The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1874-11-28 00:00:00

A HINDOO FESTIVAL.

The following interesting sketch ef a phase of life in India
is from another of the well-written sketches by the corre
spoinlent of The nowt

CALCUTTA, Oct. ea
In connexion with this year's Doorga Poojah, I have
a story which perhaps may not be without interest to
your readers. In the first place, it is merely the story
of one of the most notable of Bengal Nautches ; but,
In the second, it relates to a family which ought to be
historical, whether it is so or not. "Once upon a
time," when Clive was in great difficulty, he required
some Persian letters translated, and not wishing, it is
said, to trust a Mahomedan, and having some difficulty
in finding a suitable Bengalee, was placed in a diffi-
culty. Clive found a young, adventurous 'Endo°, who
did the work, and did it so well that he was ap-
pointed Clive's own Moonshe, and was intrusted with
other important duties, which he did equally well.
This young man became the Rajah Nava Krishna,
and as his start in life was coeval with the beginning
of English power in the East, he had a fair
chance of "getting on," which he improved. Nothing
is commoner than to hear some one say, in such a case,
"Yes, it is luck." There is not much luck in timer
like those of Clive. Luck had nothing to do with
Arcot or Plessey any more than with Bannockburn,. or
Marengo, or Waterloo, and neither had luck anythng
to do with young Nava Krishna's rise. Ile played for
a heavy stake at a time when forfeits meant heads.
That he played the game with a owl head and a
steady hand cannot be denied. When he had won
politically, he began to buy property in Calcutta, still
showing hie nerve at a time when other men were
burying money. Grants alas were made to him, till
in the end he not only had amassed great wealth,
but had become owner of a considerable district
on the outskirts (now a part) of Calcutta, and also
(which was of vastly greater importance) of a valuable
bit of ground, more necessary to the security of the
Ditch in fact, I believe, the very land on which
Fort William now stands. The Government wishing
to extend the Fort, Rajah Nava Krishna, like a loyal
subject, agreed to give up his land. He received for
the site of Fort William, and probably a part of our
fine drive, the Maidan, a grant of nearly all that is
now called "the native town of Calcutta," ground-
rent and all. Of course the law of Hindus) life pre-
vailed after his death. The property was divided.
Since then the line has not been undistinguished. It
has produced a great Sanscript scholar and a poet,
named in his time "the Laureate of Bengal." At last
it has corns to be represented by two middle-aged and
undistinguished men—uncle and nephew—the uncle,
by one of the most profound laws of the social
life of India, "head of the family ;" the nephew,
by the grace of Lord William Bentinck first,
and finally of Lord Northbrook, Rajah in auccession.
This will, perhaps, give some interest to the little
sketch I am about to attempt.
The family altogether are now six brothers (women,
of °mime, counting for nothing), and the children—
male children—of those brothers. Each brother has
a house, large, imposing and part of one great whole,
in the midst of which there is a grand pile, dedicated
to the gods. For this a special fund has been pro-
vided, bry.,nd the reach of any or all the brothers;
the house belongs to the family. Some people say
that for this and for some temples at Benares, Bald-
nauth, &c. no less than 4.11,000 a year was set apart
in perpetual endowment, but this, I am told, is an
a t te exaggeration.sess o onet is
f a t
theth e
gereanntr IN
ahuotucsie.th of sgeensgeLs
The uncle's position is rather unpleasant, but not
unnatural, as we view such questions. The British
Government, claiming no power of disposition as
to lands, did claim a right over the title it had
conferred, and caused it to rim in the line of fibs
Rajah (who died as lately as April last, though
the matter was decided loiM ago), instead of con-
ferring it on the head of the family—the brother
of the dead Rajah. This was English law. Ilindoo
law, on the contrary, said, and English law agreed,
that the brother must nevertheless, as the head of the
family, take the chief share of the wealth. It was on
the uncle's invitation that I visited Doorga at ten
o'clock on Monday night, the last night before the
goddess—or rather the shell of the goddess, for while
the shell is inhabited it is sacred—is thrown into the
river. Many of your readers would scarcely imagine
the difference between the image of Doorga charged
with the spirit from above, and that of the image from
which Doorga has fled. Up to the hour when the
goddess is believed to be present the image is sacred.
.No profane foot can approach it. When the spirit has
gone the people seem to delight in showing their con-
tempt for the abandoned shell. What strange
mystery of our nature underlies this?
I went in company with a lady and gentleman. We
had to drive through three miles of about the &smallest
streets that human imagination could conceive, crowded
front end to end, as the front of the gallery at Drury-
lane on Boxing night, with a lively bazaar on each
side, lighted, as for an English fair, by means of those
glaring oil lights which are not less distressing to horses
than noxious to men. The shouts and cries were as of
pandemonium, in languages which, I firmly believe,
no living English person, in spite of all competitive
examinations, understands. . . . The noises on the
Chitpore road were as if all Bedlam had been let loose.
I asked the lady several times during the night,
"What is he saying?" But she answered, "Indeed, I
do not know," though she knew Bengalee and Hindos-
tanee. I turned to her husband and asked—" What
did he say ?" The gentleman replied, "Lord only
knows," or some such phrase. And so the din went on
for the three miles, with the attractive oil lights, and
the agreeable bazaar odours—tallow, skins, pastry, Ito.
—and then we came in sight of a triumphsl arch,
covered with small lamps, and presenting one blaze of
light. _ _ _

