Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1911-02-14
RAILWAY TRAVEL IN INDIA.
Supplying Water to "caste" Men-A
Fakir's Chains.

inous railway information with con-
siderable amount of matter particular
ly interesting to the tourist. Caste
does not cause the railways so much
trouble as might be imagined, judging
by all one hears about 1t in England.
Indeed caste distinctions are found to
resolve into two main principles. One
only concerns us here, the other-the
prohibition of intermarriage-hav
reference to matters outside the radius
of railway officials activities.
| A caste" man must not partake OF
food cooked or even handled by one Of
inferior caste. Food is wide term. A
very orthodox person would include
medicine compounded by an apothe-
cary. One Of more liberal views might
receive, say, a plantain (banana) from
the hands of an individual beneath
him, for the "unclean" hands Of the
latter would have come in contact only
with the skin and not with the part to
be eaten.
The first and most obvious require
ment Of any long distance traveller In a
hot climate is fluid refreshment. The
filter and the glass commonly found in
an English dining car would be no use
| in India, inasmuch as the native would
first of all want to know who put the
water in the filter and then who last
used the glass. If satisfactorily as
sured on the latter point, he would
nevertheless run no risk Of contamina-
ton, but would pour the liquid down
his throat while holding the glass a
few inches above his mouth.
But the orthodox man, taking no
risks at all, carries with him a brass
water pot attached to belt, and even
then adopts the further precaution
above mentioned. At every station a
native patrols the platform carrying a
skin with a supply Of water. Expert
ence has taught the railway companies
to be particular as to who is entrusted
with this duty. Continuing, the writer
says:
1 once travelled with a Brahmin who
parched with thirst eagerly called the
water carrier at each successive sta
ton. But before replenishing his brass
pot he crossed examined the man as to
his antecedents and not being satis-
| fed that he was a sufficiently high
caste continued suffering agonies till a
| wire was sent on ahead, the result of
which was that the holiest man of all
the countryside was routed out and in
duced to do duty pro tenn.
Fortunately very holy people seldom
travel and when they do they contrive
to let it be known beforehand so that
meals may be specially prepared for
them in advance.
On another occasion a celebrated
fakir was proposing to travel. His
form of self modification took the
shape Of some two hundredweight of
chain with which his body was girded
and with which he tried to enter the
carriage assisted by his friends.
| But the station master was there,
and the result of a somewhat heated
argument conducted in language
which for possibilities Of vituperation
has no equal in the world was that the
fakir and his chains were hauled off
to the weighing machine and full pas
senger parcel rate was charged on the
two hundredweight to old iron on the
reasonable ground that 1t could not he
regarded as wearing apparel.
The Hindu likes to have all his saw
ings in a portable form. They do not
take the shape Of scrip and title deeds.
but bars anklets and armlets of gold
and rudely set jewelry. When he trav-
els all this wealth is frequently en-
trusted to the keeping of a younger
daughter, whose little legs and arms
are wound round with golden bars,
while her nose and ears are heavily
weighted with jewelry. l once saw on
station platform a little girl about 8
who was computed to be worth about
$4,000 as she stood.
| This practice is not, however, so
common as it used to be, for railways
naturally disclaim liability in such
cases and there have, moreover, been
so many nameless outrages on little
girls for the sake of plunder.-Railway
Magazine.