth, full of noble mansions and
palaces of pious Hindu princes, rajas, and
bankers, who pride themselves on keeping up
a residence in Holy Benares. It is also a
great distributing centre of trade and com-
merce, and is notable for the manufacture of
ornamental brass-work, which finds its way abundantly all over
Europe and America.- as well as for its silks, shawls, embroidery, and
brocades, famous all over India. Its population, apart from its
innumerable companies of pilgrims, is about 200,000, three-fourths
of which are Hindu and one-fourth Musalman. There are not 300
Christians all told.
Benares is the metropolis of the Hindu faith. It is probably the
most ancient city in India, and is supposed to date back to the first
Aryan colonization. It is certainly coeval with the earliest days of
Hinduism, and has held the first place of all in the hearts and
affections of Hindus through every century of their history. To the
pious Brahman Benares is what Mekka is to the Musalman, Jerusalem
to the Christian. The longing of his whole life is to visit this pistes


BENARES.
301
of spotless holiness and wash away his blackest sins in the sacred
Ganges before he dies. The palaces which fringe the river are full of
the aged relatives of their owners, come together from all parts of
India, waiting with calm, patient, ecstatic happiness the summons to
Swarga of the angel of death, for Benares is, indeed, the very gate of
heaven.
Benares is equally revered by that other great religion of the East,
the Buddhist. Twenty-five centuries ago Buddha preached his first
sermon here, and made it the centre from which he sent forth his
missionaries to Ceylon, China, Japan, Burma, Nepal, and Thibet,
until half the human race came under the sway of his doctrine.
Benares was even then so great a centre of religious thought and
influence, that Buddha naturally selected it as his centre of opera-
tions, and endeavoured first of all to secure the countenance and
support of its learned pundits and teachers. Tradition avers that it
was from Benares Solomon procured his " apes and peacocks," both
of which are still held sacred, in the Hindu temples of the city. It is
also said that one of the wise men of the East, who brought presents
to the infant Jesus at Jerusalem, was a Raja from Benares. How-
ever that may be, there is probably no sacred city in the world with
so ancient and unbroken a record, or which even to-day exercises its
sway over so many millions of devotees; dear alike to that religion
which, above all others, is saturated with idolatry, and to its great
rival which, scorning idolatry and polytheism, teaches that every
individual man, by a holy life, can lift himself into and become part
of the Divine.
Modern Benares is wholly given to idolatry. Buddhism has long
since succumbed to Brahmanism, and been swept out of India
altogether. Nothing remains but the ruins of its topes, temples,
chaitya halls and Viharas, the most important group being at
Sarnath, five miles from Benares.
Benares is without question the most picturesque city in India. It
lies on a bend of the Ganges, along the crest of a hill about 100 feet
above the water. Viewed from the river, it presents a panorama of
palaces, temples and mosques, surmounted by domes, pinnacles and
minarets, stretching three miles along the top of the bank. From
these descend great flights of stone stairs, broken into wide platforms,
on which are built exquisite Hindu shrines, bathing-houses, and
preaching canopies. Long piers project into the river, on which sick


PICTURESQUE INDIA.
people lie, carefully tended by their relatives, to get the beneficent
healing of the great mother Ganges. Ghats, platforms and piers are
alive with pilgrims from every part of India, in every variety of
costume, and every stage of dress and undress, grouped under huge
straw umbrellas, sitting at the feet of some learned mahant or
preacher, gazing at holy ascetics, jostled by sacred bulls, crowding
in and out of the water, drying themselves with towels, prostrate at
the margin telling beads. Crows, kites, pigeons and parrots circle
round the heads of this kaleidoscopic crowd. Up and down the ghats,
all day long, but especially in the early morning, stream the endless
course of pilgrims, ragged tramps, aged crones, horrible beggars,
hawkers, Brahman priests, sacred bulls and cows, Hindu preachers,
wealthy rajas or bankers in gay palankins, Fakirs, pariah dogs, and
scoffing globe-trotters from Europe and America.
A pathetic feature of this jostling, bellowing crowd is the large
number of tottering aged women, with scanty white locks, coming out
of the cold river, crawling feebly up the steep steps with their wet
clothes clinging to their poor shivering lean legs, shrinking into some
recess lest the shadow of a passing Englishman or Musalman should
fall upon them, a calamity that spoils the effect of the sacred cleansing
and renders it needful to creep back once more to the chill water.
Hundreds of aged creatures of both sexes are always in Benares,
having left home and family, perhaps a thousand miles away, never to
return, happy and glad to chill themselves slowly into heaven in the
sacred waves of the Ganges.
Nothing in all their religion is so dear to the devout Hindu as their
beloved mother Ganges. The ice-cavern in the mysterious Himalya
which is her birth-place, is the fifth head of Siva. For 1600 miles
her gracious course is hallowed by the haunts of gods and heroes.
The most pious act a Hindu can perform is the six years' pilgrimage
from source to mouth and back again. Pilgrims to her banks
carry back bottles of the precious water to their kindred in far-off
provinces; to die and be burnt on her sacred margin, and have their
ashes borne away to the ocean on her loving bosom, is the last wish of
millions of Hindus. No river in the world does more to justify the
reverence of the people, blessed, fed and sustained by the water she
brings down to the fertile plains from the " roof of the world."
Every morning, during his stay at Benares, the European traveller
should take boat and row slowly down in front of the ghats. The





3°4
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
guides belonging to Clark's Hotel, which is the best in the city, will
make all necessary arrangements.
It is a great advantage to secure introductions in Benares to some
educated Hindu gentleman, or missionary who has been for some
time resident in the town. The professional guides all over India are
very inferior, and cannot do more than show the way through the
bazars, point out notable buildings, and keep a sharp eye on tips and
commissions. Every turn of the street, every step of the ghat, every
group on the platforms present some incident exciting the greatest
curiosity, which can only be satisfied by someone versed in the customs
of the Hindu religion.
Along the whole length of the city, there are altogether about fifty
principal ghats. Boats generally embark at the Dasasamedh ghat,
or the Raj ghat, near the railway bridge. The boatmen prefer the
former, as it gives them a row down stream, but it is better to start
from the Raj ghat and row up, the slower pace of the boat giving moro
lime for observation.
The magnificent steel bridge of the Oudh and Rohilkhand Railway
is one of the finest in India, and has a total length of about 1200
yards. Passing under this fine work, the first ghat of interest is tho
Trilochana. The water between the two turrets on this ghat has a
special sanctity, and every pilgrim bathes there. Tho houses above
belong to some Delhi merchants.
Next to it is the Gau, or Cow ghat, so called from a stone figure of
a cow, and that it is the drinking-place of the many sacred zebus
which frequent the city.
The next two ghats are dedicated to Mahadeva and Durga; passing
these the Panchganga, where five rivers are supposed to meet under-
ground, leads up a magnificent flight of steps to the noble mosquo
which the iconoclast Aurangzob reared on the site of the magnificent
Krishna temple which he utterly destroyed.
It will be well to land here, and ascend the soaring minaret for tho
marvellous bird's-eye view it affords of the ghats, the whole city, and tho
sweeping mother Ganges bearing away the sins of her faithful and
devoted children to be merged in the mighty ocean. This mosque is the
finest building in Benares, and, in many respects, is unique. Its solid
foundations, laid deep below the river's bed, rise from its level in huge
stone breast-works, on the top of which rest the four walls and domes
of the mosque. Springing lightly into the air, like the tall stems of





306
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
some beautiful flower, are two exquisite and graceful minarets, 150
feet from the floor of the mosque. These slender pinnacles are only
eight and a quarter feet in diameter at the base, tapering to seven and
a half feet at the summit. The river is 150 feet below the mosque, so
that the whole building rises 300 feet, almost sheer from the water's
edge, forming the very crown of the city. Muhammad, the theist and
the idol breaker, thus appears to dominate with lofty and desolate
scorn the 1400 temples of that ancient Brahman faith, which survives
alike the precepts of Buddha, the fierce persecutions of Aurangzeb,
nnd the mild and gentle teaching of Jesus. To sit in the air, on the
topmost balcony of one of these slender minarets, with the city and
river at one's feet, the pigeons and parrots whirling between, is an
experience never to be forgotten.
Returning to the boat, the next ghat reached is the Ram, sacred to
that deity, whose temple stands above it. Three or four others of no
special interest are passed by, above one of them rising the great
turreted palace of the Raja of Nagpur. The massive ghat which
appears to be crumbling into the river is Sindhia's (the Maharaja of
Gwalior).
We now reach the Manikaranika, the most sacred of all the ghats,
leading down from the famous well dug by Vishnu. Here also is the
Tarakeswar Temple and the Charana-paduka.
The next ghat of any importance is the Nepal; this handsome
stairway is surmounted by the strikingly beautiful Nepalese Temple,
the most picturesque in all Benares, differing altogether from the
Hindu shrines. Above this is the famous Golden Temple; imme-
diately beyond is the Burning Ghat, and here may be observed
corpses undergoing cremation. The pairs of stones set up on end are
monuments to widows who in time past were burnt alive with their
husbands. These suttee stones are to be found all along the whole
range of the ghats, but they are more plentiful just here. At
Bhairava Ghat, hawkers sell peacock fans, warranted to blow away
fiends and evil spirits; at the top of the steps is a goddess with a
silver face, who protects her devotees from smallpox. The Man
Mandir Ghat leads up to Jai Singh's observatory, the lofty building
which towers above it.
Dasasamedh is one of the five specially sacred bathing-ghats.
Here Brahma made his celebrated sacrifice of ten horses, which gives
the ghat its name. There are some twenty or more ghats above


BENARES.
3°7
Dasasamedh, most of them lead-
ing up to noble mansions. The
finest of these is the Munshi
Palace, built by a Diwan of the
Raja of Nagpur, that of the Raun
of Udaipur, and the Raja Ghat,
leading to a large serai built by
Rija Ann-it Rao. Here is a
Luge stone effigy, which is said
to be carried away in the rains
by Mother Ganges, but reverently
placed back in its ghat
before the dry season

sets in. At the Kedar
Ghat is the holy Well of
Gauri, which cures various
diseases, dysentery in par-
ticular. In a tank close
by is the wonderful stone
called Mansovar, which
grows the breadth of a
millet seed every day. The last of all is
the Ashi Ghat, one of the five sacred
bathing-places, where the river Ashi adds
its quota to the Ganges.
Having thus taken a general view of
Benares, the traveller will wish to see all
the various temples at which the pilgrims
x 2


PICTURESQUE INDIA.
love to worship or idle, when not engaged at the bathing ghats. It is
said there are nearly 1,500 Hindu temples and shrines altogether within
the city and in the immediate suburbs, but, beyond a passing glance,
very few of these are worth serious attention. The round of the
principal temples, as taken by every pilgrim, is, however, after the
ghats, the most curious and interesting sight in Benares. The
interest is increased tenfold to him who is able to secure the guid-
ance of an intelligent English-speaking Hindu resident or experienced
missionary. Failing these, I will endeavour to give such help as may
be possible in the pages of a descriptive book.
It is only when face to face with the eager crowds from every part of
India, which throng the ghats and temples of Benares, that we realise
to the full the latent power which still lives in the Hindu religion,
and makes its votaries the most pious and devoted in the whole world.
These pilgrimages to their holy places have a deep effect on the
religious temper of India, and the worship which goes on here from
day to day, year by year, is the very vital force itself of Hinduism.
The Hindu at home is isolated within his own sect, and practises a
very perfunctory religion; but on the great occasions of his life, when
he visits one or other of the seven sacred cities, he realizes that he is
after all a member of a vast religious community. He first visits the
temples and shrines connected with his own particular faith, but that
accomplished, he goes the round of all the sanctuaries in general. If
he is a follower of Siva, he presently finds himself blended in
sympathy with a disciple of Vishnu, and in turn finds his way to and
worships at the shrines of Indra, Agni, Brahma, Saraswati, Lakshmi,
Parvati, Ganesa, Krishna, and Hanuman.
The Holy of Holies at Benares is the famous sanctuary of the
terrible Siva, the Bisheshwar, or Golden Temple. Siva is a lofty
god; with his followers there is none like unto him. With every
Hindu he is in the very front rank, none superior to him, except
perhaps Vishnu. He sits enthroned on Kailasa, the fabulous moun-
tain of the north, surrounded and waited on by innumerable spirits
and minor gods, who get their orders through his trusty lieutenants,
chief among whom are his adopted son, Skanda, the god of war, and
the foster-child of the Pleiades; Ganesha, the chief of the troops, the
god with the elephant's head, the inspirer of cunning devices and
good counsel, the patron of learning, whose image appears on every
school-house door; Kuvera, the god of treasures; Virabhadra (the


BENARES.
3°9
venerable hero), the personification of fury in battle. Siva's birth is
variously represented, but in reality he is eternal; he is Mahakala
(endless time), which begets and devours all things. As creator, his
symbols are the bull and the phallus, and his diadem is the moon.
As destroyer, he is armed with a terrible trident, wears a gruesome
necklace of skulls, and his attendants are skeletons. He is "Death;"
the master of human cattle; the "master of victims." He is, more
than any god, cruel, and exacts a bloody worship. He is the ruler of
evil spirits, ghouls, and vampires, and at nightfall he prowls about in
their company, in places of execution and where there are buried
dead. He is Bhairava, the god of mad frantic folly, who, clothed in
the bloody skin of an elephant, leads the wild dance of the Tandava.
He is the god of the ascetics; this fearful sect go naked, smutty
with ashes, their long, matted hair twisted round their heads; others
follow hideous secret rites of blood, lust, gluttony, drunkenness, and
incantations; others pose themselves in immoveable attitudes, till the
sinews shrink, and the posture becomes rigid; others tear their
bodies with knives, or devour carrion and excrements. These
wretched beings lead wandering lives, and swarm at Benares, and all
other holy places.
By tho side of Siva sits enthroned Uina, his awful wife, the exact
counterpart of her husband. Her most familiar designations are
Devi, the goddess; Parvati, the daughter of the mountains; Durga,
the inaccessible; Sati, the devoted wife; Bhairavi, the terror-
inspiring; Kali, the black one; Karali, the horrible; all expressive
of her twofold nature as goddess of life and death. Siva is the third
person in the Hindu Triad (Brahma—Vishnu—Siva). Brahma is
an abstract idea rather than a god, and for practical purposes the
Hindu people may be divided into followers of Vishnu and Siva.*
Benares is the holy city of Sivaism, and the Golden Temple is its
holy of holies. It is a small building, a quadrangle, covered with a
roof, above which rises a very picturesque tower. At each corner is
a dome, with a larger dome in the centre. These are all gilded with
beaten gold, at the cost of Ranjit Singh. The guide will point out a
shop near by, from the upper windows of which a fine prospect is
obtained of this roof, and the spires and domes of neighbouring
* For further details, see Earth's "Religions of India," and SirW. W. Hunter's
"India," vol. vL of the Imperial Gazetteer.


BENARES.
3"
and broken temples which suffered from the fierce iconoclastic zeal of
Aurangzeb.
Between the mosque and the Golden Temple is a courtyard, in the
centre of which is the Gyan Kvp, or "well of knowledge." Within
this well is the choice residence of Siva himself. When the old
temple of Bisheshwar was destroyed, the chief priest concealed the
idol at the bottom of this well, which gives it unusual sanctity. The
well is surrounded by a beautiful colonnade of forty pillars, presented
in the year 1828 by a widow of the Maharaja Sindhia of Gwalior. The
well is resorted to by every pilgrim, who drinks the precious water,
handed to him in a sort of ladle by the attendant priests. This water is
filthy and putrid from the rotted flowers thrown into the well by those
who resort to the shrine. Neither the well nor the enclosure gives
any suggestion of having been cleaned out during its existence.
Adjacent to the well is a fine bull, seven feet high, carved in stone,
dedicated to Mahadeva by a king of Nepal.
All round the Golden Temple are a motley crowd of other temples
and shrines, few of which, however, have any architectural interest,
and are only worthy the attention of the student of the Hindu religion.
The temple of Amipurna, the goddess of plenty, patroness of beggars
and the poor, is worth visiting to see the groups of beggars sitting in
front of the gate with their bowls, to catch the pinches of grain and
rice thrown in by passing worshippers.
Within the temple are scores of sacred bulls and cows, many of
them horribly diseased, fed by the pious devotees, who resort to
Anupurna's shrine.
Close by is the temple of Sakhi Bunjanka, the witness bearer.
Here pilgrims, on completion of their round of bathing and devotions,
receive the crowning verification of it, and depart certain of entire
cleansing and future bliss. At Shunkareshwar Shrine groups of
expectant women may be seen praying for handsome and stalwart
sons.
Near the old observatory, in the passage leading to its entrance, is
a curious little temple sacred to the Rain God, who is drenched with
water in dry weather to remind him of his duty, but who is neglected
and encrusted with dirt in the rainy season. In times of great drought
ihey put him overhead in a cistern, till he is aroused to a proper sense
of responsibility.
The sacred spot of the followers of Vishnu is the Manikarnika, the


312
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
famous " well of healing." Vishnu, the unconquerable preserver, is w
great contrast to Siva the destroyer. He is a good fellow all round,
and the familiar friend of man. In Lis
incarnations of Rama and Krishna he lives
in the hearts of his worshippers, in endless
cherished legends, as a high-souled hero.
The worship of Vishnu is, in one phase or
other, the religion of the bulk of tho middle
and cultured classes in Hindustan. It is a
graceful and pleasant religion, whose gods
are heroes, bright friendly beings, wbo walk
and converse with men.
"The God Vishnu dug this well with
his discus, and, in lieu of water,
.tilled it with perspiration from
-Ja bis own body, giving it the
name of Chakra Push
Karini. He then pro-
ceeded to its

north side and
A CORNER ON THE GANGES, HENAIiES.


BENARES.
3i3
began to practise asceticism. In the meantime the god Mahadeva
arrived, and, looking into the well, beheld in it the beauty of
100,000,000 suns, with which he was so enraptured that he at once
broke out into loud praises of Vishnu, and in his joy declared that
whatever gift he might ask of him he would grant. Gratified by
the offer Vishnu requested that Mahadeva should always reside with
him. Mahadeva, hearing this, was so flattered that he shook with
delight, and one of his earrings fell into the well, giving it a double
sanctity."
The well is four square, with steps going down for the use of
bathers; the seven lowest steps are alleged to be without joining,
thus furnishing evidence of the divine origin. The water is about
three feet deep, horribly foul with the continual washings of the wor-
shippers, and the stench fills the entire enclosure. After bathing,
the devotees drink deep draughts of this filthy stuff, ladled out io
them by priests in exchange for coppers. No matter how criminal or
violent the life of the pilgrim has been, the stinking muddy water of
Manikarnika cleans up the record of a lifetime, and sends him away
absolutely pure and holy.
Below Manikarnika, on the edge of the river, is the graceful and
beautiful temple of Tarakeshwar; the idol is kept immersed in a tank
of water. Just above it is a large round slab let into the pavement,
in the middle of which is a stone pedestal, the top of which is inlaid
with marble. In the centre of this are two small flat spots, supposed
to represent the two feet of Vishnu. It is held in great veneration,
and at times great numbers flock to this Charana paduka, as it is
called, to worship Vishnu's feet.
The temple of Bhaironath is that of the tutelary god of Benares, a
sort of deified watchman, who drives evil spirits out of the city, and
keeps a fatherly eye over all those who come to Benares to die in
peace. The idol of this temple is a mighty stone cudgel, called
Dandpan, with a small silver face on the thin end. The worshippers
repair to this shrine on Tuesday and Sunday.
Close by Bhaironath is the richest temple in Benares for furniture
and jewels, the Gopal Mandir, containing two gold images of Krishna.
Near here also is the Kal-Kup, or Well of Fate. A square hole in
the roof brings the rays of the sun upon the water exactly at noon,
when the well is resorted to by those anxious about their futures.
One of the most curious and picturesque of all the Benares temples


3i4
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
is that sacred to the goddess Durga, which is about two miles out of
the city. The temple is a fine building, set off by a large tank in front,
and surrounded by well-grown trees. Durga is the most terrific form
of Siva's wife, and delights in all kind of bloodshed and destruction.
When a Benares Hindu wants a meat dinner, he brings a goat or kid
to the blood-bedabbled altar in front of the shrine, where its head is
cut off by the officiating priest. This functionary levies toll on the
carcase, and the votary then carries it off, and eats meat offered to idols
to his heart's content. In the trees around this temple are hosts of
monkeys, who peer round walls, and over pinnacles, or between the
leaves waiting to be fed. These creatures are all gods and goddesses,
and must not be molested. They are so mischievous that no one can
live within half a mile of the temple, as all their household belongings
would be destroyed by these monkeys, which number thousands.
Some years ago they became such an intolerable plague that the
authorities caught as many as they
could, and deported them to a dis-
tant jungle. A few handsful of rice,
scattered on the pavement sur-
rounding the tank, will attract
scores of them in a few seconds.
These monkeys are sacred to
Vishnu, and are kept up and revered
as representations of Hanuman, the
monkey god associated with Rama.
What the monkeys are to Vishnu,
the sacred Zebu is to Siva, and so
the cow and bull are the objects of
special worship to the Hindu; their slaughter is a horrible crime,
and to eat their flesh is loss of caste in this world, and far worse in
the world to come. It is a most meritorious act to dedicate bulls
and cows to Siva, and to multiply around the god the living images
of Nandi, his divine steed. These animals are always numerous 1
in places sacred to the god, where they live in perfect freedom, pam-
pered and fed by pious devotees, who tempt their appetites with dainties
put out on the doorstep in a pot, and who let them wander unchecked
into any shop they fancy, to help themselves to any grain or vegetables
for which their souls may lust. The municipal authorities at one
time used to kidnap them darkly at dead of night, and turn them

8ACBILEGE!


BENARES.
loose on the opposite shore of the Ganges, but they generally swam
back, and turned up holier that ever. In the Golden Temple fat old
white bulls levy blackmail from every worshipper, who bring them
cakes, rice flour, or a dainty bit of fruit.
Few travellers will care to thread the whole of this "labyrinth of
Asiatic Theology " to its inmost recesses, and no possible guide-book
can help him to do so. It would be the work of weeks, and could
only be accomplished with the aid of some Brahman Guru.
The observatory of Jai Singh, entered near the Man Mandir Ghat,
is the finest of all those erected by this scientific Raja of Jaipur.
This curious building towers above the Dasasamedh Ghat, and, after
Aurangzeb's Mosque, is the most conspicious object in the general view
of Benares from the river. It contains some structures for making
astronomical calculations and observations, a single and double mural
quadrant, an equinoctial circle of stone, and an enormous Yantras
amrat (the prince of instruments), the wall of which is thirty-six feet
long, and set in the plane of the meridian. One end is six feet four
and a quarter inches high, and the other end twenty-two feet three
and a half inches, sloping gradually upwards, pointing to the north
pole. This is constructed to find out the distance from the meridian,
the declination and ascension of any planet or star and the sun. The
view from the top is magnificent, almost equal to that obtained from
the minaret of AurAngzeb Mosque, and without the fatigue.
The Arhai Kangura Mosque is worth a visit, and will prove a
pleasant change f/om the dirt and squalor of the Hindu pantheon.
Its archaeological interest lies in the fact that it was a Hindu temple
of some magnificence long before the Musalman invasion of Oudh,
and a portion of it is inscribed with a date corresponding to
a.d. 1191. The mosque is crowned with a finely-proportioned and
lofty dome.
The Raj Ghat fort, erected during the mutiny, but since abandoned,
is on a small tongue of high land, dominating the junction of the
Ganges and Burma rivers. It is supposed that in primeval times,
Raja Banar's city was on this tongue of land. This is rendered
more probable by the existence of two very beautiful Buddhist
cloisters, the pillars and stone ceilings of which are richly carved and
decorated. This interesting ruin has been much damaged by the
Musalmans, who, till the mutiny, used this building as a mosque.
On the way from the fort to the hotel the Bhairo Lat, one of Asoka's


3iS
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
columns, is passed. There is only a few feet left of this Lat, which
is covered with copper, and not visible. It stands on a terrace, in the
middle of what was probably a Buddhist temple, of which there are
only a few scattered and broken fragments loft.
One of the prettiest sights in Benares is the girls' school established
and maintained by the generosity of the Maharaja of Vizianagram,
an enlightened and cultivated Hindu prince, a K.C.S.I., a Fellow of
the Madras University, and a member of the Madras Legislative
Council. Besides his Zemindary of Vizianagram, he has large estates
in and around Benares. In this school some 600 girls receive an
excellent education. Permission to visit must be obtained from Dr.
Lazarus, whose beautiful bungalow is a few minutes' walk from Clark's
Hotel, who may perhaps also give an order to see the Maharaja's
palace and gardens at Belipur, if they are not occupied by guests.
The Government college is a handsome Gothic building in freestone.
The Sanskrit college, founded by the Government in 1791, has been
absorbed into the Government college. The late headmaster, Mr.
Griffith, M.A., is considered to have made this admirable institution,
with its 700 scholars, the best Government college in India. In
this work he has been greatly assisted by the Anglo-Sanskrit pro-
fessor, Mr. Arthur Venis, M.A., of Balliol College, Oxford, who is
one of the most distinguished of living Orientalists. In the garden
of the college is a curious monolith, thirty-one and a half feet high,
with a Gupta inscription of the 4th cejutury, and an interesting col-
lection of carved stones brought from Sarnath and other places.
The Bazars of Benares form a narrow, winding wilderness of streets
and lanes, shops, dwelling-houses, and temples being mixed together in
the strangest medley. The artistic crafts aro many and various,
embracing almost every sort of Indian manufactures.
Benares is famous all over the world for its beautiful engraved brass
work; it is the great Indian emporium for idols and temple furnishing,
and contends with Ahmadabad for supremacy in silk brocades and
embroideries.
Half the shops in the bazar are devoted to brass work of various
kinds—water vessels, lotas dishes, bowls, candlesticks, lamps, boxes,
rose-water sprinklers, bells, spoons, censers, images, gods, and fifty
other domestic or sacred utensils, many of them most beautifully en-
graved, are displayed on stalls, behind which the craftsmen sit at
work. Mr. Clark, the hotel proprietor, has the finest stock in all


BENARES.
3»7
Benares of this beautiful engraved brass work, and he has recently
put up electroplating works, worth seeing, where he silvers the brass
with great effectiveness and success.
This beautiful work has demoralized considerably of recent years,
with most Oriental arts that become popular in Europe. It is very
inferior to the engraved work of Ahmadabad, Tanjore, or Muradabad.
Sir George Birdwood says that Benares is the first city in India
for the multitude and excellence of its cast and sculptured mytholo-
gical images and emblemata, not only in brass and copper, but in gold
and silver, and also in wood and stone and clay. These images of the
gods are not made by a separate caste, but the carpenters and masons
respectively make the large wooden and stone idols set up in the
temples, the potters the clay idols consumed in daily worship, and
the braziers, coppersmiths, and goldsmiths the little images in brass
and copper, mixed metal, and gold and silver which are always kept
in private houses. Brass is largely used in their manufacture, alloyed
with six other metals, gold, silver, iron, tin, lead and mercury, making
with the copper and the zinc of the brass, a mixture of eight metals,
which is deemed a perfect alloy, and very highly prized. Idols of
pure gold and silver are also made, and in the Sastras great praise is
bestowed on those who worship graven images of these precious
metals. The larger idols are always cast in moulds, and afterwards
finished with the chisel and file. The gold images of Durga,
Lakshmi, Krishna, Radha, and Saraswati, kept in private houses and
worshipped daily, must not be less than one tola, [nearly half an
ounce] in weight, and they generally weigh three or four tolas. The
images of Sitala [the goddess of small-pox] are always of silver, and
weigh ten or twelve tolas. The images of Siva in his lingam form
are made of an amalgam of mercury and tin, and are esteemed
most sacred. They are always very small, and are kept in all
houses and used in the daily worship. Copper images of Surya and
of Siva riding on Nandi, and also, in many parts of India, of the
serpent Naga, are kept in all houses and are worshipped daily.
Brazen images of many of the gods are also kept in private houses
and daily worshipped: and images of Radha, Durga, Lakshmi and
Siva in mixed metal. The images of the gods made of this perfect
alloy may also be worshipped either at home or in the temples. The
images of all the gods and goddesses are graven in stone, but they are
generally worshipped only in the temples; only a few very small ones


3i8
being found in private houses, the greater number of those used in
domestic worship being of the lingam form of Siva. The stone images
seen in Bengal are generally of black marble, but there are some at
Benares which are white. Wooden images are never kept in private
houses, but only in the temples. The nimba tree, Melia Azadirachta,
furnishes the temple images of Vishnu, Durga, Radha, Lakshmi, Siva,
Garuda, and others. The mendicant followers of Vishnu always carry
about a wooden image of him two cubits high. All images of clay are
thrown into the river after being worshipped, and have therefore to be
renewed daily. The figures made of Karttikeya for his annual festival
in Bengal are often twenty-seven feet high. An immense manufacture
of all these idols, and of sacrificial utensils, is carried on in Benares.
The industry has sprung up naturally from the services of the
numerous temples of this city, and has converted the precinct of every
temple into an ecclesiastical bazaar. it was in this way that the seats
of those who sold doves for sacrifice, and the tables of the bankers
[soukars in India] who exchanged unholy for holy coins, were gradu-
ally intruded into the outer court of the Temple at Jerusalem; and
that the "booths of Bethany" rose beneath the green branches on the
opposite slopes of the Mount of Olives.
The kincobs, or gold brocades of Benares, are only rivalled through-
out India by those of Ahmadabad. A specialty, however, of Benares,
are the rich brocades wrought with figures of animals in gold and
variegated colours. They are known by the name of shikargah (the
happy hunting grounds). They were known to the Saracens as beast-
hunts. They are probably the oldest survival of ancient loom-work
extant, and are still the finest specimens the world can produce.
If Ulysses returned to earth again, he could probably get at
Benares alone the exact outfit he would require to appear as he is
described in the nineteenth book of the Odvssey.
"In ample mode
A robe of military purple flowed
O'er all his frame; illustrious on his breast
The double-clasping gold the King confest.
In the rich woof a hound, mosaic drawn,
Bore on full stretch, and seized a dappled fawn;
Deep in his neck his fangs indent their hold;
They pant and struggle in the moving gold.
Finu as a filmy web beneath it shone
A vest that dazzled like a cloudless sun."


BENARES. 319
The robe was clearly a Benares shikargah kincob, and the vest cut
from Benares soneri, a rich cloth of gold without ornamentation.
Iiuperi is made in the same way, and is cloth of silver, even more

DHAMEX TOPE, SARNATH.
beautiful than soneri. According to Josephus, Herod was dressed in
ruperi, when upon a set day, arrayed in royal apparel, he sat upon
his throne, and made his last oration to the merchants of Tyre and
Sidon.


3=o
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
Chand-tara (moon and stars), is another lovely brocade figured all
over with representations of the heavenly bodies; mazchar, is
"ripples of silver;" dtip-chan, "sunshine and shade;" halimtarak-
shi, "pigeons' eyes;" bulbul chasm, "nightingales' eyes;" murgala,
"peacock's neck." All these lovely kincobs are woven at Benares.
But if you covet their possession, go not with an hotel guide to a
tenth-rate dealer; go direct to Debi Parshad, in the Purana Chauk,
but with money in your purse or excellent credit, for these goodly
garments are worth their weight in gold.
Velvet carpets are made in Benares, but they are not specially fine,
and the weavers are hardly worth hunting for. It is, however, a good
place for purchasing those pretty pictures painted on talc, which are
so common in all the cities of northern India.
Sarnath.—A hot and dusty drive of four miles leads to Sarnath.
One of the four places most sacred to the memory of Buddha. Bhuila
is his birthplace; Sarnath where he began to preach; Gay a, where
he meditated; and Kasia, where he died. Here, surrounded by
mounds of rubbish, stand the ruins of two great topes. The largest
of these is called the Dhamek, which, it is said, was erected by Asoka,
to mark the actual spot where Buddha preached his first sermon.
Cunningham leans to the view that it was built in the 6th century,
while Fergusson disagrees with both opinions, and fixes the date early
in the 11th century. It is, however, certain that Hiouen Thsang, the
Chinese pilgrim of the 7th century, speaks of a tope 100 feet high at
Sarnath in his time. Whichever view is correct, this tope is one of
the most interesting ancient monuments in India. The Dhamek is a
solid dome ninety-three feet in diameter, and 110 feet high. Up to
forty-three feet from the ground, it is built of stones, clamped
together with iron. The lower part is relieved by eight projecting
faces, each twenty-one feet six inches wide, and fifteen feet apart. In
each is a small recess, in which, no doubt, figures of Buddha were
originally placed. Encircling the monument, is an exquisite band of
sculptured ornament fifteen feet wide, of which enough remains unin-
jured to give a good idea of what the whole must have been. The
central part of this band consists of a geometrical pattern, with above
and below a variegated border of fruit and flowers. The upper part of
the tope is very dilapidated, and a crop of thick grass, with a tree,
grows on the top. The tope is solid, with the exception of a very
small chamber in the centre, and a narrow chimney running up the


BENARES.
321
middle, through which the sky appears. A twisting passage less than
five feet high, leads into this chamber. This floor is deep with sand,
and anyone entering, must do so on hands and knees. No vestige re-
mains of the rail and gateway which once no doubt surrounded this
tope.
Half a mile away is another ruined tope of brick, called Jugat
Singh's; not because it was built by that gentleman, but because he
used it as a brick yard from which to build his palace. To the west
of the Dhamek are the remains of a hospital, and farther on, those of
a Vihara, or Buddhist monastery. The excavations of General Cun-
ningham brought to light a large number of statues, bas-reliefs,
sculptured columns, and other remains of the great city, which no
doubt existed here more than 2,000 years ago.
The octagonal brick tower on the top of a steep hill near Sarnath, is
a Musalman building of tho 15th century. It is worth while to climb
the hill for the view. f
Sherring's little handbook of Benares (Newman, Calcutta), gives
detailed particulars of these Buddhist remains, and much other use-
ful information about Benares and the neighbourhood. It should be
purchased by any traveller intending to stay in Benares more than a
day or two.
There is rather a powerful force of missionary effort at Benares,
the Church, the London, the Baptist, and the Wesleyan Missionary
Societies being all on the field.
The Church Missionary Society has half a dozen European and
about thirty Native agents engaged in preaching and teaching Chris-
tianity, and more than fifty secular teachers in their eight large
schools, with nearly 1,500 pupils of both sexes. The superintendent
is the Rev. B. Davis.
The London Mission is under the charge of Rev. J. Hewlett, as-
sisted by Revs. Arthur Parker, T. Insell, and K. N. Dutt, with two
Zenana ladies. Its leading feature is the College for Young Men,
which prepares students for the Calcutta and Allahabad Universities.
The Wesleyan Mission also gives much attention to educational
work, having about 850 scholars in their various schools, mainly
elementary.
The Baptist superintendent is Rev. TV. J. Price, who, with his
Native evangelists, devotes himself mainly to preaching on the ghats
and in the bazars.
Y


CHAPTEE XXI.
PATNA.

y\TNA is well worthy of a day's visit,
as a typical Bengal city. No accom-
modation exists there for Europeans,
but there is a good town bungalow
a few minutes' walk from the station
at Bankipur, the western suburb and
administrative head-quarters.
The population of Patna is
160,000, of whom 120,000 are
Hindus and 40,000 Mohammedans.
The city stretches nearly ten miles
along the bank of the Ganges, thfi
bazar, enclosed within the old wall?,
being about one and a half mile long
by three-quarters wide, very closely
built, most of the houses being mud
with tiled roofs. A wide street
twists through this part of the city,
* but all the rest is a bewildering
labyrinth of narrow, crooked lanes and passages. There are no
ancient buildings worth looking at, the old fortifications which
surrounded the city, built by Azim, the grandson of Aurangzeb,
having long since crumbled into mere rubbish heaps. Near the
opium works, in the quarter called Gulzarbagh, there are two small
temples of great antiquity, that have some interest, one of which is
used by the Hindus, and the other as a mosque.
The main interest of Patua lies in its importance as an ancient


PA TNA. 323
trading town, owing to its position at the junction of three great
rivers, the Son, the Gandak, and the Ganges; and the bustling
activity of its inhabitants. The various marts or bazars of Patna
are full of picturesque life, especially the central business quarter of
Chauk, where cotton cloth is exposed for sale; the Marufganj, where
seeds are traded in; the Mansurganj, the market for country produce;
and the interesting riverside bazar of Colonelganj. All these may be
visited in an open carriage in the course of a morning's drive, every
yard of which will bo replete with Indian characteristics. No less
than £300,000 worth of Manchester goods alone pass through the
Chauk in the course of the year, and a very large trade is done in
wheat and other cereals, oil-seeds, cotton, tobacco, salt, timber,
bamboos, hay and straw.
The only building of unique interest in Patna is the old Govern-
ment granary, a high dome-shaped building, 430 feet in circumference
round the base, with walls 21 feet thick, and an interior diameter of
110 feet. It is ninety feet high, with two winding staircases on the
outside, reaching to the top, at which it was intended the grain
should be poured into the building, to be extracted from the small
doors which surround the base.
A swaggering Nepalcse once rode his horse to the top, which is a
platform ten feet wide, from which a fine view of the city may be
obtained. Ou entering the building, the most bewildering echoes
prevail, the foot-fall 011 the floor sounds like a trampling army; of a
single noto of music, sharply uttered, I counted thirty-two distinct
echoes. A peal of laughter is repeated high up in the roof, deep
down under the floor, and from every stone in the circular walls. A
blow struck on an empty wooden case becomes at once a prolonged
peal of thunder. It extinguishes St. Paul's as a whispering gallery,
for the faintest murmur at one end is heard quite distinctly at the
other. As the iuterior is pitch dark, the effects possible of produc-
tion are infinite, and I think the Gola alone, as an unrivalled
curiosity of its kind, would quite justify the traveller breaking his
journey for a day at Patna. The following inscription is carved on a
slab outside.
"No. 1. In part of a general plan ordered by the Governor
General and Council, 20th of January, 1784, for tho perpetual
prevention of famine in these provinces, this granary was erected by
Captain John Gars'Ju, engineer. Completed the 20th of July, 17SU.
Y 2


PATNA.
325
lewa, and fills in one after the other till his cup is lined with "trash"
half an inch thick. He then drops the lump of opium into the centre,
and works the " trash " deftly round with his supple hands until the
opium is hermetically closed, and the cake, round and hard like a
cannon ball, is ready to be packed and sent off to Calcutta, thence to
China. Each cake takes about five minutes to prepare, and is worth
30 to 40 rupees.
The other great factory is at Ghazipur, near Benares. Their total
production is between 50 and 60,000 chests a year, of which about
one-twelfth is consumed in India, and the rest exported. The profit,
which goes to the State as a government monopoly, is from five to six
millions sterling.
The factory at Patna deals with all the opium grown in Behar, on
an area of about 300,000 acres. The area under cultivation has been
increasing of late years, being in
1883, 1884, 1885, 1886, 1887,
246,000. 250,000. 271,000. 283,000. 286,000 acres.
but the average of these five years is less than 1878—7. The
consumption of pure opium in India every year is about 500,000 lbs.
The Baptist Mission has four European agents stationed at Patna
and its suburbs, of whom the Rev. D. P. Broadway is the senior. A
grandson of William Carey, the pioneer missionary of India, is in
charge at Dinapur. The total number of church members in the
district is about fifty.
Gaya is fifty miles distant from Bankipur Station, a railway journey
of three hours. The neighbourhood of Gaya is full of holy
places associated with the earliest beginning of Buddhism. There is
a decent Town Bungalow here, about a mile from the station.
As a place for Hindoo pilgrimages Gaya is of modern date, and the
temples are devoid of interest, historically or architecturally. There
are forty-five sacred temples or shrines which have to be visited by
the pilgrim in and about Gaya, round which he is personally con-
ducted by a Brahman in a tour which lasts thirteen days, and costs a
poor man about 20 rupees. About 100,000 pilgrims come yearly to
Gaya. The British pilgrim will, however, find no great attraction in
Gaya itself, which is only a fourth-rate holy city, but will push on to
Buddh Gaya, a journey of about seven miles by carriage. Here is
the celebrated temple which was erected a.d. 500 on the site of a still


326
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
older one by a pious Brahman named Amara, to mark the spot where
still existed the more celebrated Bo-tree, under whose shade Buddha
sat for six years until he obtained complete enlightenment, B.C. 588.
This building is a straight-lined pyramidal nine-storied temple, unique
so far as India is concerned, though there are many like it of later
date in China and Tibet. It differs entirely from the older and
purer Buddhist architecture to be found near Bhopal and at Sarnath,
near Benares, which are 600 or 700 years older. Its special historical
interest comes from the fact that it was erected by a Brahman for
Buddhist purposes at a time when the Buddhist and Brahman
religions were in doubtful balance for supremacy in India.
This noble temple is 160 feet high. Its base is oblong and the top
square. The wall of the tower is fourteen feet thick. The whole is
built over a more ancient temple of the period of Asoka, B.C. 200, who
surrounded it with a rail measuring 130 feet by 100, which still exists
though very much ruined. Many of its fragments have been carefully
collected from different portions of the surrounding country where
they had been used for building purposes, and it now encircles the
temple for three sides, tolerably complete. The pillars are about six
feet high, and at the top and bottom of each are semi-circular slabs
decorated with carved groups of figures and other subjects. It is
probably the most ancient sculptured monument in India, and is
valued by antiquarians as furnishing examples of manners and illustra-
tions of mythology at a most interesting period of Indian history.
The domestic scenes represent feasting and love-making, and thi-
religious subjects tree and serpent worship, dagobas, wheels, and
other Buddhist emblems, and many strange mythological figures of
mermaids, crocodiles, centaurs, and what not. The famous Bo-tree
is planted on a terrace, raised thirty feet above the plain. It is very
doubtful if this tree, venerable though it is, can claim to be the great
original; but there can bo no doubt about the genuineness of the
Bo-tree at Anuradhapura in Ceylon. When Asoka sent his son and
daughter into Ceylon as Buddhist missionaries, they took with them a
branch of the celebrated tree at Gaya. The Ceylon Buddhists have
worshipped this offshoot for more than 2,000 years.
A little distance from the great temple stands a smaller but much
more ancient temple, in which is a figure of Buddha standing. The
great temple has been rather barbarously restored. Mr. Stanton's
illustration is drawn from a photograph in the India Musoum, taken



BUDDH GAYA.


3=3
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
some years ago, before the restoration took place. I refer the
reader for more detailed information about Buddh Gaya to Cunning-
ham's "Archaeological Surveys," Vol. iii, and Fergusson's "History
of Indian Architecture," both of which books will be found in any
good library in India.
Deogarh.—At Lakhisarai Junction the East Indian Railway forms
a great loop, one side of which leads through Monghyr, Bhagalpur,
and Rajmahal, following the course of the Ganges, the other, which is
the route taken by the mail, through Deogarh and Raniganj; both
meet at Burdwan, sixty-six miles from Calcutta.
Deogarh, on the main or chord line as it is called, is a place
of great repute with the worshippers of Siva, and forms a centre of
pilgrimage from all over India. Leaving Patna with the mail at
6 p.m., Baidyanath Junction is reached at 10.45 p.m., whence a short
branch line runs to Deogarh in about twenty minutes. The group of
temples dedicated to Siva are twenty-two in number, some of them
being very ancient. The oldest is called Baidyanath, and contains
one of the most ancient and venerated lingams in all India. The
whole of the temples are surrounded by a high wall enclosing a large
courtyard, paved with freestone at a cost of £10,000, given by a pious
Mirzapur merchant. All the temples but three are dedicated to Siva
in his form of Mahadeo. These three are sacred to his wife, Paibati.
The temples are connected from the topmost pinnacles with silk
ropes, from which hang gaily coloured flags and tinsel. At one of
the gates of the town are three very remarkable monoliths of contorted
gneiss. They are placed like a cromlech, two upright and one across
their tops. They are square cut, and twelve feet long, weighing about
seven tons each. It is not known by whom this curious monument
was erected, but it is probably the entrance to a Buddhist temple, as
there are remains of an ancient Vihara, or monastery, close by.
Parasnath is the sacred Jain mountain of Bengal. A railway
journey of two hours from Deogarh, changing at Madhupur Junction,
reaches Giridhi, whence Parasnath is distant eighteen miles, by a good
metalled road. The mountain stands clear out of the plain, and is a
narrow rocky ridge, the topmost peak of which is 4,488 feet above the
sea. The summit is called by the Jains Asmid Sikhar, or the " peak
of bliss," and is a tableland with scattered crags, on which are perched
about twenty small Jain temples. There is a good Dak bungalow on
the mountain, which was the officers' quarters when Parasnath was


PATNA.
329
used some twenty years ago as a sanatorium. About 10,000 pilgrims
visit the place every year, from all parts of India.
No less than ten of the twenty-four Jain Tirthankars attained
Nirvana on this sacred mountain, which is called after Parsva the
twenty-third, who is held with Mahavira, the twenty-fourth, to he the
most worthy of adoration. Nineteen Tirthankars are said to be buried
here. The temples are mostly modern, or at any rate so recently re-
paired or restored that nothing ancient can be discovered. Some of
them are exceedingly beautiful, notably a choice little shrine of white
marble, which cost £8,000.
The surroundings are extremely picturesque, the natural scenery
enchanting, and the view from the summit superb. The ascent is by
a good easy path, and there are plenty of coolies always at hand at
the foot of the mountain for those who wish to be carried up.
From Parasnath to Calcutta there is nothing worth stopping for.
The only places of importance being Raniganj where there are some
important coal mines, and Burdwan, a populous modern Bengal town,
devoid of interest.
Gaur.—This interesting ruined city was the old capital of Bengal,
and is situated on a deserted channel of the Ganges, some thirty miles
from Rajmahal, a station on the loop line of the East Indian Railway
from Lakhisarai through Monghyr to Burdwan. The journey is
full of difficulty, as two rivers, the Ganges and the Mahinanda, have
to be crossed in ferry-boats. If any traveller wishes to visit Gaur, he
should write a week or two beforehand to the magistrate at Maldah,
the administrative head-quarters of the district in which Gaur is
situated, who will let him know what accommodation and locomotion
is possible. There is a comfortable bungalow at Maldah, under his
charge, where visitors are sometimes put up.
The ruins of Gaur date from early in the 13th century, when tho
Musalmans conquered Bengal, and established their capital on this
upot, down to a.d. 1575, when it finally disappears from history,
abandoned by the court in consequence of the recession of the river
Ganges, and the malarious condition of the city, which produced a
terrible epidemic. It is said that in its prime Gaur had a population
of three quarters of a million, and as its mass of ruins extends from
Maldah to Maddapur, nearly twenty miles, this appears very probable.
Long before the Muhamedan invasion, Gaur was a Hindu capital,
but no building of this period can be identified, except two isolated


33°
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
ruins outside the ramparts of the Musalman city, and the famous
Sagar Dighi, a celebrated tank, whose banks, built of brick, are 1,600
yards long by 800 wide. The banks are surrounded with Muhamedan
buildings, of which the best preserved is the tomb of Mukbdam Shah
Jelal, a saint of great influence in the earliest days of Gaur. Not
far from here is a great dry Ghat, leading down to what was once the
course of the Ganges. Within the old site of the citadel, the most of
which is now under cultivation, are two dilapidated mosques, which
have still traces of their ancient beauty, and a fairly well preserved Jaya
Stambha, or tower of victory. Chapter VII. of Fergusson's " Indian
Architecture" is devoted to Gaur.
The Adina Mosque at Maldah, which was a suburb of Gaur, was
erected a.d. 1358—67, by Sikandar Shah; it is a vast pillared court-
yard 500 feet long and 300 wide. The Golden Mosque of Maldah is
very beautiful still, and was built in 1566, just before the abandon-
ment of the city.
Pandtjah is another ruined city, seven or eight miles from Maldah.
The whole of these extensive ruins are smothered in jungle, with here
and there small villages and patches of cultivation, which are increas-
ing every year. There are plenty of tigers and other wild beasts in
the district. Unless the traveller can spare a week at least, and is
greatly interested in Pathan architecture, the journey to Gaur will
hardly repay him.


