Evening star., 1937-01-10
VIEW OF THE PICTURESQUE
CALCUTTA MARBOR.

thoughtful eyes, would look distin-
guished in any gathering. Apparently
they are taking an idol to bathe;
formless little thing. carried shoulder
high on a litter, surrounded by pea
cocks fans and yaks' tails. Now come
men with spikes hammered into their
skulls, and others with spikes in their
cheeks, to mortify the flesh: then
come priests, more naked men. All
these people seem to be walking out
of the night of history For an
hour I waited among the crowd, and
still the pageant is passing. AT last
I struggled out Of the press Of spec
tators, to get some air.
Why is it. I wonder, that freaks
fascinate me? They do fascinate me,
as much as they do the simplest In
dian peasant. And freaks are far
more popular with the crowd than the
philosophers have come to seek.
Among the latter. the most remark
able is Her Holiness Sankari-ma, a
lady who is reputed to be 109 years
old. have no means of ascertaining
her exact age. but she looks very old
and yet very healthy. Her skin is
much wrinkled, but her eyes are
bright and clear. Her teeth are per-
feet and her hair is thick and glossy,
without streak of gray.
Long life is all a question of in
ternal purity" she tells me-"and of
right repose. Most of us sleep too
much. and carelessly. We should
learn TO relax properly. Personally, ]
never sleep more than one hour a
night. We can decide for ourselves
when We want to die, save for acci-
dents. hope to live to be 1S0. My
teacher in the Himalayas lived for
800 years.
Has One Follower.
At present she has only one follower,
middle-aged retired doctor. who
speaks perfect English. He tells me
that her holiness intends to take a few
carefully-chosen pupils in 10 or 20
years time. There is no hurry She
has a whole average lifetime before
her.
When I take my leave, I ask him
whether may make her a small pres
ent, for I know that this other worldly
couple are entirely dependent on
charity for their food Certainly,
sir" he answers. You may put a
coin upon mothers toe" I do as I
am told. but her 'holiness hardly no.
tices the rupee, for her mind is al
ready fixed on beatitudes beyond this
world.
At the races in Calcutta I saw a
very different spectacle. Here were
some of the loveliest women in India,
who had added the sophistication of
the West to their own natural dis
tinction. The sari (the cloth which
the Indian woman drapes over her
head and Shoulders) is an extraordi-
narily becoming garment, especially
to tall and supple figure
These ladies, in their gorgeous raj
ment-one wore a lemon -colored sari
with bold pattern of black diamonds,
and another was dressed in gold
material that Shimmered and changed
color as she walked-were thoroughly
modern, with their betting books, long
cigarette holders, enameled nails. But
they did not attempt to look like
Western women: They will never
copy our dresses, for they know what
suits them. In them saw 8 chang
ing India: An India that will adapt
what she requires from our customs.
without yielding the essential beauty
of her own manners.
When we talk of the emancipation
Of women, We often forget that there
are parts of India where women have
always held sway. In Travancore. for
instance, women have been masters
in their own house for thousands of
years. In the big womens hospital
in the capital, there is not and has
never been a single man in the ad-
ministration. DR.. Lukhose, the lady
doctor in charge, has supervised the
work for the last 20 years, seeing it
grow from small clinic to one of the
largest and best administered hos
pitals South India. She and her IL
assistants perform all the operations
(eight or 10 major operations week.
and conduct all the routine for 300
Continued on Tenth Page