The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1886-07-27
A GLIMPSE OF INDIA.
A Railway Trip from the City OF Barods %
Ahmedabads

A Railway Trip from the City OF Barods 60
Ahmedabads
We left Baroda by the mail train for
Ahmedabad and Bhanaogar, via Wudh-
wan, starting in the pleasant GOODNESS
of an Indian dawn. Guzerat is known
AS the garden of India" and Barods
is the best wooded part of Guzerat, so
that the day broke upon endless groves
of clustered trees and broad stretches of
fields green with many crops. The
popularity of the railway is remarkable.
The third-class carriages, divided into
compartments for male and female pas
sengers, are crowded with chattering,
friendly swarms of natives, who have,
apparently, heaps of relations and &C.
quaintances at every station, and an
immense deal to say TO them. AS soQp
as the train stops, the pani-wallahsA
the. men with water-come round, and
dispense fresh supply of the element
/, to thirsty lips, for it soon grows hot
and dusty. The high-caste Hindoo can
not drink from the station chatty; q
lota is emptied into his hands,
, and he quaffs from his followed palms,
and then washes his perspiring but ex-
elusive face. Nevertheless, for all
, their caste. the Hindoos are a demo-
, cratic and easy-going people, so that
1 you will see Thakoor's son, in turban
/ of red and gold, with coat of delicately
embroidered muslin, and strings Of
precious pearls around his neck, jost-
ling amicably among coolies, cattle
drivers and bunia folk. Hewould not,
however, eat a morsel of bread with
one of them, or, for the matter of that,
with ourselves, if he were pinched with
! hunger. As a rule, the natives here
abouts are remarkably good-loOking.
One hardly observes an ill-favored face
many have countenances of the high
est refinement and gentleness of ex-
preston; while some of the chill
dren of from eight to twelve are posi-
! lively beautiful. But the mothers do
, not like to have them too openly adj
mired. For this reason they introduce
into their dress some common article
as foil and counter-charm TO the "evil
eye" just as they plant one ugly,
rough, wooden post among the stone
pillars of hOuse-front, and hang an
old shoe round the neck of the most
comely cow in herd. As the train
proceeds between Mehmulabad and
Admedabad it comes into a country
! full of apes-Shylock's wilderness of
/ monkeys" At first the traveller can
hardly believe that they are not grey
old men, squatted under the hedges, or
/; grouped upon the embankments.
i Soon, however, he sees no end of mon
keys ''lolloping off on either side of the
, advancing train in half dozens and doz-
ems, their long tails erect in the air,
their puckered faces scrutinizing the
passing carriages. There are two
kinds-the black-faced and Hanuman
and hundreds of them are TO be seen
from the windows of the train, walking
meditatiyely ahead on the rails, jump
ing over the cactus fences, perched
| with long, pendent tails on the branches
of the trees, or solemnly assembled on
some open field in grave parliament
of ''four-handed folk" discussing the
next plundering expedition. They steal
a good deal of fruit and grain, but the
natives seldom or never modest them
thanks to the legend which recites how
the monkey-g god helped Roma to re-
cover Sita-and it is the oldest thing
/ to watch a knot of peasants walking
through another knot of monkeys as il
all alike were fellow-citizens.-COr
Jo,<Io,, Taleor0q1b