New-York tribune., 1886-01-31
A LITTLE NAUTCH.
INCIDENTS OF A TRAMP TO TIBET.

"A
nautch at his house. and was invited. 1t was a
very little nautch. chiefly remarkable Tor the
patriarchal simplicity of its encourage. The nautch
lnQch represents to the modern Indian mlnd Whal
the drama the opera and the ballet do to ours
There are nautches and nautches. There some
of them acted before learned Pandits and vener-
able Gurus. which saints and scIaphs might Dehoiu
unabashed and there are others from Which the
MUSES. and Graces. and in fact all ladies whatever
are very properly absent at least when the mrth
grows fast and furious in the wee sma hours oil tne
morning Then there are the great performances IN
the cities where thousands of guests come IN thelr
hast array and all the English residents are
nresent the men in white cravats and swallow
tails. the ladies in what is ironically called iull
dress On such occasions the guests are sprinkled
with rose-water and have garlands of flowers hung
around their nechs. They bring away more remem-
brances of the flirting and the feasting the social
amenities between English dgnitares in black and
native dicntaries in white of the band that plays
all the time from See the COnqUernG Hero
Comes at the beginning, to e" God save the
Queen at the end. than of the mOnotonous native
music and the ugly oddly bedizened dancing girls
that give q name and an excuse for the evenings
proceedings.
But tho Raia', was something rural and pastoral
an hour or two of the Golden Age. 1t was in the
courtyard of his palace They laid Persian carpets
over rod or two OF the green turf. and stretched
white awning above them: it was looped up little
at one corner so that the Raias wives, who were
gathered about the windows. might see what was
going on-but they cruelty placed my char In such
fashion that could nothing IN that direction
There was also chair for the Rala, though am
sure be vouId much rather have curlCd up on the
fool" as ali the Others did. He came IN at the
head of mis- people white from top to tOe-turhan'
roheynd beard. He could have taught department
even to Mr.. Turveydrop there was not line or a
movement of his figure that was not Venerable and
maiestic-and yet he was not five feet SIX. linen
they lighted up the place with eight Iamps,-tali
twisted brass rods surmounted by beaked saucer
of oil in which were laid four or five wicks that
hung over tho edge and sent up a bright, unsteady
flame bent by every breath of air. The
musicians began to play dirge something OF the
sort-t is the way these people have OF teStiyng)oy
There was a variety OF musical instruments long
rawliv stick of boy played kind ot hageolet OF
three parallel reeds stOlid, white-bearded old man
beat two drums-pumpkins followed out WIN
sheepskim stretched over the open ond-a snort
toldlerlv looking man footed very 5hrll hfe ana
a rrinnjng Deaths head of fellow stood JUST
behind the chief nautch girl and bent down TO
scr,pe n bulbous three-stringei fiddle which he
held against his knee The only me.odlouS sound
among them all came from the great silver bangles
which the prma donna wore OH her ankles. ana
clinked now aud then most muslcally. she was
stout girl all nauCh grls are Stout-stout as opera
singers with decided Mongoian ieatures-on the
whole ugly lalI nautch girls are uglyl.-but she was
so bundled up in many-colored silks and satinS' SO
tricked out with gold and silver and gems, that
had some difficulty in making mp my mind whether
she was stout and ugly not. She wore rings on
each of her toes and on an average lOur on each oi
her fingers and one in her nose with pearl III II J;
her earrings hung down to her shoulders ana
weighed half pound or so. her ankletS apparently
weighed half a stOne-but in India they are gehcr-
aIlv made hollow otherwise there would be no
wearing them She kept her feet still, except when
she iiDcled those anklets. But she kept swaying
her woist-such As it waS-and n0dding her head,
and bending her arms. wrists and hnger> into AL
sorts of impossible positions and she stretched ana
streamed and 1utterod a great gold-colored satlh
scarf with great elect. In India they call all tEis
dancing She was graceful woman. as they nearly
all are cut here, but she was graceful only whch ehe
didn't try to be She sang also, with rather
sweet voice-singing in India is not no terribly
nasal as it is II Western Asia and Southeastern
Europe-she- sapg with great expression both Of
face and gesture what understood to be duets
betweeu lover and his mistress the lover part
being taken by the thin viohnplayer, who grinhed
horribly lust behind her. The two dd not lnuulge
in any mutual pantomme nor did they even lace
one another, but sang it all TO the RaJa ana me.
When our almeh sank down exhausted at the end Of
attractive for the first time. These nautch-waiIaAS
had come from Jumla i'll Nepal; they were making a
tour about the country stopping TO perform at inc
larger villages their road. and they averaged %
or Sc a night good deal OF money to these poor
mamie did not care so much for the nautch as for
the people who watched it. They gazed with
grave fixed faces il might have been enjoyment or
suffering to,them for all that their looks tOd aoou'
il. Yet suppose it must have been enjoyment
hiatt N had ne there nlguI
10 sac ia ring of white crouched figures without
motion or emotion. All the AskOt world was there
with its wife and children The women sat circle
wise in the dark outside the tents, only the stars
above them sthe dew dripping down on them They
kept timid silence aud was hardly conscious OF
their presence
Adav or two later | came down to Duti at the
junction of the Kali ana the Gor the Black and
the White Ganges. have followed the sacred II al
from where could catch it all as 1t fell drop by
drop into my hands to where it wOud take tal
better throwcr than myself to fling pebble across
it, 1t vas always the same swift cold stream
white with foam from the glaciers to tho plains
carving its ice-cOld waters down into the tropical
forest. In these lower regions one can heVc
approach it without a shuddcr; a wind comc
ALWAYS from it full of frosty spray that seems t
sting ones face like driving sleet. No fish no
shells are found in it, its banks are rarely VISITED
by birds or butterflies. 1t goes through the countr!
asa stranger. having little III commoa with the Doi
unhealthy Jung 'es through which 1t flows. DO no
wonder that tho ancient liindoos-most likely tn
savage aborigines, long before the coming OF I'll
Arvons-personifed il as Kal i, the Black Goddess
Tne cold gray river became a fierce dcstructiv
demon whose worship was one of wild orgies an
human sacrifices. and whose priests ana deVolee
We're professional murderers-Ihugs and Dacoits.
Day after day ! followed the course OF the rive
through a pleasant country of green pine forest
and terraccd hills. the east bank belonging TO III
Naharaa Of Nepal and the west to the kaJa o
Askot / dawded along catching insects by IN
roadside but the coolies sent on ahead ana TN
chuprassic was told to choose some pretty place 10
-. Lnnn n.n,,nnl and have nXPrNthlnR reANN lOr III