CHAPTER XXII.
CALCUTTA.

ALCUTTA.—The best time to visit the capital
of India is from December 20th to January
10th. Every Englishman in Bengal, civil
or military, who can manage it, gets into
Calcutta for Christmas and the New Year.
Festivities, official and private, are the order of
the day. This is the time chosen for the annual Calcutta Races, for
charitable fetes and fancy fairs, for the Viceroy's levee, drawing-room,
ball, and garden-party. Every hotel and boarding-house is full to
overflowing, and he is considered lucky who can get one of sixteen
beds in a room at the Great Eastern Hotel, or Spence's. Travellers
who reckon to reach Calcutta within the dates I name, should write
at least two or three weeks beforehand for rooms. Ladies will be
more comfortable at one of the many boarding-houses in and near the
Chowringhi than at the hotels; and Thos. Cook & Son, the
excursion-agents, will always secure accommodation, if written to in
good time.


33^
PICTURESQUE INDIA
Calcutta is situated on the cast bank of the Hugli, supposed to be
the ancient course of the Ganges. It receives the traffic of the two
mightest rivers of India, the Ganges and the Brahmaputra, as well as
that of two great railway systems, the East Indian and the Eastern
Bengal. It is the seat of the Government of India for more than half

POST OFFICE, CALCUTTA.
the year. Its population in the census of 1881 was 685,000, of which
sixty-two per cent. are Hindu, thirty-two per cent. Musalman, and
four and a half per cent. Christian.
Calcutta takes its name from the ancient shrine of the goddess
Kali, which has been a place of pilgrimage from very remote times.
It is the sixth capital which Bengal has had during the last six
centuries—Gaur, Rajmahal, Dacca, Muddea, and Murshedabad being
its predecessors. It is just 200 years since the East India Company





334
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
first established its factory at Calcutta, under the agency of Job
Charnock, who hoisted the English flag, somewhere near the present
mint, on the 24th of August, 1690. In 1710 the population was
12,000. In 1724 a municipality was established, with a mayor and
nine aldermen. The Calcutta of to-day is a purely modern city, its
oldest buildings of any importance being St. John's Church, a.d.
1790, and the Town Hall and Government House, both finished in
1804. The old fort, with its famous Black Hole, the Maratha Ditch,
and all the other historic spots associated with Charnock, Dr. Hamil-
ton, Holwell, Clive, and Warren Hastings, have lost their very
identity, and are covered over with new public buildings. Calcutta is
a brand-new European city, with fashionable drives, parks, band-
stands, a Rotten Row, modern shops, a cathedral, and nonconformist
chapels. Its public buildings are second-rate, greatly inferior, both
in architecture and position, to those of Bombay, and none of them
fit to compare with a good Lancashire town hall.
Government House is placed on the north side of the esplanade,
in some six or seven acres of pleasant gardens, which look their
prettiest when filled with gaily-dressed English ladies and native
gentlemen in their very best and most sumptuous apparel, on the
occasion of one of the Viceroy's garden-parties. The house itself is a
noble palace, consisting of a great central building, in which are
handsome suites of entertaining and reception-rooms. This is
connected by galleries with four outlying blocks, in which are the
private apartments of the Viceroy and his household.
To the west of Government House is the Town Hall, a fine Doric
building, with a wide flight of steps leading up to the portico. The
interior is without interest, and is used for public meetings, concerts,
and other entertainments. Near by is the Legislative Council
Chamber, the High Court, the Small Cause Court, and the Treasury.
In Dalhousie Square, on the east side, is the Currency Office; on the
south, the Telegraph Office and the Dalhousie Institute; on the
west, the General Post-office, one of the handsomest buildings in the
city; and on the north, the Writers' buildings and Police Office.
The middle of the square is occupied by well laid-out gardens,
surrounding a large tank. This beautiful open space may be con-
sidered the very centre of the city.
Between Dalhousie Square and the river lies the Custom House, in
front of which arc the busy jetties, crowded with ocean steamships,


CALCUTTA.
335
river barges, budgerows, and other native craft; a picturesque scene,
closed in with the great Hugli Bridge. Following the road along the
river's bank, several bathing ghats are passed, the Mint, and the Mayo
Native Hospital; turning up Nimtolla Street, past the Free Church
Institution, Beadon Square is reached, where missionaries preach
or discuss on Sunday afternoon; then through Cornwallis Square,
with its fine tank and the General Assembly's Institution facing it,

A CALCUTTA BUSTL
following Cornwallis Street to College Square. Round this square are
some fine educational institutions, the Presidency College, Hare
School, Calcutta University, and Hindu College.
The Bow and Lall Bazars lead back to Dalhousie Square, and
complete the round of the north part of the city. A large portion
of this area, lying between the main streets, consists of colonies
of natives; the working-classes congregating in Bustis, or native
villages, crowded together in mud or straw huts, round a dirty tank,
into which all the drainage runs, and in which they wash themselves


336
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
and their garments. These hecome less crowded as the suburbs are
reached, and little patches of garden, or a few cocoanut palms,
reflected in the tanks with the brown huts, and the cotton-clad
women and children, make pretty enough pictures.
Starting once more from Government House, the splendid Chow-
ringhi road stretches along the east side of the magnificent Maidan,
the glory and pride of Calcutta. The Theatre Royal, the Imperial
Museum, the United Service Club, the Bengal Club, and many
mansions and boarding-houses, face the Maidan, and in the streets
behind are other handsome residences, in well-planted gardens, form-
ing the wealthy quarter of the city. A drive of two miles reaches
the cathedral and bishop's palace, and the end of Chowringhi road.
Turning to the right, the race-course is passed; the road to the left
opposite the race-course leads over Tolly's Nullah, to the Zoological
Gardens, Belvidere, the beautiful park and house of the Lieutenant
Governor of Bengal, and the Horticultural Gardens. From there, a
short cross-road leads into Kidderpur Road, which returns over
Tolly's Nullah by Canal Road to the Government Dock Yard.
Thence, a magnificent riverside drive, thronged in the evening with
open carriages full of English residents and wealthy natives, leads
back past Fort William to Government House. All along this road,
the river is crowded by a triple row of the finest sailing-ships in the
world, whose masts and yards stand out sharp and clear against the
evening sky, enhancing the natural picturesqueness of what is
undoubtedly the most beautiful city drive in the whole world.
The suburbs of Calcutta are mostly mean and squalid groups of
native villages, built of mud or straw wattles. They lie outside the
Circular Road, which was made in 1742, with the soil thrown up from
the "Maratha Ditch," constructed to protect the city from the
Maratha invasion which overran Bengal that year. The ditch was
filled up in 1801 by the Marquis of Wellesley. Garden Reach runs
for two miles down the river bank to the jetties of the Peninsular and
Oriental Steam Navigation Company. There are a number of fine
houses with gardens in this suburb, which, however, of late years has
been more or less deserted in favour of the district round the
cathedral, which is now the fashionablo quarter of Calcutta.
The only antiquity in Calcutta is the famous Kali Ghat, where the
fearful wife of Siva has held her shrine and welcomed her horrid
worshippers from time immemorial.


337
The present temple is 300 years old, and has no architectural
pretensions. The way to it is a continuation of the Chowringhi, and
it stands on the hank of Tolly's Nullah, with flights of steps going
•down to the water. Kali, or " the Black one," is a furious goddess,
hideous in features, dripping with blood, gorgon-hcaded, with a
necklace of human skulls. She sends pestilencs and famine, and is
only appeased with blood. In earlier days, human sacrifice was often
her only propitiation, and as late as 1866, during the terrible famine,

KALI GHAT, CALCUTTA.
human heads, decked with flowers, were found before the altar of
Kali. She is the goddess of the Thugs, who, sworn to mutual
allegiance on her bloody rites, travelled through India disguised as
merchants or pilgrims, strangling victims to her honour. The secret
cult of Kali is too repulsivo for description in these pages. This
temple at Kali Ghat is the only place of public worship far Hindus in
all Calcutta, though there are in almost every Hindu house or Busti
domestic shrines called " Thakoor bari," where the household god or
goddess sits enshrined. To Kali Ghat, on religious festivals, tena of
thousands of worshippers repair: sacrifice goes on continuously, and
the ghats and nullah are crowded with bathers. It is worth while to


338
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
hire a boat, and be rowed up Tolly's Nullah from Hastings Bridge to-
Kali Ghat.
There are a good many Mosques in Calcutta, but none worth visit-
ing. The finest is a new building in Dhurrumtollah Street, erected
in 1842. It is resorted to by many hundreds of worshippers at noon
and sunset, especially on Friday.
The wealthy Jain community of Calcutta have a beautiful place of
worship in Halsi Bajan Road, called Buadri Dass' temple. It is in
the centre of a charming garden, laid out in walks, parterres, and
fountains, with statuary and pavilions. It has no architectural
interest, but is well worth a visit.
The Burning Ghat on the banks of the Hugli, where the Hindus
cremate their dead, is about a mile above the Hugli Bridge.
This is a good opportunity for seeing the funeral customs of the
Hindus; as the Ghat is constantly visited, no objection is raised to
European visitors looking on, quietly and respectfully, while the
cremation is proceeding. The funeral pyre is laid in dry wood,
mingled with sandal-wood for the sake of its fragrance. The corpse is-
placed at full length on the pile, and then covered over with more woodr
the head and feet only being visible. Passages suitable to the occasion
are read by the officiating priest from the sacred books. The eldest
son, or nearest living relative, having walked three times round the
pyre, kindles it, and in about two hours the corpse is reduced to ashes,
which are cast into the river. After the cremation is over, the
relatives who have taken part bathe in the Hugli to wash away all
impurity resulting from contact with the dead.
The Christian churches and chapels of Calcutta have no great
attractions apart from what may be preached from their respective
pulpits. They are all modern buildings, and from the Cathedral
downwards are poor specimens of ecclesiastical architecture. In the
grave-yard of St. John's Church are the tombs of Job Charnock,
William Hamilton and Admiral Watson, the only surviving relics of
old Calcutta, and some other tombstones removed from the old grave-
yard when it was built over. Some of the older places of worship have
associations connected with the earlier periods of missionary enter-
prise, that give them peculiar associations to many travellers, all of
which will be found, with a mine of other general information about-
Calcutta, in a handy little volume of 250 pages, published by Newman
and Co., the well-known booksellers, which I heartily commend to





34°
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
anyone intending to stay more than two or three days in this dull
capital, devoid of interest to any traveller without introduction to its
charming and delightful society, or who is not a student of native
institutions or missionary enterprises.
The archaeologist will turn from these modern buildings, on the
strength of which Calcutta impudently takes the title of " The City of
Palaces," to the fascinating contents of the Indian Imperial Museum
in Chowringhi. This splendid collection of Indian antiquities and
art was founded by the Asiatic Society, whose journals and proceed-
ings, filling fifty bulky volumes, are the rich mines from which almost

A HUDQEROW, CALCUTTA.
every authority on Indian antiquities, philology, literature and natural
history has dug his ore. The museum of the society, taken over by
the Government in 1866, has been housed and developed within the
Imperial Museum, and the Society itself provided with free quarters
forever within the same building. The Society, although parting so
wisely with its museum, has retained its splendid library of 15,000
volumes, and its collection of Sanskrit, Arabic, Persian and Indian
MSS.
The buildings of the new Imperial Museum were not completed
until 1875. They are about 300 feet square, round a central
quadrangle, colonnaded, and planted with tropical shrubs and trees.
The elevation presents two lofty stories, and is a handsome specimen
of Italian architecture. The rooms are beautifully lighted and
entirely free from shadows. The museum is open from 10 a.m. to
4 p.m. every day, Sundays included, except Friday.


CALCUTTA.
341
The archaeological galleries contain a gateway and a considerable
portion of the railing of the great Buddhist Stupa of Bharhut, tha
most important and interesting in all India, from an historical point
of view, though perhaps not the finest in artistic merit. The gate-
way and rail, nearly 2000 years old, is richly sculptured with repre-
sentations of the various births of Buddha, giving pictures of the
weapons, dress, tools, furniture, buildings, worship and domestic life
of the people of their time, 200—100 B.C.
Elsewhere are two colossal human figures from near Patna; ten
bases of capitals from Muttra of the first century a.d.; in the centre
of the same room is another remarkable sculpture from Muttra, carved
on both sides with a Bacchanalian group, opinions being divided
whether it is Scythian or Hindu. In this room also are many
Buddhist sculptures of various kinds and a huge statue of Buddha.
To the right of the entrance to the west gallery is a finely carved
marble slab from the Tope of Amravati, representing the dream of
Maya, the mother of Buddha. In the cases round the walls of this
gallery is a series of sculptures from the ancient Buddhist city of
Ghandara, near Peshawar.
In another long gallery, 160 feet by 40, are a number of Buddhist
sculptures arranged in recesses down one side, with Brahminical
sculptures down the other. In the middle of the room is a series of
casts of the sculptures of the Hindu temples of Orissa.
The sculptures brought from Sarnath are worth very careful exa-
mination. One of the slabs portrays the birth, temptation, teaching
and death of Buddha. All through the galleries are glass cases con-
taining smaller antiquities, stone and metal implements, ancient glass
and pottery, jewels and such like, and a choice little collection of
Musalman enamelled tiles.
In another room are casts of the friezc3 of the famous temples of
Orissa, sculptures of the Asoka period, of the Sanchi Tope and
other ancient monuments, many of which casts are also to be seen at
the Indian Museum at South Kensington.
The Geological Museum is very complete. The natural history
collections of every known beast, bird and reptile in India, and the fish
and shells of the Indian seas, are intensely interesting.
There are several excursions to be made from Calcutta. The
pleasantest is to the Botanical Gardens, which are situated beyond
the village of Scebpur, on the bank of the Ganges; the drive over


342
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
the Hugli Bridge, through Seebpur, is dusty and without interest,
and the pleasantest route is by boat down the river to the Garden
Ghat.
The garden fronts the river for a mile, and is 272 acres in extent,

THE GARDEN OUAT.
A pretty lake of ornamental water winds through the gardens, in which
are every variety of indigenous water plants, and fine specimens of the
great Victoria regia lily. The palmetum is singularly beautiful, and
is well planted with a great variety of palms, not merely those
peculiar to India, but others from all parts of the world. The orchid
houses are renowned in horticulture, and well deserving of the praise
bestowed upon them. In the hot season they are one mass of bloom.


CALCUTTA.
343
There are many fine avenues of palms, mahogany trees, deodar trees
-and others. The great glory of the gardens, however, is the superb
banian tree, one of the finest in the world. It is only 100 years old,
yet its trunk is more than fifty feet in circumference, and nearly 200
air roots have descended to the earth beneath from its mighty
branches. Its outside measurement is more than 800 feet in circum-
ference. A large board fastened against the main trunk gives much
useful and interesting information about this giant tree. Besides
several conservatories and other plant houses, there is a remarkable
•collection of dried plants
in a building near the
superintendent's house,
-containing specimens of
about 40,000 species.
Another pleasant ex-
cursion is up the river
to Barrackpur Park, the
-country residence of the
Viceroy. This is a man-
sion and park of 250
acres, beautifully wooded.
The view from the house
•commands about six
miles of the river. Those
interested in missions VIEW IM BOTANICAL GARDENS.
may extend their journey
to Serampur, opposite Barrackpur, and visit the chapel and college of
the Baptist Mission, sacred to the memory of Carey, Marshman, and
Ward, the venerated pioneers of Missionary enterprise in India.
Chandarnagar and Hugh are about three-quarters of an hour run
by railway from Howrah Station. Chandarnagar is a French settle-
ment, a place of some importance in the last century, but now a
homely little town, still the official seat of a French sub-governor,
whose office is a dull sinecure, with nothing to do but watch half a
company of soldiers drill. Hugl i was an old Portuguese factory
from 1540 to 1631, when they were driven out by the Mughals.
Afterwards it was the residence of Job Charnock. All historical
buildings have long since disappeared. There is a handsome Mosque,
Imambara and Serai, at Hugli.


344
PICTURESQUE INDfA.
There are no special art manufactures of any kind at Calcutta
worthy of notice, except the jewellery workshops and show-rooms of
Messrs. Hamilton & Co., who manufacture costly regalia and other
gauds for the Indian Rajas and native princes. They do not.
however, work to Indian patterns, but mainly from European designs.
They are most polite in letting strangers walk through their shops-
and work-rooms.
I do not give any details of missionary work in Calcutta, as they
are fully given in "Newman's Guide," being written up to date every
year.


CHAPTEE XXIII.
DARJILING.

AR.TIL1NG.—The traveller leaves Calcutta at
four o'clock in the afternoon, in the thinnest
clothing he possesses. Next morning he is
glad of a winter's suit, and before his arrival
ulsters, fur cloaks, and rags are more than
welcome. The world cannot furnish a stranger
railway journey than that from Calcutta to
Darjiling. A five hours' journey on the usual gauge reaches tho
great Ganges river, which is crossed by a steam ferry: on the other
side the train runs all night on a three-foot gauge; after breakfast,
another transfer is made to a two-foot gauge, on which the locomotive
crawls 7,400 feet up tho Himalyas at a speed of six miles an hour.
The total distance from Calcutta to Darjiling is 246 miles, and the
"express" mail train does it in exactly twenty - four hours, or an
average of ten and a quarter miles an hour. This, however, is
better than thirty years ago, when passengers from Calcutta to
Darjiling had to swelter for ninety-eight hours in Dak gharries.
The route from Calcutta to the foot of the hills is across the great
fertile plain of Bengal, and nothing is lost by a night journey through


346
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
its monotony; but the rise from the plains to Darjiling is probably
the grandest railway journey in the world.
The railway is really a light tram, a Tee rail of about forty pounds
per yard, laid for the greater
part of the way along the old
trunk road through Sikkim
to Tibet. To increase the
radii of the needful curves,
many deviations have been
made from the road, and
practically there is now a
pretty even gradient of one
in twenty-eight from the foot
of the hills to Darjiling.
The line winds in and out
along the hill sides, often
running along the edge of
tremendous gorges and pre-
cipices, now on one side, now
on the other. At one spot
the line rises in a complete
figure of 8, at another a hill
is climbed in a series of
zigzags, on which the engine
is alternately at the front and
rear of the train, now draw-
ing, now pushing. The loco-
motives are sturdy little
engines weighing ten tons,
built by Sharp, Stewart & Co.
The open carriages hold
six, in comfortable armchairs.
A formidable break is pro-
vided for each. They are short four-wheeled bogies, for the line
twists like a snake, and the curves are so sharp that the little
train is in the shape of the letter S for two-thirds of the
journey. A good shaking-up might reasonably be looked for, but the
travelling is as smooth and steady as a trunk line in England. The
road runs the whole distance through dense primeval forest, except

O.S THE DABJILINO RAILWAY.


DA RJI LING.
347
where sunny spurs of mountains have been cleared for tea-gardens,
making, with their bungalows ar \ offices, a pleasant break in the
landscape. At every turn fresh beauty reveals itself. Behind,
stretching away to the horizon, is the vast fertile plain of Bengal,
bathed in sunlight, with rivers meandering out from the mountain
gorges like bright silver ribbons. Before, the first ranges of the
Himalyas rising from 5,000 to 8,000 feet above the plain, forest
clad to their summits. As the train commences the ascent. the line

blades fifteen feet, and seed-stalks twenty to twenty-five feet from the
ground, with huge feathery tops. These impenetrable wildernesses
are the haunts of tigers, rhinoceros, buffaloes, bears, ssimbhar deer,
and wild hogs. As the train ascends, the jungle gives place to
forest; oaks, banians, mimosas, acacias, fig, India-rubber, and mul-
berry trees are all plentiful for the first 2,000 or 3,000 feet of ascenf,
and these are interspersed with great clumps of giant bamboo sixty
feet high, with culms as thick as a man's thigh. At 3,700 feet above
the plain both peach and almond trees are in full blossom in January,
and at 4,500 feet there are fine spreading chestnuts. At 5,000 feet
appear the first of those beautiful Himalyan tree-ferns, fifteen or
twenty feet high. A little further on a small tea plantation is


348
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
passed, where the planter, in clearing his jungle, had spared some-
forty or fifty of these graceful trees, and very pretty they look stand-
ing out from the even spread of the low tea-bushes. 2,000 feet below
the summit the train often enters a dense cloud, but on passing
over and running down into Darjiling, clear weather is generally
reached, the magnificent valley of the Ranjit and the snowy heights
of Kinchinjanga bursting upon the sight in all the splendour of the
setting sun.
Darjiling lives under the shadow of Kinchinjanga, in the heart of
the great Himalyan Range. The giant mountain fills the window of
the comfortable English Hotel, the "Woodlands," perched on the
summit of a little hill, which is only twice the height of Snowdon or
Ben Lomond. The station is 7,200 feet above Calcutta, yet when I
was there in January, 1889, roses, nasturtiums, and lupins were
blossoming in the garden, and wild raspberries were plentiful in the
evergreen forest which surrounds the town.
No pen can give any adequate description of the stupendous
magnificence of the situation and surroundings of Darjiling. It is at
the end of a long wooded spur of Sinchul, a mountain about 9,000
feet high, which projects its steep sides out into an amphitheatre,
whose floor is paved with modest hills 6,000 or 8,000 feet above
the sea, and whose walls are the mightiest giants of the mighty
Himalyas. Standing on Observatory Hill, the very end of the spur,
looking west, the eyo travels round the amphitheatre, dwelling in
turn on the icy summits of Janu, 25,300 feet above the sea; Kabur,
24,000; Pandim, 22,000; Narsing, 18,200; Chomiamo, 23,300;
Yakcham, 19,200; Kamhenjhan, 22,500; then a succession of
unnamed snowy peaks lead on to Donkhia, 23,200, and other
mountains of Bhutan. These fine sonorous words are fitting names
for these Himalyan giants. Between these mountains, which
stretch in a chain of over 200 miles in extent, are continuous
successions of snow-fields and glaciers, and in the centre of the
whole range rises their glorious monarch, Kinchinjanga, whose crown
of ice rears itself five clear miles above the plain of Bengal. These
mountains are from thirty to sixty miles distant from Darjiling, but
their height is so immense that they could not be seen much nearer.
Between Sinchul and Kinchinjanga, across tho Ranjit Valley,
stretches a chain of mountains from 10,000 to 12,000 feet. On this
platform Kinchinjanga itself is raised. Its flanks are great granite


35°
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
cliffs, rising sheer for 8,000 or 10,000 feet; above them are the vast
snow-fields and glaciers, from which the granite again breaks in black
stern peaks standing out against the dense blue sky.
At daybreak Kinchinjanga is usually buried under a dense mass of
cloud, with clear blue everywhere else above. As the sun gathers
strength, this mass of vapour slowly breaks up and spreads itself to
the zenith. Presently the glittering ice-peaks show themselves
through blue gaps, and by nine o'clock the upper clouds have melted,
and the lower ones banked down into the Banjit Valley, leaving the
whole summit of Kinchinjanga clear, with its forty miles of snow-field
and glacier, and its towering summits, a rich pale glittering yellow
against the pure cobalt of the morning sky.
The Himalyan air is so rare and clear that every little detail of
the mountain appears visible, and the whole stands out as distinct as
the Monte Rosa range from the Riffel. Darjiling is 7,200 feet high,
and although the summit of Kinchinjanga is forty-five miles distant
as the crow flies, one must positively look up into the sky to see it.
I estimate some of its glaciers to be at least fifteen miles in length,
and on the other side of the mountain, looking north, are glaciers and
snow-fields that are the largest in the world.
Darjiling is the great sanitarium of Bengal, and the town consists
of a bazar or market, lying in a basin on the side of the mountain
spur, round which are scattered the residences of the European
inhabitants, and endless furnished villas let by the season. The
most conspicuous buildings are an enormous convalescent home or
general hospital, with accommodation for seventy or eighty patients,
and the church, which tops the whole town. The villas are scattered
nll over three miles of hill-side, and suggest that some Himalayan
giant had tipped a cart-load of them over the top, letting them settle
on every projecting knoll. Every building is roofed with galvanized
iron, which glistens among the dense foliage like silver, when the sun
is high.
The temperature never rises above 80° in the height of summer, or
falls below 30° in the depth of winter, so that it is an ideal climate for
Europeans, whose bonny children present a marked contrast to the
pale and wilted little creatures one sees in the plains. Children's
diseases are almost unknown here. The bazar at Darjiling is quite
the most interesting and amusing in India. Sunday is market-day,
and throngs of Hill people and tea-coolies come into town, to do their





352
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
marketing and have high jinks generally- The bazar consists of
three large open spaces surrounded by stalls. The most familiar type
of hill-man are the Lepchas, the Sikkim aborigines. Their features
are distinctly Mongolian, their faces broad and flat, their eyes wide
apart. and cheek-bones high. They are stalwart little chaps of five
feet three inches or five feet four inches in height, with broad chests,
mighty calves, and long sinewy arms. The men's faces are almost
hairless, with seldom more than a few straggling hairs on lip or chin;
but they make up for their want of beard by the most magnificent
heads of coal-black hair, as thick and long as a horse's tail, which
they plait into a pig-tail. The women wear two pig-tails, and arc as
lusty and strong as the men, carrying enormous weights on their
backs. Their dress is much the same for both sexes, who are only
distinguishable by their pig-tails and jewellery. It is a robe of
striped coarse cotton cloth, crossed over the breast and back, leaving
the arms free, and coming down below the knee; over this is worn in
winter a rough woollen coat with long, loose sleeves. They wear
high boots of deerskin as protection from the terrible leeches which
infest the woods in the rainy season. The Ncpalcso are gradually
forcing the Lepchas out of Darjiling. When wo took possession of
British Sikkim, there were only somo 200 Ncpalcso in the whole
country, and now they form sixty-five per cent. of the population.
The Lepchas are indolent, lazy, and fond of drink; whilo the Ncpalese
are a vigorous and prolific folk, excellent cultivators, who find ready
employment in the tea-gardens.
The population of the whole district is 100,000, and is very mixed.
Ncpalese predominate, but there are also great numbers of Bhutias,
Tibetans, Bengalis, and the Lepcha aborigines. About 40,000
labourers of these different nationalities find employment on about
200 tca-pbintations, which is the flourishing and progressive staple
industry of the district.
Ono of these tea-plantations ought to be visited, and tho pro-
prietors are always willing to show strangers round and explain each
process. A good deal of cinchona is also grown in tbe Darjiling
district.
Tho noise of tho bazar at noon can bo heard for a mile. Tho old
proverb, "It takes two to make a bargain," has no honour Lore; it
never takes less than twenty, and all feel bound to shout, push,
struggle, and gesticulate. Tho crowd numbers many thousands, and


DARJILING.
353
these jolly Hill-men appear to be the most good-natured people in the
-world, rivalling in that respect even the Japanese. Every man carries
a knife that would disembowel an elephant, but no one quarrels.
Every woman is loaded with silver and gold jewellery, but no one is
-ever robbed. Here along a sunny wall are twenty or thirty barbers,
busily engaged in cutting and trimming the unkempt locks of the
men, mostly Tibetan traders who have tramped across the moun-
tains, the hair lying in heaps in front of them, horribly suggestive of
gregarines and other small game. Round the corner are a lot of
Bhutia women, with great crocks full of snow-white curds, the
favourite dainty of the place, which they serve out to their customers
in square vessels ingeniously twisted out of plantain leaves. Near
them are some Lepcha lads playing shuttlecock with the soles of their
feet, which they turn upwards in the nimblest fashion. Then come
some stalls for tea, which is boiled up with molasses, a gruesome
compound. And now an open market is entered, where perchance
one is jostled by a huge giant, a Buddhist Lama, who, followed by
an acolyte as dirty as himself, bellows aloud for alms. All over the
market are traders, squatted on the ground in front of their wares,
the most heterogeneous assortment of goods imaginable—goats, pigs,
poultry, tea, tobacco, beads from Venice, grain of all sorts, sweet-
meats, cards, the bloodiest meat ever seen, killed at the back as
required, and brought in dripping, piles of cotton and woollen goods,
yaks' tails, brass Buddhas, ironmongery, pottery, old bottles, tinned
meats, tape, cotton, needles, wooden spoons, oil, umbrellas, and
feeding-bottles, all blent, with their vendors, in one great labyrinth of
yelling confusion.
A noble sight indeed are the well-to-do Bhutia women who have
come in to market. They are five feet six inches high, and about five
feet broad, with great good-humoured faces, beaming like the rising
sun through the brown varnish with which they paint themselves, i
Each has a great circlet round her head, formed of large beads of
coral and turquoise, set alternately on a frame, the red and blue
telling strongly against the mass of black hair. From their ears
dangle enormous gold earrings, four or five inches long, pulling down
the lobes of their ears. Four necklaces of amber, agate, coral, or big
coarse turquoises, are the smallest number they can wear with any
self-respect, and round their waist—well, where it ought to be—is a
massive silver girdle with hanging ornaments, like a chatelaine. I


DARJILING.
355
her jewellery had cost 3,000 rupees; she was quite willing to sell the
lot, and begin collecting afresh.
Of course there are plenty of liquor shops in and around Darjiling.
The Hill people drink readily enough, but the facilities for getting it
are much too plentiful, especially among the tea villages. A few
months ago the tea-planters of the Darjiling district held a large
public meeting, attended by 150 out of 197, their total number, and
unanimously adopted a strong memorial to the Government of Bengal,
protesting against the almost universal establishment of out-stills, to
the ruin of many of their coolies, and their own pecuniary loss. This
out-still system is universally condemned, and its days are numbered.
The liquor sold in the bazar of Darjiling is mostly cheap fiery
English spirit. In front of every shop is a board, "English soldiers
cannot be supplied." The paternal Government of India takes care
of its costly soldier, and protects him against the fiery poison of the
out-still and the grog-shop, but Lepcha and Bhutia women may get
as drunk as they please.
This cheap spirit is rapidly ousting the national drink of Sikkim,
munva. This is made from millet, soaked in yeast, and allowed to
ferment slightly. When ready, it is put into a section of bamboo,
and boiling water added. It is then sucked through straws. This
liquor is wholesome, palatable, and nourishing, and so slightly
intoxicating, that no one can possibly get drunk on it. No Lama
ever goes from home without his bowl of murwa, and his bamboo cup.
There is a good trade with Tibet from Darjiling, which would be
greater if a really good road were made through Sikkim. This may
be one of the results of the recent expedition. From Darjiling sugar,
rice, dried fruits, tobacco, spirits, madder, cotton goods, cloth, lac,
ivory, and indigo are sent into Tibet, the indigo trade being very
important and increasing. Tibet returns, in exchange, tea, salt,
musk, coarse woollen fabrics, skins, sturdy and active ponies, cows,
and sheep. The trade is carried on through the winter months, when
the place is full of dirty Tibetans and their haggard flocks of sheep
and goats.
Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world, is not visible
from Darjiling, but it may be seen in very fine clear weather from
Tiger Hill, an excursion of six miles on ponies or in chairs. Sunrise
is the likeliest hour of the day, and the journey may be made between
chota hazri and breakfast. The views at sunset from Tiger Hill are
A A S


DARJILING.
357
through China and Tibet. These dealers come up to the hotel on
Sunday mornings.
A pleasant excursion may he made on ponies or on foot to Rungarun,
six miles distant, to see the botanical gardens of seventy-five acres.
Here every kind of plant and tree, indigenous to this district of the
Himalyas, has been got together.
A grand expedition may be made into the very heart of the snow
mountains along the Singalia Range to Phalut, for which about four
days are required. The stages are as follows :—
Darjiling to
Jorpurki . . . 13 miles.
Tonglu . . . 31 „
Sendukphu . . . 38 „
Phalut . . . 61 „
There are good rest-houses at all these stations. By making an
early start, reaching Jorpurki for breakfast, Tonglu may be reached
the same night. The second day it is practicable to get on to Phalut
by noon, and get back to Sendukphu the same night, returning the
next day to Darjiling. This would, however, necessitate greater
expense in pony and coolie hire than a four or five days' journey, and
could only be undertaken by very robust travellers.
The road runs along the sky line of the lofty range of mountains on
the left side of the great amphitheatre into which Darjiling is pro-
jected, and a guide will point out all the various stations named above,
which are on peaks of the same name; Tonglu is 10,074, Sendukphu,
11,929, and Phalut, 11,811 feet above the sea. The views are superb,
and not only is the great Kinchinjanga range visible all the way, but
from the summits the whole of the vast Nepalese snowy range, in-
cluding Chunlang (24,020 feet) and Mount Everest (27,799), with
their lesser dependencies, any one of which would swallow up Mont
Blanc.
Bedding and food must bo taken forward to Tonglu by coolies, the
rest-houses only supplying chairs and bedsteads. It is extremely cold
at night. It is necessary to write a few days beforehand to the Deputy
Commissioner at Darjiling to obtain permission to use the rest-houses.
Newman & Co., Calcutta, have published a very handy and in-
telligent guide book to Darjiling that it will be wise to buy before-
hand, and those who intend spending some time, and taking any of


358 PICTURESQUE INDIA.
the excursions I have suggested, will find Sir Joseph Hooker's charm-
ing hook of travels in this district an invaluable companion.
If the traveller is not pressed for time, he will do well to return to
Siliguri hy the Tista Valley, instead of by rail, a delightful excursion
of three days through the most lovely scenery, quite practicable for
any lady who can stand the moderate fatigue of continuous pony
riding. I have not been able to take this journey myself, but a lady
and gentleman, friends of mine, some of whose beautiful photographs
are the bases of illustrations in these pages, returned from Darjiling
by this route the same week I was there; at my request, this lady
wrote me a letter describing her experiences, and I cannot do better
than reproduce it here :—
"Nov. 24,1888.—My husband and I left Woodland's Hotel, Darjil-
ing, about 9 a.m. on ponies, each with a syce, to ride down by the
Tista Valley to Siliguri. Our provisions, which we took partly cooked
(there was nothing to be bought on the road except goats' milk,
which we got with difficulty at Kaligura), bedding, photograph-
box, &c, had been packed on coolies backs and sent off earlier with
our native servant, who was also mounted on a pony. It was a lovely
clear bright morning when we started and rode to the Mall; there
we took our last view of the snows, and began our descent into the
valley, with the wooded heights of Senchal above us on our right.
We went down a narrow stony path winding backwards and forwards,
but always a steep descent, covered with loose stones and very fine
dust, glittering in the sun like bits of glass. I rode the greater part
of the way, having my pony led by the syce, but my husband walked
down most of the way, taking every now and then short cuts. We
ought to have started earlier, as, about ten, the sun got very hot, and
for some time we had little shelter, though on the other side of the
ralley and beneath us were thick woods. We were thankful when we
reached the shade of some trees, and the road began to be less steep.
We passed through a good many tea plantations just beginning to
flower, which smelt sweet, like new mown hay. We still kept going
downhill, but now through thick woods, until about one o'clock, when
we reached the Ranjit river, having ridden down about 6,000 feet in
about eleven miles. The Ranjit is crossed here by a bridge, made by
stretching two parallel canes across the river, from which are hung
loops of cane, bamboos being put at the bottom for flooring; the
bridge sways with the slightest movement, but we were told that the


DARJILING.
359
natives think nothing of crossing it with heavy loads on their backs.
There is also a ferry, so that the bridge is only used when the river
is in flood and too rapid for the boat, which is a large kind of canoe
hollowed out of the trunk of a tree. Across the ferry is the shortest
road into Sikkim, and a great many Lepchas and Bhutias, both men
and women, many carrying loads of oranges, passed us while we were
there. A number of small half-starved ponies were waiting for
loads, and eating young bamboo leaves. After tiffin we rode on along
a fairly broad and level road, cut through the thick and tangled
jungle just above the river. It was a beautiful forest road, the tall
trees and feathery bamboos forming an archway above our heads,
beautiful creepers, some, though late, still in flower, strangling and
.completely covering the trees round which they clung, with largo
ferns and tropical plants with enormous leaves on each side. We
neither saw nor heard any birds, but large black and dark blue butter-
flies occasionally crossed our path, while perfect stillness reigned, only
broken by the river below us rushing swiftly between rocks. About
four we reached a more open place where the Ranjit flows into the
Tista, a bright green and more rapid river than the Ranjit; here
our road turned to the right, and we followed the combined rivers,
now called the Tista, passing near the junction of the rivers a few
native huts. About half an hour farther on we came across our tiffin
basket and other small things lying by the road side, and two of our
,coolies fighting with a stranger, our words not having much effect.
AVe rode on to the Tista rest-house, which we reached about 4*30.
Having sent our servant back to look after the missing properties,
we began to look about us. The rest-house belongs to the engineers,
from whom we obtained, at Darjiling, permission to use it; this is a
one-storied building raised on posts from the ground only a few inches
in front, but some feet at the back, with a broad verandah back and
front. It consists of two fair-sized rooms, with a bedstead, a table,
and a few chairs in each, and a very small dark bath-room, but
-without a bath. The verandah at the back looks over the river, and
to the left is an iron suspension bridge. Just now the place is very
busy, as this is the high road to Sikkim, and large quantities of stores
are being sent up to the troops before the passes are blocked up by
«now. Between the rest-house and the bridge are a few native huts
and sheds for ponies, outside v.hich our coolies and syces had lighted
fires, and were squatting round cooking their evening meal. Bullock-


360
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
carts were being unladen, and their contents packed on the backs of
tiny ponies, which would take them two days' journey towards the
front, the rest of the way they would be carried on by coolies.
Presently our food arrived, and by the light of one lamp on a wall,
and a candle stuck in a bottle, we had dinner, and soon after went
to bed, somewhat tired with our twenty-one miles ride.
"Nov. 25.—After breakfast, at which we were joined by one of the
contractors looking after the transport, we left Tista and rode along
still by the river. The road very much cut up by the ox carts, c
number of which we met, some drawn by small, others by good sized
oxen, but all requiring a good deal of prodding and shouting at to get
them to drag their loads through the mud and mire. By eleven the
sun was very hot, and the road so near the river's edge that there was
in places very little shade, the jungle on our side still very thick, and
the hills across the river covered also up to the summit with thick
jungle. "At 1-30, after eleven miles ride, we reached the rest-house of

BHUTIAS AT BREAKFAST.


