Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1892-12-03
LIFE IN EAST INDIA.
Fifty Servants Required to Run
an Ordinary Household.
The Puntah Craze Which Prevails Among
the Foreigners In the Oricnt--A Coun-
try Where tho Hired Girl Iias No
Show-Ridiculously Low Wages.
Especial Bombay Letter.l

lDpOSihi A'otAiobS IONtNi'l
The deep respect and awe in which
the native population of the British
East Indies holds tho numerically so
insignificant European colony thcrc is
in large measure due to the fact that
every member of it literally leads the
life of a prince. Nowhere else in the
world, in fact, is the mode of living of
the white man so uniformly luxurious
as in India. A simple clerk, for in
stance, whose services would be re-
munerated in Chicago at the rate of
about ten dollars week and who, con-
sequently, could certainly not afford to
employ valet, cook, n barber and
hairdresscr, a waiter, etc, for his own
personal use, win in India have reti-
nue. of servants in which the above are
but part of the whole. His earnings
will average ut least five times as much
as they would in England. And take
this together with the further fact that
nowhere is native human flesh and la
| Dor held 50 cheap as in India, and the
slavish Difference showed the European
there, the unbridged chasm that di-
vides there, the man with white skin
from the man with the yellow or brown
skin will readily be understood.
The houses in which the Europeans
in India reside always contain large
| and high rooms, are surrounded by
tasteful and carefully kept gardens and
are nearly always stylishly furnished
and luxuriously appointed. Flowers in
profusion ornament every table, and at
mealtimc each dish excels the preced-
ing one. Good eating and drinking, in
| fact. is one of the main amusemcnts of
the European in India: and, with that,
the appetite aud digestive powers dis
played are usually of Il high order.
| Perhaps the most amazing feature,
though, of the average European house
hold is the singularly elaborate domes-
tic service. This one meets with every
where, even in the households of soli-
tary bachelors. Soon, however, the So
luton o. this mystery impresses itself
on the ,nind. The caste spirit is re-
sponsible for this intinitesmal division
of labor. The servant who assists his
master ut the toilet and the one who
takes care of his clothing and keeps it
constantly in excellent condition Ia
sphere of work for which the Hindoo is
particularly adaptc;D never by any
chance wait on him at the table, be-
cause they hold the food of their master
as unclean-in Il religious sense.
The table servant again-always a
Mohammcdan-wil never condescend
to swing the punllah (the large fan that
is suspended from the ceiling) or to pre-
pare bath for his master. For these
things special servants have to be hired
as well as others for the carrying of the
water supply used for the scrubbing ol
cleaning and washing of certain rooms
in the house. These are tasks which
devolve solely on persons belonging tf
the lowest caste. Then we have the
cook and his assistants, as well as tho
coachman (for every well situated Eu
ropcan keeps coach and horses) and {
special groom for each horse. Lastly
there is the gardener and his underlings
Thus it happens that European house
holds in India with from twenty to fifty
servants are rather the rule than tht
exception.
AT dinners and banquets each CUES
brings his own servant along, and the
same is expected and paid for as at The
hotels. During my stay at Bombay
which happened to be in the regular