Evening star., 1937-11-21
Girl Recalls
School Days
In India.
Helen Bell Now
A Student at
Western.

CSlGIll.
CKTEEN-YEAR-O HELEN BELL
- of Western High School, daughter
of . missionary to India, has just re-
ceived q letter from her brother and
sister, who are now in school in India.
They can't wait for December, it
was reported, because they are looking
forward to the annual holidays.
But the holidays they are antici-
pating with such eagerness are not
for Christmas Instead, Helen'S
younger brother and sister are pre-
pairing for their three-month vacation,
which corresponds to your summer va
cation when school adpurns until |
fall.
In North India and in Calcutta,
where the Bell family is living at
present, most American children attend
a boarding school in the Himalaya |
Mountains. Because the climate in the
mountains is cool and invigorating,
the school term is arranged to run
from March to December. Then, in
midwinter, when we in this part of
the world can reasonably look for
freezing temperatures and maybe a
blizzard or two, the Indian school dis
misses its students for the holidays.
During that time, Helen said, the
weather in Calcutta in spite of the
season will be warm and humid
something like Washington in a heat
wave!
Helen's brother and sister will spend
their vacation bicycling, flying kites,
swimming and playing tennis. This
will be general mixture OF British,
American and Indian sports, for all
three countries contribute to the recre-
ational activities, and, in fact, to the
whole mode of living of an American
in India. Helen said.-
Flying kites is India's outstanding
contribution to this program, she said.
The native men and boys-but not
girls, who will remain more or less
quietly at home, learning to cook and
sew-make a big event out of the
kite-f1ying season and hold elaborate
tournaments. To add interest to these
tournaments they have introduced a
sport of their own. To the strings,
near the kite, they glue little bits of
ground glass or attach short lengths
of sharp wire. Once the kites are
In the air, this sharp edge will enable
them to have a battle, the object of
which is to cut each others strings
so that the kites will fall. The first
person who reaches a kite after it
has been grounded is entitled to keep
It as a trophy.
Kites are made of bamboo and
tissue paper-the paper in bright
colors. The shapes are simple, Helen
said, usually rectangular Because OF
their color, however, the kites make
a gay and pretty sight when number
of them are in the air at once.
Thinking of how her brothers and
sisters will spend the holidays-and
thinking of them at school, too-makes
Helen just little homesick, she
admitted.
Shes awfully fond of India, she
declared, though she's been in America
three years now and plans to spend
most of her life here.
Her father, the Rev. w. w. Bell, is
q missionary for the Methodist Epis-
copal Church, and Helen was born
in Burma Before she came to the
United States she had lived in many
different parts of India, and once
spoke Tamil, one of the many Ian
guages of the country, better than
English.
Most of her school work, however,
has been done in the Himalaya noun
tain boarding school her brother and
sister now attend, which was organized
for the benefit of the children of
American missionaries This school
has an enrolment of about $50, and
similar school, in South India, has an
enrolment Of about $50.
Because our courses are patterned
after work required in American high
schools to prepare students for Amer
ican colleges, it hasn't been hard for
me to take up my work over here"
Helen declared.
AS a matter of fact, Helen seems to
have made very good progress at
Western. One of the things she en-
joys about being in school in Wash
ington Is the opportunity for extra
curricula activities, and she's taking
an active part in many of the school
organizations. A few of her titles are:
clubs editor of the Western Breeze;
treasurer of the Moderns and library
assistant. She is a member of the |
Pan-American Club, Glee Club and |
Traffic Club Also, as the outstanding
girl in the Junior class last year, Helen |
was given the annual award of the
Radcliffe Club of Washington.
She is making her home at present
with the Assistant Secretary of State,
Francis B. Sayre and Mrs. Sayre. who
are old friends of her family.
She is shown wearing one of sew
eral Indian costumes she brought to
the United States with her-a oolorful
sahri which is nothing more than
yards and yards of material effectively
draped. This is the typical garb of
the Hindu women in South India.
The costume is always of interest
to her American friends, who like to
hear about clothes and food in India.
Wheat, of course, is the staple
food for the natives in North India
and rice and curry in South India
and Burma" she said.
"As for Americans-we try to get
the same things you have here, though
often with little success. Because of
the Hindu tradition that cows are
sacred. beef is hard to get and very
expensive. Pork is hard to keep, be-
cause Of the climate and ham sand
wich is a rare delicacy. Milk is a
problem, partly because it's hard to
keep and partly because the cows are
diseased and undernourished.
Its impossible to buy ice cream.
but in India you can get one dish
that Is marvelous-curry"
As for the modern conveniences so
many Americans look on as necessi-
ties, they are real luxuries in India,
she said.
When she came to America, Helen
HnA - 1no 70 N;o1 rol;o k~oo,,,o