DARJILING.
361
Kaligura, very prettily situated under trees with the road and some
native huts below on the river. To the right is an iron bridge, under
which the Kali, or Black river, now dry, flows to join the Tista. The
Tista, here takes another bend, so that there are three valleys joining
here, all alike, covered up to the top of the hills with thick jungle.
We sketched and photographed, and after dinner sat outside watching
the stars and talking to a native engineer who had just arrived, and
who told us that the forests belong to Government and contained wild
elephants, rhinoceros, and a few tigers, and that during the rains the
valley is so feverish that even the coolies refused to work without extra
pay. The Kaligura rest - house smaller than the one at Tista but
better furniture and a bath.
"Nov. 26.—Up early and off by eight, riding still for some miles
along the banks of the river, the country gradually getting more open
and the hill lower. In about two hours we forded a small river in
company with many ox carts, and found on the other side a good-sized
village where huts of bamboos were being erected for the troops coming
down from Sikkim. Here we left the Tista and the' woods began to
get much thinner until, at the end of an avenue of trees, we could see
the plains. Several native villages were to be seen along the road,
and we met a running postman taking mails for the troops. Under
one of the last group of trees we had tiffin and then made up our
minds to face the heat and finish our ride, although it was midday;
and it was indeed hot, and the road had been most carefully made to
avoid every bit of shade. We constantly saw villages ahead of us
under clumps of trees, but our road took us always between them
through fields of rice and quite straight across the hot plains. After
about four miles we reached Siliguri and got off at the large Dak
Bungalow there, most thankful for the shade and some good tea which
the Khansamah brought us. Were we to take the ride over again we
should ride up instead of down, arranging for carriers and ponies to
meet us on the arrival of the morning train from Calcutta and get the
ride across the hot plains over before the sun was high; the steep
path up at the end to Darjiling would be much pleasanter to ride up
than down."
There are many interesting and beautiful excursions to be made
from Darjiling, and since the British troops entered Sikkim, in 1888,
much has been done to improve old and develop new roads. The
principal road into Sikkim is good as far as Gnatong, seventy-two


PICTURESQUE INDIA.
miles from Darjiling, and there are now Dak Bungalows all the way.
Tbe road is only fit for ponies, but the journey may be broken at the
following stages—Peshok eighteen miles, Kalimpong thirteen, Pedong
thirteen, Rongli twelve, Sedonchi eight, from whence to Gnatong is a
final nine miles. The ups and downs are tremendous. In the first
stage the drop from Darjiling to the Tista river is from 7,000 to
700 feet, while from Rongli to Sedonchi there is a rise of 10,000 feet
in less than nine miles. The distance from Darjiling to Gnatong
is forty miles across the map, but the ups and downs of the road
stretch it out to seventy-three.
A short walk of three miles from Pedong brings the traveller to
Dumsong, from which is obtained the finest of all the views of
Kinchinjanga. Dumsong is only a Buddhist prayer wall, studded over
with stone slabs engraved with inscriptions. The scene beggars
description. Beyond a foreground of grassy slopes, great tree-ferns,
and massy foliage, the most glorious snow mountain in the world
hangs in the purple sky, a wonder of beauty! There is a good
camping-ground at Dumsong, but for those who do not carry tents,
almost as fine a view may be got from Rissum, five miles south of
Pedong, where there is a good little bungalow, and lazy people may, if
they choose, lie a-bed, and, through the window, watch the sun rise
on Kinchinjanga.
At Rongli, where there is also a bungalow, good angling for
Mahseer, and other fish may be had with spinning bait, a small spoon,
gilt one side and silver the other, being the best.
Gnatong is a stone fort, crowded with poor wooden huts, embedded
in hills. The scenery of the whole journey is the finest in the world.
The Tista is a rushing torrent, with lofty wooded hills on each side,
and at every summit of the way some fresh view of Kinchinjanga
deepens the impression of its weird and massive beauty left by the
views already enjoyed.
A pleasant digression may be made, if time permits, from Pedong to
Guntok, the present residence of the Rajah of Sikkim. It is a hard
day's journey of twenty-three miles, with two ascents of over 5,000 feet.
The Rajah's name is Tootopewangel and his wife is Tenzamdrama.
There is no accommodation at Guntok.
There is only one Protestant mission at work in Darjiling, that of
the Church of Scotland, founded in 1870, and now carried on in four
distinct branches, viz., (1) The Darjiling Division Mission, with its





3*4
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
head-quarters in the town of Darjiling; (2) The Kalimpong Division
Mission, with its headquarters at Kalimpong, twenty-six miles east of
Darjiling, via the Tista Bridge; (3) The Scottish Universities
Mission to Independent Sikkim, with its headquarters also at
Kalimpong; and (4) The Darjiling Zenana Mission, with its head-
quarters at Darjiling.
The Darjiling Division field comprises the Darjiling Hill Territory,
west of the Tista River, and the Darjiling Terai, at the foot of the
hills, peopled, in the order of their predominance, by Nepalis who-
are Hindus, Lepchas (the aboriginal occupants) who are mainly
demonolators, Bhutias (from Bhutan, &c.) who are Buddhists, and
Plainsmen (from the plains) who are Hindus or Musalmans, Bengalis
(Hindu or Musalman), and Dhangars (Hindu) from Chota Nagpore.
The total population may be estimated at 150,000. The work among
these people is superintended by the Rev. A. Turnbull, M.A.,
B.D. The Mission House, Darjiling, has a staff of eighteen
native lay preachers at fifteen stations, including Darjiling and
all the main places along the railway to Siliguri, where they are
the virtual pastors of their respective Christian congregations, and
the missionaries to their non-Christian countrymen; twenty-two native
teachers, in one English-Hindi, one Bhutia and nineteen elementary
Hindi schools with an attendance of nine hundred pupils; sixteen
normal students, in the Training School at Kalimpong and in
the Terai; a printing press, with sixteen employes; a colporteur;
six book depots, the one at Darjiling beside the Hindu temple, dealing
in general as well as missionary literature; and two native doctors.
The work is helped in the most catholic spirit by all denominations
and classes of the European community, both congregationally and
individually. In 1888 local European subscriptions amounted to
4,393 rupees, while the native Christians themselves contributed 737
rupees. The native Christians now number 580. In 1880 there
were not eighty. All questions of admission to the sacraments,
discipline, &c., are determined by a monthly Panchayat, consisting of
the missionary, catechists, and adult members. There are two
Sunday services in Darjiling, at the Mission House at 9.30 a.m. and
4 p.m., Sunday schools, Bible classes four evenings a week, and a
prayer meeting one evening a week, at all the stations. There is of
course also bazar preaching every Sunday in many of the bazars;
in Darjiling, at the book depot room from 11 to 2. The catechists-


DARJILING.
365
itinerate during the week among the Christians and non-Christians of
their districts. The printing press publishes Hindi and Bhutia
schoolbooks, Nepali scriptures, Hindi, Nepali, Bhutia and Lepcha
tracts, &c, and also does outside job-work. The Bible is being done
into Nepali. The whole of the New Testament has been translated,
and the Old Testament as far as Psalms; but only Genesis, Exodus,
Proverbs, and from Matthew to Galatians has been published. Other
publications which may be mentioned are, a monthly newspaper, a
Handbook to the Bible, a Manual of Systematic Theology, a hymn-
book, and Commentaries on Genesis, Exodus and Matthew, all in
Hindi; and a Nepali grammar, and English-Nepali and Nepali-
English vocabularies—all by the Rev. A. Turnbull. Hindi is the
lingua franca of the mission. In 1885, in consequence of the threat-
ening spread of drunkenness by the ubiquitous outstill and imported
liquor shops established by the Government, a Total Abstinence
Society was founded within the mission church, which now has over
seventy members.
The Kalimpong Division field comprises all the British Hill
Territory between the Tista River and the country of Bhutan, as well
as the Dooars at the foot of the hills. This work also was begun in
1870, and is conducted in the same way as in the Darjiling Division.
It is now supported by the Church of Scotland Young Men's Guild.
Their first missionary, the Rev. J. A. Graham, M.A., who is now in
charge, has under him five catechists, in four stations; eight teachers,
in eight schools, with nine pupil-teachers and 230 pupils; fifteen
students, in the training-school; and one native doctor. The number
• of native Christians (Lepcha and Nepali) is 560. A trip to Kalim-
pong is worth making.
The Scottish Universities Mission to Independent Sikkim was
founded in 1886, and is supported by the missionary associations of
the four Scottish Universities. Its missionary, the Rev. W. S.
Sutherland, M.A., has under him one catechist, eight teachers, two
pupil-teachers and 161 pupils, in six schools, and the training school
at Kalimpong, with five teachers, and forty-one students, of whom
eighteen belong to his own mission. The training school trains (just
as the printing press at Darjiling prints) for all the three missions.
The number of native Christians is fifty-five. Mr. Sutherland's head-
quarters are at Kalimpong, in British territory, until permission bo
obtained from the Rajah of Sikkim to build within Sikkim. Tho


366
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
people proper of Sikkim are the Lepchas, but those are dominated in
point of numbers and vigour by the Nepal is, and in point of political
and religious influence by the Tibetans.
The Darjiling Zenana Mission, founded in 1886, and conducted
by Misses Reid, Berry and Mackintosh, assisted by a native teacher,
works in Darjiling among the native women of all classes. Its
agencies are, Bengali and Hindi Zenana work, in as many houses a&
the agents can undertake; an English-Hindi elementary school; and
a very successful Sunday school. Fees are received for all secular
work, including music, singing and sewing; and the Bible is taught
on every visit to the zenanas, and every day in the schools. It is-
in contemplation to extend the work to Kurseong, Tindharia and
Siliguri. This mission is helped by the Darjiling branch of the
Y.W.C.A.
Mission work is also being done by the Jesuits in Darjiling and out
beyond Kalimpong; but no information of the operations of this body
is, so far as we know, published.
English services are conducted in Darjiling every Sunday, both in
the forenoon and afternoon; in connection with the Church of England
by the chaplain, in St. Andrew's Church; in connection with the
Nonconformists by the Rev. H. R. Brown, in the Union Chapel; and
in Connection with the Roman Catholics by the Jesuit fathers, in St.
Joseph's. These three bodies have regular services also at Jalapur,
the military cantonment, for soldiers. At Kurseong there is a Church
of England chaplain and church for planters.
Dacca.—This important and interesting city may be reached in
about fifteen hours from Poradaha Junction, on the railway between
Calcutta and Darjiling. The mail from Calcutta to Dacca leaves
at 9'30 p.m., arriving at Poradaha Junction 2'50 a.m., and
Goalundo Ghat, at the junction of the Ganges and Brahmapootra
rivers, at 5'40 a.m. Here the passengers are transferred to a com-
fortable steamer, which runs sixty-five miles down the mighty
Ganges, swollen with its noble tributary, to the Dacca river, and
which, after a further journey of forty-five miles more, arrives about
5 p.m., at Narayanganj Ghat, a little distance from Dacca city.
Dacca is the fifth largest city in Bengal, and has a population of
80,000, about equally divided between Musalman and Hindu. The
town extends along the bank of the river for nearly four miles. With
the exception of two main streets crossing each other at right angles,


DARJILING.
367
and the great square market-place, Dacca is the usual conglomera-
tion of narrow, twisting lanes and blind alleys. Many of the native
houses are built on a plan peculiar to this town, with a frontage of
eight or ten feet, and side walls running back fifty or sixty feet.
They are roofed over at back and front, the middle being a courtyard
open to the sky.
In the last century Dacca was a place of first-class importance, and
in the beginning of the present century boasted a population of over

DACCA.
200,000, and the suburbs extended for fifteen miles. All round the
present city are ruins of good houses, mosques, and temples,
smothered in jungle.
The old prosperity of Dacca centred in its muslins, which were
famous all over the world, the trade sixty or seventy years ago
reaching a quarter of a million sterling every year.
There are several large ruinous mansions along the river bank,
which still bear melancholy witness to departed greatness: the tombs
of the merchants who occupied them are in the pretty old cemetery
near the commissioner's house.
The only buildings remaining from the reign of the Mugbn'
Nawabs or Viceroys are the Katra, built in a.d. 1645, and the palace
of Lal Bagh, a.d. 1690, both of which are more or less in ruins.
There is a motley Christian population in the district of about


368
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
9,000 or 10,000, the descendants of the old Dacca merchants, mostly
Portuguese, Eurasians, Armenians, Greeks, and their admixtures:
they are, as a rule, Roman Catholics. The Brahmo Somaj church
is very strong, numbering about 1,000 adherents, and possessing a
large hall.
The fierce competition of Manchester has pretty well destroyed
the muslin weaving of Dacca, but there is still a survival, and the
most beautiful specimens can be obtained in the bazars. The weavers
are all Hindus, and the most highly-skilled craftsmen among them
use no less than 126 distinct implements in the production of their
finest fabrics. These are generally woven plain, but they are often
embroidered, with great skill, in coloured silks, by a different class
of workmen, who do not weave at all.
In the 17th century, Dacca muslin could be made fifteen yards
long and one yard wide, weighing only 900 grains, the price being
£40. Now the finest that can be got, of the same size, weighs 1,600
grains, and can be bought for £10. I doubt if muslin so fine as this
can be got in the bazar, but the best hands will weave it to order.
Among the presents to the Prince of Wales, when he visited India,
were three pieces twenty yards by one broad, each weighing 1,680
grains = 3£ ounces. Tavernier, the Indian traveller (a.d. 1628—41),
speaks of a muslin turban made at Dacca, thirty yards long, which
was packed into a jewelled cocoanut. The names of these old muslins
were Abrawan, or "running water," because it became invisible in
water; Subhnam, the "dew of evening"; Baft howa, or "woven
air," poetically suggestive of their exquisite fineness and delicacy.
But although " woven air " cannot now be purchased, Dacca weavers
still produce such beautiful specimens of plain, striped, figured, and
chequered muslins as cannot be rivalled anywhere else in the world.
Dacca is also noted for its shell jewellery, bracelets and necklets
being made from conch shells, the Voluta gravis, imported from the
Maldive and Laccadive islands. They are sawn into semicircular
pieces, which are joined together, carved, and inlaid with red
composition.
Carved ivory fans, filagree work in gold and silver, gold and silver
plate beautifully chased and engraved, are all largely produced at
Dacca for the Calcutta market. There is also a manufacture of
imitation jewellery, and a little time and trouble in the bazars, with
a good guide, will secure, for twenty or thirty rupees, a charming


369
collection, illustrative of all the patterns and designs used through-
out Bengal.
The Brahmaputra is navigated hy fine river steamers, with excel-
lent passenger accommodation as far as Dihrugarh, on the extreme
frontier of Assam. The voyage up takes four days, and the return
journey three. The scenery in many places is very magnificent.
Travellers who have spare time will find the journey very restful and
replete with interest.
The Baptist Missionary Society is represented here by Rev. R.
Wright Hay and Rev. T. H. Barnett, assisted by five native agents.
There is membership of about sixty, and three good day schools.
1. n


CHAPTER XXIV.
ALLAHABAD.

junction of the Ganges and the Jumna. Its population is 150,000,
of whom 100,000 are Hindu, 44,000 Musalman, and 6,000 Christian.
There are several good hotels, of which Laurie's is the best. It is
a military cantonment of some importance, the force generally con-
sisting of two batteries of artillery, one regiment each of European
and native infantry, and a regiment of native cavalry. The tongue of
land on which Allahabad stands is singularly fertile, and nowhere in
India are to be found such beautiful trees and gardens. All through
the cold season roses and other flowers are abundant, and the civil
station, with its wide streets, fine avenues, handsome bungalows, well-
laid out compounds, and public gardens, covers six or seven square
miles. The native town has no special characteristics, presenting the


ALLAHABAD.
371
usual net-work of narrow lanes and alleys, branching out of a few
principal streets. There are, however, some fine modern Hindu
mansions, belonging to wealthy merchants and bankers. It is placed
on the bank of the Jumna, just above the junction. A magnificent iron
bridge brings the East Indian railway into the city from Calcutta.
Like so many other places in India, Allahabad is built on the
departed greatness of previous cities, and has, as may be expected
from the spot where the Jumna is absorbed by mother Ganges, a
very ancient history. Here was the Aryan city, Varanavata, mentioned
in the pages of the Mahabharata. Here was Prayaga, where Rama
took refuge in exile: is it not written in the seven books of the
Ramayana? Here Asoka reared one of his great stone lats. The
Bhils ruled from Prayaga during the early middle ages; in 1575 a.d.
Akbar the Great built the fort, renaming the city Allahabad (the
abode of God), and in 1801 it became British.
The fort at Allahabad forms a striking object from the river:
crowning the spot where the Ganges and Jumna meet, it marks the
domination of Muhammad by its utter desecration of one of the
holiest places of the Brahman faith. In Akbar's time it was one of the
finest fortified palaces in India; but the ancient citadel is razed, the
bastions have disappeared, and a sloping glacis has taken the place
of the battlements. The buildings which the exigences of modern
warfare have spared, have been converted into magazines, store-
rooms, and barracks, and are covered with thick coats of British
whitewash, or despoiled of their columns and verandahs for the
repair of the fortifications. The great hall, of which, in its original
beauty, there is an illustration on page 583 of Fergusson's "Indian
Architecture," is now the arsenal. Its lovely colonnade has been
filled up with a brick wall and the most uncompromising English
windows; and whatever could not be cut away of its internal
decorations, are hidden under plaster or whitewash. It was probably
one of the most beautiful of Akbar's buildings, and it is a disgrace to
the Indian government that it is not restored, as far as may now be
possible. The noble gateway of the fort was destroyed to form the
nucleus of one of the ravelins of the modern fortifications. There is
not a single building of this once magnificent palace that can be
looked at without sorrow and disgust.
One of the most interesting archaeological remains in all India is
the famous Lat of Asoka. These lats are stone columns which King
b b 2


PICTURESQUE INDIA.
Asoka set up throughout his dominions in the thirty-first year of his
reign, inscribed with summaries of the leading doctrines of the
reformed Buddhist religion, of which he was the author. This
remarkable man ascended the throne of Maghada (Behar) B.C. 260.
Seven years after he became a convert to Buddhism, and did for that

IUNIYA's SHOP, ALLAHABAD.
faith what Constantino did for Christianity: established and endowed
it as a State religion. He called a council of leading priests to settle
a creed, appointed a State department to control it and watch over its
purity, revised the Buddhist scriptures, and inscribed summaries of
the creed on rocks, in caves, and on stone pillars throughout his
kingdom. There are fourteen rocks, seventeen caves, and eleven lats,
discovered by General Cunningham in different parts of northern
India. The most accessible of the rock inscriptions is at Girnar, in


ALLAHABAD.
373
Kathiawar, and at Rupnath, near Jabalpur; and of the caves, those
at Barabar and Nagarjuni, fifteen miles north of Gaya. Of the lats,
two are at Delhi, one at Sanchi, near Bhilsa, at Rampuri, at Benares,
one at Allahabad, and five scattered in less accessible places. Of them
all, the one at Delhi, in Feroz Shah's palace, and that at Allahabad,
are the best preserved.
The fourteen edicts of Asoka, inscribed on the Allahabad lat, and
indeed on all the rocks, caves, and other lats, have been thus summed
up by Mr. Robert Cust:—
1. Prohibition of the slaughter of animals for food or sacrifice.
2. Provision of a system of medical aid for men and animals, and
of plantations and wells on the roadside.
3. Order for a quinquennial humiliation and republication of the
great moral precepts of the Buddhist faith.
4. Comparison of the former state of things, and the happy existing
state under the king.
5. Appointment of missionaries to go into various countries, which
are enumerated, to convert the people and foreigners.
6. Appointment of informers (or inspectors) and guardians of
morality.
7. Expression of a desire that there may be uniformity of religion
and equality of rank.
8. Contrast of the carnal pleasures of previous rulers with the
pious enjoyments of the present king.
9. Inculcation of the true happiness to be found in virtue, through
which alone the blessings of heaven can be propitiated.
10. Contrast of the vain and transitory glory of this world with the
reward for which the king strives and looks beyond.
11. Inculcation of the doctrine that the imparting of dkarma or
teaching of virtue to others is the greatest of charitable gifts.
12. Address to all unbelievers.
13. (Imperfect); the meaning conjectural.
14. Summing up of the whole.
The Allahabad pillar is rendered doubly interesting to the
archaeologist, from an inscription added to that of Asoka by Samudra
Gupta (a.d. 380), detailing the glories of his reign and the great
deeds of his ancestors. The column is about three feet wide at the
base, diminishing upwards through its length of thirty-three feet to a
diameter of two feet two inches at the top. The lat was originally


374
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
crowned with a Buddhist emblem, but the collar only remains, and is
formed of the well-known Assyrian honeysuckle ornament, familiar in
the Ionic architecture of the Greeks. This makes it prohable that
the design for these lats came from Central Asia.
Close to the column is a dilapidated subterranean temple, dedicated
to Siva, the traditional spot under which the Ganges, Jumna, and
Saraswati rivers unite their streams. In this temple an ancient log
is stuck into the ground, which the priest in charge claims to be a
branch of the original pipal or Bo-tree, now at Gaya; but ribald men
say that it is renewed every two or three years from the jungle. The
pilgrims, however, are satisfied with it, and its genuineness is mainly
their concern, not ours.
The Khusru Bagh is close to the railway station. This well-kept
garden was the pleasure-resort of the Emperor Jahangir when Prince
Salim. Khusru was his son, and played a part in history very
similar to that of Absalom, coming, like him, to an untimely end
after an unsuccessful rebellion. His tomb is in the centre of his
garden, and is a large domed building in the Mughal style. The
faded decorations of the interior are clever and spirited paintings on
plaster of birds and flowers. The other two large tombs are those of
Khusru's mother and sister. The garden is well kept up at the cost
of the municipality, and is a favourite resort of the people of
Allahabad. The house occupied by the head gardener is known as
the Tamboli Begam's house. Here, it is said, Akbar's European-
Turkish wife, the Stambouli Begam, lived, when the court was held
at Allahabad.
There are some handsome modern buildings in the European town,
notably the government offices, the law courts, the various churches,
the Thornhill and Mayne memorial, the Mayo memorial hall, and the
Muir central college, which is the chief educational establishment of
the North-West Provinces.
Allahabad publishes the most important and influential paper in
India, the well known Pioneer, edited with much skill and enter-
prise, attracting to its service the ablest young journalists in India,
and keeping up a staff of correspondents in every important centre of
influence throughout the country. Its politics are severely Conserva-
tive, and its bias all on the side of the Government, whose confidential
organ it aspires to be. It is uncompromisingly hostile to the rising
ambitions of educated Indians.


376
There are thousands of heggars, displaying every possible form of
hideous deformity, or leading about cows with six legs, or other ex-
crescences, which appear to be doubly sacred. Brahman priests have
set up small temples in which the gods, gaudy with paint and hideous
with cardboard masks, are more repulsive than usual, surrounded by
hundreds of devout worshippers, who give small change in payment
for a spot of vermilion between the eyes, after doing their pujas to

A FAKIR.
the idols. On reaching the river the crowd becomes denser than ever
waiting their turn for a place on the wooden platforms pushed out into
the junction of the two streams, on which men and women together
perform their ablutions.
On the three great days of the feast there are upwards of a million
people congregated at this Mela, the main feature of attraction being
the procession of all the fakirs, some 300 in number, down the main
street to bathe in the river; they only go in up to their knees, and do
not wash all over as they are too holy to need that.
I observed two missionaries who had tents at the Mela, preaching,


MIRZAPUR.
377
and selling copies of the Scripture, Gospels, and tracts in the vernacu-
lar, but they did not appear to attract many people. They told me,
however, that their sales were greatly increased year by year, and that
whereas ten or fifteen years ago they gave away their books, generally
to see them torn up and thrown about, now they are able to sell con-
siderable numbers. The whole scene is very strange and curious.
There are agencies from four Missionary Societies at Allahabad.
The Church Missionary Society under the charge of the Rev. H. M.
Hackctt and three others, has 140 communicants and four schools;
the Baptist Missionary Society has four agents and twenty church
members; the American Presbyterian Board is represented by the
Revs. J. M. Alexander and J. J. Lucas, with several ladies devoted to
Zenana work; and the American Episcopal Methodists are also in the
field.
Mirzapur.—Mirzapur is a city of about 60,000 inhabitants. Till
recent years it was the largest mart in Hindustan for grain and cotton,
but it has been gradually displaced by Cawnpur, and by direct railway
communication between Allahabad and Bombay. The town has a
very handsome frontage to the Ganges, lined with stone ghats, be-
hind which are fine mosques, temples, and substantial mansions with
highly decorated facades and richly carved balconies and door-frames.
Large and handsome wells occur in the principal streets. The view of
the city from the river is very striking and picturesque.
Not far from Mirzapur, is a famous temple of Parvati, in her
sterner and more destructive aspect of Vindhyavasini, " the dweller in
the Vindhya Mountains," where human sacrifice, less than fifty
years ago, formed part of her worship by the Gouds and Kols. At
this temple, the blood of goats is never allowed to cease from
flowing before the image of Parvati. Mirzapur is most familiar to
the traveller as giving the name to the cheap Indian carpets manu-
factured chiefly in the jails, here and elsewhere, and which are steadily
deteriorating the quality and art character of Indian carpets generally.
Instead of, as formerly, striving his utmost to produce a carpet that
should be a real work of art, the weaver has now to work up to the
charges in the European markets, depreciated by the endless produc-
tion of jail labour. These carpets are hawked on the railway plat-
forms, at what seem to the uninitiated remarkably low prices. But
the staple is short, the texture loose, and they stand no wear and tear.
The Mirzapur carpets of twenty years ago, which made the reputation


378
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
which still lingers round the name, are really fine loom work, and wear
splendidly, but their cost was double that of these degenerate succes-
sors. The London Missionary Society have a station here, under Rev.
D. Hutton.
Between Mirzapur and Moghal Serai, the famous fort of Chunar is
seen, about two miles from the station of that name, in the midst of
very beautiful scenery. It is built upon a sandstone rock, jutting out
into the Ganges, the circumference of the walls being about one and a
half miles. The present fortifications are Musalman, but there are
abundant fragments of the ancient Hindu fortress in the sculptured
stones used in the walls and pavements. Some of these date very far
back, and bear traces of Buddhist workmanship, and the familiar bell
and flower pattern. Well established tradition records a fortress here
in the days of Vikramaditya, King of Ujain, B.C. 57. Chunar was a
favourite residence with Warren Hastings, whose house still remains
on the summit of the rock, and is used for a barracks for a small force
of British infantry stationed here, guarding the State prisoners who
are confined in the fortress. Near the rock is a lovely Musalman
cemetery, with many beautiful tombs, the most important of which iB
that of a saint venerated alike by Muhammadau and Hindu. It is
well worth while breaking the journey between Mirzapur and Benares
for a few hours, to visit this historic and picturesque place.
Manikpur and Banda.—Banda is one of the districts of Bundel-
khand. There is now a railway to the town of Banda, part of the
"Indian Midland" system, which branches off from Manikpur on the
main line of the "East Indian." Leaving Allahabad at 11.10 a.m.,
Manikpur is reached at 3.0 p.m. The train for Banda leaves at
5.0 p.m., arriving at 9.30 p.m. The two hours' wait may be pleasantly
utilised by a stroll or drive round Manikpur; a note to the station-
master the previous day will secure a conveyance. Manikpur is a
ruined city, and may he best described as a series of groves of
trees, interspersed with picturesque ruined palaces, mosques, and
tombs. The stones of many of the ancient palaces have been taken
away to build others elsewhere. Some of the finest carvings have
been worked into the great Imambara at Luckuow.
There is only one train daily each way on the Banda Railway,
the return journey being at 10.30 a.m.; but if the traveller is out at
daybreak he may see a good deal, and yet get away that morning.
Banda is the chief town and administrative headquarters of the


BANDA
379
district. It is a straggling, ill-built town, with clean wide streets, and
has a large number of dilapidated mosques, Hindu and Jain temples,
some of which are worthy of notice. There are the ruins of a fine
palace built by the Ajaigarh Rajas (1200—1300 a.d.); a well-
preserved and handsome tomb of Guman Singh, Raja of Jaitpur; and
across the River Ken the ruins of the fort of Bhurajgarh, stormed by
the British in 1804.
The scenery on the short railway journey between Banda and
Manikpur is very beautiful, and as the train takes about five hours to
do sixty miles, plenty of opportunity is given for its leisurely enjoy-
ment. It passes through a country of well-wooded hills, breaking
into fine cliffs and deep ravines, in which antelopes, nilgai, black
buck, and ravine deer find welcome shelter. The district is scattered
over with immense boulders, the characteristic feature of the central
Indian hills.
Manikpur Junction is reached at 3.0 p.m., meeting a train from
Allahabad; arriving at Sutna 5.30, and Jabalpur 1.0 a.m.
Sutna is a small town and military cantonment, occupied by a
detachment of Bengal Cavalry. It is thirty-one miles by a good road
from Rewa, the interesting capital of the native state of Rewa, which
is one of the most important in Central India, having an area of
10,000 square miles, and a population of 1,305,000.
The famous Buddhist Tope of Bharhut is nine miles from Sutna;
its beautiful rail and gateway, probably the finest yet discovered, has
been removed to the museum at Calcutta. The tope itself is now
hardly visible, and the place is not worth visiting, except by those
who are interested in Buddhist archaeology.


CHAPTEE XXV.
JABALPUB.

ABALPUR is a modern city, the chief
town nnd administrative head-quarters
of a district in the Central Provinces,
and an important centre of commerce,
its imports and exports being valued
at £1,700,000. The town is laid out
in wide and regular stieets, in the
is a beautiful tank surrounded by temples. There
garden. The garrison consists of a European and
native regiment of infantry, and a squadron of native cavalry.
There is nothing of architectural interest at Jabalpur, and the main
attraction to travellers is the beautiful scenery of the Narbada River
at the Marble Rocks. The jail, however, ought to be seen, for here
are detained in comfortable durance the last of that terrible tribe of
murderous devotees known as Thags. The prison is under the
centre of which
is a fine public


JABALrUR.
38i
charge of Colonel Hughes-Hallett, a distinguished jail administrator,
who will give permission to visit it to any European traveller. It is
better to write a day or two beforehand. Most of the older Thags are
now dead, but when I visited the jail in 1889 I saw a venerable old
gentleman, whose declining years are tinged with melancholy because
he was "run in" before he had completed a hundred victims to
Bhawani. He had reached ninety-nine, which makes his lot the harder
to bear. He is watched with some care, as he is under strong
and continuous temptation to round off his record somehow before he
goes hence. He was, however, very decrepit and bed-ridden, and is
probably now dead.
The Thags confined at Jabalpur are mostly informers and their
descendants; the young people intermarry, and live in a walled
village just outside the prison. The Government do not think it safe
to allow even the grandson of a Thag to go abroad, lest he should be
tainted with this fearful religion. There are only about 350 of them
left, and those able to work are employed chiefly in tent-making and
carpet-weaving. Colonel Hughes-Hallett manages matters so skilfully
that the profits not only keep the aged and infirm in comfort, but
leave a good annual margin of profit.
The date of the origin of this secret society of murderers is buried
in the obscurity of the past, but it is probably one of the branches of
the secret or "loft-hand" cultus of the worship of Siva. Their
murdered victims were offered to the goddess Kali, the black wife
of Siva. Originally they were Hindus, and of one caste, but
latterly they opened their membership to all castes, and even to
Muhammadans. They trace their origin to primeval times, when the
gods dwelt upon the earth, and consider that all the secrets of their
society are depicted on the most ancient of the rock sculptures of
Ellora. In these remote ages India was infested by a man-
eating gigantic demon, who was so voracious that he threatened
the extirpation of the entire population. The goddess Kali, in answer
to prayers from her faithful worshippers, slew this demon; but from
each drop of blood as it fell there sprang up a fresh demon. To deal
with this man-eating brood Kali created two men, whom she taught
to kill them by strangulation, so that no blood should be spilt.
These two men extirpated the demons, and in gratitude the people
thus delivered formed the cult of Thagi, and have ever since pro-
pitiated Kali by human sacrifice in which no blood should be spilt.


38a
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
Membership was hereditary, and the admission of strangers was very
cautiously observed. When the boys reached a certain age, they were
initiated with terrible mysteries, the priest handing him the sacred
handkerchief, and teaching him his business of successful and silent
strangling. Sometimes their women were initiated, as they were
found useful in decoying their intended victims, who were always
travellers. They were suddenly strangled, their backbone being
afterwards broken to make death sure, and their bodies, after being
plundered, were carefully and deeply buried. The pickaxes used for
interment were profoundly venerated, being made and consecrated to
the service of Kali with many ceremonials. All women, poets,
smiths, carpenters, Ganges water-carriers, oil vendors, dhobies, and
musicians were, for sundry religious reasons, exempt from their
murderous attentions. Their operations were conducted under a
system of signs and passwords, by which Thags were bound to help
one another in the committal and concealment of their murders.
It is now fifty years since Captain Sleeman, an able police officer,
broke up this awful league, by means of arrests on suspicion and a
clever system of cross-examination, and the extorted confession of
informers. The whole network was at last discovered, and numbers
of them met with the fate they deserved, and were executed. The
informers, with the women and children, were of course spared, but
have been caged up ever since at Jabalpur.
The suburbs of the city are remarkably beautiful. The gorges of
the surrounding hills have been converted into a series of tanks, and
planted with fine trees. The overhanging crags, and huge boulders
scattered at their feet, add to the charm of the scenery.
Jabalpur is the centre of some of the finest natural scenery in
India, surrounding the head waters of the River Narbada, which
rises in a lofty flat-topped mountain called Amarkantak, and flows
800 miles to the sea, near Broach. The Narbada is one of the most
sacred rivers of India, and its source is guarded by a little colony of
priests, who have built a group of shrines in the midst of the wild
and desolate region which surrounds it. The river bubbles up gently
in a small tank in one of the beautiful glades of the mountain,
meanders for two or three miles through green meadows, fed by
countless springs, till it reaches the edge of the tableland which
forms tho summit. Here it falls over the black basaltic cliff in a
cascade of seventy feet, called Kapila Dhara. A little farther on is


JABALPUR.
383
another fall, known as Dudh-Dhara. The Narbada tumbles down the
slopes and crags of Amarkantak in a succession of cascades, winds
round the picturesque hills of Mandla, and under the walls of the
great ruined palace of Ramnagar, a vast quadrangle round an open
court, with a tank in the centre, built in the 17th century. From
Ramnagar to Mandla the river flows in an unbroken expanse of clear
blue water for several miles, between fine woods and under lofty hills,
the home of the wild Gonds, Baigas, and Kols, and a notable country for
tigers and wild buffaloes. Mandla is an interesting old town, surrounded
by a bastioned wall, with a fine palace of the latter part of the 17th
century, and a number of pretty temples along the river's brink. The
district of Mandla is famous for its excellent sport, and the river
affords first-rate mahseer fishing. The Narbada flows on through a
forest country to within nine miles of Jabalpur, where it enters a
narrow gorge of two miles in length, cut through a mass of marble
and basalt, known as "the marble rocks," one of the most
beautiful and unique bits of scenery in the world.
Only a hardy traveller could make the journey through the wild and
romantic country between Mandla and the sources of the Narbada;
but there is a good road of about thirty miles to Mandla itself, and the
beautiful scenery of the Narbada round Mandla and Ramnagar amply
repays the time spent in exploring it.
The Marble Rocks may be visited from Jabalpur in an easy day's ex-
cursion. It is fourteen miles to the comfortable bungalow, with a
good driving road the whole way.
About six miles out of Jabalpur, a road turns off through a lovely
wooded valley, strewn with huge boulders, leading to the Madan Mahal,
an ancient Gond castle, perched on the summit of a hill about 600
feet above the plain. This hill is curiously formed of enormous granite
boulders, piled one on the top of the other; great bolster-shape masses,
many of which are seventy or eighty feet long. The hill is crowned
with one huge boulder, the top of which has been levelled to form the
floor of the Madan Mahal, built some 400 or 500 years ago by a Gond
Raja for his favourite wife, who wished to dwell always in sight of the
sacred Narbada, which may be seen in the plain below, winding like
a blue ribbon among the trees. It is a well preserved ruin, interesting
alike as a singular curiosity in Hindu architecture and for the superb
view which it commands of the surrounding country. An early start
from Jabalpur is necessary if this little diversion from the road is made.


385
view of the gorge itself, and the wooded hanks of the river as it flows
tranquilly away into the plains of Central India. There are plenty of

THE MARBLE ROCKS, JABALPCB.
comfortable boats, and the excursion through the gorge and back is
one never to be forgotten. The river is blue, clear and transparent,
c o


386
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
and is as deep as the cliffs are high. These rise sheer from the water's
edge, pure marble and basalt; now dazzling white against the deep
blue sky, now creamy, yellow, red, or black veined with green.
On every coign, pigeons and parrots perch and flutter, alligators
bask on rocks jutting out of the water, and monkeys chase each other
in leaps from point to point. The narrowest part is called the
"monkey's leap," and often these creatures may be seen clearing the
river at a bound, 100 feet above the water.
Enormous bees' nests hang from every projection, and visitors are
forbidden to smoke in the boats, or shoot birds and alligators, for fear
of annoying the bees, which would swarm down and attack the ob-
noxious intruder. There is a grave near the bungalow in which a
young engineer lies buried, stung to death in the river, into which he
leaped in an unavailing attempt to escape these terrible insects. He
was shooting pigeons at the time, when thousands of bees came swarm-
ing down upon the boat. Bees seem to be the only wild beast an
Indian guide is afraid of; he cares nothing for tigers, panthers, alli-
gators, or cobras, but if he walks under a bees' nest he is discreetly silent
till he is well away. In 1877, Mr. Burgess, the well-known Indian
archaeologist, being attacked by bees at the caves of Ajunta, was driven
into a tank, where, up to his neck in water, he fought for his life for
hours, finally beating them off, but sustaining dreadful injuries which
confined him to his bed for weeks. There is, however, no danger if
the simple regulations laid down are adhered to.
Tradition says that this lovely channel was cut by the God Indra,
and the footprints of his elephant are still pointed out and
worshipped. At the head of the gorge is a beautiful waterfall called
the Dhuandhara or "smoke sheet," where the Narbada falls thirty
feet over a barrier rock into a fine pool below, a good spot for Mahseer
fishing.
A long flight of stone steps leads to the summit of the hill above
the bungalow, commanding a superb prospect; here stands an old
Hindu temple, surrounded by a circular cloister ornamented with
sculptures of Hindu gods. This has been much injured by the Musal-
man iconoclasm of Aurangzeb's time.
The Church Missionary Society have been at work in Jabalpur
since 1854, and have also most interesting missions at Mandla,
among the Gonds, and at Kherwara among the Bhils. Rev. J. P.
Ellwood is the superintendent, and his work generally presents


JABALPUR.
387
features of unusual interest, especially that among the Gonds at
Mandla.
At Sohagpur and Hoshangabad, on the railway to Bombay, the
Society of Friends are engaged in missionary enterprise, with much
success.
Bhtjsawal—Nagpur—Bilaspur.—From Bhusawal Junction, where
there is a good hotel and railway repairing shops, a branch line turns
off to Nagpur, the headquarters of the Government of the Central
Provinces, and Bilaspur. It will no doubt be eventually extended to
Calcutta. This railway opens up and passes through the centre of the
Haidarabad assigned districts, better known as Berar, a fertile district
producing plentiful crops of cotton, and the district known as the
Central Provinces.
Berar is a rich agricultural country, with some 3,000,000 acres
under cereal crops, and more than 2,000,000 under cotton. The vil-
lages are populous, but the towns small and without any interest to
the ordinary traveller, who will find nothing to attract him along the
whole line.
Only one-third of the Central Provinces are under cultivation, a
greater part of the land being covered with scrubby jungle. Some
archseological and antiquarian interest may be found in the ruins of
the time of the old Gond kingdom, but they are mostly buried in
dense jungle, or lie in out of the way places like Deogarh, very difficult
of access. The opening of the railway is attracting the attention of
missionary enterprise to the aboriginal races of the Central Provinces,
of whom the Gonds are the most numerous, being about two and a
half millions, of whom many have embraced Hinduism; but at least
one and a half millions still cling to their primitive religion, from
whom hopeful converts to Christianity are made.


CHAPTER XXYI.

BHOPAL.—INDORE.
HERE is no place on the Great India
Peninsula Railway of sufficient interest
to stop the traveller between Jabalpur
and Itarsi, the junction for the Bhopal
State Railway, which extends by the
Indian Midland Railway to Jhansi,
Gwalior, Agra and Cawnpur.
Bhopal is the capital of the native
state of the same name. It is 1,670 feet
above sea level, and is surrounded by a
stone wall two miles in circumference,
within which is a strong fort. The
Begam's palace is outside the city walls,
on a large tock called Fatehgarh, strongly fortified. The city is almost
surrounded by two beautiful lakes, one of which is four and a half
miles, and the other two miles in length. These lakes supply the
town with water. The streets, bazars, mosques, and temples of
Bhopal, are remarkably picturesque, though presenting no special
features of interest to the archaeologist.
The population of the state is 950,000, of which more than
three-fourths are Hindu, one-eighth aboriginal tribes, and one-tenth
Musalmans. The ruler of Bhopal is a woman, and the throne de-
scends in the female line. The Begam is the only female potentate in
India. She is an able and vigorous lady, with unredressed grievances
against the British Government. She has an army 3,000 strong, but
is not otherwise formidable. She has power of life and death in
judicial matters, and her territories are not under the jurisdiction of


B HO PAL.
389
British courts. Her mother stood bravely by the British rule during
the Mutiny, and the loyalty of the present Begam is unquestioned, in
spite of her grievances. She is Musalman by religion, and has two
sons and one daughter, the latter being the heir apparent, and
married.
Twenty-six miles north of Bhopal, on the Indian Midland, in Gwalior
State, is Bhilsa, a small town of 7,000 inhabitants, protected by a

A STREET CORNER IN BHOPAL.
strong castellated fortress, surrounded by a ditch. In this fort is a
handsome old brass gun, of the time of the Emperor Jahangir, about
twenty feet long, with large rings held by dolphins. Some quaint
Hindu temples are built in the bed of the river Betwa.
Five miles from Bhilsa is Sanchi, a small village, round which arc
scattered some of the finest Buddhist remains in India; including
eleven topes, the finest of which is known as the Great Sanchi Tope,
surrounded by four gateways and a rail, casts of which may be seen in
the Indian Museum at South Kensington.





SANCHI.
39>
These topes are solid mounds or domes of brick, erected to celebrate
some important event, or to enshrine a relic to the great Buddha, or
of some notable Buddhist teacher or saint. They were generally plain
structures, but surrounded by rails and gateways of the most elaborate
sculptured decoration. They date from B.C. 250 to a.d. 300, and
their inscriptions and sculptures furnish an ancient pictorial history of
India as complete as that possessed by Greece or Rome. The most
accessible of these topes, is that at Sarnath, near Benares, but
the rail and gateways there have long since disappeared, and the
great tope of Sanchi is so complete in all its ancient features that it
is the one usually visited by the traveller interested in Bhuddist anti-
quities. Situated in a remote and thinly populated country, these
remains have been spared the iconoclastic destructiveness of Musalman
bigots, and have not been treated as brick-yards and stone quarries for
neighbouring cities.
The great tope is well preserved, the rail and three of the gateways
are still standing, the fourth gateway having been thrown down, but
still lying on the ground.
The tope is a huge dome of bricks laid in mud, placed on a sloping
circular platform, 120 feet in diameter, and fourteen feet high. The
dome is 106 feet in diameter, and forty-two feet high. It will thus be
seen, that a platform about six feet wide and fourteen feet high, sur-
rounds the entire dome. This was originally surrounded by a sculp-
tured balustrade, and ascended by two wide flights of steps. No
vestige of either remains. On the summit of the tope is a flat space
thirty-four feet in diameter, which was also at one time surrounded
by an ornamental railing, and in the centre of which was a stone relic
casket.
This tope, and most of the others at Sanchi, were probably erected
during the reign of Asoka B.C. 250. None of them are supposed to be
later than a.d. 100. There are many other very interesting topes at
Sonari, Satdhara, Bhojpur, and Andher, villages within a radius of
six or seven miles of Sanchi, but the ordinary traveller will be content
with seeing the great tope and the other ruins in the immediate neigh-
bourhood of Sanchi.
I do not venture on any treatise upon Buddhist architecture, or any
detailed description of these marvellous and interesting monuments of
this period of Indian art. My readers will find in my illustrations a
sufficient suggestion of the latter, and will find the former in the first





KHANDWA.
393
four chapters, Book I., of
Fergusson's "Indian Archi-
tecture." The more earnest
student had better purchase
"The Bhilsa Topes," by
Gen. Cunningham (Smith,
Elder & Co.), and Fergu-
son's "Tree and Serpent
Worship" (Allen & Co.),
which contains the fullest
particulars about the Great
Sanchi Tope, as well as
some fifty illustrations of its
details.
Khandwa is the junction
for the Scindia and Nimach
section of the Bombay,
Baroda and Central India
Railway.
Khandwa is a growing
railway town of 15,000 in-
habitants, a rest-camp for
troops, with an excellent
travellers' bungalow close
to the station. The mound
on which the town stands
was anciently a seat of Jain
worship, and the carved
stones and pillars of the old
temples may be detected in
the more modern Hindu
shrines, and in the Maratha
Fort.
The town is surrounded
by four ancient tanks, round
which temples dedicated to
Siva are grouped. One of
these tanks bears a date
corresponding to a.d. 1132.

EAST GATEWAY, SANCHI TOPE.


394
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
Indore, Holkar's capital, is seven hours' journey by rail from
Khandwa. It is a modern city of about 75,000 population, mostly
Hindus. It is devoid of archaeological interest, the only building of
importance being the modern palace of Maharaja Holkar, a lofty and

VIEW ON THE KAHAN RIVER, INDORE.
imposing structure with a magnificent storied gateway. The Lai
Bagh is a beautiful garden on the banks of the river, in which the
Maharaja has built a handsome villa called the Barahdari, and keeps
up an interesting menagerie. The Kahan river runs through the
town, and is kept well filled with water by an embankment. There


MANDU.
395
are some very pretty scenes along its banks. The native state of
Indore has an area of 8,400 square miles, and a total population esti-
mated at 1,200,000.
The Holkar dynasty dates from 1693, and remained loyal through
the crisis of the Mutiny. The Maharaja is one of the wealthiest of the
native princes of India, and his revenues are about £800,000. His
military establishment is about 9,000 troops of all kinds.
Mhow is an important British cantonment, with a native population
of 27,000. There is nothing to attract the traveller. The Canadian
Presbyterian Mission has stations here and at Indore. From here,
however, a very interesting excursion may be made to Mandu, the
ruined capital of the old kingdom of Malwa, thirty miles from Mhow.
Mandu was founded about the 4th century, but rose to its greatness
under Dilawar Khan and his son Hoshang, kings of Malwa about
1380—1420 a.d. The city is nobly situated on an extensive plateau,
surrounded by a great ravine 300 or 400 yards wide, and about 200
feet deep. This plateau is surrounded by a wall, built on the edge of
the cliff, and is twenty-eight miles in extent, following all the devia-
tions and indentations of the ravine. The plateau is about five miles
long by three wide, and is approached by a splendid causeway, de-
fended by three gateways.
The finest building in the city is the Jama Masjid, built by
Hoshang. The four sides of the courtyard consist each of eleven
great arches, similar in design and size, supported by pillars cut out
of single blocks of red sandstone. The side next the gateway has two
arcades, the opposite side has five arcades, and is crowned with three
great domes, forty-two feet in diameter. The other two sides have
three arcades each. Every quadrangle of columns is roofed with a
small dome, and the whole mosque measures 290 feet by 275. The
tomb of Hoshang stands behind the mosque, and is a fine specimen
of a Pathan mausoleum. On one side is a magnificent dharmsala,
230 feet long, with three ranges of pillars. This has evidently been
built from the spoils of Jain and Hindu temples much older than the
time of Hoshang.
The principal palace is called the Jehaj Mahal, or "ship palace,"
being built between two fine tanks, and so having the appearance of
floating like a ship at sea. The principal apartment is a vaulted hall,
about fifty feet by twenty-five, and twenty-four feet high, flanked by
buttresses of enormous strength. At the end of the hall is a range of


396
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
apartments three storeys high, with balconied windows, and beyond
them a long range of vaulted halls, standing in the water. The whole
series of buildings is very grand and massive, but its details are
choked with jungle and vegetation, and are hardly visible. There are
many other palaces, all more or less ruined, with spendid tombs and
other buildings, scattered all over the plateau. Of this strange
s
deserted city Fergusson says: "In their solitude, in a vast un-
inhabited jungle, these buildings convey as vivid an impression of
the ephemeral splendour of these Muhammadan dynasties as anything
in India, and, if illustrated, would alone suffice to prove how wonder-
fully their builders grasped the true elements of architectural design."
The district round Mhow has many places of archaeological interest.
Dhar, the ancient capital of the native state of that name, is a walled
town with many striking ruins, especially two mosques constructed
entirely from remains of Jain temples. At Bagh, in a secluded
ravine, are a series of Buddhist cave temples, of a period from 500—
790 a.d., remarkable for their rock-hewn pillars, and the remains of
frescoes of great beauty and brilliance of colour. Maheshwar, on the

THE JEHAJ MAHAL, MANDU.