We were received at the house of the uncle—head
of the family— and were introduced to his children and
grandchildren, and then were treated to rose water,
attar of roses, and a small rose baguet; then we were
marched away, with studied courtesy, to the grand
poojah halls, into which we had Mere* to tight our
way, despite advanced guards, clothed in the dreaded
red and hearing insignia of office. As we entered the
chief hall, covered in the centre with red cloth, and
crowded on all sides by all sorts and conditions of men
and women, English and native—the latter, of course,
seated on the floor—the band struck up "God save
the Queen." It was curious, to say. the least of it, and
is reminded one that her Majesty Sovereign of the
worshippers of Doorga as well as of the believers in
Mahomet, and holds the sword of justice for the
behoof of many races. At the end of each of the
large halls—immense buildings—was a costly Doorga,
which no infidel foot must approach. Every part,
not of these halls alone, but of the entire buildings,
blazed with light. The crowd was as strange as the
surroundings. English officers, civil and military,
and of high and low rank, in many cases with
ladies, and these in evening dress; young English
lads full of life and merriment; grave and elderly
Hindoo gentlemen, almost equally grave younger ones ;
and then a promiscuous crowd which no man could
easily have numbered, and whose infinite chatteringa
no man certainly could have restrained, especially in
the case of the women—all low caste people, it
must be remembered, for no " respectable " woman
can show her face. Then high above all, on a kind
of veiled verandah (the notable purdah) one could
see a great number of figures flitting backward
and forward, apparently bent upon finding here or
there the best place for seeing what was going on
below. These were the ladies of the Krishna family,
not by any means low caste, be it observed, and
hence not to be seen by vulgar eyes. In the centre
of the room a young girl came forward, with two
lads behind her, and one on each side—she the
dancer, they the musicians. The lads hemmed her
in as a precious possession, and bowed to her as if
in obedience as they accompanied her on their
instruments, not discordant ones, though often
loud enough to stop what conversation the noise of
the audience had spared. The young lady advanced
with measured steps, as to the Dead March in Sant, I
only making up in vehemence of gesture and sharp
little stamps of the little foot for the restricted mo'ion.
The dances are madly in straight lin s, the lady
moving her body from side to site, but not turning
away her face ; now throwing up her hands over her
bead, now twirling her fingers to express some incon-
ceivable emotion, Dow lowering her voice to almost a
whisper, and now raising it till it filled the hall, yet all
this time though never ungraceful, seldom giving to
any motion what in an English ball room would be
termed grace. There were no "mazes of the dance," I
assure you, nor any "tripling it on the light fantastic
toe." Faces perfectly immobile, limbs and bodies
which surely were boneless, with feet which never
seemed to rise an inch from the ground—such are the
main features of an Indian nautch. Then came
English tumbling with the inevitable English clown,
then riding, then an elephant exhibiton.
In the meantime a few of the company were invited
by the host to the upper rooms, whiall are almost
A LITTLE MIMIC:E.—The merchants of Cleve- elegantly, furnished, and certainly in many instances
land's club object to hats, and one of the rules is that arranged with good taste—the pictures in the right
any one entering with a hat, the other members should places, the books, English in many cases, within reach
be at liberty to smash his chapeau. One evening of the comfortable ottomans the writing-desk in its
Monk inadvertently entered the club-house wearing a proper place, the balcony overlooking on that night
new and splendid hat. Not until he was near the door such a mass of undistinguished humanity as I never
of the club room did he remember the rule in question, saw before. We passed into another—the large—
So he entered the adjoining kitchen and requested room of the suite, and found seated on a dais at one end
Dinah, the cook, to keep the bat for him. She of the room the young Prince of Nepaul, Sir Jung
readily promised to do so, and Mr. Monk entered Bahadoor's nephew, spangled in the usual way with
the club-room bareheaded, with feigned unconcern, jewels. I heard some ladies laughingly computing
as if he had been in before that evening. But Baker, the value of his cap, which was one blaze of light.
a member who had suffered at Monk's hands, "smelled Whet such a cap tenet have coat brought many an
a mice," and stepped out to see where Monk's hat was, anxious thought to the mind of the judges. The
He found it in the kitchen, put it on, and thus returned Prince is a young man with gentle, though some.
to the club-room. Monk and others rushed towards him what impassive countenance, a lithe, active form,
and smashed the offensive object over his sconce. I and then the jewels! He speaks a little English, but
Baker sorrowfully took it off amidst the most up. I never saw a smile on his face; perhaps he was stand.
roam-ions laughter of Monk and others. Baker, log on his dignity. When he was spoken to he gazei
looking into the hat, suddenly said, " Heavens! this through his spectacles (which rather become him) into
is not my hat. Why, Monk, it is your name that is space and answered abstractedly, as a Prince ought.
in it !" While he talked the English ladiei laughed and talked;