The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1901-02-28
rAaoDAs i nDiA



sou sim run through fhe new india me
old India 81 the nursery. Nuw it IS vivid
with long grass, now fulied with cotton,
then dark green with STOPPING palm heads
or black with frs. anon brown with fai- 4
low blue with lakes and iaeoohs. black X
with cloud-shadoWins pools stained Win
white water lilies Presently fe4 ailis
break out of the woods then sink AGAIN 4
10 sweeping pastures dotted only vita 4
water h0ists and naked herlsmen. Inen +
III the placid landscape yQu are almost +
startled By the sielt of monuments q /
religion. A tall auaafaneuiar pyramid. I
E its course lined with rade statues couple !
81 halfshaped human figures. ten times /
hu Do size. ring Of colossal hobby I
horses sitting on their launches Ike a
tea party in Wonderland-tney burst gro
7 fescuelY out Of meadow and tnicArt
standing an alone with the soil and the
trees No WOrshipers. no slEn of human
life near them. no hint Of their origin or
4 purpose-till sou almost wonder whether
they are artificial at al and not peuined
monsters from the beginning of the worm.
These are outposis of the great pat'-
das Of southern India-th8se sublime mon
strosities which scarce any European ever
sees, which most have never heard q,
but which AFFORD perhaps ihe strongest
testimony Ia all india AT once 20 the "a
tality and the incompre hensihiHty of hin-
dooism The religion that inspired such
greatest forces IN history yet the western
mind can detect neither any touch Of art
iu the monuments themselves nor any
strain Of beauty in the creed Both com
mand your respect hy their size-tnat
which is so vast So enduring can hardly.
sou tell yourself ha couiemptple ana
still you can see aoihine ID the temples
but misshanpu piles of uucouthness. nptn-
Ing ia the religion but unearlhiY supefsu
tions. half-meaningless and haif-fouL
The nearest approach 90 s5mnetfi-
cal builaing IS the great paeoda of Tan
jore. Long before YOU near be safe you
see it's pyramaidal tower shooting free
above crooked streets and slanfing roofs.
Presently you see the lower similar tow
ers. 80 far from the FIRST that you would
never cal them part of the same build
ing IN reality they are the outer and
inner gateways-gopura IS their proper
name-buiIt Ia massive diminishing
courses. garnished with carving ard
statuary From E distance the massive
lace OF their decorations strike you with
an ovfrW helmina assertion ei fich malee-
{ ty But you are Orb India and you wait
for the inevitable inc0ngruify. it comes
al the very gate The entrance is not
under the stately sopure but under a
screen and scanolding ~ latn and pias-
ter daubed with yellow and green erp-
tesqueness. men with lotus fyes iooking
out of their temples. horses Win heads
IKE snakes ard kings As tall as elephants.
There s. 10 be great FESTIVAL IN a Gay
or two explains the SuaNe bfAnmln,
therefore. the sopuras are boarded np
with pictures beside which inf tapestries
81 our pavement artists are truth ana
beauty You walk through scauoid poles
into a great square round tnc great tow
er and with reverence they show SOU
that colossal m0n0lith the great bun ~
I Taninre wish ] could show ynn pic
ure of him. for words are unequal 'a
HI 81