MANDHATA.
397
right bank of the Narbada, has some charming river scenery, and
possesses the most beautiful ghat in all India, erected by Ahalya Bai,
the widow of one of the Holkars, whose splendid cenotaph is hard by.
There is also a very fine palace, built some sixty or seventy years ago.
The country between these various places, which all lie within a
radius of about thirty miles from Mhow, is very wild, and thinly
populated. The journey must be taken on horseback, with tents and
all necessaries, as no supplies can be got on the road.
A more easy and very interesting expedition may be made to
Mandhata Island, seven miles by a good riding road from either
Mortakka or Barwaha Station, between Mhow and Khandwa. There
is a fair Dak bungalow at Barwaha, and the station-master will
arrange for horses if written to beforehand. Mandhata is an island in
the Narbada River, famous for its many temples, but pre-eminently
for the great shrine of Omkar, a form of Siva. The island is about a
square mile in area, and a deep ravine runs through it. The south
and east faces terminate in bluff precipices, 400 to 500 feet high.
The opposite bank of the river is equally steep, and between the two
cliffs the Narbada flows in a deep still pool, full of alligators and
huge fish, which are very tame, picking food off the lower steps of the
sacred ghats. The rocks are of green slate, boldly stratified. The
shrine of Omkar on the island, and Amreswar on the southern bank
of the river, are two of the twelve great Lingams which existed in India
when Mahmud of Ghazni demolished the temple of Somnath in
1024 a.d. As late as sixty years ago devotees of Siva and Kali flung
themselves off the Birkhala cliffs, on the east end of the island, to be
dashed to pieces on the rocks below. Here is the oldest of the
Sivaite temples, consisting of a courtyard with verandah and
colonnades, boldly carved.
All the temples on the island are dedicated to Siva or his associate
deities, but on the main land, on both sides, are many other shrines
and temples to Vishnu, and a very interesting group of Jain temples.
The picturesque beauty of the river and the cliffs, and the fine
carvings on these ancient shrines, some of which date back 700 or 800
years, make Mandhata one of the most attractive spots in Central
India.
Travelling northwards from Indore, the first place of interest is
Ujjain, in Gwalior state, the terminus of a short branch line, fourteen
miles from Fatehabad Junction. Ujjain holds a notable place in





UJJAIN.
399
Hindu history and religion, being one of the seven sacred cities of
Hinduism; it was also the capital of Vikramaditya (a very sun in
prowess), the hero of the Samvat era, somewhere about the first or
second century a.d., celebrated in song and verse for his legendary
victories over the Scythian invaders, and who forms the central royal
personage of the Hindu stage. His dynasty appears to have lasted to
the 6th century, and then melted into the darkness of the 7th and
8th. His court was the resort of poets, musicians, and literati. A
Musalman kingdom of Malwa, with Ujjain as its capital, was formed
1387 a.d., but was absorbed by Akbar in 1571. The modern city is
surrounded by a masonry wall and round towers. The main bazaar
is wide, and lined with good houses and shops. Sindhia has a hand-
some palace here, near which is an ancient gateway, which tradition
assigns to Vikramaditya's fortress. There is also in the city one of
Jai Singh's observatories, similar to those erected by him at Delhi,
Jaipur, Benares, and Muttra. This observatory at Ujjain is the
meridian of Hindu geographers. There is little left of the ancient
city, whose ruins lie in heaps about a mile outside the walls.
Dewas is the chief town of a small native state of 150,000 popula-
tion, and is fifteen or sixteen miles from Ujjain. Here is a small
conical hill, about 300 feet high, on which stands the temple of
Chamunda Devi, reached by a long flight of unfinished masonry steps.
The temple near the crest consists of a demi-spherical vault or cave,
cut into the side of the cliff, having a huge figure of the goddess
carved in relief. This little state has two chiefs, called the Baba
Sahib and the Dada Sahib; the rule of each chief is distinct within
his own limits. These potentates each maintain a standing army of
about 100 horse and 500 foot.
Katlam is the next town of any importance on the line of railway.
It is the thriving capital of a little state, a great opium and grain
market, with good bazaars and buildings, many of which are very
picturesque. It has a population of about 32,000, that of the whole
state being 90,000. The Raja of Ratlam, Jaswant Singh, is a Rajput
of the Jodhpur family, and is thirty years of age. He is an
enlightened prince, and has done much for the education of the
people. There is a good college with 500 students. He has built
himself a fine new palace. The Ram Bagh, or Maharaja's garden, is
one of the most beautiful in India. There is a good Dak bungalow
near the station, and conveyances are easily procured.


4oo
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
Nimach is a small walled town and British cantonment in the state
of Gwalior. There is a good Dak bungalow here. The only object
in stopping at Nimach will be to visit the small Rajputana state of
Partabgarh, and its ancient deserted capital, Deolia. The modern
capital, Partabgarh, is thirty-two miles from Nimach by a fair road.
There is also a good country road from Mandesar, a station on the
line only nineteen miles distant, but I doubt if any conveyance better
than a bullock-cart could be obtained there. The city of Partabgarh
is surrounded by a loop-holed wall, and defended by a fortress. The
old palace is in the middle of the town, and is now abandoned by the
maharaja in favour of a pretty country residence a mile or so outside
the walls.
A special kind of enamel ware is produced at Partabgarh, which
is quite unique and cannot be met with anywhere else. This
enamel is produced by melting a thick layer of green enamel on
plates of burnished gold, and, while it is still hot, covering it with
thin gold cut into mythological, hunting or other pleasure scenes, in
which, amid a delicate network of floriated scrolls, elephants, tigers,
deer, peacocks, doves, and parrots are the shapes most conspicuously
represented. After the enamel has hardened the gold-work is etched
over with a graver, so as to bring out the characteristic details of the
ornamentation. In some cases it would seem as if the surface of the
enamel was first engraved, and then the gold rubbed into the pattern
so produced, in the form of an amalgam, and fixed by fire. The art
of making this beautiful enamel is confined to two families, who
jealously guard the hereditary secret. Enamels of a similar character,
blue instead of green, and inferior in workmanship, are produced at
Ratlam. (See Birdwood's " Industrial Arts," chapter on enamels.)
Deolia, the ancient capital, stands on a steep hill seven and a half
miles west of Partabgarh, commanding the whole country round. It
is quite deserted, and the fine old palace, built about 1650 a.d. by
Hari Singh, is gradually falling to decay. There arc several interest-
ing temples, two of which are Jain, and some tanks, the finest of
which was built about 1590 a.d.
From Nimach to Chitor there is nothing of interest.


402
PICTURESQUE INDIA
From here to Ellora is nine miles, which may be driven late in the
afternoon.
There is no bungalow or any accommodation at Ellora; it is
necessary to push on two miles farther, up a steep bill, to the village
of Rozah. Picturesquely perched on the summit, with grand views
over the western plains, are two bungalows. The largest belongs
to the Nizam of Haidarabad, and has accommodation for seven
or eight persons; permission to use it is very freely obtained by
Europeans, on writing a few days beforehand to the Sadr Talukdar,
Aurangabad. The smaller one, an ancient Muhammadan tomb con-
verted to the purpose, belongs to the English officers' mess, who very
willingly place it at the disposal of English visitors. Address the
mess secretary of the Haidarabad contingent, Aurangabad; there is no
mess-man at this latter place. The mess-men of all these bungalows
profess to supply tea, milk, rice, and eggs; but my own experience of
them was unfavourable, and I advise travellers to take with them
tinned provisions enough for the time they mean to spend on this
entire excursion. The bungalows are all well built and very clean. I
found a small stock at the railway refreshment rooms at Nandgaon,
from which it was possible to select enough for modest meals. No
bread can possibly be got, so two or three tins of biscuits are
necessary.
Ellora is a quaint and pretty village, embosomed in trees. The
only object of interest is a fine tank surrounded by temples, by the
road-side, between Ellora and Rozah.
Rozah is a small town, with a bazar; innumerable ruined tombs
are scattered about outside the walls. The only one of any historical
or architectural interest is that of the great Emperor Aurangzeb,
which has a well-executed pierced marble screen, and a curious teak
door carved in lattice-work.
Near the tomb is a mosque, in which is the shrine of a
Muhammadan saint, who died more than 700 years ago. The Dargah
of Shah Razu is a plain tomb of considerable antiquity, said to be
nearly 600 years old.
The famous caves of Ellora are, on the whole, the finest and most
perfect group of those marvellous temples and monasteries which
have been cut out of the solid rock by the ancient people of this land
of wonders. Scattered along the base of a range of beautiful wooded
hills, rising some 500 feet out of the plain, are a succession of rock





THE CAVES OF ELLORA.
On the right hand of the entrance is a cistern of water. On each
.side of the great gateway there is a projection, reaching to the first
story, with fine sculptured battlements; the gateway is spacious, with
apartments on each side. Over the gate is a rich balcony, which was
probably used as a music gallery. The pillars on the outside of the

GALLERY OVER THE GATEWAY OF THE KYLAS.
upper story are worthy of notice. The passage through the gateway is
a mass of sculptured decoration.
The plan on the following page will give the visitor some idea of
how to find his way through the wonders of the Kylas. He will first
of all explore the great courtyard. Passing underneath the gateway (1)
he enters the area (2), and proceeding under a small bridge, passes a
solid square mass (3) which supports a huge Nandi Bull; the sides of
this recess are profusely sculptured; passing on under another small
bridge, beneath which are two gigantic figures, he arrives at the body
of the grand temple (4), the excavation of which is in the upper story,
reached by the two flights of steps (5).
The right hand side of the temple below is adorned with a wonderfully


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THE CAVES OF ELLORA
407
complex battle scene; from this tableau the heads of elephants, lions
and mythical animals emerge as though supporting the temple; then
a projection (6) is reached, in the side of which, sunk in the rock, is
a large group of figures, much mutilated. This projection was con-
nected with the apartments on the right hand side of the area by
a bridge (7) which has given way, and is now in ruins. It fell about
200 years ago.
Passing the projection of the main body of the temple, it lessens for
a few paces, and then again expands (8), and after a very small space on
the line of the body of the temple, it terminates in a smaller degree of
projection still. The whole of the outside walls of this vast mono-
lithic monument is one mass of sculptured scenes, supported from the
base by huge figures of elephants and other beasts.
The gateway consists of three centre rooms and one on each side (9).
From the centre rooms, crossing a bridge (10), you ascend by seven
steps (11) into a square room (12) in which is the Nandi Bull. This
room has two doors and two windows. Opposite the windows are two
beautiful square towers or obelisks, thirty-eight feet high, graduated
from the base to the capitals, which were originally crowned with
lions (b). Two elephants, the size of life, have also been carved out of
masses of stone left standing in the area (a).
From the Bull, the visitor crosses over the second bridge (13), and
ascends by three steps (14) into a handsome open portico (15), supported
by two pillars looking towards the bridge, and two pilasters that join
it on to the temple, the grand apartment of which (16) is entered
by four handsome steps and a doorway, guarded by two gigantic
sentinels in stone. Advancing a few paces into the temple, which is
supported by two rows of pillars, there is an intermission of two pillars,
right and left, to open porticoes (17) projecting from the body of the
temple.
The shrine (18) of the Lingam of Mahadeo (19) forms the termina-
tion of this superb chamber, every inch of which is elaborately
sculptured.
Doors (20) on each side of the Lingam shrine lead to an open plat-
form (21), having on each side of the great centre pyramid covering the
Lingam two other recesses (22), which contain no image. Three other
recesses (23) terminate the platform, all of them being covered with
decorations of sculptured figures from the Hindu mythology.
The right hand side of the area has a number of excavations. At


PICTURESQUE INDIA.
(24) the end of the fallen bridge are three stories, the rooms of which
probably formed the residences of priests.
On the left hand side of the area the excavations are more
important. In an upper story, reached by steps, is a fine temple (25),
at the end of which is a Lingam shrine, and near the entrance doorway
is a Nandi Bull, with two huge sentinels leaning on their maces.
This temple has singularly beautiful pillars. It is called Pur Lanka.

PUR LANKA, KYLAS.
Coming down again, you pass through a sculptured excavation (26)
into a fine verandah (28, 29), which is devoted to a pantheon of
Hindu deities. There are forty-three groups of principal figures, with
surrounding panels illustrating their history.
To give any adequate description of all the cave temples and
monasteries of Ellora, would require a book to itself, which Mr.
Burgess has already provided, and I do not profess in this volume to
go below the surface of things. I shall therefore content myself with
indicating briefly a few of the most noteworthy examples.
Close to the Kylas, a path leads down to a house where Brahman


THE CAVES OF ELLORA.
409
guides must be procured, who will point out in succession the various
objects of interest, and give a reasonably intelligent explanation.
None of them speak English, and an interpreter is necessary.
The guides generally commence at the group of caves to the extreme

SCULPTUUE OF SIVA AND PARVATI, ELLOUA.
south, called the Dher Wara, or outcast's quarter, nine in number.
These are Buddhist, the central hall having twelve beautiful columns
with cushioned capitals, and two enormous sentinels. The largest cave
is 104 feet long by sixty feet broad.
The Vishwa Karma, or Carpenter's Cave, is one of the finest in all
India. It is a single excavation about eighty-five feet by forty-five,
and thirty-five feet high. Above the richly-sculptured gateway is a
balcony, which was used as a music gallery to the temple. The
interior is not unlike a chapel with an arched roof. At the upper


PICTURESQUE INDIA.
end, under a canopy, is the figure of the founder, who according
to the legend, carved out the whole temple in one long night of six
months.
A frieze, four feet deep, surrounds the nave between the pillars and
the ribs of the roof, on the top of which is a line of figures called
Nagas.
The date of this temple is said to be a.d. 1306.
The Do Tal, or two storeys, is a pillared cave, Buddhistic in all its
details. The Tin Tal has three storeys, the largest chamber being
110 feet by 66 feet. The central pair of front columns are very re-
markable, being representations of a vase of flowers. Some of the
finest sculptured figures in Ellora are to be found within this monas-
tery.
The next cave of any importance is Ravan Ka Khai, the first of the
Brahmanical caves. It is full of spirited sculptures representing scenes
from the history of Durga, Lakshmi, Prithwi, Vishnu, Sita, Kali,
Ganpati, the Sapta Matra, Bhairava, Siva, Parvati, and other
deities.
The Das Avatar is the oldest Brahmanic cave, and bears evidence
of having been begun by Buddhists and finished by Brahmans. The
great chamber is 103 feet by 45 feet, sustained by forty-six pillars,
and surrounded by a series of recesses containing vigorous groups of
figures similar in character to those in Ravan Ka Khai, but mostly
drawn from Siva in his character of destroyer, and very gruesome and
horrible they are.
The visitor now crosses the high road, passes the Kylas, follows a
charming footpath under the hills for a mile or more, till he arrives at
the beautiful group of Jain caves known as the Indra Sabha, and the
Jagannath Sabha, the sculptured facades of which are remarkably
beautiful.
The Indra Sabha is so called from the beautiful statues of Indra and
his wife Indrani, undoubtedly the finest works of art in the whole
series. Like all Jain temples, this group of caves is one mass of
sculptured decorations, the details of which will bear hours, or even
weeks, of careful study.
A very beautiful view of the surrounding country may be obtained
from the hill immediately over Rozah, with the great rock fortress of
Daulatabad in the distance, and the domes of Aurangabad beyond on
the horizon.


DAULATABAD.
411
I advise that not less than two days be spent at Ellora, if possible.
But, if time be an object, it is possible to spend the morning of the
second day in another visit to the caves, and reach Nandgaon in plenty
of time for the 10.30 p.m. mail towards Bombay. •

GOD OF THE WINDS ELLOli.V
A third day may be well spent in extending the Dak to Daulatabad,
seven miles from Rozah, and Aurangabad, eight miles farther. The
horses which make the final stage to Rozah, will do this journey (with
two or three hours' rest under the trees at Daulatabad) between 6 a.m.
and noon. The afternoon can be spent at Aurangabad, where there is
an excellent town bungalow; and Nandgaon can be reached the next
evening.
Daulatabad is a huge fortress built on a lofty rock, standing out of
the great plain like an island. Permission to visit it must be first ob-
tained from the Sadr Talukdar at Aurangabad. The rock of Daulata-


412
PICTURESQUE- INDIA
bad is a huge cone of granite 500 feet high, with a perpendicular
scarp all round from 80 to 100 feet. At the foot of the rock is a
ragged collection of mud huts, all that is left of the old city. Daula-
tabad is one of the finest rock forts in all India, and dates back to the
13th century. The moat is about thirty feet wide, and is crossed by a
narrow stone bridge. From the other side, a long tunnelled gallery
winds up through the hill to the summit Candles or torches are
necessary, as the tunnel is very dark in places, and the pavement not
too smooth. Emerging, the gate of the fortress appears, studded with
sharp spikes to resist elephants, which were used in old times as
battering rams.
The notable buildings inside the fortress itself are a Bastion with
a fine balcony, an old Hindu temple, a large tank of masonry, a Hindu
temple transformed into a mosque, a minaret about 120 feet high
(clustered with hornets' nests, which make the ascent unsafe), said to
have been erected to commemorate the first conquest of the fortress by
the Muhammadans in 1294, and a cenotaph to the last King of Gol-
conda, all more or less neglected and dilapidated. There is also a
very fine old gun, twenty-two feet long, called "Kilah Shikan," or the
leveller of forts.
Just beyond the gun lies the ditch or moat which protects the
citadel; the only bridge being a narrow stone laid across. Except at
this crossing, the rock is scarped away to a considerable height. The
path leads by tunnelled passages up and down steps and slopes,
crossing a platform looking over a pretty garden, the trees of which
are full of huge hornets' nests, passing a shrine to the memory
of a fakir, finally emerging on a pavilion, which commands a mag-
nificent view of the hills of Rozah and Ellora, and the distant city
of Aurangabad. Just below this pavilion is a fine tank full of
clear water; another 100 steps must be climbed to reach the
citadel itself, which stands on the very summit of the rock, on a
platform not more than 200 feet across. Here are several large
cannons.
The early history of this ancient and powerful fortress is lost in
obscurity. In 1294, when it was the capital of the Yadava Kingdom
(called Deogiri), it was beseiged by the Muhammadans under Ala-ud-
din, the fore-runner of the Musalman conquerors of India in
the Deccan. The fort ran short of provisions, and was starved into
surrender in three weeks. The Yadava Raja secured peace on





414
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
pretty hard terms. He had to pay 48,000 lbs. of gold, 560 lbs. of
pearls, 160 lbs. of rubies, diamonds, emeralds, and such like, 80,000
lbs. of silver, and 5,000 pieces of silk, with a yearly tribute.
His grandson, who revolted some thirty years later, had to pay a
heavier ransom still for being defeated ; he was flayed alive, and his
skin hung up on the main gate of Deogiri.
Tughlak Shah made Deogiri the capital of the Muhammadan
Empire, rechristened it Daulatabad, or the fortunate city, and
removed thither the whole population of Delhi, a distance of 800
miles. Daulatabad has remained in the hands of the Muhamma-
dan s from that day to this. After the death of Aurangzeb in
1707, all the Mughal possessions in the Deccan became the king-
dom of Asaf Jah, whose direct descendant is the present Nizam of
Haidarabad.
Daulatabad is not now garrisoned, but is occupied by about 100
military police. It is one of the few places in India where grapes
can be successfully grown.
Aujungabad is eight miles from Daulatabad. There is a clean
and comfortable town bungalow. The population is 21,000, who
carry on a thriving trade in wheat, cotton, and general merchandize,
over a large area of Northern Haidarabad. The town was the capital
of the Emperor Aurangzeb, and contains many buildings of great
interest, erected during his reign from 1650—70. It is surrounded
by masonry walls, with bastions at the various angles. The most
interesting building is a mausoleum, built by Aurangzeb in memory
of a favourite daughter, Rabia Durani. He gave orders to his
architect to reproduce an exact copy of the Taj Mahal at Agra, the
tomb of his father Shah Jahan. It is, however, a very long way
behind its celebrated pattern, though one of the most beautiful
mausoleums in India. The government of the Nizam has recently
restored the building, which had been allowed to fall into partial
decay. The door of the great gateway is plated with brass, and along
the edge is an inscription setting forth the date and names of the
architects. The roof of the gateway has a curious and unusual
decoration, consisting of rows of sculptured eggs, diminishing in size
as they ascend to the centre. The garden, surrounding a large
reservoir, is well kept, and very lovely; every step taken presents a
fresh and charming picture. The mausoleum itself stands about 200
yards distant from the gateway, on a platform ten or twelve feet high,


THE CAVES OF ELLORA AND AJUNT*.
4>7
The return journey :—
Aurangabad to Mitmatha
3 miles.
Fathabad .
Deogaon
Tarora
Nandgaon
13 „
21 „
43 „
56 „
Ajunta.—Travellers bound for the caves of A junta will stop at
Pachora station, where there is a small waiting-room and Dak
bungalow. The caves are thirty-five miles distant, and the road bad
and rough, only fit for horseback or bullock-cart. The mail trains
from Jabalpur arrive at 8.35 p.m., and from Bombay 7.50 a.m. The
mamlutdar of Pachora will provide a country bullock-cart which, with
a change of bullocks half-way at Sindurni, where there is no traveller's
accommodation of any sort, will reach Fardapur, four miles from the
caves, before dark the same day, if a very early start be made in the
morning. At Fardapur there is a Dak bungalow of some sort, but no
messman. It has two small rooms, and is under the care of the
village chaprasi. Bedding and food must be taken. It is a rough,
hard journey, and unless the traveller is an intelligent student of
Buddhist antiquities, anxious to see both Ajunta and Ellora, he had
better pass Ajunta by in favour of Ellora, a much easier expedition,
and undoubtedly the more interesting, to the ordinary tourist, of the
two great groups of cave temples. The bees at Ajunta are both
troublesome and dangerous, while Ellora is comparatively free from
them.
If, however, the journey both to Ajunta and Ellora is in contem-
plation, it will be better to arrange with Messrs. Nusserwanji & Son
of Nandgaon for a round Dak from Pachora to Ajunta, Auran-
gabad, Daulatabad, Ellora, and Nandgaon, or vice versd, writing
at least a week beforehand. They will also arrange for the various
bungalows on the route to be got ready. As I have never been to
Ajunta myself, I cannot speak of the journey from experience; but
Mr. Nusserwanji, when arranging for my Dak to Ellora, Aurunga-
bad, and Daulatabad, told me it was a very hard journey, and quite
unfit for the two ladies who accompanied me.
The defile up which the path winds from Fardapur to the caves is
wooded, lonely, and rugged. The caves are excavated out of a wall of
almost perpendicular rock, about 250 feet high, sweeping round a


4i8
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
liollow semi-circle, with a stream below, and a wooded, rocky
promontory jutting out from the opposite bank. Owing to the difficulty
of access, these caves are little known or visited, and the loneliness is
complete. A guide is necessary, as the path is often obscure. He may
be got at Fardapur. These cave temples and monasteries furnish a
continuous narrative of Buddhist art during 800 years, from shortly
after the reign of Asoka to shortly before the expulsion of the faith
from India, from 200 b.c. to 600 a.d. The chief interest of the latest
lies in the nearness with which Buddhism had approximated to
Brahmanism before the convulsions amid which it disappeared from
India altogether. This, however, is equally manifest at Ellora,
where the transition is carried forward still later into Jainism and
modern Hinduism. I have not space for lengthy descriptions or
illustrations of places not likely to be visited by my readers, whom I
refer to the pages of Fergusson's " History of Architecture," where in
the chapters on Buddhist architecture, they will find full particulars
of this marvellous series of cave temples.


CHAPTEE XXVIII.
NASIK. —

|ASIK is the Benares of the West, and
plays the same part to the Godaveri
river as Benares does to the Ganges.
It lies four miles from Nasik Road
station, where there is a good refresh-
ment-room and bungalow; there are
also two nice bungalows at Nasik itself.
There are plenty of tongas waiting every train. The population, in-
cluding the cantonment, is 27,000. The greater portion of the popu-
lation is Hindu, and there are 1,300 families of Brahman priests
making a good living out of the temples and pilgrims. There is a large
manufacture of idols, chiefly in brass, as well as every sort of brass
and copper ware, for which Nasik has a just reputation. Very pretty
trinkets may be bought in the bazars; jewel caskets, inkstands,
sweetmeat and spice boxes, rings, chains, lamps, and idols. Fine
silk pieces, with borders of gold and silver, are woven here.
BBS


426
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
The city is built on both sides of the river; it is eighty yards
broad, running through a succession of shallow masonry basins, with
flights of stone steps for the use of bathers and pilgrims. The banks
are lined with temples, shrines, cupolas, and platforms, and many
others rise in the middle of the shallow river. The principal bazar
is held on the north bank, and early in the morning the bazar,
ghats, temples, and river, are thronged with the population of the
city, and some of the many thousands of pilgrims who come to
Nasik during the year. At the Singhast festival some 300,000 pass
through in the course of two or three weeks. The streets of the
town are narrow and crooked, but many of the houses have fine
two-storied frontages, rich in well-carved woodwork. There is no
wall round the city, but the main streets are entered by handsome
gateways.
Nasik is the scene of some of the events described in the great
Hindu epic poem, the Kamayana. Rama was the eldest son of
Dacaratha, King of Ajodhya, and was a hero, a victorious warrior, and
a slayer of monsters. His wife, Sita, was born from a furrow, and is
the goddess of tilling and seed-sowing. His temple at Nasik is
celebrated throughout all Western India. It is called Fanchawati
(the five banyans), and is situated on the eastern bank of the river,
about half a mile outside the town. It stands under the shade of five
magnificent banyan trees, and none but Hindus may enter it.
The Sundar Naryan temple is a very beautiful structure, built about
a.d. 1710—20. None of the shrines at Nasik, though picturesquely
grouped, have any special architectural interest. Most of them are
dedicated to Siva. The oldest temple in the town is that dedicated
to Kapeleshwar, the Skull god, one of the names of Siva. It is
ascended by fifty steps, and is 600 years old. It is much frequented
by pilgrims. The handsomest of the temples is that dedicated to
Kala Rama, standing in an oblong enclosure with 96 arches, 2G0
feet long and 120 broad. The shrine in the centre is 93 feet by 65,
and 60 feet high. It is about 100 years old, and is said to have cost
700,000 rupees.
The various stone basins through which the river passes are called
Kun&s. That on the Panchawati side is Rama's Kund, where the
god was wont to bathe. The ashes of the dead are thrown into the
river from its steps.
The arched buildings, roofed over, which rise from tho bed of the


NASIK.
421
river, are Dharmsalas, where fakirs and pilgrims lodge. There are a
great number of these scattered about on the banks.

rama'n kund, nakik.
Half a mile down the river, and across the ferry, is a hill about 200
feet high, called Sunar Ali: from which a most interesting view of the
whole city, river, and temples can be obtained. The hill close by


432
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
with the square building on the top is Junagarh, or the Old Fort,
which was built by Aurangzeb.
The source of the Godavari River is on the side of a mountain
behind the village of Trimbak, and is reached by a flight of some 700
steps; the prospect is superb. Here is a small tank, into which the
holy water of the source trickles from the lips of a graven image
under a stone canopy. This tiny stream, though rising within fifty
miles of the Bombay coast, flows 900 miles across India, and falls
into the Bay of Bengal.
Trimbak is about eighteen miles from Nasik, but with a change of
horses half way a good rider can go there and back in the day. The
scenery is very beautiful, especially round Trimbak, where the
mountains form a crescent of peaks 1,200 or 1,500 feet above the
plain. There are many handsome tanks and pagodas by the road side.
The temple of Trimbakeshwar is dedicated to Siva, Trimbak (" the
three-eyed one") being one of his names. It is a large building,
similar in design to the Sundar Naryan temple at Nasik, and was
built about 1730 a.d. by Baji Rao Peshwa, at a cost of nearly a
million rupees. Strangers may not enter, but may ascend a portico,
which gives a good view of the court and shrine. Many pretty
temples and groves surround Trimbakeshwar.
The Lena caves, a series of Buddhist Chaityas and Viharas, are six
miles from Nasik on the Bombay road. Some of these are very
remarkable, and date as far back as 50—150 a.d. They are in good
preservation, especially the figures inside the caves. The largest is a
fine hall, about eighty feet by sixty, with twenty-one cells. An
illustration and description of the principal Chaitya caves will be
found in Fergusson's " Indian Architecture," p. 115.
There is a vigorous mission station at Nasik under the care of the
Church Missionary Society, whose agent, Rev. W. A. Roberts, M.A.,
was good enough to give me some particulars. It was commenced about
fifty years ago. In the earlier days of the mission great attention
was given to educational work in the town itself, nearly all the
education being at one time in the hands of the Church Missionary
Society's missionaries, one of whom was the father of Archdeacon
Farrar, who was born at Nasik. In the year 1854 a settlement was
planned at Sharanpur, one and a half mile to the west of Nasik,
which gradually weakened the work in the town itself. As the
necessity which then existed for the segregation of Christians has


NASIK.
4*3
passed by, little is now made of the village of Sharanpur, though the
mission schools and other premises are stationed there, and it is the
centre of evangelistic and educational work for the Nasik district.
Here is an orphanage and boarding-school containing about fifty
children, to whom an elementary education is given, and who, out
of school hours, make themselves useful on a farm attached to the
orphanage, and which supplies food for the school. There is also a
normal class, where vernacular teachers are trained for the Church
Missionary Society's schools in Western India, and a po6r asylum
entirely supported by the residents of the station. Service is held for
the Europeans of the station, to whom Mr. Roberts is honorary
chaplain, in an excellent school-room. It is, however, intended
presently to build a church, for which most of the money has been
subscribed. The present staff consists of Mr. Roberts, six catechists
and scripture-readers, and thirteen school-teachers. This staff is
responsible both for the work at Nasik and at nine out-stations, where
there are schools. There are altogether about 300 Christians
attached to the mission.
The Indian Female Normal School is the only other society
stationed at Nasik, and acts in sympathetic co-operation with the
Church Missionary Society. The staff consists of two European
ladies, two Bible-women, and four school-teachers, who work in three
girls' schools, visit houses in Nasik, and preach to women in the
surrounding villages.
From Nasik to Bombay the line runs through extremely beautiful
scenery down the Thal Ghat, the distance being 117 miles. The
descent begins at Kasara Station, 1,912 feet above sea level, and
seventy-five miles from Bombay. The Thal Ghat Pass has two lines
of communication running down it—the old mail road from Bombay
to Agra, and the Great Indian Peninsula Railway. This latter
descends by gradients often as steep as one in thirty-seven, by sharp
curves as extreme as seventeen chains radius, and by frequent
reversing stations. It reaches the bottom at Kalyan Junction, and
from there to Bombay runs through a flat coast country.
Munmar is the junction for the Dhond and Munmar State
Railway. There is an excellent waiting and refreshment room and
a good Dak bungalow with a messman. About a mile distant is a
remarkable pyramidal hill, 750 feet high, with a curious natural
obelisk of trap-rock sixty feet high, perched on the top of it.


NASIK.
425
cave temples, elaborately sculptured. Tankai, the hill to the eastward,
is the best ascent, the greater part of it being steps cut in the
rock. A magnificent view is obtained of very fine scenery. Between
Yeola and Puntamba stations, numerous antelopes and buck may be
seen from the train> as well as a great variety of bird life. Yeola is a
town of some importance, well worth visiting, with a large silk-weaving
and gold twist industry, employing 7,000 persons of both sexes. A
very superior yellow silk cloth, called pitambar, and fine silk pieces
with borders of silver or gold are made at Yeola.
Ahmadnagar is a large military and civil station. It has a population
of about 40,000. It was founded by Ahmad Nizam Shah, a.d. 1494, and
has played a leading part in Deccan history for the last 400 years. It is
surrounded by a clay wall about twelve feet high, with ruined gates
and bastions, built a.d. 1562. The town is dull but prosperous, with
good bazars. The chief industries of the place are the weaving of cotton
saris, a trade which has a special bazar, the manufacture of carpets,
which have a great reputation for durability, and copper and brass ware.
Half a mile east of the city is the old fort, built of stone, circular in
shape, half a mile in diameter, and surrounded by a wide, deep moat.
It was built in 1599. In 1803 the fort was taken by the British; the
breach is still visible, and a tree planted by Lord Wellesley, who com-
manded, still flourishes. British vandalism has not left much of the
old Musalman architecture. A 16th century mosque has been con-
verted into the collector's office; the judge's court was originally
the handsome palace of a Musalman noble, built in the year 1600;
the jail and civil hospital have been converted from other old buildings.
There are still some old Musalman aqueducts to be seen outside the
city.
There is a flourishing mission here in the hands of American
Methodists, well deserving of a visit, and a most interesting college
for the training of Christian schoolmasters, under the principalship of
Mr. J. S. Haig, of the Christian Vernacular Society.
From Ahmednagar to Dhond there is nothing worthy of notice.


CHAPTEE XXIX.
iams<Xl C
BOMBAY TO PUNA, -f C,-



HE railway journey of 119 miles from Bom-
bay to Puna is one of the most beautiful
in the world, and the grand scenery of the
famous Bhor Ghat must be taken by day-
light. It will be well to leave Bombay by
the 7.30 a.m. train, stopping for a few hours at Kjilvan junction to
see the curious old temple of Amarnath about four miles from the
station. There is a small station at Amarnath itself, but it is better
to drive from Kalyan. This temple is an unspoilt specimen of
genuine Hindu architecture. An inscription on its face is dated a.d.
1060, and portions of it are 200 years older. The temple faces west,
but the entrance hall has doors facing north and south also. Each of
the three doors has a porch, approached by five or six steps, and
supported by four square pillars. The entrance hall is 22'9


BOMBAY TO PUNA.
4*7
square, its roof supported by four very elaborately carved columns.
In their details, no two are exactly alike; they are square at the
base, becoming octagon about one-third of their height. The
carving of these pillars is extremely beautiful and varied. The whole
of the building (which is dedicated to Siva), outside and in, is finely
sculptured with figures of Mahadeva, Parvati, Kali and Siva, with
ascetics, monsters, and innumerable human figures and animals,
carved with a skill not surpassed by any Hindu temple in India.
Travellers visiting this temple should go the day before to one of the
Bombay libraries, and read the interesting account given in Vol. III.,
p. 316, of the "Indian Antiquary," and Vol. XIV. of the " Bombay
Gazetteer," pp. 2—8.
^Kalyan is an ancient town, but with no antiquities left worth notice.
It is now a thriving place, an important railway junction, with a
population of 14,000, most of whom get their living by husking rice,
the staple industry of the district.
Neral is the station for Matheran, a beautiful hill sanitarium, 2,460
feet above the sea, a favourite resort of Bombay Europeans. It is an
eight mile climb to Matheran, but by writing the day before to an
official known as "the Superintendent" at Matheran, ponies or
palkis with coolies, will be provided to meet the train. The charge
for ponies is two rupees each, and for palkis with twelve coolies, eight
rupees. The path climbs up the face of the Ghat, skirting precipices,
winding in and out among broken cliffs and leafy groves, with charm-
ing views at every turn. There are a great number of excellent hotels,
the " Rugby" being on the highest ground, and the " Granville " the
newest, with its windows open to the refreshing sea breeze that blows
over Matheran. There are all the accessories of a well-established
hill station: church, library, newsroom, lawn tennis, and gymkhana.
All these nestle amid woods on a shallow tableland of about eight
square miles, surrounded by a series of rocky promontories, which
jut out into mid air, their precipices falling 2,000 feet sheer into the
valleys below. These promontories are called "points "—there are
about sixteen of them, the most popular being known as Panorama,
Louisa, Porcupine, Hart, Chauk, and Garbat points. The evening
view from Panorama Point is exceedingly beautiful. It hangs over the
level plain which stretches away to Bombay, forty miles off, whose
towers and shipping, with the ocean beyond, are all golden in the
setting sun.


428
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
The favourite excursion is to Prabal Point, where there is an ancient
fort, thirteen miles off, perched on a rocky spur of a mountain, 4,000
feet high, in the midst of precipitous rocks of fantastic shapes.
The path crosses a deep intervening valley, and affords an infinite
variety of scenery.
From Louisa Point, in the rainy season, a splendid cataract, 100 feet
wide, falls into the valley in a single leap of 1,000 feet. All around
Matheran Hill, 300 or 400 feet below the edge of the tableland, runs
a plateau or terrace, clothed with richest verdure, with a ride running
through the trees.
Matheran is a delightful place for the traveller who arrives at
Bombay in October, after a fortnight's grilling in the Red Sea and the
Indian Ocean.
Scattered about among the surrounding hills are little communi-
ties of Aborigines, Dhangars, Thakurs, Kathkaris, and other wild
forest races.
At Karjat, sixty-two miles from Bombay, the ascent of the Bhor
Ghat commences. The line rises 1,831 feet in fifteen miles; the
average gradient being one in forty-eight. The total length of
tunnelling is 2,535 yards. There are eight viaducts, varying from

AT MATHERAN.


BOMBAY TO PUNA.
429
52 to 168 yards in length, the highest of which is 139 feet. Some
of the embankments are stupendous structures, one of which is
seventy-four feet high. The cost of the incline was £41,188 per
mile; a total of half a million sterling.
At 1,350 feet above the sea, the train stops ten minutes at the
remarkable reversing station, to enable the powerful engines to
pass to the other end. The view from this station, in the very
heart of the Ghat, is superb. This marvellous engineering achieve-
ment is full of interest every yard of the journey; the time taken by
the mail trains in climbing this railway ladder is an hour and twenty
minutes.
Khandala, at the top of the Bhor Ghat, is a pretty summer retreat
for the inhabitants of Bombay. There is a beautiful waterfall here,
the upper cataract of which has a sheer drop of 300 feet. It is only
worth visiting in the rainy season. The next station is Lonauli,
where there are good waiting and refreshment-rooms, and a fair hotel.
This is the best stopping-place to visit Karli Caves, and good tongas
with two ponies may be had by ordering beforehand from the station-
master, or hotel-keeper, which will drive along the Puna road for four
miles, and thence by a rough country track for about two miles more,
to the foot of the mountains in which the cave is situated. An easy
footpath, ascending about 600 feet, leads to the entrance. It is
rather a tiring journey if taken in the heat of the day, but if the
traveller sleeps at Lonauli, and makes an early morning start, so as
to get the climb over before nine, there is nothing beyond the powers
of an elderly lady in good health. I have left Lonauli at 7 a.m.,
spent two hours at the cave, and returned by noon.
The cave at Karli is undoubtedly the largest and most complete
Buddhist chaitya in India, and is so easy of access that it ought on
no account to be omitted from the programme of an Indian tourist.
A full description, with plans, sections, and views of the exterior and
interior, will be found in Fergusson's "Indian Architecture," p. 116.
For the benefit of those of my readers who have not been wise enough
to provide themselves with a copy of this invaluable book, I append
the following extract:—
"It is certainly the largest as well as the most complete chaitya
cave hitherto discovered in India, and was excavated at a time when
the style was in its greatest purity. In it all the architectural defects
of the previous examples are removed; the pillars of the nave are


43°
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
quite perpendicular. The screen is ornamented with sculpture—its
first appearance apparently in such a position—and the style had
reached a perfection never afterwards surpassed.
"In the cave there is an inscription on the side of the porch, and
another on the lion-pillar in front, which are certainly integral, and
ascribe its excavation to the Maharaja Bhuti or Deva Bhuti, who,
according to the Purdnas, reigned B.C. 78; and if this is so, they fix
the age of this typical example beyond all cavil.
"The building resembles, to a very great extent, an early Christian
church in its arrangements, consisting of a nave and side-aisles,
terminating in an apse or semi-dome, round which the aisle is carried.
The general dimensions of the interior, are 126 feet from the entrance
to the back wall, by 45 feet 7 inches in width. The side-aisles,
however, are very much narrower than in Christian churches, the
central one being 25 feet 7 inches, so that the others are only ten feet
wide, including the thickness of the pillars. As a scale for com-
parison, it may be mentioned that its arrangement and dimensions
are very similar to those of the choir of Norwich Cathedral, or
of the Abbaye aux Hommes at Caen, omitting the outer aisles in
the latter buildings. The thickness of the piers at Norwich and
Caen nearly corresponds to the breadth of the aisles in the Indian
temple. In height, however, Karli is very inferior, being only forty-
two feet, or perhaps forty-five feet from the floor to the apex, as nearly
as can be ascertained.
"Fifteen pillars on each side separate the nave from the aisles;
each pillar has a tall base, an octagonal shaft, and a richly orna-
mented capital, on which kneel two elephants, each bearing two
figures, generally a man and a woman, but sometimes two females, all
very much better executed than such ornaments usually are. The
seven pillars behind the altar are plain octagonal piers, without either
base or capital, and the four under the entrance gallery differ con-
siderably from those at the sides. The sculptures on the capital
supply the place usually occupied by frieze and cornice in Grecian
architecture; and in other examples, plain painted surfaces occupy
the same space. Above this springs the roof, semicircular in general
section, but somewhat stilted at the sides, so as to make its height
greater than the semi-diameter. It is ornamented even at this day by
a series of wooden ribs, probably coeval with the excavation, which
prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that the roof is not a copy of a



EXTEANCE TO KARLI CAVB.


432
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
masonry arch, but of some sort of timber construction which we
cannot now very well understand.
"Immediately under the semi-dome of the apse, and nearly where
the altar stands in Christian churches, is placed the daghoba, in this
instance a plain dome slightly stilted on a circular drum. As there
are no ornaments on it now, and no mortices for woodwork, it
probably was originally plastered and painted, or may have been
adorned with hangings, which some of the sculptured representations
would lead us to suppose was the usual mode of ornamenting these
altars. It is surmounted by a Tee, and on this still stand the
remains of an umbrella in wood, very much decayed and distorted
by age.
"Opposite this is the entrance, consisting of three doorways, under
a gallery exactly corresponding with our rood-loft, one leading to the
centre, and one to each of the side-aisles; and over the gallery the
whole end of the hall is open, as in all these chaitya halls, forming
one great window, through which all the light is admitted. This
great window is formed in the shape of a horse-shoe, and exactly
resembles those used as ornaments on the facade of this cave, as well
as on those of Bhaja, Bedsa, and at Nasik. Within the arch is a
framework or centering of work standing free. This, so far as we can
judge, is, like the ribs of the interior, coeval with the building; at all
events, if it has been renewed, it is an exact copy of the original form,
for it is found repeated in stone in all the niches of the facade, over
the doorways, and generally as an ornament everywhere, and with the
Buddhist " rail" copied from Sanchi forms the most usual ornament
Sof the style.
"The presence of the woodwork is an additional proof, if any were
wanted, that there were no arches of construction in any of these
Buddhist buildings. There neither were nor are any in any Indian
building anterior to the Muhammadan Conquest, and very few, indeed,
in any Hindu building afterwards.
"To return, however, to Karli, the outer porch is considerably
wider than the body of the building, being fifty-two feet wide, and is
closed in front by a screen composed of two stout octagonal pillars,
without either base or capital, supporting what is now a plain mass of
rock, but once ornamented by a wooden gallery, forming the principal
ornament of the facade. Above this, a dwarf colonnade or attic of
four columns between pilasters admitted light to the great window;


BOMBAY TO PUNA.
433
and this again was surmounted by a wooden cornice or ornament of
some sort, though we cannot now restore it, since only the mortices
remain that attached it to the rock.
"In advance of this screen stands the lion-pillar, in this instance a
plain shaft with thirty-two flutes, or rather faces, surmounted by a
capital not unlike that at Kesaria, but at Karli supporting four lions
instead of one; they seem almost certainly to have supported a
chakra, or Buddhist wheel. A similar pillar probably stood on the
opposite side, but it has either fallen or been taken down to make way
for the little temple that now occupies its place.
"The absence of the wooden ornaments of the external porch, as
well as our ignorance of the mode in which this temple was finished
laterally, and the porch joined to the main temple, prevent us from
judging what the effect of the front would have been if belonging to a
free standing building. But the proportions of such parts as remain
are so good, and the effect of the whole so pleasing, that there can be
little hesitation in ascribing to such a design a tolerably high rank
among architectural compositions.
"Of the interior we can judge perfectly, and it certainly is as
solemn and grand as any interior can well be, and the mode of lighting
the most perfect—one undivided volume of light coming through a
single opening overhead at a very favourable angle, and falling directly
on the altar or principal object in the building, leaving the rest in
comparative obscurity. The effect is considerably heightened by the
closely-set thick columns that divide the three aisles from one another,
as they suffice to prevent the boundary walls from ever being seen;
and, as there are no openings in the walls, the view between the
pillars is practically unlimited.
"These peculiarities are found more or less developed in all the
other caves of the same class in India, varying only with the age and
the gradual change that took place from the more purely wooden
forms of these caves to the lithic or stone architecture of the more
modern ones. This is the principal test by which their relative ages
can be determined, and it proves incontestably that the Karli cave was
excavated not very long after stone came to be used as a building
material in India."
There are other minor caves of the same character at Bhaja and
Bedsa, both of which places are within easy riding distance of Lonauli,
of which full particulars are given by Fergusson, pp. 110-116.


434
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
There is a Dak bungalow at Karli Station, two miles from Karli cave,
five from Bhaja, and nine from Bedsa; but as no ponies or tongas can
bs obtained there, they must be ordered from Lonauli.
From Lonauli to Puna, a distance of forty miles, the line runs
through a rough country, most of which is under spade tillage.
Many of the battles of the Maratha wars were fought on this ground.

DECCAN COUNTRYMAN.


