New Britain herald., 1927-03-08
BENGAL PROVINCE
 LAND OF TIGERS
Also Is Place Where Jute Is
 Big Product


 Will Hindu music played near Mo- hammedan mosques cause Bengal Province, India, to lose two of it's native councillors?
 These posts are filled by a Mo hammedan and a Hindu, since the people of the province are almost equally divided between these re-. lgions.
 For more than two years the Governor of Bengal sought two com- potent men who would cooperate and recently Moslem and Hindu were appointed. Now it is reported that the Moslem opposes the ac- tivities of the Hindu musicians in the vicinity of the Moslem churches.
 More Than Eighty Languages
 Straddling the northernmost point of the Bay of Bengal, the province stretches northward to the peaks of the Himalayas. While it covers slightly larger area than Kansas, as many people live in Bengal as in- habit New York State, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ohio. Texas and Michigan. More than eighty different lan- guages are spoken, not to mention the various dialects.
 Tine narrow northern extremity of Bengal resembles that of Idaho. Like Idaho, Bengal spreads out as it stretches southward. But after leaving that extremity. no one could charge Idaho with having such de- formity of shape, for the border line of Bengal ziszags in all di- rections.
 Coast Is Watcr-Loggcd
 Bengal's gateway is its most homely feature. The water that sur rounds the coast is laden with silt, brought down from the north by the Ganges and a labyrinth of riv- CTS and creeks that pierce the coast line. Water-logged jungles, infested with tigers and other wild animals, lie between these channels. These wilds and the swampy lowlands i'm mediately north of them are called the Sundarbans.
 When the Ganges goes on it's an- nual rampage and ovcrfloWs it's banks for 200 miles from its mouth, the Sundarbans are submerged. The less flooded area is planted in rice and it is an interesting sight to sec TOW boat farmers tending their submarine crops. When the water subsidies. it leaves q fertile layer of earth that causes jute. rice and wheat, and many other products 10 thrive in this region.
 Calcutta, India's Largest City
 Calcutta, capital of the province, and the largest city of India, lies about so miles up the Hooghly river Since it is the only large port at the head of the Bay of Bengal and easily reached by canals, rivers and railroads from the interior, Assam and other neighboring provinces also use the port of Ben gal. As result the Hooghly is filled with shipping.
 As one approaches the city by water, the tall smoke stacks of jute mills loom up above low buildings where jute sacking is made and shipped to all parts of the world. Jute products that are not made at Dundee, Scotland, come from Ben gals mills. More than S125,ooo.oo0 worth of jute products are exported from Calcutta annually.
 Calcutta includes Calcutta proper, the trading district, Maiden. the residential section, and Howrah, on the opposite side of the Hooghy. manufacturing center and the ter minus Of three large railroads They are all included in Grcater Calcutta with a population a5 large as Detroit.
 In sharp contrast with the com mercial and factory districts, Mai- dan has beautiful parks and lakes, fine residences and imposing gov ernmcnt buildings. The buildings were occupied by the Indian gov ernment when Calcutta was capi- tai of India, before Delhi became the government seat in 1912. The governors residence in Maidan was formerly the viceroy's palace. It is twice as large as our White House.
 Darjecling on Bcnsal's Roof Nearly all Bengal is a flat, fer  tile plain from the Sundarbans to the foot of the Himalayas which is reached after day and night of rough train riding. 4 narrow gauge railroad is then taken to reach Bengals roof, Darjecling, perched 1000 feet up among Himalaya peaks. The snakelihe course of the 1 railroad passes thousands of acres of tea plants that. from a distance. resemble fields of boXwood hedge. 1 Some of the plants grow six feet tall in Bengal, and are stripped ot their leaves five times a year. Darjeelng is a haven during the hot humid summer months for the | British in Bengal. The temperature