CHAPTER XXX.
PUNA- -f-

|UNA is a handsome city of 130,000
population, the military capital of the
Deccan, and the summer capital of the
Bombay Presidency. Puna is com-
paratively modern, being known in
Indian history as the capital of the Maratha Peshwas, the dynasty
which ruled the Deccan from 1715 a.d. until 1818, when the seventh
and last Peshwa, Baji Rao, watched from the horseshoe window of
the temple of Parvati the final rout of his forces by the British on
the Field of Kirki. His adopted son, Nana Sahib, wreaked a fearful
vengeance on the British forty years afterwards. Sindhia, Holkar,
and the Gaekwar of Baroda, are all offshoots of this great Hindu
kingdom of the Marathas. The Peshwas were a dynasty of raiders
and fighters rather than builders, and Maratha monuments are
mostly impregnable fortresses and inaccessible castles, perched on the
hills of the Deccan, rather than palaces or temples.
The European side of Puna is laid out in fine rectangular roads,
wide and well made, shaded by avenues of trees. The bungalows of
F F 2


436
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
the residents are pretty and picturesque, with bright gardens and
compounds. There are all the usual features of a first-class European
station—clubs, libraries, gymkhanas, excellent hotels, of which tbe
"Ngpier " is the principal, churches, livery stables, and shops. The
Victoria Gardens are on a terrace, overlooking the Mula River, across
which a weir has been thrown, keeping the water always at the same
level throughout the dry season. The view up the river is picturesque
in the extreme, being closed in by the beautiful hill of Parvati. Here
a band plays in the evening three times a week, and hither resort the
"beauty and fashion" of Puna.
The native city has all the characteristics of a prosperous Hindu
community. It extends along the bank of the small river Muta, on
high ground, for about a mile and a half. The only noteworthy
buildings are the old palace of the Peshwas, which was burnt down in
1827, and is only a mound of ruins within the still standing fortified
wall, and some fine mansions of Maratha nobles, one of which, the
old Deccan college, with its double courtyards surrounded by carved
teak galleries and pillars, is open to public inspection. The classes
have been removed to a handsome modern building in the suburbs.
The bazars are handsome and well stocked with shops; pretty little
squares, nicely planted, occurring at frequent intervals. Puna, like
Nasik and Ahmadabad, is famous all over India for beautiful brass-
work of all sorts, especially idols. Here and there in the bazar may
be picked up old swords, and other weapons of the fierce Maratha
times.
In the jewellers' shops may be purchased the graceful head
ornaments, in gold, silver, or lac, of which the Maratha women are so
fond; armlets which, by a peculiar double bend, grasp the arm
firmly; chain-like anklets, lighter and more refined than those of
Gujarat. Figures in plastic clay, painted, and dressed up in muslin
and silk, illustrating all the types and castes of the Deccau, can be
obtained for a few annas, and are really beautiful works of art, if made
by one of the better craftsmen. Throughout the leading bazars are
shops whose occupants are engaged in making lovely sham jewellery of
some sort of perfumed composition; bracelets, necklaces, chains, and
anklets of various seeds, such as the scarlet and black seeds of ganja,
the flat black seeds of the turwar, red seeds of the rukta chandan, the
mottled seed of the betel nut, and the deeply furrowed seeds of the
rvdraksh, which latter are worn by Musalman fakirs. These pretty


PUNA.
437
trinkets are ridiculously cheap. Peacocks' feathers are made up with
cuscus grass, green beetles' wings and spangles, into fragrant, showy
fans and mats; charming embroidered slippers may be purchased at
the shoemakers' shops; weavers are at work on beautiful yellow silk

A TINSEL CUTTER, PUNA.
pitambars, worn by both sexes on sacred feast days; turban folders
sit gravely among their wooden dummies.
A flourishing trade is carried on in gold and silver wire and thread,
lace, and foil, and all manner of tinsel ornaments. It is in Puna that
the richest and costliest border for saris is made, the famous shikar,


43«
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
or hunting pattern, woven in gold and silver threads into a woof of tine
silk: all these, with the thousand and one other native handicrafts of
a large Hindu city, render the Puna bazars specially attractive to
everyone interested in Indian art and manufacture.
The most attractive suburb of Puna is that on the south side of the
city, where lies the Hira Bagh, or Diamond Garden, and beyond it the

THE HILL OF PARVATI, FROM THE LAKE.
famous hill of Parvati. The garden is beautifully laid out with a lake
and island, a villa built by one of the later Peshwas, a little mosque,
and some pretty temples and summer-houses. The vegetation of the
Deccan is seen to good effect in the Diamond Garden, which has been
carefully planted with every variety of tree and shrub indigenous to the
district. The borders of the lake are thick with grasses, rushes, and
water plants of all sorts. The temple-crowned hill of Parvati rises
almost from the edge of the lake. A long winding flight of wide
steps leads to the summit in a gradual ascent, so scaled that elephants
can travel by it. On the level summit is the fine temple to Parvati,
built by the Peshwa Balaji Baji Bao in 1749, at a cost of a million
rupees, within which is a silver image of Siva, with a golden Parvati
and Ganesh on his knees. At each corner of the temple court are
3mall shrines to Surya, the Sun god, Vishnu, Kartikaya, the War


PUNA.
439
god, and Durga. Parvati is the wife of Siva, but at Puna she is
worshipped for the more gracious side of her character, as anna purna,
the food-giver, uma, the light, or gauri, the brilliant. Those who
favour her terrible side, may worship at the lesser shrine of Durga in
the corner of the courtyard. The Brahmans who hang about the
steps to act as guides can generally speak English enough for their

TURBAN FITTERS, PUNA.
business. On the west side of the hill is a ruined palace of the
Peshwas, injured by lightning sixty years ago.
The view from the hill embraces Puna, and all the country round,
closed in by the blue Ghats in the dim distance.
Some pretty river scenery is to be found at the Sangam, where the
Muta and the Mula rivers meet. Here are several well-built temples,
sacred to Mahadeo, surrounded by well-planted gardens, affording a
pleasant morning or evening stroll. The beautiful house and gardens
of Sir Albert Sassoon, known as Garden Reach, are near the Sangam,


PICTURESQUE INDIA.
and are worth visiting if permission can be obtained. The house is
sumptuously decorated and furnished, and the gardens remarkably
well kept up.
The Government house is reached by an easy drive of three miles,
and is called Ganesh Kind. It is a handsome mansion, devoid of
interest.

A MARATHA BRAHMAN.
Fourteen miles from Puna is one of the finest of the many old
Maratha fortresses scattered throughout the Deccan.
Sinhgarh (the lion's fort) is situated on a rugged and isolated
mountain, 4,162 feet above the sea. From the slopes of the mountain
rises a great black wall of rock, forty feet high, on the top of which is
placed the fort on a triangular piece of tableland, nearly two miles
round. This plateau is surrounded by a strong wall flanked with
towers. There are two gateways, the Puna, and the Kalyan. With-
in the walls are several bungalows to which the European inhabitants
of Puna resort during the hot weather in April and May. This is a
very ancient fortress. It was blockaded by the Delhi Emperor
Tughlak in 1340, was captured by Ahmad Shah in 1486, was won by
a bribe by Sivaji in 1647, who gave it its present name, and made it


PUNA.
441
a very strong place. In 1565 Sivaji was blockaded out of it by a
Mughal force, and in 1670 it was retaken by Tanaja Malrusa, its
capture forming one of the most daring exploits in Maratha history.
In 1702 it resisted a siege by Aurangzeb for nearly four months,
when it was betrayed by the commandant, to be retaken by the
Maratha forces in 1706. It remained in their undisturbed possession
till 1818, when it was stormed by British troops, and finally
dismantled.
The journey is an easy one, as a good driving road goes from Puna
to the foot of the mountain, where the carriage must be exchanged for
a chair on poles, carried by coolies up the two and a half miles of
winding pathway which leads to the summit. It is well to start
before daybreak, that the ascent may be made in the cool of the
morning. Ten miles from Puna, Lake Fife is passed, a fine reservoir
that irrigates the country between its outlet and Puna, and also forms
the principal water supply of the city.
The view from the fort is magnificent, stretching over the vast and
fertile plain of Puna on the one hand, and commanding a fine
panorama of the Ghats and their outlying spurs on the other. On
one of these spurs, a few miles to the southward, may be descried
another fortress called Purandar, which has also borne its part in
Maratha warfare.
Jijuri, about seventeen miles from Puna, is famous for its great
temple, picturesquely built on the top of an isolated hill, 250 feet
high, dedicated to Khanderao, an incarnation of Siva. This temple
was built 200 years ago by one of the Holkars. The road which
winds up the hill is studded with pillars, gateways, carved images and
other votive offerings. There is an enormous drum in the temple,
which is heard for miles round when struck.
There are several educational institutions at Puna of some import-
ance, the most notable of which are the Engineering College, the
Deccan College, the first grade High School, the female Normal
School and a training school for Anglo-Vernacular teachers.
Puna is a great centre of Brahmanic influence, and there are no
less than 50,000 Brahmans in the Puna district.
The Free Church of Scotland has a flourishing mission in Puna,
with 140 communicants and seven schools, with nearly 1,000
scholars; the Bev. John Small is the superintendent, who also
conducts much religious work among the British troops in the canton-


442
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
ment. The Rev. R. A. Squires represents the Church Missionary
Society, which has 100 communicants and two small schools.
Mahableshwar.—The beautiful hill station of Mahableshwar is
within an easy day's jouraey from Puna. A train leaves Puna by the
Southern Maratha line at about 7.30 a.m., which arrives at Wathar

A WAI MARATHA.
about 1.30. Here there is an excellent refreshment-room, where a
good tiffin may be had by writing the day before. Two-horse
carriages may be arranged for through Mr. Ardasir Framji, mail
contractor, Mahableshwar, who has an office in the Civil lines at Puna.
The drive from Wathar station to Mahableshwar is through a very
pleasant undulating country, with the mountains in the distance.
The road being hot and dusty, some travellers prefer to leave Puna by
the afternoon train, spend the night at the Wathar bungalow, and go
on in the cool morning air, which blows fresh off the hills.
The distance is about forty miles, and the ascent begins at Wai,


MA HA BLESHIVA R.
-143
about half way. There is an excellent Dak bungalow at Wai, where
tea may be had, and good meals by sending word beforehand to the
messman. Wai is a lovely spot on the banks of the sacred Krishna,
embosomed in trees, and surrounded by an amphitheatre of lofty hills.
The banks of the river are lined with pretty temples, stone ghats,
bathing-houses and shrines, in the midst of beautiful foliage. The
view from the bridge is one of the most picturesque in India, and a
good panorama of all the riverside temples may be had from the
garden of the Dak bungalow. A very beautiful temple is to be seen
at Dom, five miles from Wai, with a splendid fountain of white
marble, the edges of which are carved with lotuses, and a pillar of
white marble, crowned with the five heads of Siva, with clusters of
cobras round them. At Wairatgarh eight miles up the valley is one
of the finest banyan trees in the country.
The road from Wai winds slowly up a steep ghat. With extra
mules harnessed to the carriages, the ten miles to Panchgani are
accomplished in about two hours. Here are several bungalows
belonging to Europeans and Parsis from Bombay, and a good Dak
bungalow. The remaining ten miles to Mahableshwar are along a
good and fairly level road. Seven hours are usually taken to travel
from Wathar to Mahableshwar.
There are several excellent hotels at Mahableshwar. I can speak
well of the "Fountain," which affords a sublime view from its
verandahs, and is very well managed.
Mahableshwar is a wide plateau, six or seven miles long and about
three miles at its widest, the edge of which, seaward, is a vast,
sharply-sloping precipice, verdure clad from top to bottom, except
where great spurs of rock jut out into the air. The principal of these
spurs are Lodwick, Sidney, Kate's, Olympia, and Elphinstone Points,
from all of which superb prospects may be obtained.
The plateau is 4,500 feet above the sea, and is laid out with many
miles of excellent drives and rides, leading to all the various " points,"
waterfalls, and other picturesque scenery with which Mahableshwar
abounds. This sanitarium is, of course, chiefly resorted to during the
hot weather, but it is uninhabitable during the rains of the south-west
monsoon, from the middle of June to the end of September. It is
at its best in October, November, April, and May. I had the
Fountain Hotel to myself for a few days in January, 1889; the
temperature averaged about 64°, 45c to 50° at night, rising to over


444
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
80° at midday. The air was clear as crystal, and the heavens at
night beyond all description beautiful. The finest view is from
Elphinstone Point, from the end of which there is a sheer precipice of
some 1,800 feet; but all the points should be visited in succession,as
each presents some feature differing from the rest. Lodwick Point is
the best from which to view the precipice of Elphinstone, and the
rocky mountain on the top of which is the old Maratha fortress of
Partabgarh.
Near Elphinstone Point is the old village of Mahableshwar, wher9
there are two or three very ancient and venerated Hindu temples
erected over the source of the sacred river Krishna, to which god the
temples are dedicated. The principal building covers a tank,
surrounded by pillared recesses. At the head of the tank is a stone
cow, from whose mouth holy Krishna trickles, in a stream of pore
clear water, to gladden the land for 800 miles before he reaches the
Bay of Bengal. The village and temples form a quaint group of
buildings, embowered in trees of dark foliage. The falls of the Yena
are at the head of a mountain gorge of singular wildness and
beauty. The river tumbles over the edge of a cliff 500 feet deep.
After the rains it is a magnificent sight, but in the winter it dries up
to a slender stream, which, as it falls, is dissipated into thin,
iridescent spray.
The great fortress of Partabgarh was selected for its unique
position of impregnable strength by Sivaji, the founder of the
Maratha power, in 1656. It lies about twelve miles from Mahab-
leshwar, on an excellent road, which presents an infinite variety of
magnificent scenery. There is a very charming and comfortable Dak
bungalow at the foot of the hill, where chairs and coolies can be
obtained for the steep and difficult ascent, which practised walkers can
climb in about an hour and a quarter. The fort is 3,543 feet above
sea level, the walls of the lower fort forming a sort of crown round the
brow of the summit. The western and northern sides of the fort are
gigantic cliffs with an almost vertical drop of 700 or 800 feet. The
towers and bastions on the other side are thirty or forty feet high, on
the edges of scarps about the same height. The main entrance is
reached by a long, winding flight of steps cut in the solid rock, and in
Sivaji's time Partabgarh must have been a hopeless task to a besieger,
only to be conquered by treachery or starvation. It was through
the latter it surrendered to the British forces in 1818.





446
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
Sivaji, nicknamed by Aurangzeb, the Mountain Rat, has given
legends to almost all these stern, old Maratha forts scattered along
the spurs of the Western Ghats. It was from Partabgarh that he
issued, after offering sacrifice to the horrid goddess Bhawani, to the
committal of the most detestable act of treachery that stains the
pages of Indian history. Under the pretence of making peace with
the Brigadier-General Afzul Khan, who was besieging the fortress,
he led him into a secluded place, and under cover of a fraternal
embrace, ripped his bowels open with a weapon called wagnak, or the
"tiger's claw," concealed in his left hand, and stabbed him, at the same
time, to the heart with the bichwa, or "scorpion dagger," hid up his
right sleeve. Sivaji is the great hero of the Maratha Hindus.
His descendants are held in deep reverence, and these treacherous
weapons, with other relics, are still religiously preserved at Kolhapur
and Satara; his famous sword, Bhavani, being an object of profound
worship to this day at Kolhapur.
In the Mahableshwar seasons, it is possible to return to Bombay by
Partabgarh and Warra to Dasgaon, whence a steamer plies across the
bay to Bombay; but in the cold season this route is closed, and the
onlj' way to or from Mahableshwar is by Wathar and Wai.
The return journey may however be varied by driving through
Satara, to Satara Road station, through Irmal, Kilgarh, and
Khinzir. Satara is thirty-one miles from Mahableshwar, and the
road excellent all the way; Satara Road station forty-one miles. The
scenery, especially about the Kilgarh ghat, is very fine, of the same
nature as that from Mahableshwar to Wai.
Satara.—The next station beyond Wathar is Satara Road, from
which Satara city is distant ten miles. Tongas can be had by
writing to the station-master beforehand.
Satara is the chief town of the district of the same name, with o
population of 30,000. It is a clean town, with good, wide streets, at
the foot of a steep, rocky hill, on the top of which is perched a strong
fort, which possesses seventeen (sata ra) walls, towers, and gates, and
thus gives the name to the town. Satara stands 2,320 feet above sea
level, is exposed to the breezes from the sea, and is altogether a very
pleasant and picturesque spot. There is a good Dak bungalow. The
water supply is excellent, drawn from a large tank on a neighbouring
hill, conducted by an aqueduct four miles long. The old palace of the
Maratha chiefs is a plain, dull building, without any interest. It is


448
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
Kolhapur has for centuries been held in esteem throughout the
Deccan for the antiquity of its temples. Its origin was that of a
religious settlement, clustering round the great temple of Maha-
lakshmi, the goddess of plenty and good luck. The extreme antiquity
of Kolhapur is emphasised by the number of Buddhist remains dis-
covered in the neighbourhood, and notably a crystal relic casket found
in a tope, with inscriptions on the lid identifying its deposit with the
3rd century B.C. Small but very ancient temples have been excavated
at Karavira, close to the city, which is believed to have been the site
of the capital of the district at a remote period.
The fort was built by a king of Bijapur, a.d. 1560-70. The
palace square is a fine group of buildings, entered through a stone
gateway. Opposite the palace is the treasury, and the other sides of
the square are occupied with Government offices, a gymnasium, and
the high school. Behind these is the temple of the tutelary goddess
of the town, Amba Bai, whose brass image is carried round the town
in procession on festival days. This temple is about 150 feet square,
built of black stone, and the height to the topmost pinnacle is over
eighty feet. It is a mass of elaborate carving, inside and out, of the
Jain style of decoration, and the date over the porch is the equivalent
of a.d. 1218. The great bell of the temple is Portuguese work.
The entrance to the palace square is called the Nakar Khanah, or
"Music Gallery; " it is a curious and somewhat bizarre structure.
The city is surrounded by a very strong wall, thirty feet high, with a
wide, deep ditch in front. There are numerous fortified bastions, and
six strong gateways, studded with iron spikes, to resist the battering
by elephants. The entrances are over drawbridges. The palace is in
the centre of the town, the main streets radiating from it to the walls,
with circular lanes crossing them. In the suburbs are some fine
cenotaphs of previous rajas in a pretty walled garden. The hill forts
of Panhala and Pawangadh, with Joteba's Hill, are within ten miles of
the city, and have much interest to the antiquarian.
There are several Buddhist caves, and many shrines and temples
on Joteba's Hill, and Panhala was a strong fortress in the 12th cen-
tury. Within its solid walls Sivaji built two stone granaries, still
standing, 130 feet long, fifty-seven feet wide, and thirty feet high.
One of the entrances is a fine Tin Darwaza, or triple gateway, richly
decorated with sculpture. The building called Sadoba's Temple was
once a pavilion for the ladies of the governor.


GOA.
449
There are also two or three interesting tombs, and an old 15th cen-
tury tank, in which a large number of Brahmani women drowned
themselves, from fear of the British soldiers, when the place was
stormed during the Maratha war. Panhala was one of Sivaji's
favourite castles.
At Gokak, on the railway between Miraj and Belgaum, the Gatparba
River tumbles headlong down a narrow gorge in a single leap of 180 feet.
In the rainy season this is one of the most magnificent scenes in India,
but in December and January, when the European tourist is at large,
it shrinks up to nothing, its bulk in July being as nearly as possible
350 times the volume it is then. The falls are some miles from the
railway. A polite note to the station-master at Gokak Road will get
all necessary information with regard to conveyances and lodging.
Belgaum is the chief town of an important district, and a canton-
ment for about 4,000 troops. Its population is about 25,000. There
is a strong fort, built in 1648, surrounded by a broad wet ditch,
without any features of interest.
The special trades of its bazars are bells for bullocks, clay figures,
and fruits, cotton-spinning and weaving, and red fancy pottery. There
are two Jain temples of the early part of the 13th century and a good
mosque. Belgaum is a popular and healthy station.
At Londa Junction, the branch line to Goa turns off, the terminus
of which is Murmagao Harbour, whence ferry boats ply to Goa city,
or Panjim, the capital of the Portuguese territory, where there is an
hotel.
Goa is a Portuguese settlement, the oldest European colony in the
East Indies. Its territory measures sixty-two miles long by forty
miles at the widest part, with a total population of about 450,000. It
is a mountainous country with several peaks from 3,000 to 4,000 feet
above the sea. There is a fine harbour at Goa, with two good road-
steads, one called Alguada and the other Murmagao, at the terminus
of the railway. The inhabitants are of three classes, Europeans,
Eurasians, and natives. More than half the population are Roman
Catholic, the rest Hindu. All the native Christians wear European
dress, the women still wearing the sari, over a Europeanized
garment.
The Archbishop of Goa is the primate of the East, exercising juris-
diction over the Catholics of all the Portuguese Colonies, and much of
British India also.
a a


45°
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
There are now no religious orders, the churches being under secular
priests, who are all Goanese. The Catholics of Goa are very devoted
to their religion. All other creeds enjoy perfect liberty of conscience,
and have their own temples and mosques.
The trade of Goa is the melancholy ghost of its former prosperity,
and is still dwindling. There are no banks of any kind. Good roads
prevail throughout the colony, and forty-nine miles of the railway from
Murmagao runs through Goanese territory.
Goa has no navy, but it defends itself from all invasion with a
standing army of 313 men of all ranks, and maintains its domestic
government with a police force of 900 men. It enjoys one telegraph
office at Goa city, or Panjim as it is called locally, of which the British
Government pays half the cost. There are two good hospitals, and
some excellent religious charities, one of which is as old as the days
of D'Albuquerque. Education is fairly well provided for in all its
branches. The revenue and expenditure balance, and amount to
about ±'105,000.
The administration consists of a Governor-General, and a council
composed of the Chief Secretary, the Archbishop, the High Court
Judges, two military officers, and the heads of departments.
The history of Goa as a Portuguese settlement dates from a.d. 1510,
when Alfonso D'Albuquerque, with twenty ships and 1,200 soldiers,
took bloodless possession of it from the Bijapur kings of the Deccan.
He was driven out a few months after, but, reinforced from Portugal,
reconquered it by a horrible and bloody assault, after which he fortified
it, and established a Portuguese Government which has lasted till
to-day. After seventy or eighty years of constant fighting, conquest
and reconquest, during which the celebrated Jesuit missionary,
Francis Xavier, lived, died and was buried in the gorgeous church of
Bom Jesus, Goa reached its summit of prosperity at the end of the
16th century. When English enterprise was struggling into barely
tolerated existence in India, "Golden Goa" presented a scene of
military, ecclesiastical, and commercial magnificence which has
never been rivalled since, and to which modern Calcutta has no
parallel.
It had no staying power. In 1603 the Dutch began to assert
themselves in the East and blockaded Goa. This was the beginning
of a struggle lasting seventy years, during which time, one by one,
nearly all the Portuguese possessions fell into the hands of Holland,


GOA.
45>
and the power of Portugal was shattered and dismembered. For 200
years Goa has steadily deteriorated, with a few spasms of revival,
until now it has become a pathetic wilderness of ruined churches and
palaces, with not a twentieth part of the population which in its
hey-day thronged its prosperous streets and quays.
Of the ancient Hindu city, not a trace remains. Old Goa,
conquered by D'Albuquerque, built by the Musalmans in 1479, and
virtually rebuilt by the Portuguese during the 16th century, is now
a desolate expanse of ruins, in the midst of which, in decayed and
melancholy splendour, some noble churches still remain, with a
population surrounding them of less than 2,000 souls.
The oldest of these churches is the Convent of St. Francis,
originally a mosque, converted into a church by the Portuguese. Its
chief portal has been preserved intact, but the rest of the building was
reconstructed in 1663. The cathedral was first built in 1512 by
D'Albuquerque, on St. Catherine's day, to her dedication, being the day
on which he entered Goa. This also was entirely reconstructed in
1623 in its present majestic proportions, 250 feet long, 180 feet wide,
the front being 100 feet wide and 116 feet high. The chapel of St.
Catherine was erected in 1551. The church of Bom Jesus was built
as a shrine for the great Indian missionary, Francis Xavier, whose
magnificent tomb of marble and jasper was the gift of the Grand
Duke of Tuscany, and enjoys a world-wide reputation. Events in
the life of the saint are represented in about thirty tableaux round
the shrine.
The Convent of St. Monica was built in 1606, and the convent
church of St. Catejan in 1665; the latter is an imitation of St. Peter's
at Rome.
The onco renowned palace of the viceroys has entirely vanished,
and so has the great custom-house. But there are still the
dilapidated ruins of the famous palace of the Inquisition, the colleges
of St. Roque and St. Paul, the Hospital of St. Lazarus, the arsenal,
and the ecclesiastical prison, as well as many churches and chapels.
The gardens of these, and of the mansions of the Portuguese nobles,
are now cocoanut plantations, the ruins smothered in jungle, and
the streets grass-grown. Old Goa lives in the past, but is still dear
to every pious Indian catholic, many of whom every year visit the
sacred shrine of the great Eastern evangelist, whose memory lives,
not in its pomp and splendour, but in the hearts of the million of
oa2


452
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
Christians in India who bear witness to-day of his success as a
missionary.
Panjim, or New Goa, is a handsome little town, built about 120
years ago. From the river, it has a very picturesque appearance,
with its stately row of public and private buildings, and the old fort,
now converted into a viceregal residence. There are no antiquities, or
buildings calling for notice for their architectural beauty. The
British India Company's steamers call regularly at Goa for Bombay
going north, and coast ports to Calcutta going south.


CHAPTER XXXI.
BIJAPUR, *f"

Junction at 1 p.m., reaching Belganm
at 4.29. Most travellers, however, will not care to return to Puna,
but will continue southward to Bangalore, or eastward, via Bijapur to
Haidarabad, which latter course I shall take with my readers, as
there is nothing of much interest to the average tourist between
Londa and Bangalore. I may, however, note in passing on, that the
new route opened up through Harihar is the best and quickest from
Bombay to Mysore and Bangalore. The train leaves Londa for Hubli
at 1.30, arriving there at 6.4 p.m. Hubli is a thriving town of
40,000 inhabitants, the centre of the cotton trade of the Southern
Maratha country. It was once the seat of an English factory, plun-
dered in 1673 by Sivaji.
There are a great number of ancient Jain temples in the neighbour-


454
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
hood of Hubli, and a fine old fort in the city itself, but nothing of
a character that cannot be seen to better advantage elsewhere.
There is a good Dak bungalow. I advise the traveller to push on to
Gadak, which is reached at 8.55 p.m., where there are a number of
interesting old Hindu temples, richly sculptured, some of which date
as far back as the 10th century.
The only train in the day on the East Deccan line leaves Gadak at
7 a.m., and arrives at Bijapur 3.30 p.m. At Badami, on the way,
there is a very interesting Jain cave temple, a.d. 650, three
Brahmanic caves a little older, and two venerable and curious
Dravidian temples, which will prove attractive to the archaeologist.
Some account of these will be found in Fergusson, pp. 261, 411, 439
—444. Badami was the Chalukya capital of the district in the 6th
century, when it was a place of some note, being visited by Hiuen
Tsiang, the Chinese traveller, who gives a glowing account of its
splendour.
The whole districts of Dharwar and Bijapur abound in old forts,
sculptured temples, and religious houses of the Lingayat sect, many
of which are now used as Dak bungalows. There is, however, no one
building that is exceptional, and travelling is not very easy.
Bijapur is the headquarters of the district which now bears its
name, but was formerly known as Kaladgi. The interest of the city
lies in the superb remains of a great Musalman dynasty, distributed
within and without its six miles of walls.
The founder of the Musalman State of Bijapur was, according to
Ferishta, a son of Murad II., the Osmali Sultan, on whose death his
son and successor, Muhammad II., gave orders that all his own
brothers should be strangled. From this fate one only, named Yusaf,
escaped by a stratagem of his mother. After many adventures, Yusaf
is said to have entered the service of the King of Ahmadabad-Bidar,
where he rose to the highest offices of state. On the king's death, he
withdrew from Ahmadabad to Bijapur, and declared himself its king;
the people readily acknowledged his claim. Yusaf reigned with great
prosperity, and, extending his dominions westward to the sea-coast,
took Goa from the Portuguese. His resources must have been con-
siderable, as he built the vast citadel of Bijapur. He died in 1510,
and was succeeded by his son Ismail, who died in 1534, after a
brilliant and prosperous reign. Mulu Adil Shah having been deposed
and blinded, after an inglorious reign of only six mouths, made way


BIJAPUR.
457
grown courts and tamarind trees, are tolerably well preserved, and
extremely picturesque. The great number of carved and sculptured
Hindu and Jain stones used in the building of the citadel, especially
about the main gateway, attest to the importance and splendour ot
Bijapur before the Musalman dynasty. There are two or three ancient
Jain temples still intact, with slight additions, showing that they have

JAMA MASJID, MJAITII.
been used as mosques. In one of these there is a very remarkable
black stone pillar beautifully wrought in elaborate sculptures, which
the guide will be sure to point out. The principal palaces in the
citadel are the Sat Khandir, or house of seven stones, an extra-
ordinary building of great loftiness, used as a pleasure palace by the
ladies of the harem; the Anand Mahal, or joy palace, which was the
apartment of the women of the household; the Gazan Mahal, or
paradise palace, with three archways fifty feet high, the centre one
being nearly seventy feet wide; the Mihtar Mahal, in front of which
are two fine gateposts of stone; and the Suneri Mahal. The Mekka
Masjid is a lovely little gem.
The Jama Masjid, which lies half way between the citadel and
the Alipur gate, was commenced by Al i Adil Shah, a.d. 1557


PICTURESQUE INDIA.
continued by his successors, but never finished, the fourth side and
the great gateway not having been commenced when the dynasty
collapsed. It is one of the noblest mosques in India. The pillared,
arched, and dome-cloistered court-yard is 331 feet by 257 feet,
measured over all. The mosque itself is 257 feet by 145 feet. It is
divided into forty-five squares, about twenty-four feet each, nine of
which are occupied in the centre by the grand dome, forming a square
measuring seventy feet each way. The dome is fifty-seven feet in
diameter in the circular part, and is about 110 feet to the crown.
This mosque is undoubtedly the finest in the Bombay presidency, and
one must travel 1,200 miles to Ahmadabad to find anything to compare
with it, or with its predecessor at Kalbargah.
Ali Adil Shah had great ambitions with regard to his own tomb,
which he commenced on the colossal scale of 200 feet square. It is,
however, almost level with the ground, for his successor, Ibrahim,
did not go on with it, but gave all his attention to his own, whieb
stands just outside the Mekka Gate. This is a singularly beautiful
mausoleum, covered all over inside and out with elaborate and finely
executed carving. It is said that the entire Koran is engraved upon
its surface. The cornices are supported by elaborate brackets, and
the windows filled with tracery; originally all this decoration was gilt
on blue ground, and traces of this decorative treatment may still be
seen. There are two apartments in the building, forty feet square,
the stone roof of the lower one, perfectly flat, being supported by a
projecting cove, forming the floor of the upper, which is within the
dome.
Next to the tomb is an equally beautiful mosque, which has been
barbarously converted into some otfice connected with the collec-
torate. In the surrounding garden are many kiosks, fountains, tanks,
serais and other buildings, the whole forming a series of oriental
pictures almost unique, even in India.
But the great glory of Bijapur is the stupendous domed mausoleum
of Sultan Mahmud, which lies near the walls, a quarter of a- mile to
the right of the Alipur Gate. It is built upon a platform 600 feet
square. The interior is a vast apartment 135 feet square, being the
largest domed room in the world, more than 2,000 feet larger in area
than the Pantheon at Rome.
At a height of fifty-seven feet from the floor line the hall begins
to contract, by a series of ingenious and beautiful pendentives, to a


BIJAPUR.
459
circular opening ninety-seven feet in diameter. On the platform of
these pendentives the dome is erected 124 feet in diameter, leaving a
gallery more than twelve feet wide all round the interior. Internally
the dome is 175 high, externally 198 feet, its thickness heing about
ten feet. The dome of St. Paul's, London, is sixteen feet less, and
that of St. Peter's at Rome twelve feet greater in diameter, than that
of the tomb of Sultan Mahmud. Fergusson gives a most interesting

BULTAN MAHMUD?S TOMB, BIJAPUR.
treatise on this marvellous mausoleum, with sections and diagrams
pp. 562—6 of his History of Indian Architecture.
The tomb of Khawas Khan and his Sheik Abdur Rajak, of Begam
Sahibah, one of Aurangzeb's wives, and of Kishwar Khan, are fine
buildings worthy of notice if time permit.
The Taj Baoli or Royal well, is just inside the Mekka Gate: there
is a tank in front about 250 feet square, stocked with fish. There is a
curious arcade to the right of the well, into part of which some public
office has been jammed.
There are several fine old guns here and there round the walls, on
the different bastions. On the Upari Burj, a tower over sixty feet


460
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
high, there are two iron guns, the largest of which is thirty feet long
with a twelve-inch bore.
On the top of the Lion Bastion, built in 1688, is a famous old gun
of bronze, called the Malik-i-Maidan, or lord of the plain. It is four-
teen feet long, and the same diameter from breech to muzzle, fire feet,
the bore being 2 ft. 4in. wide. It has not been fired off for sixty years,
when it was charged with eighty pounds of powder by a Raja of
Satara. It is probably as old as the bastion on which it is placed.

t::f. mai.ik-i-m uiian.
Bijapur has a population of about 12,000, but apart from its
buildings has no interest of any kind to the traveller.
Hotgi is a journey of six hours from Bijapur; it is the junction
of the East Deccan Railway with the main line of the Great Indian
Peninsular Railway. There is a good refreshment room with sleeping
accommodation at the station.
Hotgi is devoid of interest; the next station westward towards
Puna is Sholapur, a thriving town of some importance, with a popula-
tion of 60,000. There is a good Dak bungalow close to the station.
Sholapur has been a place of note in the Deccan for 700 or 800 years.
Its fortress, small but very strong, was built by Hasan Gangu, the


KALBARGAH.
461
founder of the Bahmani dynasty in 1345. The walls of the city have
been mainly destroyed to make room for its rapid growth during
recent years.
Sholapur is an industrial town, noted for its silk and cotton cloth.
A fine cotton mill has been recently built, with over 20,000 spindles,
and some 200 looms.
Travelling east from Hotgi, the first place of importance is
Kalbargah, in the territory of the Nizam of Haidarabad. Its popula-
tion is 24,000. In early times it was a Hindu city of great extent.

OREAT MOSQUE, KALBARGAH.
Hasan Gangu selected Kalbargah as his capital in 1347. His
dynasty remained there till 1442, when the capital was transferred to
Bidar, after which the mosques and palaces, which had been erected
by successive kings, fell into ruin and decay. The outer walls and
gateways of the old fort are now in a dilapidated condition. The
citadel still stands almost intact. There are some curious old guns
in the bastions; one of the largest has twenty rings on each side for
lifting purposes. The temple of Raja Kalchand is in the fort. It is
a vast pillared hall, with 100 columns thirty-five feet high. It
measures 212 feet by 167.
The tombs of the Bahmani kings are about two or three furlongs
outside the fort. The first king's tomb (Hasan Gangu) is a plain


462
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
building about seventy feet square and 100 feet high. They are none
of them remarkable for anything but dirt, being mostly used as stables
and cow-houses, their only decoration being the fuel of the country,
drying on their outer walls.
The only thing worth stopping to see at Kalbargah is the great
Masjid, modelled after the famous mosque of Cordova in Spain, its
chief peculiarity being, that, alone among the great mosques of India,
its whole area of 38,000 feet is covered in, the light being admitted
through the walls, which on three sides are pierced with arches. It
is undoubtedly one of the most distinctive buildings in India, and
quite one of the finest and most remarkable of the old Pathan
mosques. There are full particulars with ground plan and sections
in Fergusson, pp. 552—6.
The old bazar of Kalbargah is a unique building 570 feet long by
sixty wide, a double row of sixty-one arches on each side, supported
by pillars, with blocks of buildings at each end highly decorated.
There are other fine buildings and tombs scattered about the city,
many of which are curious and different from the usual Musalman
architecture of the period, but their history is lost in obscurity. One
of the most interesting is of a later date than the rest, being a serai,
mosque and college built by Aurangzeb.


PICTURESQUE INDIA.
tenth only are Musalman, a notable instance of the wonderful tenacity
of Brahmanism on the Hindu mind. The revenues of the state are
about £4,000,000. The Nizam Mir Mahbub Ali was bom in 1866.
He ranks as the first Muhammadan ruler in India, and is entitled to a
salute of twenty-one guns. He maintains a standing army of 15,000
strong, besides a large body of irregular forces.
The following brief history of Haidarabad is taken from Hunter's
Gazetteer:—
"Haidarabad was founded in 1589, by Kutab Shah Muhammad
Kuli, the fifth in descent from Saltan Kuli Kutab Shah, the founder
of the dynasty at Golconda. Muhammad Kuli removed the seat of
government from Golconda on account of its want of water and
consequent unhealthiness, and built a new city on the banks of the
Musi river, seven miles from his former capital. He called it
Bhagnagar, 'Fortunate City,' from his favourite mistress, Bhagmati;
but after her death he named it Haidarabad, 'The City of Haidar,'
though for many years it retained its former appellation. The history
of Golconda and Haidarabad after 1589 is almost identical. Soon
after establishing himself in his new capital, Muhammad Kuli carried
on with the neighbouring Hindu Rajas the war which his predecessor
Ibrahim Shah had begun. He extended his conquests south of the
Kistne river; the strong fortress of Ganditoka was captured, and one
of his detachments sacked the town of Cuddapah. Some of his troops
penetrated even to the frontiers of Bengal, and Muhammad Kuli
defeated the Raja of Orissa, and subjugated the greater part of the
Northern Circars.
"In 1603, an ambassador from Shah Abbas, King of Persia, arrived
at Haidarabad with a ruby-studded crown and other magnificent gifts.
The palace of Dil-kusha was allotted to the envoy, who remained there
six years, receiving from Muhammad Kuli £2,000 annually for his
expenses. When the ambassador left for Persia, an officer of the
court of Haidarabad accompanied him, bearing return presents, and
amongst them some gold cloth manufactured at Paitan, which it took
five years to make. In 1611, Muhammad Kuli died, after a
prosperous reign of thirty-four years. The principal memorials of
this monarch are the palace and gardens of Ilahi Mahal, the
Muhammadi gardens, the palace of Nabat Ghat, the Char Minar
or college, and the Jama Masjid or 1 Cathedral' Mosque.
According to the accounts of Mir Abu Talib, the king's private


THE NIZAM'S STATE.
465
treasurer, £2,800,000 was expended on public works during the
reign of Muhammad Kuli, and £24,000 was distributed every year
among the poor. The king's example of liberality was followed by
his nobility; and the number of handsome buildings throughout the
dominions of the Kutab Shah monarch is unsurpassed, if not
unequalled, in any other of the Muhammadan kingdoms of the
Deccan.
"Muhammad Kuli was succeeded by his son, Sultan Abdulla Kutab
Shah. The Mughals under Shah Jahan, the fifth emperor (1627—58),
now make their appearance in Southern India. Aurangzeb, Shah
Jahan's son, was sent as viceroy into the Deccan by that prince, who
seemed bent on compensating for failures beyond the Indus by the
subjugation of Bijapur and Golconda. The immediate cause of his
attack upon the latter kingdom was an appeal from Mir Jumla, the
prime minister, whose son had involved him in a dispute with the
court. Mir Jumla finding himself unable to obtain such concessions
as he desired from his own sovereign, determined to throw himself on
the protection of the Mughal Emperor. Such an opportunity for
intrigue suited Aurangzeb's character, and he strongly urged his
father to entertain Mir Jumla's petition. Shah Jahan, influenced
by this advice, issued a mandate to Abdulla to redress the com-
plaints of his minister; but Abdulla was so incensed by this
questioning of his independence that he sequestrated Mir Jumla's
property, and committed his son, Muhammad Amin, to prison.
Shah Jahan now despatched Aurangzeb to carry his demands into
effect by force of arms. Under pretext of escorting his son Sultan
Muhammad to Bengal, to wed the daughter of his brother Prince
Shuja, Aurangzeb made a treacherous attack upon Haidarabad. The
road from Aurangabad (the capital of the Deccan) to Bengal made a
circuit by Masulipatam in order to avoid the forests of Gondwana,
and thu3 naturally brought the viceroy within a short distance of
Haidarabad. Abdulla Kutab Shah was preparing an entertainment
for Aurangzeb's reception, when he suddenly advanced as an enemy,
and took the king so completely by surprise that he had only time to
flee to the hill - fort of Golconda, seven miles distant, whilst
Haidarabad fell into the hands of the Mughals, and was plundered
and half burned before the troops could bo brought into order.
Abdulla did all in his power to negotiate reasonable terms, but the
Mughals were inexorable; and after several attempts to raise the
h n


THE NIZAM'S STATE.
467
districts were farmed out, and were governed by military leaders, who
received twenty-five per cent. for the expense of collecting the
revenue.
"No event of any importance occurred at Haidarabad until 1707,
the year of Aurangzeb's death. A dispute for the crown took place
between his two sons, Prince Azim and Prince Muazirn. The latter
was victorious, and ascended the throne as Bahadur Shah. Prince
Kam Bakhsh refused to acknowledge his brother as king; and
Bahadur Shah, after attempting in vain to win him over by con-
cessions, marched against him to the Deccan, and defeated him in a
battle near Haidarabad (February, 1708), in which Kam Bakhsh was
mortally wounded. Bahadur Shah then made a truce with the
Marathas: and affairs in the Deccan remained quiet until the end of
his reign in 1712. The vice royalty was given to Zulfikar Khan, an
adherent of Prince Azim; and the administration of the Government
to Daud Khan, a Pathan officer, who had distinguished himself under
Aurangzeb. The death of Bahadur Shah was followed by struggles
amongst his sons. The incapacity of the eldest, Jahandar Shah, had
given a great ascendancy to the second, Azim-us-Shan, who was
supported by the army and the nobility. A battle ensued; Azim-us-
Shan was repulsed and slain, and Jahandar Shah remained undisputed
master of the throne. One of his first acts was to put all the princes
of the blood within his reach to death. Among those whom he could
not get into his power was Farukhsiyyar, the only son of Azim-us-
Shan; but the cause of this prince was espoused by the Governor of
Behar, Sayyid Husain Ali. The rivals met near Agra on the 28th of
December, 1712; and on the 1st of January, 1713, Farukhsiyyar
ascended the throne and conferred dignities upon all his adherents.
Among these was Chin Khilich Khan, a noble of high rank, and a
brilliant statesman, to whom was given the title of Nizam-ul-mulk
Asaf Jah. Zulfikar Khan was put to death, and Sayyid Husain Ali
appointed viceroy, of Deccan in his stead. But the emperor was
jealous of his powerful subject, and wished to get rid of him. He
therefore wrote to Daud Khan, promising him the vice-royalty if ho
would attack Husain Ali on his arrival in the Deccan and destroy him.
No more acceptable commission could have been offered to Daud Khan
than that of revenging the death of his friend and patron, Zulfikar;
and taking up a position at Burhanpur, he proclaimed himself viceroy,
and awaited Husain Ali's appearance. A severe battle was fought, in
h h 3


463
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
which Daud Khan was on the point of victory when he was strnck by
a bullet and killed instantly (1716). Husain Ali immediately took
the field against the Marathas, but was completely routed. He and
his brother, Sayyid Abdulla Khan, the Wazir of the Deccan, now
united their forces against Farukhsiyyar, whose schemes for the
destruction of Husain Ali had proved abortive. In December, 1719,
the allies advanced upon Delhi, and the emperor submitted to their
demands, which became more exorbitant day by day, and ended in
their obtaining possession of the royal citadel and palace, which were
occupied by their troops. In February, 1719, Farukhsiyyar was
deposed, and two months later put to death by order of Husain Ali
and Abdulla Khan.
"The two Sayyids, as the brothers were called, selected as emperor
Rafi-ud-daula, who died in a few months. He was succeeded (1719
to 1748) by Muhammad Shah, the last independent emperor who sat
on the Delhi throne. The first great event in his reign was the
overthrow of the two Sayyids, which was effected in great measure by
a league between Asaf Jah and Saadat Khan, his coadjutor and rival,
and afterwards the founder of the Oudh dynasty. Asaf Jah saw in
the disturbed condition of the country an excuse for raising troops;
and as he perceived the difficulty of establishing a permanent control
at Delhi, he determined to lay the foundation of his power on a firmer
basis, and turned his attention first to the Deccan. His plans
against the Sayyids succeeded. In October, 1720, Husain Ali was
assassinated, and at the end of the year Abdulla Khan was defeated
and taken prisoner by Muhammad Shah; but the power of this
monarch was rapidly declining. In January, 1722, Asaf Jab
arrived at Delhi, and assumed the office of Wazir. He found the
court in a state of utmost weakness; the emperor and his favourites
were given up to pleasure, and after some months of mutual dis-
satisfaction, they devised plans to free themselves from the trouble-
some counsels of Asaf Jah. The Wazir was despatched against the
refractory governor of Gujarat, but speedily returned, strengthened by
the addition of a rich province. In October, 1723, shortly after this
victory, Asaf Jah resigned his post as Wazir and set off for the
Deccan, a proceeding amounting in reality to a declaration of indepen-
dence. The emperor, although he graciously accepted Asaf Jah's
resignation, and conferred on him the title of Lieutenant of the
Empire—the highest that could be conferred on a subject—did not on


THE NIZAM'S STATE
469
that account abate his hostility. He sent orders to the local
governor of Haidarabad to endeavour to dispossess the "iceroy, and
assume the government of the Deccan in his place.
"Mubariz Khan entered zealously on his task, and succeeded in
gathering together a powerful army. Asaf Jah protracted negotia-
tions for several months, and endeavoured to sow sedition among the
adherents of the governor. At last he was forced to come to open
war, and soon gained a decisive victory over Mubariz, who lost his
life in the battle, fought in October, 1724. As the emperor had not
avowed the attack which he had instigated, Asaf Jah, not to be
outdone in dissimulation, sent the head of Mubariz to court with his
own congratulations on the extinction of the rebellion. He then fixed
his residence at Haidarabad, and became the founder of an indepen-
dent kingdom, now ruled over by his descendants, who derive from
him the title of Nizams of Haidarabad State."
There is no hotel at Haidarabad, and Europeans will not find it
easy to get accommodated. At Secunderabad, four miles distant,
there is a very comfortable hotel close to the station, as well as an
excellent Dak bungalow.
Secunderabad is a British military cantonment, the largest station
in India, the headquarters of the Haidarabad subsidiary force, which
constitutes a division of the Madras army. There are usually
stationed here about 3,000 European, and 5,000 native troops of
all sorts. This force is maintained by the British Government by
treaty with the Nizam, in lieu of certain contingent and auxiliary
forces which had been previously raised by him to co-operate with the
British army, but which had proved inefficient. The cost is defrayed
out of the revenues of the assigned district of Berar. The cantonment
covers an area of nearly twenty square miles, including the beautiful
tank, the Husain Sagar, and the magnificent parade ground. A short
distance from Secunderabad, at Trimalgiri, is a strong entrenched camp
capable of accommodating all the Europeans in the district in case of
need. Secunderabad is not a healthy station, except during the cold
season.
The capital, Haidarabad, is encircled by a strong bastioned stone
wall, six miles in circumference, pierced with thirteen fine gateways.
The population within the city walls is 124,000, and in the suburbs
231,000 more; total 355,000. It stands in the midst of wild and
rocky scenery, with isolated granite peaks. In the hollows are pretty





472
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
of great size, surrounded by beautiful gardens; in the stables are
several magnificent elephants and a fine stud of horses.
The suburbs of Haidarabad are remarkably attractive and beautiful.
They are enriched by splendid gardens, magnificent pavilions,
charming drives, tanks-, bridges and deer parks.
Near the railway station is a pretty zoological garden, with some
fine tigers and other animals and birds.
The British residency is situated in the suburb of Chander Ghat;
it is one of the finest modern residences in India. It is on the banks
of the River Musa, opposite to the Nizam's palace, communicating
with it by the Oliphant Bridge.
The residency was built in 1808, and was constructed entirely by
native workmen. The north front, which looks away from the river
and city is adorned by a splendid portico, reached by a flight of
twenty-two granite steps, the lowest of which is sixty feet long and
flanked by huge stone sphinxes.
The hall is sixty feet long, thirty-three feet broad, and fifty feet high,
and all the other rooms are in proportionate size. The staircase is
the finest in India, each step being a single block of the purest granite.
The whole building is richly decorated and handsomely furnished in a
way likely to impress the oriental mind. The residency stands in
beautiful pleasure grounds, surrounded by a grim wall of great strength
with two gateways. The resident is not oppressed by all this
splendour, but lives in a snug house of his own hard by within the
grounds.
The Jahan Numa palace is in the suburb of that name; it is in the
midst of rice fields crossed by a causeway. At the end of it a long
street with houses on both sides, built for the accommodation of re-
tinues of distinguished visitors, leads up to a large courtyard. At the
end of this is the palace, an odd building with a terraced garden at
the back as high as the topmost room. The palace is full of those
mechanical nick-nacks of which Indian rajas are so inordinately fond,
of the "drop-in-a-penny-and-the-machine-works" kind, and other
curiosities; in the garden are cranes of various sorts and a few
animals in cages.
The Mir Alam tank is a beautiful sheet of water about two miles
long, embanked by twenty-one large and massive granite arches, laid
on their sides, the arch abutting into the lake. At the west end of
this lake, which is very picturesquely embayed, is a low wooded hill,


THE NIZAM'S STATE.
473
on the top of which is the Dargah of Mahbub Ali. This is a charm-
ing little shrine, once covered with blue tiles, from which a fine view
of the lake and surrounding country may be obtained.
The Husain Sagar tank spreads itself out on one side of the road
from Haidarabad to Secunderabad, for a distance of two or three miles.
A new palace for the Nizam is being built on the shores of this fine
lake, and the whole way between the two towns will soon become a
continuous line of mansions and bungalows, built by the Musalman
nobles who resort to the court of the Nizam. This road is the
fashionable evening drive and ride, the gayest in India; for the
Haidarabad nobles pride themselves above all things on their stables
and carriages.
Golconda is an ancient fortress and ruined city about seven miles
west of Haidarabad. In former times Golconda was a large and
powerful kingdom of the Deccan, which rose out of the ashes of the

GOLCOSDA FORT.
Bahmani dynasty. Aurangzeb annexed it to Delhi in 1687, and it
has been deserted ever since. It was the capital of the Kutub Shahi
kings, who held their court here from 1512—1687.
The diamonds of Golconda, of proverbial celebrity, were only cut
and polished here, being found at Partial close to the frontier. The
plain in which Golconda is situated is stony and arid, with enormous
boulders of granite piled one on the top of each other in strange and


THE NIZAM'S STATE.
475
Baroda, Maisur, or Indore, are Hindu capitals, with Hindu customs.
Haidarabad is a survival of dominant Islamism, with Musalman
customs. It is a remnant of the gorgeous East, a page out of the
"Arabian Nights." Haidarabad has never been brought under the
heel of England. There are no Babu clerks, or college and high-
school students, thronging the streets and bazars, but good valiant
swashbucklers, bristling with daggers and matchlocks.
The civil service, as well as the military, is manned in all its ranks
by Musalmans imported from Upper India, and the ever ubiquitous
Bengali has no chance whatever. The nobles are feudal barons, with
enormous estates, which they govern in their own fashion without
much heed to the central authority, maintaining their fine palaces and
princely hospitality in the capital. They are easy-going followers of
the prophet, especially in the matter of champagne and other convivial
accessories. Their hospitality is boundless, and any Englishman well
introduced into Haidarabad, will want to stay as long as he can. There
is the most cordial relationship between them and the many English-
men resident in the city, visiting and entertaining each other with a
freedom existing nowhere else in Musalman society. The English club
admits native gentlemen as members, and the officers of the Nizam's
forces dine at the messes of the British officers at Secunderabad. A
Haidarabad native gentleman understands European manners and
customs perfectly, and speaks English fluently. All the freedom,
however, is confined to men, and the ladies of their households are as
tightly secluded as in other Musalman communities.
The trade crafts of Haidarabad are much the same as those of
other Deccan cities. There are, however, one or two special manu-
factures worth noticing. It is a great market for piece goods
woven of silk and cotton mixed, known as Mashru or Sufi. It
is not lawful for Musalmans to wear pure silk, so they mix the silk
with cotton; hence the well-known Indian fabrics with a cotton warp,
and the woof of soft silk in a striped pattern, having the lustre of
satin; this is called Mashru, or "permitted." Some of the Mashrus
are figured in gold or silver. The Sufis or "lawful" pieces are mixed
in stripes and checkers, or figured; they have no satiny shine, but are
more like glazod calico. They are glazed with a preparation made
from quince seeds. There is also a considerable manufacture of
Makhmal, the gorgeous and costly gold-embroidered velvets used for
canopies of state, umbrellas of dignity, elephant and horse trappings


476
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
and caparisons, whose sumptuous gold scroll ornamentation is Italian
in origin, and no doubt was introduced by the Portuguese. Some of
the best oriental pile carpets are made in Haidarabad, though better
ones are produced at Warangal and the villages round. The very
finest rugs exhibited at the 1851 Exhibition came from Warangal,
their peculiarity being the exceedingly fine count of the stitches, about
1'2,000 going to the square foot; the colours were wonderfully blended,

AKCIENT GATEWAY, WARANGAL.
and kept in subjection by their judicious distribution and the (xtveme
closeness of the weaving. The cost of these beautiful rugs was about
.£10 per yard, and they may be seen at the India museum at South
Kensington. Persian competition has almost ruined the carpet trade
of Haidarabad, but anyone who knows his way about an Indian bazar,
can still find specimens in the Nizam's country that excel anything
else to be got in India.
The red earthenware pottery of Haidarabad is well-known in the
Eastern shops of London, and is very pretty and artistic. There is
no place in India where it is so easy to get together a collection of


THE NIZAM'S STATE.
477
armour and weapons. The service of the Nizam has for a long time
attracted the warlike Musalman tribes of India and Central Asia, who
have brought their weapons with them. Every kind of shield, sword,
knife, dagger, matchlock, spear, battle-axe, pistol, helmet, and breast-
plate, engraved, damascened, sculptured, or jewelled,—may be picked
up in the Haidarabad bazar, and so, too, may very base imitations,
manufactured on the spot, to snare the unwary traveller.
The Wesleyan Missionary Society is active in Haidarabad, having
stations also at Secunderabad and other places in the Nizam's
dominions. They have nine missionaries, a total membership of about
300, with some 1,400 scholars in twenty-eight schools. The Rev.
Wm. Burgess is chairman of the district and general superintendent.
The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, the American Episcopal
Methodists, and the American Baptists, also are in the field, the latter
having a small station in Hanumancondah.
Warangal is eighty-seven miles from Secunderabad. The train
leaves at 11.15 a.m., and reaches Warangal at 6.15, returning next
day at 3.15 p.m. Warangal is a small town of about 4,000 inhabitants,
interesting only to the antiquarian. It was the ancient capital of the
Hindu kingdom of Telingane, which merged by conquest into the hands
of the Bahmani kings. At Warangal there are four Kirte Stambhas,
as they are called, facing one another, as though forming the gateways
of a square enclosure. There is no trace of any wall, however, or of
any building having been erected within the supposed enclosure.
They were set up about 1150 a.d., by Pratapa Rudra, who built the
Great Temple at Hanumancondah, a still older capital, six miles from
Warangal. Fergusson looks upon these remarkable erections as
lineal descendants of the four gateways at Sanchi, and they have
probably been erected to replace some wooden structure fallen to decay.
The "thousand-pillared " temple of Hanumancondah is one of the
most remarkable in India. It is a triple building with three large
detached chambers, in front of which is a beautiful portico, supported
by hundreds of pillars, dispersed in a complicated manner, with great
beauty of detail, and differing in design. The windows are beautifully
pierced stone slabs. The doorways are superb.
All round Warangal there are a great number of smaller temples
and shrines, in the same style, and dedicated liko it to Siva—they
are mostly in ruins. At Warangal wild silk is spun and woven into
very pretty fabrics. It is a long and weary journey from Warangal





THE NIZAM'S STATE.
479
to Bez Wada, the terminus of the Nizam's state railway. The
distance is only 130 miles, but it takes nine hours to accomplish it.
Bez Wada contains much that is interesting to the archaeologist,
including some rock-cut temples of the Buddhist period, and some
very ancient Hindu pagodas. Bez Wada is on the banks of the
Kistna river, which is here confined between two hills about 1,300
yards apart, through which it flows with considerable velocity, six and
a half miles an hour in flood; below Bez Wada it widens out into a
channel three or four miles wide, and has formed a wide and rich
delta. It is estimated that the Kistna in flood carries past Bez
Wada sufficient alluvial matter to form a deposit one foot deep over a
surface of five miles. One of the most important irrigation works in
India is at Bez Wada. The anicut is very massive, being nearly
1,300 yards long, 263 broad, and rising twenty feet above the river
bed. The water thus caught is conducted by 254 miles of main chan-
nels to irrigate 226,000 acres, bringing in a revenue of nearly £100,000
a year. The daily train on the Nizam's railway leaves Bez Wada at
6 A.M., arriving at Warangal 3.15 p.m., Secunderabad, 9.40 p.m., and
Wadi Junction, 6.15 a.m., making an average speed of sixteen miles
an hour. In all probability the Bellary Kistna Railway will be open
for passenger traffic before this volume is published. The traveller
will then be able to proceed from Bez Wada through Nandial to Adoni
on the Madras Railway, without coming back through Haidarabad (see
next chapter).


HAIDARABAD TO MADRAS.
481
is Adoni in the Madras Presidency, an ancient place with far-reaching
traditions of over 3,000 years. It has been a strongly fortified position
for many centuries. The fort, which is built on two hills called
Barikala and Talibanda, 800 feet above the plain, has borne a con-
spicuous part in the history of the district. In its present form it
dates from about a.d. 1570. It is now in ruins. The town has a popula-
tion of about 25,000, with a large proportion of Muhammadans.
There is a fine mosque. The bulk of the population are engaged in
the weaving of cotton and silk fabrics and carpets. On the summit of
Talibanda is a fine fig tree, which is visible for twenty or thirty
miles in every direction. Adoni is a place of much picturesque
beauty of situation and surroundings. Between Kosigi and Adoni the
railway runs through singular rocky hills of fantastic shapes.
(iuntakal is the junction of the Madras and Southern Maratha lines.
The line to Nandial extends for ninety miles, opening up the Karnnl
district and the Nallamalai Hills, a wild country famous for its tigers
:ind other wild beasts, as well as every variety of Indian game.
Bellary is two hours distant from Guntakal on the Southern
Maratha Railway; it is the chief town of a large district in the
Madras Presidency, and the headquarters of a brigade of the Madras
army of a total strength of 3,000. It has a population of nearly
00,000, of which two-thirds are Hindu. The city stands in the
centre of a vast treeless plain, broken by occasional masses of granite
.md huge boulders that spring abruptly from the soil, like islands in
the sea. On one of these, 450 feet high, and about two miles in circuit
is built the impregnable fortress of Bellary inaccessible in the face of
the smallest defensive force. There is a lower and upper line of
fortifications, both built of granite, and the crown of the hill within
the upper line is the ancient citadel, within which is a singular
granite pillar, thirty-six feet high, elaborately sculptured, and a queer
old temple to Siva. This was one of the strongholds of Tipu Sultan.
The town of Bellary straggles all round the base of the rock on
which the fort is built. It presents the ordinary characteristics of a
prosperous and thriving centre of trade. The principal produce of
the district is grain, cotton, oil seeds, and sugar. There is a fine
cotton mill. Bellary is singularly bare of trees, but there are many
specimens of the curious Phlomis indica, or umbrella tree, with its
grateful shade and fragrant blossoms. The distinctive art crafts of the
bazars are glass, bangles, carved teak, lacquered wood boxes, bracelets
1 1


482
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
and toys, cotton carpets, silk and cotton cloth, pretty chintzes, printed
on coloured grounds, black blankets, and coloured felts.
Forty-eight miles from Bellary is Hampi or Vijayanagar, a ruined
city of great interest, covering nine square miles. Hampi was founded
by two adventurers in 1386 a.d., and. for 230 years was the capital of
the Vijayanagar dynasty, the last great Hindu power of the south,
who built magnificent temples and palaces, of which many specimens
still remain in a fair state of preservation. Hampi is seven miles
irom Hospet station, where there is a Dak bungalow. There is also

UMBRELLA TREE AND GRANITE BOULDER, BELLARY.
one at Kamalapur, two miles from the ruins. There are good country
carts on hire at Hospet, and the Tasildhar of Hospet is instructed to
give every facility to European travellers. Its period of greatest
prosperity was from 1508—42, when the finest monuments of the city
were erected—the most remarkable of these is a tempie dedicated to
Vitoba, a local manifestation of Vishnu. It was erected a.d. 1530,
and is still unfinished. It is wholly built of granite, and carved with
great boldness and power. Though not very large, it is one of the
most beautiful temples, and its porch one of the richest pieces of
decoration in India. To the right of the entrance is a curious little
building, cut out of a single block of granite. This is the car of the
god, but the wheels are the only moveable part of it.
The palace buildings are detached and scattered; they bring before


HAIDARABAD TO MADRAS.
483
us the arrangements of a Hindu prince's residence before they fell
under the sway of Musalman influence. They consists of pavilions,
baths, audience halls, hareems, and other buildings, probably joined
together by wooden arcades, long since vanished. The style of
architecture is a mixture of Saracenic and Hindu, which is not met
with often in India, and which is extremely picturesque.
Mr. J. Kelsall, in his " Manual of the Bcllary District " (Madras,

CAR OF THE GOD VITOBA, HAMPL
1872), says :—" Many of the buildings are now so destroyed that it is
difficult to say what they were originally meant for, but the massive
style of architecture and the huge stones that have been employed in
their construction, at once attract attention. Close to Kamalapur
there is a fine stone aqueduct, and a building which has, at some time
or other, been a bath. The use of the arch in the doorways, and the
embellishments used in decorating the inner rooms, show that the
design of this building was considerably modified by the Musalmans,
even if it was not constructed by them altogether. A little to the
south of this is a very fine temple, of which the outer and inner walls
are covered with spirited basso-relievos, representing hunting scenes
1 1 2


4>4
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
and incidents in the Ramayana. The four centre pillars are of a kind
of black marble, handsomely carved. The flooring of the temple,
originally large slabs of stone, has been torn up and utterly ruined by
persons in search of treasure, which is supposed to be buried both
here and in other parts of the ruins. The use of another covered
building close by, with numerous underground passages, has not been
ascertained. It is also covered with basso-relievos, in one of which a
lion is represented. At a little distance is the building generally
known as the 'Elephant Stables,' and there seems no reason to doubt
that it was used for this purpose. Two other buildings, which, with
the 'Elephant Stables,' form roughly three sides of a square, are
said to have been the concert-hall and the council-room. Both, but
especially the latter, have been very fine buildings.
"Besides these, the remains of the zanana and the arena are still
visible. But the huge monoliths applied to various purposes form
perhaps the most distinctive feature of these ruins—one, a water-
trough, is forty-one and a quarter feet long; another, a statue of Siva,
thirty-five feet high. There are two fine temples, between which the
road passes, but which are remarkable for nothing but the enormous
size of the stones which have been used in their construction. Masses
of cut granite, many of them thirty feet in length by four in depth, are
seen high up in the wall, and no explanation can be given of the mode
in which they were placed in their present position. There are also
several temples in a fair state of preservation, notably one dedicated to
Vishnu, about three-quarters of a mile from the palace, and close to
the river. It is entirely of granite, and contains some splendid mono-
lithic pillars richly carved. The inscriptions at Hampi have contri-
buted materially to our knowledge of Vijayanagar history."
There is still a great annual festival here, although the village is
insignificant in size, with a population of 693 in 1881.
The London Missionary Society commenced missionary work in the
town of Bellary in 1810, and the first missionaries of the society spent
much time and labour in translating the Scriptures into the Canarese
and Telugu languages, as well as in writing and circulating Christian
tracts, which they printed in the Mission Press.
Orphan schools for boys and girls were commenced in 1833, aid in
these schools many boys and girls have been trained, some of whom
have occupied useful positions in the Mission.
Twelve years ago it was thought desirable to let the girls' orphan


HAIDARABAD TO MADRAS
485
school die out as the boys had done, but the severe famine which then
visited South India, left upon the Missionaries' hands so many orphan
children, that it was found necessary to carry on the schools more
vigorously than ever. There are now about forty girls and boys sup-
ported from funds obtained for this special purpose.
Bellary town is divided into two principal parts—Bruce Petta and
the Kowl Bazar, between which lies the large tank, which is filled only
when there is a good rain-fall.
An extensive and valuable site of about nine acres in Bruce Petta
belongs to the Mission, and on this site now stand the chapel built in
1824, the English School, the Book Depot, and many houses occupied
by native Christians. In the Kowl Bazar there are, belonging to the
Mission, a chapel built in 1868, two small school-rooms and several
houses. In the Fort is a beautifully built chapel, the gift of a friend
resident in Bellary, where English services are held.
The Canarese, Telugu, Tamil and Hindustani languages are exten-
sively spoken in Bellary town. Christian services are conducted
regularly in the three first. Canarese being the principal dialect
of the district, most of the mission work is carried on in that
language.
The Christian community connected with the London Missionary
Society in the town numbers two hundred and forty-eight. The diffi-
culty of obtaining suitable employment is the cause of many of the
children of Christian parents going to other towns. No less than one
hundred have left during the last ten years.
The large Anglo-Vernacular School, called the Wardlaw Institution,
which now contains nearly 400 scholars, and which teaches up to the
Matriculation Standard of the Madras University, was for some years
the only school in the town where English was taught. The Govern-
ment afterwards established an English school, which flourished under
its care for many years, which is now managed by the municipality.
A branch school, connected with the Wardlaw Institution in Kowl
Bazar, and two vernacular boys' schools, are also worked by the
Mission.
Work amongst the female population of Bellary is carried on in
schools and by house to house visitation, by the wives of missionaries,
an assistant lady missionary, and three Bible-women. There are two
schools for Hindu girls, and the orphan school for Christian girls,
containing in all 135 children.


486
PICTURESQUE IN III A.
In connection with the Bellary Native Church there is a vigorously
worked branch of the Blue Ribbon Army, which numbers 140 mem-
bers. The work of this society has extended to most of the out-
stations also.
In the town of Bellary there are two churches belonging to the
Church of England, Trinity Church in the Fort and the Garrison
Church in the cantonment . The parade services are held in the
latter. In the former a general service, attended by military officers
and soldiers, the civilians and Eurasians. A military chaplain is in
charge of this work.
There is also a Tamil Native Church, connected with the Society for
the Propagation of the Gospel, which for many years was under the
general supervision of the chaplain, but is now ministered to by a native
clergyman, who is assisted by a catechist. The native services are
held in Trinity Church.
The Protestant Orphanage, which was commenced by the London
Missionary Society in 1811, and which is managed by a committee
with the chaplain as secretary, has commodious buildings in the Fort,
and is a most useful institution, where many Eurasian orphan children
have found a home and been trained to earn a respectable livelihood.
There is a workshop connected with the orphanage.
In 1877, Mr., now Bishop Taylor, of the American Methodist
Episcopal Church, began work amongst the Eurasian population of
Bellary. A small church, which was intended to be self-supporting,
was commenced, and is ministered to by its own pastor. This church
has become settled and worships in a chapel which was built in the
Fort by local contributions.
The Roman Catholio Mission was begun in Bellary in 1775, and
wap in charge of Goa priests till 1837, when Government appointed
a chaplain to minister to the Roman Catholic soldiers of the station.
Then a new mission was virtually commenced.
The Goa priests retained charge of the chapel and congregation in
the Fort, but carry on very little aggressive work. Most of the work
is done by the chaplain and his assistants under the See of Madras.
There are two churches under the care of the latter—St. Lazarus's
Church for native Christians, which was erected in 1847 by public
subscription, is in the Kowl Bazar, and the Church of St. Mary's,
which was built in 1866 by Government for the use of the soldiers, is
near the European barracks. Near St. Mary's Church are school-


HAIDARABAD TO MADRAS.
487
rooms for boys and girls, an Industrial School, and the recently
orccted handsome structure called St. Philomene's School, in which
European and Eurasian girls receive a good education from the nuns
who livo on the spot. There are usually two European and one native
priest stationed in Bellary.
Returning from Bellary to Guntakal junction, the first place of
interest on the Madras Railway is Gooty, a rest camp for troops, and a
nourishing little town of 6,000 inhabitants. One of the most impor-
tant stations of the London Missionary Society has its great head-
quarters here, under the charge of Messrs. W. W. Stephenson and B.
Lucas. There are twenty-eight out-stations in the surrounding
villages, and the society claim 2,400 native adherents. The work is
mainly district preaching, though they possess fifteen small schools,
with about 300 scholars.
The fort of Gooty, built in the early part of the 16th century, was
a place of immense strength. It was the stronghold of the great
Maratha guerilla chief, Morari Rao, who joined Clive in 1751 on the
relief of Arcot. Originally belonging to a dependent of the Vijayanagar
family, it formed one of the conquests of Mi Jumla, the Golconda
minister, and a famous general of the Mughal Empire. Gooty was
afterwards held by the Pathans of Cuddapr.h and Sawanur, from whom
it was wrested in 1714 by the Gauripur family of Marathas, the most
distinguished of whom obtained, in 1744, the Nizam's recognition of
his territory as a Maratha state. In 1776 Haidar Ali besieged the
town, which was forced to capitulate after a siege of four months, the
water ply being exhausted. Haidar used this fortress as his
head-quarters in several expeditions against the neighbouring
palegars. Gooty was captured by the British in the Mysore
campaign of 1799. •
Wilks describes the fort as follows :—" The fort is composed of a
number of strong works occupying the summits of a circular cluster
of rocky hills connected with each other, and enclosing a level space
which forms the site of the town. The town is approached from the
plain by a single fortified gateway on the south-west, and by two
small footpaths across the lower hills, communicating through small
sallyports. An immense smooth rock, rising from the northern limit
of the circle, and fortified by gradations surmounted by fourteen
ateways, overlooks and commands the whole of the other works, aud
forms a citadel which famine or treachery alone can reduce. The'


4S8
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
rock is composed of granite, in which red felspar prevails. Its
extreme height above the sea has been ascertained to be 2,171 feet,
but notwithstanding this, the heat in April and May is intense. Its
height above the plain is 989 feet. On the summit of the hill are
several wells and reservoirs for water, and various buildings where
state prisoners were confined.
"On one of the bastions, overlooking a precipice of about 300 feet,
is a small building, called Morari Rao's seat. Here the Maratha
chieftain was wont to sit and play chess, watching at the same time
all that was going on in the town below, or as a spectator of the
prisoners being hurled from the top of an adjoining precipice, and
dashed to pieces on the rocks. Besides the fort, the most interesting
features in Gooty are the choultry, tomb, and memorial well of Sir
Thomas Munro, who died at Pattikonda in 1827."
Tadpatri is a small but thriving town of 9,000 inhabitants, founded
•100 years ago by Ramalingam Nayadu, one of the governors of
Vijayanagar. There is a good Dak bungalow in the town, and a
refreshment-room at the station. There are three magnificent temples
of the period of the Vijayanagar dynasty, which are among the finest
in India. If, however, the traveller has been to Vijayanagar, or
intends visiting Tirupati, at both of which places there are equally
fine specimens of this type of Hindu architecture, ho will hardly care
to break his journey.
Cuddapah is a town of 20,000 inhabitants. There is nothing of
interest except some old palaces of the Nawabs, now used as Govern-
ment offices. At Madanapalli, a small town some miles distant,
there is a fine pagoda and a beautifully carved monolith.
Renigunta is the junction for the South Indian Railway, running
eighty-three miles to Nellorc from Tirupati. Fourteen miles from
Renigunta, easily accessible by bullock-cart, is the curious and unique
palace of the Telugu kings of Chandragiri, built entirely of granite,
uo wood having been used in any portion of the structure.
Tirupati, half-an-hour by rail from Renigunta junction, is a Hindu
town of 14,000 inhabitants, celebrated for its hill pagoda, the most
sacred in Southern India. The chief temple is six miles distant,
at Tirumala (the holy hill), known to Europeans as Upper Tirupati,
but the annexes and outer entrances of the ascent begin about a mile
from the town. The chief temple is sacred to Vishnu, and is so
holy that till quite lately no Christian or Musalman was allowed


HAIDARABAD TO MADRAS.
489
to enter. Difficulties are still raised, and it will be best to write
a few days beforehand to the district magistrate at Tirupati, or to
the collector's office at North Arcot, asking that notice may be given
to the Mahant of the temple of the intended visit, and a note
should also be sent to the Tirupati station-master for a conveyance
to the Dak bungalow, some distance from the station. Thousands

TEMPLB TANK, TlliUPATL
of pilgrims flock to Tirupati, with rich gifts for the idol, about
120,000 passengers alighting at the station every year, bound for the
temple.
Up to 1843 the pagoda was under the management of the British
Government, who derived much revenue from the offerings of pilgrims.
Now, however, the whole revenues are handed over to the Mahant, or
chief priest. The receipts are a little over X'20,000 a year. The
hill on which the great pagoda stands is 2,500 feet above the sea.
It has seven peaks, and that on which the pagoda is perched rejoices
in the name of Srivenkataramanachellam. The temple is said to have
been built at the commencement of the Kaliyug, or present Hindu
era, B.C. 3100, when it was prophesied that worship would continue
for 5,000 years exactly, and that the end would be foreshadowed by


49°
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
a decrease in the temple revenues. The real date of the present
building is lost in obscurity, but Fergusson thinks it is no later than
the earliest kings of the Vijayanagar dynasty, who are very likely to
have done some building at so sacred a spot. There is a deserted
temple of great beauty on the banks of the river, a short distance
from the other. It possesses two gopuras, or gateways, of a fine
close-grained hornblende, whose sculpture is very elaborate, cut with
great sharpness and precision, and with much taste. These are of
the very best period of the Vijayanagar kings. Fergusson gives two
full-page illustrations of their sculpture in the "History of Indian
Architecture," pp. 376-7.
The natural beauty of Tirupati is very great, and the surround-
ings of these interesting old temples enhance their wonderful pic-
turesqueness. The German Lutheran Church has a mission station
here.
Nellore is an important town of 30,000 inhabitants, with ancient
traditions, and a temple-crowned hill. There is an excellent Christian
high-school, under the charge of the Free Church of Scotland.
From Arkonam junction, a short line of thirty-two miles runs to
Chingleput on the South Indian Railway. Half way is Conjeveram,
an important Hindu town of 40,000 inhabitants, and a place of espe-
cial sanctity; the Dak bungalow is a good one. Conjeveram is one
of the seven holy cities of India, a pilgrimage to which confers eternal
happiness, and it is to the South what Benares is to the North. In
ancient times it was a great Buddhist centre, and afterwards came
under Jain influence. Jain nuns are still to be seen in the district.
About the 12th century the place fell under Hindu predominance, and
most of the finest buildings date from the period of the Vijayanagar
kings, and were erected by them. The great annual fair in May is
attended by 50,000 pilgrims.
The two towns of Great and Little Conjeveram possess groups of
vast temples, Brahman choultries, or rest-houses, alms-houses,
shrines, and all the other features of a first-class sacred city.
The huge temple at Great Conjeveram has some noble gopuras, or
gateways, large mantapas, or pavilion shrines, the usual 1,000-pillared
hall, or cpurtyard, some superb tanks with flights of stone steps, and
all the features of an important Dravidian temple. The largest
gopura has ten storeys, its height being 188 feet; it is as nearly as
possible square at the base, each side being about seventy-four feet.


HAIDARABAD TO MADRAS.
49'
The summit affords a fine bird's-eye view of the entire temple and
surrounding country, but is rather a fatiguing ascent, the steps being
very high, and the passages so dark that torches are necessary.
Passing through the gateway, a large open space is entered, to the
left of which is the hall of the 1,000 pillars, which, however, only count

PAVILION, LITTLE CONJEYEItAM.
540. Most of the columns are beautifully carved; they are eight feet
high, and support richly-decorated friezes. In the centre of the hall
are a number of grotesque wooden figures used for processional pur-
poses. Only Hindus may enter the idols' shrine.
The Vishnu temple of Little Conjeveram is about two miles distant
from the Great Temple. Here is a very remarkable hall of pillars,
ninety-six in all, carved at the bases into horsemen and hippogriffes.
In front of the tank aro two stambhas, or columns for flag staffs, one
of which is covered with plates of gold, and a singularly beautiful
pavilion, with a painted roof resting on four slender pillars. The
treasury of this temple is rich in ancient jewels, which are shown by
an attendant Brahman.
Last year, 1889, an important Medical Mission was established in


PICTURESQUE INDIA.
this city by the Free Church of Scotland, under Dr. and Mrs. Walker
with two native assistants.
The best way of visiting Conjeveram is to stay the night at
Arkonam, where there is a good refreshment-room with bed-rooms
up stairs, going on to Conjeveram by the train leaving at 6 a.m.,
arriving 7.10; the return train leaves 5.15 p.m., reaching Arkonam
6.25 p.m. A letter to the station-master will secure a conveyance to
meet the train on arrival at Conjeveram.


CHAPTER XXXIV.
MADRAS.
ADR AS, the capital of the oldest
presidency in India, straggles for
nine or ten miles along the
coast, covering an area of about
thirty square miles. The popu-
lation is about 430,000. Hindus
number 320,000, Musalmans
55,000, Christians 45,000. There
are some 3,500 Europeans, and
15,000 Eurasians. The propor-
tion of Christians is higher in
Madras city than anywhere else
in British India. Tamil is the
language chiefly spoken, though
quite a fourth of the popula-
tion is Telugu. English is
widely understood, and all the
well-to-do people speak it with ease.
Madras was founded in 1689 by Mr. Francis Day, who obtained a
^rant of the land on which the city now stands from the Raja of
Vijayanagar, and constructed a factory.
In 1702 the place was unsuccessfully besieged by Aurangzeb's
famous General Daud Khan. In 1741 it successfully resisted the
Maratha power. The fort was extended and strengthened in 1743,
and Madras became the most important city in Southern India.
Traces of the old wall still exist, some of the bastions having been
utilised as police-stations.


494
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
In 1746 Madras was taken by the French, who held possession
of it for two or three years. The French under Lally again
occupied Blacktown for a few months in 1758, but were beaten off by
a British fleet before they could reduce the fort. Since then the
history of the city has been uneventful, and its prosperity steady and
progressive.
There are plenty of good hotels in Madras, the best of which are
situated along the Mount Road. The Royal, Elphinstone, Albany,
and Dent's Garden are all nice hotels in large compounds. Lippert's
Hotel, opposite the pier, is good but noisy. The Madras Club is one
of the best in India, and it is not difficult for travellers of "recognised
position " to get elected, especially if they have already become mem-
bers of any of the leading clubs in Bombay or Calcutta. There are
some thirty or forty suites of rooms, and the visitor intending to re-
main any length of time in Madras will be much more comfortable at
this club than at any hotel. It stands in a fine garden opposite Neill's
statue in the Mount Road.
The harbour is the most interesting thing about Madras. It is
protected by two huge breakwaters, reaching out like arms, enclosing
a space about 1,000 yards by 830, with a maximum depth of water of
seven fathoms. It is an immense work, containing nearly a million
tons of huge concrete blocks. It has not proved a success. A terrible
cyclone in 1881 breached and spread out nearly half a mile of break-
water. The western coast is at certain seasons swept by fierce hurri-
canes, and at all times the surf in Madras harbour is very great. In
the finest weather great steamers pitch at anchor in the harbour, and
the embarking of passengers is attended with much inconvenience and
difficulty. The boat used is called a Masula; it is a large open boat
of thin planks stitched with cocoa fibre to a strong frame. They are
rowed by ten or twelve almost naked Madrasis, who beach them
through the surf with great skill. Passengers are landed at an iron
pier, which runs 330 yards into the harbour; they have to display
much agility in jumping off at the rise of the wave, which in calm
weather is seven or eight feet and in windy weather fifteen to twenty.
The disembarking of twenty or thirty passengers and their luggage is
a troublesome and often dangerous business. The native boat is the
Catamaran, a hollowed out log with a projecting outrigger, or three
logs of light wood lashed together and driven by a paddle, which is
almost universal down the Coromandel coast.


496
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
The beach between the pier and the lighthouse is crowded with all
sorts of native boats, and is full of busy life.
The lighthouse is a Doric column of granite 125 feet high, whose
flash-light is visible from a ship's deck fifteen miles out to sea.
The esplanade, between the two roots of the breakwaters and facing
the harbour, is an irregular terrace of large business premises, behind
which is Blacktown, the usual name for the native city of Madras, as

UADItAS CATAMARAN.
distinguished from Whitetown, the suburb surrounding the fort,
where the European residents and their shops are located. It is a
busy crowded place, with wide streets, but lacking in all interest
except human. The visitor will find his amusement in the quaint
shops of the bazars, the groups of natives in the streets, and in the
excellent general market, where all sorts of strange fish and beautiful
fruits are exposed for sale.
The European quarter is prettily laid out, and richly timbered.
The marine promenade is about two miles long, and is thronged
towards sundown with English carriages, and crowds of well-dressed
Indians, who come to hear the band play.
One of the most picturesque sights in India is the washing-ground
on the River Adyar, where hundreds of Dhobies are busy with the


MADRAS.
499
engaged. Amongst these are two guns captured from Tipu Sultan at
Seringapatam, some long guns with twelve feet barrels and only
three inches in diameter, and other Indian weapons and war furniture.
The museum contains a collection of natural history, the most
interesting portion of which is the exhibition of local fishes, sponges,
corals, and shells, with a series of specimens illustrative of the pearl
fisheries of Tuticorin. The great skeleton of a whale found dead on
the Mangalore beach in 1874, fifty feet long, is said to be the most
perfect specimen in existence; there is also a very large shark,

A MADRAS BARBER,
nineteen feet long. The departments of botany, economics,
mineralogy, geology, and industrial arts are well chosen and kept up.
In the archaeological collection are some of the famous sculptures
of the Buddhist Tope at Amravati, 400—500 a.d., of which some
account is given in Fergusson, pp. 71—2, and 99—103. The in-
dustrial arts section is rich in Tanjore metal ware, the zincwork of
Trichinopoly, Bidri ware, inlaid work from Vizagapatara, old jewellery,
arms, lacquer-work, silver and gold smith's work, and fabrics from
Southern Indian looms. The collection of coins is unusually fine,
well set out, and chronologically arranged. The museum is popular
with the Madrasis, about 400,000 persons entering its doors every
year.
There are thirty-one Protestant churches and chapels, and fifteen


502
PICTURESQUE INDIA.

TODDY TAPPING, MADRAS.
taken, as the village is very
small and poor. The bungalow
belongs to the Public Works
Department, who will always
lend it to respectable travellers.
The antiquities of the place
may be divided into three
groups: (1.) The five raths to
the south of the village, be-
longing probably to the latest
Bhuddhist period; (2.) The
cave temples, monolithic
figures, carvings, and sculp-
tures, west of the village, pro-
bably of the 6th or 7th century,
a.d.; (these contain some mar-
vellous reliefs, ranking with
those of Ellora and Elephanta);
(3.) The more modern temples
of Vishnu and Siva, the latter
being washed by the sea. To
these two, with five other
pagodas, buried—according to
tradition—by the sea, the place
owes its English name. The
following selections from Crole
and Hunter describe these
antiquities.* Mr. Crole
writes:—
"The best, and by far the
most important, of its class is
the pastoral group in the
Krishna mantapam, as it is
called. The fact is, that it
represents Indra, the god of
the sky, supporting the clouds
with his left hand, to protect
the cattle of Bala from the
* Sec also Fergusson, pp. 134, 175, 274, 326, 330, 338.


MAHABALIPUR.
503
fury of the Maruts or tempest demons. Near him, the cattle are being
tended and milked. To the right, a young bull is seen, with head slightly
turned and fore-foot extended, as if suddenly startled. This is one of
the most spirited and life-like pieces of sculpture to be seen anywhere.
"A little to the north of this is the great bas-relief which goes by
the name of 'Arjun's Penance.' It covers a mass of rock ninety-six
feet in length, and forty-three feet in height, and is described by
Fergusson as 'the most remarkable thing of its class in India.'
'Now' says he, ' that it is known to be wholly devoted to serpent-
worship, it acquires an interest it had not before, and opens a new
chapter in Indian mythology. There seems nothing to enable us to
fix its age with absolute certainty; it can hardly, however, be doubted
that it is anterior to the 10th century, and may be a couple of
centuries earlier.'
"Near the stone choultry by the side of the road, and a little to the
north of the rock last described, stands a well-executed group lately
exhumed, representing a couple of monkeys catching fleas on each
other after the manner of their kind, while a young one is extracting
nourishment from the female.
"Near this point, a spectator, looking southward, may see, formed
by the ridges on which the caves are cut, the recumbent figure of a
man with his hands in the attitude of prayer or meditation. This
figure measures at least 1500 feet long, the partly natural resem-
blance having been assisted by the rolling away of rocks and boulders.
On the spot, this is called the ' Giant Raja Bali,' but it is no doubt
the work of Jains.
"The whole of this ridge is pitted with caves and temples. There
are fourteen or fifteen Kishi caves in it, and much carving and
figuring of a later period. These are distinguished by the marked
transition from the representations of the scenes of peace to scenes of
battle, treading down of opposition and destruction, the too truthful
emblems of the dark centuries of religious strife which preceded and
followed the final expulsion of the Buddhists. Their age is not more
than 600 or 700 years; and the art is poor, and shows as great a
decadence in matter as in religion. The representations are too often
gross and disgusting, and the carving stiff and unnatural—entirely
wanting in ease and grace and truth to nature.
"Behind this ridge, and near the canal, are two more of the mono-
lithic raths, and one similar in form, but built of large blocks of stone.


MAHABALIPLR.
.with the zenith of Buddhist architecture and sculpture, or a period
commencing a couple of centuries or so before the Christian era."—
(Crole.)
"On the left side of the rock, which is divided by a deep natural
cleft, the chief figure in the upper part appears to be the giant Raja
Maha Bali Chakrabaritti, with his attendant dwarfs, five Rajas with
their wives, four warriors, five ascetics, and a holy Rishi in his cave
temple. The lions, tigers, cheetahs, and deer, in different parts of
the sculpture, show that the people have travelled from a distance
through the jungles.
"In the central part of the cleft, at the bottom, on the left, is a
figure seated, which I take to be Buddha, with his five disciples in
front of the cave temple, with the holy Rishi. The heads of three of
the disciples have been broken off. .... In the deep recess formed
by the natural cleft in the centre of the rock sculpture, is the lower
part of the body and tail of the snake deity Vasuki, the Naga Raja;
and below this is the entire figure of Ulupi, his daughter, with a
canopy of three snakes rising over the head. The upper portion of
the Naga deity had been broken off, and was said to be buried in
front of the sculptures. I made search for it, found it, and got it dug
up, set upright, and photographed; it is the figure of a man with his
hands raised in prayer, and a canopy of seven snakes rising over a
pyramidal head-dress, and with the usual emblems of the Buddhist
religion. To the right of these are several Rajas and men, each
accompanied by his wife; six dwarfs; and eight Barudas, or figures
of men and women with the legs of birds; several monkeys; a cat
doing penance, while rats are running near it; two large, and several
small elephants; lions, tigers, geese, cocks, and hens. I thought at
first, that all the figures were coming to do reverence or to worship
the snake deity; but when we first took photographs of this rock
sculpture, the whole of the central clept was overgrown with trees and
brushwood, and the five disciples of Buddha were buried.
"Lord Napier, then Governor of Madras, visited the spot about a
week after the snake deity was dug up, and had excavations made to
the depth of seven or eight feet, which exposed a great number of
figures and animals, and showed that the old road must have passed
in front of the rock at a depth of five or six feet below the present
level, the ground having been filled up chiefly with broken bricks and
earth, with here and there large fragments of sculptured rocks,


506
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
dressed stones, and cornices from the adjoining temples. The broken
tusk of the large elephant was also found. To the left, and below the
five disciples of Buddha, is a deer, in a very natural attitude, scratch-
ing its nose with its hind foot. The mule and female elephants with
their young behind them. and some of the figures of crouching tigers
and cheetahs, are in a very natural and spirited style; and there is a
great look of natural animation, movement, and bustle in the whole

MONOLITHIC TEMPLE, MAHABAL1PUR.
group, of which Buddha and his five disciples appear to occupy the
principal position and to attract the greatest attention, while the
snake deity and his daughter are, as it were, in the background, and
ascetics are scattered about in several parts. . . One point of great
importance in these early large rock sculptures is, that they represent
scenes of peace with men and their wives, a single wife accompanying
each, and the animals, Barudas, and birds in pairs, while the Raja
Mahabali is accompanied by dwarfs, and the other Rajas, whose rank
is indicated by umbrella-bearers, have each his wife beside him. The
ascetics, of whom there are five or six, have no wife. It appears to
me that the story is one which represents the establishment of the


MAHABALIPUR.
507
Buddhist religion, or one of peace, goodwill, toleration, and kindness
to all men, and to animals and birds. Mr. Fergusson declared it to
be, with the exception of the pagoda at Tanjore, the finest and most
important vimana in the south of India. It is small, being not more
than thirty feet square at the base, and sixty feet high; but it is free
from all surrounding walls and gateways, which so detract from the
grandeur of other pagodas. The same authority assigns the edifice
to the 11th century, and the neighbouring excavations to the 13th
or 14th.
"It is to be regretted that the inscriptions of Mahabalipur, as yet
deciphered, furnish no clue to the date or history of these remark-
able structures; though Dr. Babington explains one line as conveying
the name of the founder, 'Atirana Chanda (he who in battle is furious),
Lord of kings, built this place called Atiranachandeshwara.' It is
equally a matter of doubt to what deity the sea-side pagoda was
originally dedicated. In the chamber next the sea is a gigantic lingam
of black polished stone, which would lead us to suppose it a temple
of Siva. On the other hand, there is a gigantic figure of Vishnu,
in a recumbent posture, in one of the verandahs. The uncertainty
on all these points may, perhaps, heighten the zest of inspection."—
(Hunter.)
Three miles or so beyond Mahabalipur, on the banks of the canal, is
Sadras, the ruins of an old Dutch settlement of 1647, a.d. The fort
is very dilapidated, but was evidently a place of great strength. There
are some very curious Dutch tombs; the governor's house is fairly
preserved, and is now a travellers' bungalow.
Arcot is five miles from the railway station, on the line from
Madras to Calicut. Its interest is mainly historical. The capture
and brilliant defence of Arcot by Clive are among the most notable
feats of the British arms in India. Little or nothing remains of the
fortress. In the Delhi gate of the old city walls is still shown the
chamber in which Clive lodged.
Vellore is a thriving town of 43,000 inhabitants four miles from
the station. The fine old fortress was built about 1274—83, and in
spite of frequent sieges, is in remarkably good preservation, still
exhibiting battlements adapted for matchlocks and bows, built before
cannon came into general use. It is about a third of a mile in length,
and a little less in breadth, surrounded by a strong masonry rampart,
and a wide wet ditch.


PICTURESQUE INDIA.
Within the fort is one of the finest and most interesting temples
in South India. The great seven-storied gopura is 100 feet high,
with a handsome door of wood, studded with iron bosses. The
porch, built in 1350 a.d., has recently been carefully restored by
Government. On either side of the doorway are three Yalis, or
grotesque figures carved from monoliths, acting as supports to a very
beautiful cornice. These figures are finely sculptured. The ceiling
of the portico is decorated with a singular centre-piece, representing a
group of parrots hanging head downwards round some fruit. There
are here several compound pillars of exquisite grace and beauty, which
would alone repay a visit to Vellore. Every inch of detail in this
beautiful pagoda is worthy of study. (See " Fergusson," pp. 370—2.)
The Chanda Sahib mosque is worth seeing.
Vellore is situated in the midst of beautiful hills, some of
which are 2,000 feet above the plain. Saycr's Hill, about 1,000 feet
high, immediately over the town, may be ascended in about an hour
by a good walker; there is a ruined fort on the summit, from which a
superb view may be obtained.
One of the leading industries of Vellore is the cultivation of sweet-
scented flowers for the Madras market.
At Virinjipuram, eight miles from Vellore, there is a large temple
visited by crowds of pilgrims. Malipati, the next station, is reached
after crossing the Palar river, by a remarkably fine bridge; this place
is famous for its good oranges. Jalarpet is the junction for the Mysore
branch of the Madras Railway, 132 miles from Madras.
The American Reformed Church, under the superintendence of the
Rev. W. W. Scudder, D.D., has stations at Vellore, Arcot and the
district round. They have a large and competent staff of 18 American
missionaries of both sexes, and 210 native assistants, forming one of
the most powerful corps of missionaries in India. They have 2,000
communicants, and over 3,000 scholars in 103 schools.
Salem is an important town of nearly 60,000 inhabitants, taking
its name from the ancient monarchy of Shelam. It is pleasantly
situated 900 feet above the sea, in a valley surrounded by the
Shevaroy hills. An ascent of seven miles leads to the plateau on the
summit of these hills, many of which are over 5,000 feet high, the
highest point being 5,410.
Yerkad is the oldest of the hill settlements, as well as the nearest
to Salem, and is surrounded by rugged peaks and finely timbered


VELLORE.

THE SHEVAROY H ILLS.
slopes. There are a large
number of coffee plantations
on the plateau, and limes,
oranges, lemons and pomcloes grow plen-
tifully. The inhabitants of these hills
are Malayalis.
Salem is a very good specimen of a
prosperous Southern India town, with
/ wide streets, planted with rows of cocoa-
nut trees, and lined with good two-
storeyed houses. It is famous for its
loom-work, principally linen, damasks, and silk pile carpets. The
beauty and superior workmanship of the carpets made in Salem jail


CALICUT.
5"
forty-one miles beyond Quilon. Few travellers will be able to spare
the time so slow a journey will consume.
Calicut, the terminus of the railway, is a thriving seaport with a
population of 60,000. It is the head-quarters of the rich and
populous district of Malabar, and its imports and exports, including
the sub-port of Beypur, amount to over a million sterling. The
present town dates from the 13th century, and was the capital of a
considerable dominion until the 15th century, under powerful rulers
who were called Zamorins. It gives the name to the cotton cloth
known as calico. Calicut is celebrated in history as having been the
first port in India ever visited by Europeans, the Portuguese adven-
turer Covilham having landed here in 1486. Vasco di Gama arrived
in 1498, but was inhospitably received. The town is beautifully
situated in the midst of groves of palm, mango and jack trees. The
Portuguese church was built by the Zamorin in 1525, and presented
by him to the Portuguese. The British India steamers call at
Calicut going north and south, every week. The missionary enter-
prise of Calicut is conducted by the Basle German Evangelical
Society.


CHAPTEE XXXY.
MYSORE STATE.

YSORE is an important native state which
has been recently opened up to the European
traveller by three lines of railway; the branch
of the Madras Railway to Bangalore, the
Mysore State Railway from Bangalore to
Mysore city, and the extension of the
Southern Maratha from Hubli through
Harihar and Tumkur to Bangalore. A glance
at the map will show that Bangalore is the
centre of this group of lines.
Mysore (Mahesh-uru, the city of buffaloes) is one of the most
important native states in India. It is surrounded entirely by British
territory. Mysore city is the capital, but Bangalore is the adminis-
trative head-quarters. The Maharaja divides his residence equally
between the two. The cantonment of Bangalore is assigned to the
British Government, and is a civil and military station under British
..,


MYSORE.
administration. It is looked upon as the healthiest and pleasantest
cantonment in all India.
The area of the state is 24,743 square miles, and its population
4,186,188. Its early history is ohscure, but much light has been
thrown upon it by recent discoveries of inscriptions on stone and
copper throughout the State. At the beginning of the Christian era,
Mysore appears to have been under Jain influence and supremacy, and
many of the most interesting archaeological remains are Jain. This
religion was relinquished for Brahmanism about the 2nd century a.d.,
which has been the religion of the people of Mysore ever since, and of
their kings with the exception of a short period in the 13th century,
when they professed Jainism, leaving several beautiful temples as
monuments of their sway.
The most conspicuous of the modern rulers of Mysore are the
famous Haidar Ali, and his son Tipu Sultan. Haidar usurped the
throne in 1763, and his son Tipu was defeated by the British and
slain at the storming of Seringapatam in 1799, when the throne was
restored to a representative of the Hindu Wodeyar dynasty, founded
in 1610. This Maharaja grossly misgoverned the State, and was
superseded by the British Government, who administered in his name,
and after his death in that of his adopted son, until 1881, when he
was formally installed as Maharaja, the chief commissioner handing
over his office to his diwan. The present Maharaja, Chama Rajendra
Wodeyar, who has had a liberal education under European tutelage,
continues the government with great ability and success. He is aided
by a council, which deals with all the more important administrative
measures.
Mysore State is an undulating tableland, broken by ranges of rocky
hills and deep ravines. The general elevation of the country is from
2,000 to 3,000 feet above the sea, with a fine pleasant climate. A
peculiar feature in the scenery is the large number of isolated granite
rocks called droogs, sometimes stupendous monoliths, sometimes
huge boulders piled up, often rising 2,000 feet from the plain.
Many of these are crowned with ruined fortresses, once the strong-
holds of robber chieftains, who domineered over the adjacent
plains.
The mountain ranges of Mysore run as high as 6,000 feet above the
sea, the highest peak being Mulaina Giri (6,317 feet). Their flanks
are clothed with superb forests, the resort of wild elephants, bison,


5'4
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
tigers, panthers, leopards, bears, sambhar, and spotted deer, jungle
fowl and spur fowl. The summits are clear of timber, being grass
downs, with wooded hollows. The open country of the State is well
cultivated, watered by two great rivers, the Kistna and the Kaveri,
while the streams which gather from the hill sides and mountain
ranges are at every favourable point embanked into chains of tanks,
varying in size from ponds to large lakes, dispersed throughout the
country to the total number of 38,000. The largest is the Sulukere
tank, a noble sheet of water forty miles in circumference.
The roads of Mysore are generally good, and the country breed ot
bullocks famous for speed and endurance. Travelling is done by
bullock tongas, and long distances may be accomplished at a rate of
four or five miles an hour.
The Maharaja pays great attention to the maintenance of the breeds
of bullocks at his great cattle farm at Hoonsoor, whence first-class
bulls are distributed to the large villages for the free use of their
agricultural herds.
The best time to visit Mysore is during December, January and
February, when the mornings and evenings are cold and bracing, with
bright sunny days. The best season for sport is April, after the
young grass has begun to grow. Sportsmen will find ample informa-
tion in "Thirteen Years among the Wild Beasts of India," by Colonel
G. P. Sanderson (Allen & Co., London), the officer in charge of the
Government elephant-catching establishment of Mysore, one of the
most fascinating books of sport I have ever read. The Kurubas, or
wild hill people, live in the woods in small communities, their
dwellings being mere hovels made from branches of trees. In
January the Kurubas burn the dry jungle grass, which has grown to
five or six feet and seeded, the burnt ground quickly producing a supply
of sweet green herbage when the showers of spring have fallen on the
ashes. These people live on succulent roots of various kinds, leaves,
and ragi, a coarse grain grown in the plains.
They are black, ugly, and short in stature; their coarse hair grows
to a great length, and is tied back with string. They are now
beginning to take work on coffee plantations, and in the forest depart-
ment as tree-fellers. They are fond of sport, and are thoroughly
acquainted with the habits of all the wild animals of the country.
They hunt with spear and net. The nets are first supported on
upright light props set across a line of country. The jungle is then


MYSORE.
5i7
still remains. The place is very malarious, like most ruined and
abandoned cities. The fort is a huge mass of masonry, without
architectural beauty, and its interest centres only in the historic
struggle which was ended within its walls. The story is told in every
history of India, and at full length in Colonel G. B. Malleson's
"Seringapatam." Inside the fort are the ancient temple, the Jama
Masjid, a fine mosque built by Tipu shortly before his death, and the

SACRED BILL. MYSORE.
ruins of Tipu's palace. Outside the wall is the Darija Daulat Bagh,
(the garden of the sea's wealth), a decaying building handsomely
decorated with arabesque work in rich colours. It was built by Tipu
as a summer-house, and contains the celebrated pictures representing
the defeat of the British forces at Conjeveram by Haidar Ali in 1780.
They are quaint specimens of native art, the caricature of the British
soldiers being extremely amusing.
At the lower end of the island is the Lai Bagh, containing the
mausoleum built by Tipu for his father Haidar Ali, in which he himself
lies buried also. It is a square building, with dome and minarets,
surrounded by a pillar corridor of black hornblende. The double
doors, inlaid with ivory, were a present from Lord Dalhousie. The
inscription on Tipu's tomb states that he died a martyr to Islam.
Falls or the Kaveri.—Enclosing the Island of Sivasamudramare ths


5i8
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
celebrated falls of the river Kaveri, unrivalled in all India for romantic
beauty. The nearest station is Maddur, half way between Mysore and
Bangalore. There is a good refreshment room. The distance to the
falls is thirty miles: there is a fair Dak bungalow. Arrangements
for conveyance can be made by writing to the Maddur station-master.
The river is split by the island, which is three miles long, and each
stream makes a descent of about 200 feet in a succession of rapids and
waterfalls. The island is malarious in the winter. At this time too,
although the scenery is exquisitely beautiful, the river is narrow and
shallow, dividing itself into a score of cascades. The best time to
visit Sivasamudram is during the rainy season, when the river roars
down the fall in an unbroken sheet 500 yards wide, with a horse-shoe
recess in the centre, as at Niagara, to which it has been compared.
The island is connected with the mainland by two solid stone bridges,
accessible in the highest floods. Twelve miles from Sivasamudram is
the ancient city of Talkad, on the left bank of the river. Its history
is obscure, but tradition says that the last rani of Talkad cursed the
city " that it should become sand," and then drowned herself in the
Kaveri. At the present time the old city is buried under heaps of sand,
with here and there the tops of pagodas sticking up. One fine temple
is still uncovered, and another is kept open with great labour, for
worship, by the surrounding inhabitants. The traveller who is ex-
ploring Mysore leisurely will find it worth while to push on ten miles
farther to Somnathpur, celebrated for its two splendid old temples.
That of Prasanna Chenna Kesava was completed in 1270 a.d., by a
prince of that name. The whole building is elaborately ornamented,
and the structure is completed by three pyramidal towers, or vimanas,
surmounting the triple shrine. Round the exterior base, carved in
relief, are leading incidents of tho Ramayana, Mahabharata, and
Bhagvata, the termination of each chapter and book being indicated
by a closed or half-closed door. The number of sculptured pictures
is seventy-four. The workmanship is attributed to Jakanachari, the
famous sculptor and architect of the Hoysala Ballala kings, under
whom Hindu art in Mysore reached its highest point of excellence.
The temple stands in a square cloistered court of great beauty, with
entrance porches, and some fine stambhas or lamp pillars.
Bangalore.—This delightful city is one of the pleasantest and
most attractive in India. It stands in the centre of the Mysore
plateau, 3,113 feet above the sea, its climate being noted for its


MYSORE.
healthiness and suitability to European constitutions. The mean
temperature is seventy-six degrees, and the average rainfall thirty-six
inches. The death-rate of the native city is only seventeen per 1,000,
and of the cantonment fifteen.
The plain is level, broken only by a few slight elevations, and

TIPTT sultan's tomb, seringapatam.
interspersed with several beautiful tanks. The old native city, or pet.
covers an area of two and one-third square miles, with a population of
(55,000. The bazars are narrow and irregular, with many handsome
houses of prosperous merchants. There is much stir and bustle,
with plenty of lively trade.
The cantonments are scattered over a wide area of about twelve
square miles, with a population of nearly 100,000. Within this area
is the British Residency, a splendid range of public offices. The
central jail, one of the finest in India, the central college, the
magnificent new palace of the maharaja, the barracks, the racecourse,
parade-ground and public park, the handsome Trinity church, the
museum, the Roman Catholic cathedral, the Wesley an chapel, the
handsome bungalows of officers and European residents, the beautiful


520
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
botanical gardens of Lal Bagh, the bandstand, St. John's Hill, dotted
with the cottages of a large number of pensioned European soldiers,
and all the other concomitants of a first-class British cantonment.
The principal hotels are the "Bowring" and the "Cubbon," and
there is a first-class Dak bungalow. The fort, rebuilt in stone in the
first year of Haidar Ali's reign, has played a conspicuous part in
British Indian history. The prison cell of Sir David Baird, during
his captivity after Baillie's defeat in 1780, is still shown, a room
twelve feet square, so low that a man cannot stand upright in it.
Most of the leading handicrafts of a large Indian city are to be seen
in the Bangalore bazars. Silks of durable texture and brilliant
patterns are sold by weight. Cotton cloth, printed, or with silk
borders, gold and silver lace, jewellery, electroplating and leather
tanning, are special industries, and their sale carried on in all
the crowded streets, but specially at open stalls in the picturesque
Dodda pet. The jail is noted for its manufacture of carpets, mostly
of Persian or Turkish designs.
In the museum are some of the most perfect of the sculptures of
the famous temples of Halebid, the ancient capital of the Mysore
kings in the 13th century. Halebid, the old capital of the Rajput
Ballalas of Mysore, is 110 miles north of Mysore city, and very
seldom visited by travellers. Its temples rank with the greatest
masterpieces of Indian architecture.
The great temple of Halebid is the noblest example of the
Chalukyan style. It was never finished, having been stopped by the
Musalman conquest, a.d. 1310. It is a double temple. It stands on
a terrace six feet high. Round this runs a wonderful frieze of 2,000
elephants, following all the windings of the ground plan. Above it
is a frieze of lions, then a band of scroll-work of infinite beauty and
variety of design, over which is a frieze of horsemen, then another
scroll, and a frieze representing mythological subjects. Above all
these are two more friezes of beasts and birds, then a scroll-work
cornice, bearing a rail divided into panels, each containing two
figures, over which are windows of pierced slabs of stone, divided at
regular intervals by sculptured columns. The abutments are richly
ornamented by carved figures of gods five and a half feet in height.
Above all would have risen pyramidal towers, had the temple been
finished.
Tumkur and Harihar are both very ancient places in a picturesque








524
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
Mutucheri and Shoolay, and five Tamil schools. For girls there are
live day-schools.
The missionary is assisted by a native minister, catechists, Zenana
visitors, and Bible-women.
In the Kanarese circuit there are two European missionaries and a
native minister. The senior missionary, who is also general super-
intendent of all the Wesleyan Missions in the Mysore Province and
on the Nilgiri Hills, resides at No. 6, Fort Road. The Kanarese
chapel is in Nagartara Pettah in the city. The senior missionary has
charge of a theological class. The high school is on the mission
premises in Fort Road. A girls' boarding-school adjoins the mission
houses. In the city and suburbs there are four Kanarese schools for
boys and three for girls.
The London Mission conducts its operations in the civil and
military station and in the city.
The Tamil chapel is situated in the Infantry Road, and is under the
care of a native pastor. Two schools teaching up to the lower fourth
standard are sustained in this part of Bangalore. Three native female
agents are employed in visiting the homes of Hindu families. Evan-
gelist work is carried on by an ordained native evangelist with the aid
of other members of the church. The Tamil work generally is under
the supervision of a European missionary, who lives in St. Mark's
Square.
One of the European missionaries labours among the English-
speaking portion of the Hindu community by private intercourse,
Bible-classes, lectures and in other ways. His work is not confined
to Bangalore, but extends to many other important stations.
In former years English services were conducted in the chapel in
the Infantry Road; but when the Scotch church was opened these
were discontinued, the English congregation joining that of the
Presbyterians.
In the city the work is carried on in the Kanarese language. The
congregation, which is under the care of a native pastor, worships in
a chapel near the Yellahunka Gate of the city. Without this gate is
a high school undor the charge of a European missionary, who resides
at No. 4, St. Mark's Square.
Two missionaries are engaged in Kanarese work, one of them having
special charge of the work in the adjacent country.
On the mission premises there is a theological seminary conducted


MYSORE.
5*5
by two of the missionaries, the two vernacular languages and English
being used in the course of instruction. On the same premises there
is also a boarding-school for girls. In the city there are four girls' day-
schools and a reading-room. Evangelistic work is carried on in
another building by the native pastor with the help of other Chris-
tians. A lady missionary is employed in superintending female
education. Two Bible-women also are employed; there are two
Sunday-schools.
The English work of the Methodist Episcopal Mission is under the
charge of an American missionary. The chapel is situated in
Myrtle Street, Richmond Town. Regular preaching services are
held on Sunday and daring the week. There is also a Sunday-school.
Regular services and Sunday-school are also held in the native chapel,
Memorial Street, St. John's Hill.
The English minister resides in Kingston Cross Street, Richmond
Town. Their English educational work is at Baldwin High Schools,
Nos. 5 & 6, Hosur Road. The principal is helped by a staff of twelvo
teachers. Both boarders and day-scholars are admitted. The in-
struction is carried to the matriculation standard of the Madras
University. Among the subjects taught a prominent place is given to
systematic Bible study.
The native work is under the superintendence of an American mis-
sionary, with the aid of an assistant and seven native helpers. The
chapel and mission-house are in Memorial Street, St. John's Hill.
Regular services are held every week in the chapel. The Sunday-
schools, twenty in number, are held in various parts of Bangalore.
The ladies attached to the Church of England Zenana Mission, in
the Old Museum Road, have established three schools for Muham-
madan girls, and visit Muhammadan families for the purpose of in-
structing the female members of those households.
The Baptist Church is supported from local resources. The chapel
is situated in the Commissariat Road. The services and work of the
church are carried on in the English language. There is a Sunday-
school connected with the congregation. The church is under the
care of an English minister, who resides at No. 22, Richmond Road.
There is an auxiliary of the Bible and Religious Tract Societies,
under the direction of committees. In connection with them colporteurs
are employed in Bangalore and various other stations. Besides Scrip-
tures and other books received from London, vernacular translations


526
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
of the Bible and other vernacular publications prepared by these two
societies are sold at the depository in Cubbon Road.
The Roman Catholic churches of Bangalore are under the juris-
diction of the Bishop of Mysore. The principal churches are St.
Patrick's Cathedral, in Shoolay; St. Francis Xavier's, in St. John's
Hill; St. Mary's, in Blackpully, and St. Joseph's, near the fort. There
are usually three or four services every Sunday in each church, as well
as Sunday-schools in the English, Tamil, and Kanarese languages.
The work of this church engages the services of a large number of
priests and several nuns, who belong to the order of the Good
Shepherd.
St. Joseph's College give a university training to European and
Eurasian youths, and there are excellent girls' schools under the
direction of the nuns of the Good Shepherd.
The Nilgihi Hills.—The traveller who has been faithfully follow-
ing the routes laid down in this book, will have had about enough of
the hot plains and cities of the Madras Presidency, and will long for
the coolness and greenery of the world-renowned Nilgiri Hills, the
sanatarium and holiday place of the European population of all
Southern India. Two trains each day arrive at Mettupalaiyam, the
insignificant village which is the present terminus of the Nilgiri branch
of the Madras Railway. The time-table is—
There are good refreshment rooms at Jalarpet, Salem, Erode, and
Podanur. I advise those who are coming from stations south of Jalar-
pet, to take the ordinary train, so as to arrive at Mettupalaiyam at
5.15 a.m., and get the hot and dusty drive to the foot of the ghat done
in the early dawn.
The three important stations of the Nilgiri Hills, Coonoor, Welling-
ton, and Utakumand, are all reached from Mettupalaiyam. There is
an hotel near the station from which tongas may be had, or they muy
Ordinary.
Mail.
5.45 p.m.
12.47 a.m.
4.26 „
6.22 „
9.29 „
9.43 „
11. 0 „
Madras
Jalarpet
Salem
Erode . . .
Podanur .
Coimbatore . .
Mettupalaiyam
depart 7. 0 a.m.
. ., 2.38 p.m.
. „ 8.35 „
. „ 11.10 „
. 3.26 a.m.
. „ 3.47 .,
„ 5.15


MYSORE
527
be ordered from the hotels at Utakamand. The whole distance is
thirty-two and a half miles, of very good well-metalled road—viz.:
Mettupalaiyam to Foot of Ghat . . 6 miles.
Foot of Ghat to C'oonoor . . . . 15 „
Coonooi to Wellington . . . . 2A „
Wellington to Utakamand . . 9 „

COONOOR.
Good horses make the journey in about six hours.
Coonoor is 6,000 feet above sea level, with a population of 5,000,
of whom 2,000 are Europeans. It is proposed to construct a Righi
Railway to Coonoor from Mettupalaiyam. The town presents all the
usual features of a popular Indian Hill station—churches, chapels,
schools, library, gymkhana, shops and hotels. It is picturesquely
scattered on the sides of the beautiful basin formed by the expansion


5*8
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
of the Jakatalla Valley, at the mouth of a gorge, surrounded by wooded
hills. The climate of Coonoor is cool and equable, the mean annual
temperature being sixty-two degrees. In the colder months it ranges
about forty-five to fifty degrees. There are about twenty miles of ex-
cellent and beautiful pleasure drives, the hedges of which are bright
with roses, fuchsias, dahlias, heliotropes, lantanas, sunflowers, pas-
sion flowers, and many others.
It is a lovely spot, every turn of the roads opening some fresh
view of noble mountains, steep precipices, sweeps of forest, and the rich
fertile plains beyond.
Wellington is on Jakatalla Hill, two or three miles distant from
Coonoor, 6,100 feet above the sea. This is the principal military
sanitarium of Madras, and is very salubrious and invigorating. The
handsome range of barracks was built in 1857. In sheltered spots
and nooks of the hills all round Coonoor and Wellington, it is possible
to grow all sorts of European vegetables, and the soil is so fertile that
three or four crops are often raised in the year. New potatoes,
cauliflowers, tomatoes, green peas, lettuce, beets, carrots, and red or
white raspberries, may be looked for at the various meals of the
excellent hotels on the Nilgiris.
Utakamand is always spoken of by Europeans with fond affection
as "Ooty." It has a population of 15,000, of which 3,000 are
Christians, and about 600 Europeans. It lies 7,228 feet above the
sea level; the mean temperature is fifty-eight degrees. The town is
cradled in an amphitheatre of lovely hills, on which the bungalows
are scattered. In the hollow centre, an artificial lake has been
formed, surrounded by a beautiful drive. The vegetation is luxuriant
and abundant. Utakamand is the administrative headquarters of the
Nilgiri Hills' district, and the permanent society of the place con-
sists of the civil service, well-to-do coffee-planters, and others who
have made this delightful spot their Indian home.
There are at least six mountains with an elevation exceeding 8,000
feet within easy reach of Utakamand. The loftiest is Dodabetta,
8,760 feet. The finest view is from Elk Hill. The scenery of the
best portion of the Nilgiris lies immediately round the station, and
can be explored with ease and comfort in carriages. By the time
the traveller has visited the Botanical Gardens, the Kalhatti and
Barhyar Gardens, the Dodabetta cinchona plantation—all under
Government supervision, the Hobart Park, Orange Valley, the



M M


530
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
Mysore Ditch, the Basle Mission at Keti and the Lawrence Asylum,
full particulars of which are given in the excellent local handbook, he
will have seen most of the grandest views in the district, and the many
beautiful gorges and cascades which everywhere abound. A delightful
day excursion may be made to Mur Kurti Peak, a distance of fourteen
miles. One side of this mountain is a sheer precipice of nearly
7,000 feet, and the view from the summit is superb.
Nilgiri means "the Blue Mountains." The district consists of a
mountain plateau, with an average elevation of 6,500 feet, and cover-
ing an area of 725 square miles. The mountains rise like abrupt
walls from the plains for about 4,000 to 6,000 feet.
The plateau consists chiefly of undulating grassy hills, breaking into
lofty ridges and abrupt rocky cliffs on the outer edge. The narrow
valleys contain pretty streams and cascades, and in the hollow of the
hill-side nestle beautiful little evergreen woods or copses, called sholas,
giving a distinctive feature of great interest to this lovely mountain
scenery. In the summer, these sholas are often a mass of white,
yellow and red blossom, and the neighbouring ravines are sweet with
the long white flowers of the scented Nilgiri lily, or the pale blue
lobelia. The grassy slopes are covered with strobilantb.es, whose
masses of blue flowers are said to have given the name of "Nilgiri"
to the range. There are few districts in India which present such an
endless variety of trees, shrubs, and flowering plants and herbs. The
Michelia nilagirica flourishes everywhere, covered with large white
blossom from July to October, and at other times gay with scarlet
seeds. The eugenias are dense masses of thick, leathery, aromatic,
dark-green foliage. There are many varieties of beautiful ilexes, and
several kinds of elaeocarpus, with bright red leaves and long branches
of white or pink flowers. A small variety of mahua, the tree from
whose blossom most of the native spirit of India is distilled, is very
abundant, the fruit of which is made into pickles and is much es-
teemed; and besides these, arc teak, blackwood, sandalwood trees,
cedars, eucalyptus, litsajas, gordonias, cinnamon trees, rhododendrons,
red myrtles, and an endless variety of the most beautiful orchids, ferns
and brambles.
Animal life is fairly abundant for a district so much resorted to by
Europeans, but tiger, bear, sambhar deer and ibex, are only found in
the remotest gorges. There are plenty of leopards, wild boars,
hyasnas, jungle sheep, porcupines, woodcock, snipe, spur fowl, jungle


AfYSORE.
53i
and pea fowl, and for the last ten years game has been preserved by a
close season. There are eighteen peaks in the Nilgiris ranging from
6,000 to nearly 9,000 feet above sea level, and six practicable passes
or ghats leading up from the surrounding plains.
The principal crops of the district are coffee, tea, and cinchona.
1

TRAVELLTNO IN THE NILGIRI RILLS.
The planting of coffee has been very successful. In 1875, there were
only 126 plantations, but in 1889 the number had reached over 600,
the total crop of which is from 4,000 to 5,000 tons annually. They
employ 12,000 labourers, and there are about 200 European planters
or superintendents.
The first tea garden was planted in 1851, and there are now nearly
100, producing about a million pounds of marketable tea.
11 m 2


532
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
The Madras Government commenced the experimental growth of
cinchona in 1860, and have now got four estates, covering nearly 3,000
acres; there are also half a dozen private ventures.
The hill tribes of the Nilgiris are among the most primitive and
interesting races in India. There are five different tribes, the Todas,
Badajas, Kotas, Kurumbas, and Irulas. The most attractive of them
are the Todas; tall, well-proportioned, and athletic, with bold inde-
pendent carriage, and finely-moulded, sinewy limbs which show they
are sprung from no effeminate race. Their aquiline nose, receding
forehead, and rounded profile, with their black bushy beards and
eyebrows, give them a decidedly Jewish appearance. Their dress
consists of a single cloth, worn in a manner which sets off their
muscular forms, something in the fashion in which the Highlander
wears his plaid. The costume of the women is much the same as the
men, the toga being wrapped round them to cover the entire person from
shoulder to ankle. The men average five feet eight inches, and the
women five feet one inch. They are copper coloured, and the men
are very hairy. They are lazy and dirty, and practise polyandry, a
woman marrying all the brothers in one family. Their sole occupa-
tion is cattle-herding and dairy work. They live in huts, twelve or
fifteen feet square, built of bamboo closely laid together, fastened
with rattans and thatched. They sleep on a raised clay platform
covered with the skins of deer or buffalo. The dairy is also their
temple, for they worship the cow. Their religion is extremely primi-
tive, with a good deal of demonolatry introduced. Their religious
customs are all woven in with their pastoral pursuits, and when
anyone dies, they kill a cow, to supply the deceased with milk in the
next world. They number less than a thousand all told, and are
slowly dying out. They are the aristocratic tribe of the Nilgiri Hills,
and receive tribute from the others. Their children are very pretty.
The Badagas are Hindu in religion, and their chief temple is on the
top of Rangaswami Peak, 5,937 feet. They wear quaint ornaments,
rings, bracelets, armlets, necklaces, and nose rings of brass, iron, or
silver. They number 25,000.
The Kotas, or " cowkillers," live in villages of thirty to sixty huts,
with mud walls and thatched roofs. They are not idolaters, but
worship ideal gods, of whom they have no images. There are about
1,000 of them.
The Kurumbas, or "shepherds," are the most uncivilised; very


MYSORE.
533

A TODA.
ugly, with matted unkempt locks, and almost naked bodies, wearing
only a waist cloth. They worship natural objects, and greatly
reverence the Todas. They live in long huts, forty or fifty feet long,


S34
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
eight or ten feet wide, and not more than five feet high. They
number about 3,000.
The Irulas, or " dwellers in darkness," living on the lowest slopes,
are an idle and dissolute lot, but are very good hunters. They are
fast dying out, and there are less than 1,000 left.
Mr. Breek's pamphlet on these tribes, published by Allen & Co.,
London, may be purchased in the shops at Utakamand; it gives very
full information about all these interesting people, whose origin is
lost in the darkness of past ages.
The antiquarian remains of the Nilgiri Hills consist only of rude
stone monuments placed on the summits of hills or ridges. They are
agrams, or funeral circles, cairns, barrows, cromlechs, and kistvaens.
Some of these have been opened, and explored; weapons, pottery,
clay figures, flint and bronze tools or weapons, being discovered.
They are generally supposed to be Scythian, or the work of the time
of the Pandyan Kingdom of Madura, 400 b.C.
The American Reformed Church missionary is the Rev. John
Scudder of Coonoor, who is also a medical man. The membership is
120, and there are schools for boys and girls. The Church Missionary
Society have a church at Utakamand which, with the surrounding
village stations, has a membership of about 400 converts, and nine
schools with an attendance of 500 scholars. The Wesleyan
Methodists are represented by a native minister at Utakamand, with
a church of seventy members, and an English missionary, who has the
spiritual charge of the Wesleyan soldiers at the sanatarium of
Wellington. The Basle Society has agents at Kaiti and Kotagiri,
among the Badaga tribes.


»
CHAPTER XXXVI.
MADRAS TO TANJORE.
ONDICHERRL—There is no interest
attaching to Pondicherri, beyond that of
historical associations. It is the chief
French settlement in the East Indies,
with a steadily diminishing population,
now about 140,000, possessing a fertile
area of about 115 square miles.
It was settled by the French in 1674,
captured from them by the Dutch in
1693, and restored in 1699. It was
taken by the English in 1761, but re-
stored again to the French in 1763;
once more captured in 1778, and given
back in 1785; and yet again in 1793,
when it was retained by the English
until 1816. It is a pleasant town,
facing the sea, with excellent public buildings. The revenues are
under i'60,000 a-year. The funny little carriages, like perambulators,
pushed by one or two coolies, which are the principal means of transit
in the streets, are called " pousse-pousse."
Cuddalore is the administrative headquarters of South Arcot
District, situated on a backwater formed by the confluent estuaries of
two rivers. It is a Hindu city, with a population of about 45,000; a
pleasant sea-breezy place, with a good harbour for native coasting
vessels; the imports and exports reach a total value of about
£130,000, mainly rice, sugar, coal, and grain. There is a native and
European town, the latter being scattered on a slightly elevated
plain, traversed by good roads lined with avenues of trees. Cuddalore


536
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
was one of the early stations of th^East India Company, who erected a
factory in 1683, and built Fort St. David during the following ten
years. There is nothing left of it but a few ruined walls and a choked
ditch.
Porto Novo is a small seaport town of 8,000 inhabitants. The
Danes and Portuguese had factories here in the 17th century and
here, in 1781, Sir Eyre Coote defeated Haidar Ali, and practically
saved the Madras Presidency. Very pretty mats are made here from
the leaves of the wild pineapple.
Chilambaram (the atmosphere of wisdom), is a town of some
importance, with a considerable trade in the weaving of silk and
cotton cloth, giving employment to a large portion of its population of
20,000. There is a good Dak bungalow here. It was a place of
much strategic importance during the wars of the Karnatic.
During December, a great religious mela or fair is held, its
celebrated temples being reverenced throughout all Southern India,
and even in Ceylon. The great pagoda of Kanak Sabha, or Golden
Shrine, sacred to Siva and his wife Parvati, is very ancient.
Fergusson says that some portions date as far back as the 10th and
11th centuries; the temple of Parvati and the Great Gopuras to the
14th or 15th; and the Hall of One Thousand Columns to the begin-
ning of the 16th.
Tradition asserts that the earliest portions of this vast structure
were built by Hiranya Varna Chakrasti, the golden-coloured king,
who was here cured of leprosy. Some writers say that they are the
work of a Kashmir prince of the 5th century, who brought with
him 3,000 Brahmans from the north. To this day the temple
belongs to about 250 families of a peculiar sect of Brahmans, twenty
of whom are always on duty at a time, for a period of twenty days,
which it takes to make the complete ceremonial tour at the dif-
ferent shrines of the temple, where daily offerings are made. These
Dikshatar Brahmans only marry among themselves, and it is said
there are no members of their sect anywhere but at Chilambaram.
They collect alms all over South India, when not on duty in the
temples.
This splendid group of buildings measures 600 yards by 500
yards, covering thirty-nine acres. Two walls, each thirty feet high,
surround it; and at each of the four corners stands a solid gopura
or pyramid 122 feet high, faced with granite blocks forty feet long,





538
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
and five feet thick, covered with copper. The Hall of One Thousand
Pillars is magnificent, looking like. a forest of granite columns, all
monoliths, twenty-five feet high. In the centre is the shrine of
Parvati, a very beautiful building, containing a golden canopy, with
superb bullion fringes. The sanctuary is an ugly copper-roofed en-
closure, with an image of Siva dancing, in the interior. The Miratha
Sabha is a perfect gem. The Pillyar temple contains a huge idol, the
largest belly god in India. The Sivaganga, or Golden Tank, 150
feet square, is very handsome, surrounded on all sides with spacious
flights of steps. There is also a curious well, built of granite rings
placed one on the other, each ring cut from a single block. Fer-
gusson gives a description, with plans of this extraordinary temple,
pp. 350—55. In the town are a large number of native rest-houses,
seventy in all, which are crowded with pilgrims at the time of the
mela.
Mayavaram is a town of 24,000 inhabitants, on the banks of the
Kaveri. It is a great place of pilgrimage, and there are two pagodas
of some importance. The gopura of the Shiva temple is 162 feet
high.
Combaconxjm is one of the most important cities in the Madras
Presidency, with a population of more than 50,000. It is situated in
the richest tract of the Kaveri delta. Formerly the capital of the
Chola kingdom, it is one of the most ancient and sacred towns in
Southern India, and is so celebrated for its learning as to be spoken of
as the Indian Oxford. It is much resorted to by learned Indians, and
great numbers of pilgrims.
The older buildings have disappeared, though fragments of them
are plentiful enough in the walls of those of more recent date. There
is a very beautiful gopura, not one of the largest, but rich in detail
and decoration. The largest pagoda is in twelve stories, and is fully
160 feet high. The temple of Siva is approached by a curious
arched passage, 330 feet long, lined with shops on either side.
The Mahamohan tank is one of the handsomest in India, its banks
being studded with fine temples, flights of steps, and a very large and
ancient pagoda of red brick. There are a number of huge idol cars,
like that of Jagganath, which at the annual festival are dragged by
thousands of people.
The Beauchamp College at Combaconum is one of the best in
India.


MADRAS TO TAN/ORE.
539
Tanjore.—This important city of 60,000 inhabitants is situated in
what has been justly termed the garden of South India. It is on the
vast Delta of the Kaveri, a highly cultivated and populous district,
irrigated by a network of canals, and dotted with magnificent groves
of cocoanut trees. There are more than 3,000 Hindu temples in
this wealthy district, that in Tanjore city being the finest in India.
The grand anicut on the Kaveri, which feeds the irrigation canals, is
said to have been made by a Chola king in the 3rd century. It was
originally a solid mass of rough stone, 1,080 feet in length, sixty feet
wide, and eighteen feet deep, stretching across the whole width of one
of the outlets of the Kaveri River. The irrigation works of Tanjore
are unusually interesting to those who care to see such feats of
engineering.
Tanjore was the capital of the Chola dynasty, one of the greatest of
the ancient Hindu monarchies from the 10th to the 14th century. It
has been a place of great consequence as a political capital, a seat of
learning, and a religious centre for the last 1,200 years.
The travellers' bungalow is situated near the little fort. The fort,
palace, and temple of Tanjore present a group of buildings unrivalled
in Southern India.
The fort surrounds the entire city, and was built by the Nayakar
kings of Tanjore; afterwards enlarged by the kings of the Maratha
dynasty. The citadel contains a tank of very fine pure water, the
great temple, and a small Christian church built by Schwartz, the
well-known missionary, whose beautiful tomb, by Flaxman, is a
notable specimen of the work of this famous sculptor.
On one of the ramparts is a monster gun, called Raja Gopala, made
of rings of iron welded together, and bound with hoops of brass.
This gun is twenty-four feet five inches long, with an outside circum-
ference of ten feet three inches, and a bore of two feet two inches.
It was made by one of the Vaisbnava Nayakar kings. It has only
been fired once, when the inhabitants were warned by beat of drum to
clear out of the town. It was fired by a train of powder two miles
long, which took forty minutes to reach the gun. All went well!
It is the palladium of the fort, and was worshipped in hours of
peril.
The palace covers a large area. Its main features are the seven-
storied tower, the hall of the Nayakar kings (recently excavated after
a burial of 150 years), the arsenal, and the Nayakar Durbar Hall.





MADRAS TO TAN/ORE.
543
15th century. It is remarkable for the wonderful skill and minute-
ness with which the details of its sculptured decorations have been
worked out. The figures in the recesses are various representations
of Soubramanya.
Against one of the outer walls of Soubramanya's temple is placed a
sacred cistern and sculptured water-spout, that ought not to be passed
by unobserved. The water which flows out of the spout has been
poured over the idol inside, and is drunk by the Hindu worshippers as
a meritorious and purifying act.
The inner side of the courtyard is arcaded, and is probably the
oldest portion of the entire temple fabric. The 216 compartments
are occupied by lingams of black stone.
Many of the idols in this great temple are very ancient, centuries
older than any of its buildings. There are a great number of smaller
temples and shrines within the boundaries of the Temple, but they
do not call for any detailed description.
The finest brass and metal work in India is made at Tanjore and
Madura. Sir Geo. Birdwood says that in its bold forms and
elaborately inwrought ornamentation it recalls the descriptions by
Homer of the work of the urtists of Sidon in bowls of antique fame.
Some are simply etched, others deeply cut in mythological designs,
and others diapered all over with crustae of the leaf pattern, seen in
Assyrian sculptures, copper on brass, or silver on copper, producing an
effect often of quite regal grandeur.
The gold and silver jewellery and repousst work of Tanjore is
superb, and purely Indian, generally of mythological designs. Pretty
paintings on Talc are sold in the bazars.
The calicoes made here are of very excellent quality, and are woven
in coloured threads into striped, checked, or tartan cloth. Striped
silk materials are very beautiful, and costly silk pile carpets are also
turned out of the Tanjore looms.
Curious figures of pith and wax, as well as idols and temple
furnishing in brass and other metals, are a special manufacture of
this city.
Tanjore is a great missionary centre; there are no less than twenty-
five stations within the district, the principal societies represented
being the Leipsic Lutheran, the Society for the Propagation of the
Gospel, and the Wesleyan Methodist. The Wesleyan chief, Mr. W.
H. Findlay, M.A., lives at Negapatam, where there is an excellent


544
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
college and High school. The Society for the Propagation of the
Gospel headquarters are also at Negapatam, the clergyman in charge
being the Rev. T. H. Dodson, B.A.
Negapatam was one of the earliest settlements of the Portuguese on
the Coromandcl coast. It is an important seaport town of 55,000
inhabitants, carrying on a brisk trade with Ceylon, Burma, and the
Straits Settlements.
Its imports and exports are nearly a million sterling. The trade is
largely carried on by Labbais, Musalmans who are half Arab and half
Hindu in origin, a bold, active, thrifty race, who develop a great
capacity for commerce. There is a fine Jesuit college of St. Joseph,
with 400 or 500 students and eighteen professors, and the Wesleyans
have a thriving mission.
Three miles from Negapatam, at the little seaport of Nagar, is a
celebrated mosque with five minarets of from six to ten stories, the
highest of which is 150 feet, and can be seen at sea twenty miles oft".
It was erected by a Maratha Raja of Tanjore nearly 200 years ago.
At its annual festival it is resorted to by Musalman pilgrims from all
over India.
Twenty-five miles north of Negapatam is Tranquebar, settled by
the Danes in 1616, and purchased from them by the English in 1845
for £20,000. It is interesting as the first mission station occupied in
India by Protestants, founded by two Lutheran missionaries, Ziegen-
balg and Pliitschan, in 1706. It is now the headquarters of the
Leipsic Evangelical Lutheran Mission. The quaint old Danish fort
still stands on the shore, separated from cultivated land by a wide
strip of sand.


546
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
century, it fell under the dominion of the Nayakan kings of Madura.
The greater portion of the fort, and most of the city itself, was built
during the reign of the first king, Viswanatha. Choka Nayakan
about 100 years afterwards removed his seat of government from
Madura to Trichinopoli, erecting the building now known as the
Nawab's palace.
Trichinopoli played a conspicuous part in the wars of the Karnatic.
It was besieged by the French in 1751, who were drawn off from its
walls by the brilliant capture of Arcot by Clive; but it was the centre
round which the war raged, and was the subject of successive sieges
and blockades for many months, culminating in the memorable
struggle of 1754 between Major Laurence and M. Lally under General
Dupleix, ended at last by the completion of a provisional treaty
between the French and English. Every popular history of India
gives an account of the famous siege of Trichinopoli, the best of
which, perhaps, will be found in the pages of " Orme's History of
the Military Transactions of the British Nation in Indostan from the
year 1745," of which a reprint was published in Madras in 1861, and
can be got at Messrs. Higinbotham's or any good bookseller in that
city.
The great rock of Trichinopoli is a mass of gneiss, rising abruptly
out of the plain, like a huge boulder, to a height of 273 feet above the
street at its foot. This fortress-crowned rock is conspicuous all over the
town, especially when viewed from the river, and forms one of the most
striking and picturesque objects in India. The refraction of the sun's
rays on this huge bare mass makes Trichinopoli likewise one of the
hottest places in India. The fort should, therefore, be visited in the
early morning, the view across the country at sunrise, with the noble
Eaveri River winding its way through the plain, being singularly
beautiful. Trichinopoli stands in a vast expanse of flat country
broken only by French Rocks, a chain of low hills about forty feet
high, the pretty Golden Rock, 100 feet high, and the Pagodas of
Seringham, until the eye reaches the long blue line of the Talo Malai
range in the far north.
The old fortifications surrounding the rock, the scenes of many a
fight described by Orme, were all demolished thirty years ago, and
nothing is now left except tho citadel and the small temple which
crowns the summit. This is approached by a pillared passage cut in
the rock, with elaborate sculptures on the capitals of the columns and


TRICH1N0P0U.
547
the frieze above. Emerging from this covered way, a further flight
of steps is cut in the rock on the open. In 1849 a crowd of pilgrims
were descending this passage after visiting the temple, when, owing to
a panic, 250 persons were crushed to death. The Siva temple on the
top is dedicated to Ganapate. There is a large Nandi bull covered
with silver, and some images of Siva, Parvati, Skanda, and Ganapate.
The old moat of the fort has been filled up, and laid out as a boule-
vard.
A little distance to the south of the rock is the restored Nawab's

THE ROCK OF TBICHINOPOLI.
palace, now used for public offices. Between the rock and the main
gate of the fort is a very handsome teppakulam, or raft-tank, with
flights of stone steps, and a very picturesque shrine in the middle.
At the south-east corner-of the tank is a house which is said to have
been the residence of Clive. It may be identified by stone elephants
kneeling on each side of the doorway.
Trichinopoli is famous for the peculiar and beautiful workmanship
displayed in its gold and gemmed jewellery. The designs, like those
of Delhi, have suffered from Anglo-Indian custom, and have departed
from native purity, but nothing can exceed their technical excellence.
The rose chains, and heart-pattern necklaces and bracelets are the best
specimens.
» 8 2


PICTURESQUE INDIA.
magnificent courtyard, a mass of elaborate sculptured decoration.
The outer enclosure is a bazar filled with shops for the supply of
the hosts of pilgrims. Other enclosures contain the residences of

HALL OF A THOUSAND COLUMNS, SERINGHAM.
attendant Brahmans. There are several very beautiful tanks and
gardens. The whole of the buildings belong to the 17th and 18th
centuries, many of them being unfinished.


TRICHINOPOLI. 5 51
The workmanship and carving of this temple is distinctly inferior,
with the exception of the sculptured horsemen in front of the pillars
in the Hall of One Thousand Columns.

INNER GATEWAY, SEUINQHAM.
The figures on the gopuras are not carved in stone, but are
moulded in stucco. In fact the interest of this pagoda rests in its
vastness as a whole, and the picturesqueness of its details.


PICTURESQUE INDIA.
The temple possesses an interesting treasury, which should be in-
spected. The jewels of the idols are quaint in design and perfect in
workmanship, and include many unusually fine specimens of the un-
rivalled skill of the goldsmiths of the district.

AN ASCETIC, SE1IINGHAM TEMPLE.
The best time to visit Seringham is during the great annual mela,
or religious fair, a moveable feast, which, however, always comes in
during the month of December or January. At this time one of the
great enclosures is roofed in and handsomely decorated. Round
the sides are booths in which are placed curious groups of figures
illustrating the stories of the gods. The interest of any temple is of


556
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
four ranges of columns, 120 in all, each of which differs from the other,
and all most elaborately sculptured. A full account of it, with plan
and illustration, is to be found in Fergusson's " Indian Architecture,"
pp. 359—365. It is said that this choultrie cost over a million
sterling, and the temple four millions; not an excessive estimate,
considering the elaborateness and quantity of the sculpture, and that
it is executed in the hardest granite.

TANK, MADURA TEMPLE.
The facade of the choultrie is adorned with yalis, monsters of the
lion type, trampling on elephants, and with groups of warriors on
rearing horses, slaying men or tigers. The whole building is in
complete preservation, and was built by Tirumala as a guest-house for
Siva, who consented to pay the king an annual visit of ten days on
condition that a hall worthy of his dignity was built for his reception.
Immediately opposite the entrance to the choultrie is a huge un-
finished pagoda, destined by Tirumala to be the finest edifice of the
kind in all India. It measures fifty-eight yards by thirty-six. The
entrance through it is twenty-one feet nine inches wide, and the lofty


MADURA.
557
granite door-posts are monoliths sixty feet high, carved with exqui-
site scroll patterns of foliage and other fine carvings.
The celebrated palace of Tirumala is the most perfect relic of
secular architecture in the Madras presidency. It covers a vast area
of ground, and its buildings have been mostly utilised for public pur-
poses. The central palace is now the Collectorate, and has been re-
stored by Government at considerable expenditure. The main structure
consists of an open court and lofty hall. The courtyard is 100 yards
square, surrounded by galleries crowned with domes. The hall
occupies the whole of one side of the quadrangle, its lofty dome,
seventy-three feet high and sixty-one in diameter, being supported by
rough-hewn granite columns covered with chunam.
The central area of the yard was used for gladiatorial or wild beast
fights, and other pageants. The whole edifice forms one of the finest
public buildings in India.
The Tarn Kam, on the opposite bank of the river to Madura, was
built by Tirumala for wild beast fights and other shows, but has no
architectural interest.
The Teppa Kulam, or great tank, is a mile and a half outside the
city, also built by Tirumala. The banks are faced with hewn granite,
surmounted with a handsome parapet, beneath which runs a continu-
ous paved gallery. In the centre is a square island with a lofty domed
temple in the middle, and dainty little shrines at the four corners.
Once a year, at festival time, the banks are lighted up with 10,000
lamps, while the idols from the pagoda are drawn round in a teppam
or raft. The neighbourhood of this tank is the favourite evening
drive for European residents.
Madura is well laid out with wide handsome streets and market-
places. A ruined gateway is all that remains of the old fort built by
Viswanath.
Christianity is making rapid progress in the district of Madura.
In the census of 1881 there were 85,000 in the Madura district, and
they will probably exceed 100,000 in that of 1891.
There was a Jesuit Church in Madura in the beginning of the 17th
century, where a Portuguese priest ministered to a small congregation
of fishermen converted by Francis Xavier. In 1606 Robert de
Nobilis came to Madura, adopted the life, diet and dress of a religious
devotee. He founded the flourishing mission which now numbers
70,000 converts, ministered to by 14 European and a number of


TINNEVELLI.
56i
district, of whom about 100,000 belong to these two Church missions,
and 60,000 to the Roman Catholic Church.
The history of the Roman Catholic Church in Tinnevelli practically
dates from the 16th century. It was here that Francis Xavier began
his work as the apostle to the Indies. The fishermen of the coast,
protected by the Portuguese against Musalman oppression, had become
Christians, and Xavier formed them into churches. They still speak
of themselves as the children of St. Francis, and at Tuticorin they

COCRTALLUM.
form a third of the population. Robert de Nobilis took up and
extended Xavier's work, and the district is hallowed by the
martyrdoms of Criminale and De Britto. The church suffered
severely from ihs suppression of the Society of Jesus in 1773, the
French revolution, and the local troubles of the close of the last
century, and their numbers declined, their people being left to the
perfunctory care of Goanese priests. In 1837, however, Tinnevelli
was taken in hand by French Jesuits, and since then the mission has
made steady progress. In 1851 there were 23,000 Roman Catholics
in the Tinnevelli district; in 1871, 53,000; iu 1881, 57,000. I
have not been able to get the returns of the present year, but there
must be at least 60,000. They had, in 1881, fifty-nine churches,
ninety-six chapels, forty-eight boys' schools, and six girls' schools,
o o


562
PICTURESQUE INDIA-
with 2,500 scholars in all. They have also three native convents and
three orphanages.
The work of Protestant missions in Tinnevelli dates back more
than a 100 years. The first trace of it is fonnd in the journals of
Schwartz, whose name is memorable in the annals of Christian
missionary work, and ocenrs in the year 1771. The first convert was
a Brahman widow, Clorinda by name, whose zeal for her new-found
faith led to the erection, in Palamkotta, of a little church, the
remains of which are still extant. From that time the work grew and
expanded little by little under the auspices of the Society for Promo-
ting Christian Knowledge, till at the beginning of the present century
the number of native Protestant Christians in Tinnevelli had reached
the total of 4,000. But it is from the year 1820 that we must date
that larger development of missionary operations, which has resulted in
the formation and organisation of the now existing native Church. It
was in that year that the Church Missionary Society, at the invitation
of a zealous chaplain, Mr. Hough, entered the field. Rhenius was
the first and chief missionary; he was followed by many others, of
whom Pettitt, Tucker, Ragland, Fenn, Sargent, and Thomas rank
conspicuously. In 1826 the Society for the Propagation of the
Gospel took up the work transferred to their hands by the Society
for Promoting Christian Knowledge, and added their contingent of
labourers, among whom are the honoured names of Bower, Brotherton,
Pope, Caldwell, Kearns, and Kennet.
The following table of statistics will afford a bird's-eye view of the
visible results of missionary work in Tinnevelli.
STATISTICS OF THE TINNEVELLI MISSIONS FOR THE YEAR 1SSS-89.
Number of
Villages occupied.
Number
of Native
Clergy.
Baptized.
Catechu.
mens.
Total
Number of
Adherents.
Communi-
cants.
Scholars.
C. M. S. 1018
S. P. G. 618
67
48
46,525
30,646
9,328
9,068
65,853
39,714
12,112
7,912
13,219
10,305
Total 1636
113
77,171
18,396
85,567
20,024
23,524
The steady growth of these missions is shown by the fact that the
number of adherents was in 1851, 86,000; 1871, 50,000; 1881,
82,000; and in 1889, 96,000.


TINNEVELLI.
563
In 1877 the two veteran missionaries, Dr. Caldwell of the Society
for the Propagation of the Gospel, and Dr. Sargent, of the Church
Missionary Society, were raised to the episcopate, and, as coadjutors
of the Bishop of Madras, continued to direct the operations of the
societies with which they were respectively connected. Last year
(1889) Bishop Sargent was removed by death, after a vigorous
missionary career extending over a period of fifty-four years.
The territory occupied in Tinnevelli as the sphere of the Church

MISSION CHURCH, TINNEVELLI.
Missionary Society operations, stretches southward from the limits of
the Madura district to a boundary within about twelve miles of Cape
Comorin. It is bounded on the west by the mountain chain of the
Southern Ghats, while on its eastern side it has a broken boundary
line, now receding inwards, and now coinciding with the coast-line of
the eastern sea.
The native Church in connection with this mission has assumed
very considerable proportions, and has reached a somewhat advanced
stage of organisation. Sixty-seven ordained native pastors, and about
a hundred catechists, with the partial assistance of the local Christian
schoolmasters, are engaged in ministering to the spiritual needs
o o 2


TINNEVELLI.
565
It is the only district -which now has a European missionary in
pastoral charge; all the others being associated and combined under
one superintending head, and worked from Palamkotta as centre.
The direct missionary or evangelistic work is well sustained. More
than eighty native evangelists are engaged in preaching all over the
district. Some of the congregations have organised bands of workers
who preach in the adjacent non-Christian villages. The Tinnevelli
Church has also sent evangelists to the Kols, Mauritius and Ceylon,
besides furnishing agents for other outlying Tamil missions. In
North Tinnevelli, a superior native evangelist, Rev. Samuel Paul, is
engaged in fostering this zeal for evangelistic work. But direct
missionary labours, in the aggressive aspect, are not left merely to
the discretion of the native Christian community. A quartette of
Cambridge men, Messrs. Walker, Carr, Douglas and Storrs, has been
specially assigned to this branch of missionary work. They are free
to work on purely spiritual lines, as associated itinerants. It is their
province to preach the gospel to the non-Christians of Tinnevelli, with
special attention to the Brahmans and higher caste Hindus. By
special services of an evangelistic type they seek to deepen the
spiritual life and increase the missionary zeal of native Christians. It
is proposed, too, by the association with these European evangelists
of educated natives of superior culture, to raise up a higher order of
native pastors and evangelists. The headquarters of this Tamil
Itinerancy are placed in Palamkotta, as being the key and centre of
the province.
The district is covered with village elementary schools, worked by
the various church councils, in which the children of Christian parents
receive primary education. For boys, who seek a higher education,
there are boarding-schools at Palamkotta, Dohnavur, Mengnanapuram,
Sieviseshapurum, Panneivilei, Pannikulam, Nallur, Surandei and
Sachiapuram. The standard up to which instruction is afforded in
most of these boarding-schools is that of the middle-school examina-
tion, which qualifies for certain posts under Government employment,
and is the stepping stone to higher education. The Mengnanapuram
boarding-school has, in addition, a matriculation class, and passes
boys through the entrance examination of the Madras University. But
the most important school for the education of Christian boys is the
high school of Palamkotta, of which E. Key worth is principal, ably
assisted by nativo Christian graduates and others. The school is very


566
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
efficient and successful as an educational establishment. The grade
of education in this school is that of the matriculation standard.
Christian boys who wish to proceed to a still higher grado are passed
on in due course to the Tinnevelli college, of which Rev. H. Schaffter,
B.A., is principal, and which, along with its larger work among non-
Christians, includes also a hostel for Christian youths. In this
manner means are afforded for Christian lads of Tinnevelli to pursue
their studies as far as the F.A. of the Madras University. Those who
wish to proceed to their degree are then recommended to continue
their studies in the Madras Christian College. The normal work is
under the superintendence of Rev. T. Kember, who thus provides the
mission with its schoolmasters and teachers.
As in the case of boys, the ordinary elementary instruction of
Christian girls is conducted in the local village schools. A higher
^rade of education is furnished in the girls' boarding-schools of
Palamkotta, Panneurlei, Mengnanapuram, Nallur, Sachiapuram and
Surandei. Of these, the Mengnanapuram [Elliot Tuxford] school is
under the able management of Mrs. Thomas and her daughter, who
are now to be further assisted by Miss Vines, a lady newly come from
England; while that of Sachiapuram is under the direction of Mrs.
Finnimore. The rest are affiliated to the Palamkotta Sarah Tucker
institution, the great central home of Christian female education in
Tinnevelli, which every traveller should visit. Here are trained all
the Christian schoolmistresses of the mission, and hence proceed
influences which are doing more than words can express to raise the posi-
tion and status of women in South India. This institution has a large
number of branches scattered through the district, in which hundreds
of non-Chiristian girls, including many Brahman children, are being
instructed in the first principles of the Christian faith. Great stress
is laid both in boys' and girls' schools on religious instruction, as
the one basis of true knowledge. Many of the leading Christians are
converts from the mission schools, while others who had never had
the courage of their convictions, and are Hindus still, have been
influenced and permeated by the truth of Christianity. The Tinnevelli
Mission College, under the management of the Rev. H. Schaffter,
B.A., has more than 400 students, and is doing good work in a large
Hindu town. Mr. Schaffter is ably seconded in his work by Mr. F.
Ardell, a well-trained schoolmaster. As noticed before, the education
in this college is carried up to the F.A. grade of the Madras


TINNEVELLI.
567
University. Bible instruction is faithfully given each day. In
Strivikuntan, a town to the east, an existing Anglo-Vernacular school
has just been affiliated to the Tinnevelli College; and Mr. Schaffter
is now proposing to open similar schools in other large towns in the
district. In the North Tinnevelli district, Anglo-Vernacular mission
schools are at work in the towns of Strevilliputur and Sankeraninar
Koil, under the superintendence of Eev. A. K. Finnimore. These
schools are characterised by faithful Bible instruction, and a zealous
concern for the spiritual welfare of the students. Mr. Schaffter is
always ready to make opportunities for evangelists to address his
students.
The Church of England Zenana Missionary Society is represented
in Tinnevelli by three European lady missionaries: Misses Gehrich,
Blyth, and Hodge, who have their headquarters in Palamkottu.
Their special work is that of evangelising the heathen women of the
district, and, with this object in view, they instruct pupils privately in
the houses, teaching them to read the Bible. They are assisted in this
useful work by thirty-four Bible-women, engaged in instructing 655
pupils in twenty-four towns and villages. This important work is
being gradually extended, and seems capable of almost unlimited ex-
pansion. The Zenana ladies also superintend some schools for heathen
girls, of which that in the large town of Viradapatti, is worthy of
special mention. The work of this society in North Tinnevelli has,
through local difficulties, been temporarily abandoned, except in two
towns situated by the railway, but it is to be resumed and established
on a firmer basis. A " Convert's Home " has recently been opened in
Palamkotta, and two inmates, women won from heathenism, already
testify to the usefulness and importance of this branch of missionary
enterprise.
Tuticoein is not an attractive place, and travellers who are desirous
of reaching Ceylon from this port had better make whatever waiting
for the steamer may be necessary at Tinnivelli or Madura. If it
rains, the mud is terrible; if the sun shines, the dust is a perfect
scourge. The soil is shallow, and very little of it, the region being one
of heavy sand, quite bare of herbage. It is, however, a very thriving
seaport town, with a population of 16,000. It is sixth in volume of
foreign trade of all the ports in India, the annual value of its imports
and exports reaching close upon two millions sterling. Shipping has
to anchor two to three miles from shore, cargo being conveyed in boats


57"
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
In 1815. In 1888.
Health expenditure . . £1,000 . . . £60,000.
Post-offices . . . . 4 130.
Area under cultivation . 400,000 acres . 3,100,000 acre*.
Live stock . ... 250,000 head . . . 1,500,000 head.
Carts and carriages . 50 20,000.
But besides, there are in the island 1,100 miles of telegraph, a
Government savings-bank with 10,000 depositors, 120 excellent
hospitals and dispensaries, with a first-rate medical college for
natives. If Ceylon had remained under the rule of the Kandyan
kings, none of this progress would have been visible. Ceylon is a
purely agricultural country, as its lists of exports clearly show. The
following is a short list of the exports of some of the principal crops
of Ceylon for 1886 :—
£
Cardamoms 22,000
Areca nuts 100,000
Quinine 300,000
Cinnamon and cinnamon oil . . 115,000
Cocoa nuts and fibre .... 70,000
Cacao 40,000
Coffee 600,000
Cotton 20,000
Cocoa-nut oil 24,000
Tea 370,000
Tobacco 80,000
Fifteen years ago the great staple crop of Ceylon was coffee, which,
in the years 1868, 1869, and 1870, reached an average export of
£4,000,000. This industry is, unhappily, being slowly destroyed by
a minute fungus which has attacked the leaf, working deadly mischief
all over Ceylon, and especially in the young plantations which, at a
capital outlay of nearly £3,000,000, were brought under coffee
cultivation in the years 1870—74. The slow but sure destruction of
this valuable industry is shown by the list of exports from 1S77 to
1888, which are as follows, in cwts.:—
Year.
Cut.
Tear.
Cut
.
1877 .
. . 620,000
1883 .
. 323,000
1878
. 825,000
1884
. 315,000
1879 .
. . 670,000
1885 .
. 224,000
1880
. 454,000
18S6
. 180,000
1881 .
. . 564,000
1888 .
. 140,000
1882
. 260,000


CEYLON.
Many of the coffee planters of Ceylon have been hopelessly ruined,
and if it had not been possible for the valuable cleared lands to bo
brought under other profitable crops, it would have gone hard with
the colony. The planters of Ceylon are shrewd, industrious men,
with a large Scottish element among them, and they seem to be
finding their salvation in tea and quinine.
In 1872 there were not 500 acres of cinchona (qninine-tree) in all
Ceylon, with an export of bark not reaching 12,000 lb.; while to-day
there are at least 30,000 acres under cultivation, with an export of
14,000,000 lb. of bark.
In 1876 the exports of tea were just 23 lb., in 1887 they were
14,000,000 lb., and in 1888 24,000,000 lb., and Ceylon bids fair to
rival the most important districts in Northern India in its tea-growing
capacity. The teas are of a high character, fine flavour, and perfectly
pure, and I see no reason why India and Ceylon should not in course
of time supplant China teas to a very large extent. I visited several
of the finest tea-plantations in Ceylon, and in many cases found the
young tea-plants growing up in a forest of stumps, all that was left of
what was once a valuable coffee estate, destroyed by the fell fungus.
Tea will prove of greater value to the colony than coffee growing, as
it employs rather more than twice the number of hands per acre.
Other coffee planters are turning their attention to the cacao-tree,
on which the bean grows which gives us our cocoa and chocolate.
The export of this product has grown from 10 cwt. in 1878 to 12,000
cwt. in 1888, and is likely, in a very few years, to reach ten times
this amount. Cardamoms have risen in the same space of time from
14,000 lb. to 280,000 lb. It will be readily seen from these figures
that although the destruction of the coffee-tree has been disastrous to
a large number of planters, the colony is recovering itself with great
buoyancy, and is probably more solidly prosperous to-day than at any
previous period of its history.
The only industry in Ceylon which is not agrarian is plumbago
mining. This is entirely in the hands of the Cingalese, who work
mines up to 300 feet in depth in a very primitive fashion, obtaining
some ^350,000 worth annually of the finest plumbago in the world.
It appeared to me, in the short visit I was able to pay to this
interesting tropical colony, that its main dependence in future must
be on tea; and the best authorities tell me that the export will in a
very few years reach thirty or forty million pounds, worth some two


572
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
millions sterling. I was also told by coffee planters that the ravages
of the disease are abating, and that the colony will be able to produce
in future an average export of coffee of about one million sterling, or
one-fourth of what was produced at the highest period of its
prosperity. It is quite evident, however, from the figures I have
given, that the deficit of three millions on coffee is fast being over-
taken, and that the general prospects of Ceylon agriculture are bright
enough.
There is no doubt that the change of culture in Ceylon from coffee
to tea will be of great benefit to the masses of the population, from
the largely increased employment which it will afford. Almost all
the plantation labour is carried on by Tamils, from Southern India,
the Cingalese refusing to do coolie work, devoting themselves entirely
to trading, small farming, carting produce (a large industry), and to
handicrafts. To these Tamils Ceylon is a heaven upon earth. In
their own country their average earnings per family of five reaches
about £6 in the year, or less than a Id. per head per day, a condition
of things that appears almost incredible to English minds, and in
which recurrent famines, terrible in their results, are certain. The
Tamils employed on a Ceylon tea estate have the wealth of Croesus
compared with their relatives at home. They have good huts, cheap
food, small gardens, medical attendance, and can earn from 6d. to 9d.
per day. I doubt if, considering the climate and cost of living, there
are any labouring classes in the world better off than the Tamil
families settled on the plantations of Ceylon.
The revenues of the colony steadily increase. In 1887 they were
£1,340,000, in 1888 they increased to £1,540,000. The public debt
is two and a quarter millions, and has been incurred for Colombo
Harbour, railway extension, water-works, &c.
The trade of Ceylon, as everywhere else in the East, is over-
whelmingly in the hands of the English. Of 6,733 vessels entered
and cleared in 1888 at Ceylon ports, British shipping formed six-
sevenths of the whole; and the same proportion applies to
merchandise.
Ceylon gets on without a poor-law. A very few old persons get
a charitable allowance from the Government, varying from 2s. to
'25*. each per month; but it amounts to very little on the
whole.
Employment is plentiful, the people are thrifty, the cost of living


CEYLON.
573
is extremely small, and the young and strong are glad to care for the
aged and weak.
The Local Government of Ceylon consists of the following
Boards:—
1st. The Executive and Legislative Councils, which are of the same
composition and exercise the same functions as I have already
described with regard to Hong Kong or Singapore. None of the
members are elective, but there is always a Cingalese and a Tamil
member on the Legislative Council.
2nd. Municipal Councils, of which the majority are elected by
occupiers rented at £7 a year, the rest being nominated by the
Governor. In Colombo there are five official and nine elective
members. The other two boroughs in the island are Kandy and
Galle.
3rd. Local Boards, in populous districts, composed in the same
manner as the municipalities. There are ten of these local boards in
Ceylon. The qualification is an occupancy of not less than £3 10s.
4th. The Village Council.—This is a council elected by a con-
stituency composed of every male inhabitant of the village, or groups
of villages, who is twenty-one years of age. There are forty-eight of
these village councils.
Anything approaching party politics is quite unknown in Ceylon.
There is a tendency to jobbery, which, however, is kept in cbeck by
the official members. On the whole, the system of local government
nppears admirably suited for the budding intelligence and education
of the people, and will, no doubt, be extended as the social conditions
improve and justify.
I have already spoken of wages paid on tea, coffee, cinchona, and
other plantations, as ranging from 6d. to 9d. per day. The general
rate of wages for labour in Colombo and other towns, for such work
as stablemen, messengers, porters, gardeners, &c, is about the same,
twelve to fifteen rupees a month, the rupee being worth Is. 5d. Men
in more responsible positions, such as warehousemen, foremen of
gangs of coolies, &c, are paid 35s. to 40s. per month. Skilled
workmen, bookbinders, machinists, compositors, cabinet-makers, and
carpenters get 45s. to 50s. per month. Good clerks and bookkeepers,
£40 to £50 a year. These wages will appear very meagre to an
English workman, but I expect the Cingalese is better off with these
wages than the English workman with his. The Cingalese wants no


576
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
of Wales on December 8th, 1875, and the lamps of the lighthouse
shone out over the Indian Ocean on the night of January 27th,
1885.
The breakwater thus took nearly ten years to complete. The shore
portion, or "root-work," extends over four and a half acres, reclaimed
from the sea, having a solid wall of concrete blocks to the sea front,
and a fine wharf about 1,000 feet long on the harbour side, with a
depth at low water of fourteen feet, accommodating a considerable

THE COLOMBO BREAKWATER.
number of good-sized vessels engaged in the coasting trade. From
this wharf the breakwater starts, in sixteen feet of water at low tide,
extending northwards for over 3,000 feet, then curving inwards for
another 1,000 feet or more, which, with the shore portion, makes a
total length of 4,877 feet, or close upon a mile in length. The breakwater
ends in about forty feet of water at lowest tides with a circular head
sixty-two feet in diameter, on which there is a fine lighthouse, visible
for ten miles. This circular head is formed of concrete in mass, in a
wrought-iron caisson under low water, and of concrete blocks above
the level. The breakwater itself is composed of a mound of granite


580
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
The finding and cutting of gems is an important trade in Ceylon.
At Kandy the cutters are seen in their little shops working a cast-iron
cylinder with a how, like a drill, on which they grind the uncut
sapphire or ruby, which are the gems most frequently discovered.
The zircon, a smoky-coloured diamond, the amethyst, the chrysoberyl,
or cat's-eye, a gem which has lately come into fashion, and for which
great prices are demanded, garnets, spinel rubies, tourmalines, and
the pretty moonstone which was so popular a purchase at the Colonial
Exhibition in London a year or two back, are all found in various
parts of Ceylon, mostly about Ratnapura [the city of gems].
Ceylon is also celebrated for fine pearls, gathered from oyster or
mussel banks on the north-west coast.
The Pettah, or native market-place, is, as is always the case in the
East, a scene of busy life, full of varieties of costume, race, and
colour. The traders in Ceylon are Moormen and Cingalese; the
labourers are mostly Tamils from Southern India. The Moormen
wear cotton trousers and jacket, with a curious beehive^haped hat of
plaited grass, dyed in various colours. The Cingalese wear a sheet of
brightly coloured calico twisted round the hips, and reaching to the
feet like a petticoat, with a white jacket. They delight in long hair,
which they twist up into a chignon, combing it back all round the
forehead. Their only "hat" is a round tortoise-shell comb, which
every Cingalese wears as a sacred duty. The Tamils wear as little as
possible, and the children of all sorts nothing at all except a bit of
string round the waist or neck, from which is suspended a charm to
ward off the attacks of their favourite devil. The Cingalese women
and men dress very much alike, and it is often difficult to tell which is
which until you realise that the men wear a comb and the women
hair-pins. Besides the Pettah, or central market, there are others
clustered round the suburbs, to which the villagers on their own side of
the town resort. One of these is on each side of a curious bridge of
boats, about 500 feet long, two miles out of the town on the Kandy
road, composed of twenty-one boats anchored at each end, from which
two are slipped every day for two hours to let the traffic through.
The Cingalese aro a rice-eating people; rice and some curried
vegetable, such as cocoa-nut, jack-fruit, or plantain, with a little dried
fish, forming their diet all the year round. Fish, fruit, and vegetables,
therefore, are the chief stocks of all the markets. The vehicular
traffic of the country, except a few carriages in Colombo and Kandy,


582
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
tiles of the buildings, the bright-yellow and crimson dresses of the
peasants, and the brown skins of the native children relieving the

THE DEKANDA VALLEY.
intense and somewhat monotonous tropical green. Presently the
Kelani-Ganga river, the greatest stream of water in the island, is
crossed by a very fine iron bridge, and on the other side a branch line
turns ofi to the quarries, from which were got the stones for building


CEYLON.
583
the breakwater at Colombo. Fifty miles from Colombo the railway
commences its great climb of 6,000 feet to Nuwera Eliya. It creeps
up the flank of a magnificent mountain, Allagalla, whose high peak,

SENSATION ROCK.
crowning a sheer precipice, dominates the whole valley. From the
summit of Allagalla the old Kandyan kings used to hurl those whom
they suspected of treason. On the opposite side of the great green
valley of Dekanda are the Camel Mountain, so called from its re-
semblance to that animal, and the Bible Mountain, with a chain of


586
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
great snakes, sometimes growing straight up in the air till they
attach themselves to the lower branches, thus forming stout props to
support the weight of heavy foliage, and enable it to resist storm and
tempest.
There is no need in this garden for the familiar notice, " Keep off
the grass." If you venture on the lawns without high boots, nasty

INDIA-RUBBER TREE, PERAPENIA.
little leeches the thickness of a hair wriggle through your trousers and
stockings, and suck your blood until they swell out to the thickness of
a lead pencil. Instances are known in which men have gone to sleep
on the grass in Ceylon, and have been found dead, sucked to death by
hundreds of these horrible creatures. It is also necessary to beware
of " snakes in the grass." The day I visited these gardens one of the
gardeners was bitten by a snake, and was lying dangerously ill in the
hands of a native doctor, who possessed secret remedies handed down
to him from his forefathers by word of mouth only. While I was
enjoying a cup of tea at Dr. Triman's bungalow another gardener
brought a fine lively cobra which he had just caught, tied by a string
to a stick, striking its fangs vigorously into every object that was


CEYLON.
587
thrust towards its head. On the whole, therefore, it is well to keep
to the paths and beaten tracks as much as possible to avoid these
gentry, as well as centipedes and black scorpions, which are equally
plentiful. Immediately inside the garden-gate is a wondrously
beautiful group of all the palms indigenous to the island. Here is
the cocoa-nut, with its cylindrical trunk two feet thick, soaring up
into the air 150 feet, crowned with a huge tuft of feathery leaves
eighteen or twenty feet long, with great bunches of fruit clustering in
their shade, the Palmyra palm, which, according to a famous Tamil
poem, can be put to 801 different uses. Its leaves are circular, with
seventy or eighty ribs, opening like a great fan. These leaves are
used by the natives to thatch their cottages, to make matting for
floor and ceiling, bags and baskets, hats and caps, fans, umbrellas
and paper. The fruits, as well as the young seedlings, are cooked and
eaten as a nutritious vegetable, and from the flower-spikes, alas! the
native obtains palm wine or toddy, which can be distilled into stronger
arrack. The Sago palm and its relative, the Kitul palm, yield not
only the nutritious pith which makes the familiar pudding of our
childhood, but also produce excellent sugar and splendid fibre for rope-
making and other purposes. The Areca-nut palm produces the well-
known betel nut, which rolled up in leaves of the betel pepper, with a
little lime and tobacco, makes the favourite " chaw " of the natives of
Ceylon and India, a harmless though nasty practice, for which they
will sacrifice moat, drink, washing, and lodging. More beautiful than
these is the queen of all palms, the Talipot, which for thirty years from
its birth pushes up its straight white shining trunk, with its crown of
dark-green leaves, till it reaches a height of 100 feet or more. Then
it blooms—and such a bloom!—a tall pyramidal spike of white
blossoms forty feet above its crown of huge green fans, perhaps the
noblest flower the world produces. Each bloom forms a nut, and the
tree, having scattered its seeds to become palms in their turn, dies of
the supreme effort. I was fortunate enough to see a magnificent
talipot in full bloom, and to obtain a good photograph of its marvellous
beauty. The travellers' palm is one that contains quantities of per-
fectly pure water in the thick ends of its leaves. The cabbage palm
has a capital edible imitation of that homely vegetable as its fruit, and
the oil palm, with a dozen other varieties, are all to be found in
flourishing growth in the remarkable clump of palms I am trying to
describe so feebly.


59o
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
these ancient and sombre forests. The ascent of Pedur u Galla is
easy and may be made the greater part of the way on horseback.
Six miles from Nuwera Eliya, at Hakgala, is the beautiful hill
garden attached to Dr. Triman's department, as a supplement to
Peradenia. This garden is under the charge of Mr. Nock, who is-
always glad to welcome travellers who wish to see it.
From Nuwera Eliya, a very interesting expedition may be made to-
Adam's Peak, the sacred mountain of Ceylon, through beautiful

aham's peak.
scenery, the particulars of which may be obtained in the excellent
local guide-book published in Colombo. I was not able to take this
excursion myself, so can give no information based upon experience.
There are, however, good government rest-houses placed at intervals
of about fifteen miles along all the roads of Ceylon, clean and
comfortable, containing a good guest-room, and half a dozen simply
furnished bed-rooms. Plain meals are provided at reasonable fixed
charges.
Travellers returning to Kandy from Nuwera Eliya will find a.
pleasant alternative route by driving through Ramboda and a fine


CEYLOA.
S9>
mountain pas3 to Gampola, a station on the Kandy Railway. This is
a distance of forty miles, and with a halt of two hours at Ramboda
rest-house, can be accomplished with the same pair of horses in time
to catch the last train to Kandy. The scenery the whole way is
superb, and at Ramboda there are two or three Tery fine waterfalls
close to the rest-house. The road is a good one, descending nearly
5,000 feet, giving the greatest possible variety of vegetation in the
gradual change from the cool temperature of Nuwera Eliya, to the
tropical heat of Kandy.
The most interesting and important antiquity in Ceylon is the
ancient Buddhist city of Anuradhapura, to the north of Kandy, which
was the capital of Ceylon from B.C. 400 to a.d. 770. It is totally
deserted, in the midst of an almost uninhabited jungle, and involves a
journey of some hardship, with a night and a day in a bullock-cart.
The landlord of the Queen's Hotel at Kandy will arrange the details of
the journey for any traveller anxious to go. Full particulars of these
extraordinary ruins, with many illustrations, will be found in Chapter
VIII. of Fergusson's " Indian Architecture," in which twenty pages
are devoted to the Buddhist antiquities of Ceylon.
The total population of Ceylon is 2,800,000, of whom 1,850,000
are native Cingalese, 700,000 are Tamils from Southern India,
200,000 Moormen and Malays, and 22,000 Europeans and Eurasians.
The religious census shows that 1,700,000 of the population are
Buddhist, 600,000 Hindu, 200,000 Muhammadan, and 270,000
Christians.
The Roman Catholics are in overwhelming majority among
Christian denominations (220,000 of the whole), their missionary
enterprise having been as successful in Ceylon as everywhere else
throughout the East.
The Buddhist priests are very ignorant, and exercise little or no
moral restraint over their people, who are more attached to their
ancient superstition of devil-worship than they appear to be to
Buddhism, which they only respect so far as the outside of the cup
and platter is concerned. The devil-dancer and his curate, the tom-
tom beater, have a good time in Ceylon, and there are 2,735 of these
scoundrels distributed throughout the island. They are simply pro-
fessional exorcists, and as everything untoward—bad weather, sick-
ness, and what not—is the direct result of devils, they are in continual
request. It speaks ill for Buddhism that 2,000 years of influence


THE NORTH-WEST FRONTIER OF INDIA. 595
land, and in the political fact that it confronts a series of territories,
inhabited by wild and turbulent, by independent or semi-dependent
tribes, behind whom looms the grim figure of Russia, daily advancing
into clearer outline from the opposite or north-west quarter. It is to
protect the Indian Empire, its peoples, its trades, its laboriously
established government, and its accumulated wealth, from the in-
security and possible danger arising from a further Russian advance
across the intervening space, that the frontier which I am about to
describe has been traced and fortified. Politicians of all parties have
agreed that, while the territorial aggrandisement of Russia is per-
missible over regions where she replaces barbarism even by a crude
civilisation, there can be no excuse for allowing her to take up a
position in territories acknowledging our sway, where she can directly
menace British interests in India, or indirectly impose an excessive
strain upon the resources and the armed strength of our Eastern
dominions. The guardianship of the frontier is, therefore, an act of
defence, not of defiance, and is an elementary and essential obligation
of Imperial statesmanship.
Broadly speaking, the most distinctive physical characteristic of the
north-west frontier through the greater part of its extent is a range
of mountains rising from the west side of the Indus valley, and pierced
by a large number of defiles, passes, or valleys conducting to the
higher plateaux of Afghanistan and Baluchistan. This mountain
range, known for a considerable portion of its length as the Sulaiman
Bange, extends from the upper waters of the Indus almost to the
Indian Ocean, diminishing in altitude as it proceeds from north to
south. Originally it was supposed that there were but three or four
passes or cracks by which this mountain barrier was perforated, and
that if British soldiers only stood sentinel at their exits an invader
would have no other alternative but to come down and be annihilated.
Modern surveys, however, have shown that the number of available
passes is nearer 300 than three; a discovery which has suggested the
l;olicy of establishing friendly relations with the tribes who hold them,
and thus acquiring an indirect control over their we.stern mouths.
For just as the main physical feature of the frontier is this mountain
wall with its narrow lateral slits, so the main political feature is the
existence in the tracts of country thus characterised of a succession
of wild and warlike tribes, owning allegiance to no foreign potentate,
but cherishing an immemorial love for freedom and their native hills.
Q Q 2


THE NORTH-WEST FRONTIER OF INDIA.
599
situated on a tongue of land projecting wedgewise into the amphi-
theatre of mountains which close India on this side from the outer
world. At a distance, however, of ten miles from the town, they are
pierced by the celebrated defile known as the Khaibar Pass, which is
the shortest and most direct route to Kabul, distant 180 miles.
Peshawar, though it has large contonments, and is an imposing
military station, is almost unfortified. The issues either of defence
or attack would be decided before the arrival of an invading force, in
the windings of that eventful pass. Peshawar, however, is not
actually upon the frontier; the ultimate outpost of British arms being
nine miles further on at Jamrud, on the extremity of the plain, and
at the doorway of the Khaibar. Jamrud consists of a mud fort, rather
like a big turret-ship of the most improved and hideous modern type,
plastered over with clay and moored on the plain. Till lately it was
in contemplation to fortify Jamrud and to continue the railway from
Peshawar to this point, with a view of perhaps ultimately ascending
the Khaibar, the surveys having long ago been made and the construc-
tion as far as Jamrud authorised. Recently, however, there has been
a revulsion of feeling in favour of an easier railroad, extending towards
Afghanistan in a more northerly direction by following the course of
the Kabul Eiver up the Michni Pass. Surveys for this line have now
been made, and it is likely that it will before long be carried out.
Immediately beyond Jamrud the hills open by a narrow portal
upon the plains, and the Khaibar Pass begins. Here, too, begins the
strip of border highland before indicated, peopled by semi-independent
tribes, of whom the Afridis, estimated at 20,000 strong, are the most
powerful and independent. They have often fought against us in the
past, and the last time Shere Ali went through the Khaibar, with un-
ceremonious impartiality they plundered and appropriated his baggage.
Our policy has for some years been wisely devoted to conciliating these
tribes, many of whose best warriors now pass through the ranks of our
native army, and whom we subsidise to guard and keep open the
Khaibar. The Khaibar Corps of Rifles is the name of the local regi-
ment raised from them, and commanded by native officers; and it is
as smart and workmanlike a body of men as can be conceived. It was
with an Afridi cavalry escort that I rode up the Pass, and the castles
or fortified posts, the principal of which is Ali Masjid, that line its
course, are held by their levies or Chowkidars. On two days in the
week, Tuesday and Friday, the Khaibar is open by arrangement with


6oo
PICTURESQUE INDIA.
them for the passage of convoys coming down from Kabul and Central
Asia, an armed escort being provided by the Afridis, who also align
the heights with sentinels. I met one of these caravans coming down,
a long string of well-loaded camels, oxen, asses, and mules, attended
by bearded warriors with marked Israelitish features and the stature
of a Saul. These arrangements work so well, that the Khaibar is not
only absolutely safe as now in times of peace, but that in case of the
outhreak of war, we might rely with certainty upon our subsidised
allies to co-operate with us, either for the purpose of guarding our own
advance, or of resisting the descent of a hostile force. Many of them
volunteered for service in the late Black Mountain Expedition; and
their loyalty may be considered assured. An Afridi garrison occupies
the important fortified position of Lundi Kotal at the further end of
the Pass, which may consequently be taken as the farthest limit of
British jurisdiction, and as in reality marking the point upon the
main road to Kabul where Afghan territory begins. An excellent
road runs up the Pass to Lundi Kotal, which is in telegraphic com-
munication with India. In fact the British frontier might very legiti-
mately bo coloured upon maps, not to Jamrud but to Lundi Kotal, and
the entire Khaibar Pass may be considered to have been brought by
the effective dispositions of Colonel Warburton under British control.
If we now retrace our steps and follow the Indus Valley down from
Attock, we find that a railway has been completed from the largo
military station of Rawnl Pindi, sixty miles further south on the main
line to Kushalgarh, eighty miles distant on the left bank of the river.
Kushalgarh is the starting-point for Kohat, thirty miles; and from
there a good road leads to the frontier post of Thai, sixty miles.
Near here is the mouth of the Kuram Valley, the second great avenue
of approach from Afghanistan into India or vice versa, up which Sir
F. Boberts marched in 1879 to the Peiwar Kotal, where he fought a
great battlo, and to the precipitous crux of tho Shutargardan Pass.
The Kuram Valley is wide, open, and well-watered, and a good road,
made by our troops in 1879, leads up to Kuram Fort at its upper end,
and on over the mountains to Kabul. This entire district, which may
bo compared to a second tongue of land, protruded in tho direction of
the Afghan frontier, was one of the assigned territories, made over to
Great Britain by tho Treaty of Gaudamak with Ynkub Khan in 1879.
At the close of the war, in order to escape the cost of direct adminis-
tration, it was handed over to the local tribe of the Turis, in reward





INDEX.
A.
Aborigines, 428, 614, S32
Abu, 72
Adam's Peak, 590
Adilibad, 137
Adoni, 480
Agra, 199
Ahmadabad, 49
Ahmadnagar, 425
Ajmir, 77
Ajodhya, 298
Ajunta, 417
Aligarh, 263
Ali Masjid, 181, 599
Allahabad, 870
Amaniath, 42S
Ambala, 147
Amber, 106
Amritsar, 151
Antiquities—
Buddhist, 26, 70, 320, 326, 341, 379,
390, 396, 409, 416, 418, 422, 429,
433, 448, 499, 602, 584, 591
Hindu, 24, 410, 477, 502, 620
Jain, 397, 410, 463, 454, 457
Scythian, 534
Anuradhapura, 691
Arcot, 607
Arkonam, 492
Aror, 192
Abts and Crafts—
Armour, 118
Blackwood furniture, 21, 63
Brass and copper, 20, 62, 291, 316,
436, 543, 568
Arts and Crafts—continued.
Brocades, 64, 320
Carpets, 159, 320, 377, 476, 501, 520,
543, 548
Clay modelling, 287
Cotton cloth and prints, 113, 144,
290, 543
Cotton-spinning, 12, 36, 63, 274
Damascened work, 113, 195
Dealers, 22
Diamonds, 473
Embroidery, 127, 195, 290
Enamels, 287, 111, 195, 400
Garnets, 113
Gem engraving, 143, 287
Gold and silver cloth, 65, 319
Gold and silver lace, 63, 144, 288
Gold and silver thread and wire, 63,
287, 425, 437
Huka pipes, 282
Idols, 66, 317, 436, 643
Inlaid work, 22
Ivory carving, 23, 143, 168, 368
Jewellery, 20, 62, 112, 118, 123, 127,
142, 195, 287, 285, 353, 368, 436,
499, 601, 516, 632, 643, 547, 558
678
Kashmir shawls, 157
Kincobs, 64, 318
Lacquer, 196, 516
Leather workers, 62, 143
Marble images, 113
Marble inlaying, 226
Miniatures, 143
Mosaics, 225
Muslins, 113, 144, 368, 547, 554, 658


6l4
INDEX.
Arts and Crafts—continued.
Opium factory, 324
Paper, 66
Pearl fishery, 868
Poncil-gilt silver work, 286
Precious stones, 570
Printed cloths, 558
Pottery, 7, 65, 144, 187, 476, 558
Scths or guilds, 62
Silk loom weaving, 64, 158, 180, 425,
437, 475, 477, 516, 543
Slippers, 289, 437
Spangles, 144
Stone carving, 63
Tea culture, 352, 531, 571
Tinsel, 437
Velvet, 416, 475
Wood carving, 21, 501
Weapons, 436, 477
Asoka's pillar, 140
Assam, 369
Attock, 173, 598
Aurangabad, 414
Bad ami, 454
Bagh, 396
Bahadarpur, 42
Bahawalpur, 191
Banda, 378
Bangalore, 518
Bankipur, 322
Baroda, 41
Barwa Sagor, 249
Bassein, 26
Belgaum, 449
Bellary, 481
Benares, 300
Berar, 387
Bey pore, 511
Bczwada, 479
Bhaja, 433
Bharhut, 379
Bhartpur, 261
Bhavnagar, 69
Bhilsa, 389
Bhopal, 388
Bhor Ghat, 428
Bhusawal, 387
Bijapur, 453
Bilaspur, 387
Bindraban, 256
Bolan Pass, 605
Bombay, 1
Brahmaputra river, 369
Broach, 39
Buddh Gaya, 325
Bukkur, 176, 193
Bundelkhand, 247
Bunnu, 601
Calcutta, 331
Calicut, 511
Cambay, 48
Caves—
Ajunta, 417
Bhaja and Bedsa, 433
Klephanta, 24
Ellora, 402
Karli, 429
Kennery, 25
Lena, 422
Cawnpur, 270
Ceylon, 567
Chaman, 609
Chamba, 171
Champaner, 42
Chandor, 424
Chilambaram, 536
Chitor, 88
Cochin, 510
Combaconum, 538
Coimbatore, 510
Colombo, 575
Conjeveram, 490
Coonoor, 527
Courtallum, 560
Cuddalore, 535
Cuddapah, 488
IX
Haboi, 42
Dacca, 366
Dakor, 48


INDEX.
Dal h ous ie, 171
Darjiling, 345
Dasht-i-Bedaulat, .606
Datia, 252
Daulatabad, 411
Dehra Dun, 146
Delhi, 121
Deogarh, 328
Deogiri, 412
Deolia, 400
Dora Ismail Khan, 177
Dewas, 399
Dhar, 396
Dharwar, 454
Dholpur, 240
Dig, 259
Dindigal, 553
Eklinju, 92
Ellora, 401
Etawah, 269
Everest, Mount, 355
F.
Faizabad, 298
Fardapur, 417
Fatehpur Sikri, 229
Ferozpur, 120
Firozabad, 140
Forts and Fortresses—
Agra, 203
Ahmadabad, 59
Allahabad, 371
Ankai Tankai, 424
Attock, 173
Bellary, 481
Bhartpur, 263
Champaner, 42
Chandor, 424
Chitorgarh, 88
Chunar, 378
Danktabad, 411
Delhi, 122
Dindigal, 553
Fiioz, 296
Golconda, 473
Forts and Fortresses—oorUinutd.
Gooty, 487
Govindgarh, 156
Gwnlior, 242
Jamrud, 181
Jodhpur, 85
Kalyan Kot, 198
Ehairabad, 175
Lahore, 163
Multan, 185
Partabgarh, 444
Peshawar, 178
Salimgarh, 128
Satara, 447
Sehwau, 191
Seiingapatam, 517
Shahpur, 131
Singarh, 449
Songhar-Saler, 41
Tanjore, 539
Taragarh, 81
Trichinopoli, 546
Tughlakabad, 135
Ulwar, 119
Vellorc, 507
Ganges river, 302
Gaur, 329
Gaya, 325
Girnar, 70
Goa, 449
Uodavari river, 422
Godhra, 48
Gokak Falls, 449
Gokul, 255
Golconda, 473
Gooty, 487
Goverdhan, 258
Gumal Pass, 602
Guntakal, 481
Gwalior, 240
H.
Haidarabad (Sind), 193
Haidarabad (Deccan), 463
Haidarabad city, 469


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