Remarks on the trades and professions of Hindoostaun.--The
Bazaars.--Naunbye (Bazaar cook).--The Butcher, and other
trades.--Shroffs (Money-changers).--Popular cries in Native
cities.--The articles enumerated and the venders of them
described.--The Cuppers.--Leechwomen.--Ear-cleaners.--Old
silver.--Pickles.--Confectionery.--Toys.--Fans.--Vegetables and
fruit.--Mangoes.--Melons.--Melon-cyder.--Fish.--Bird-catcher.--The
Butcher-bird, the Coel, and Lollah.--Fireworks.--Parched
corn.--Wonder-workers.--Snakes.--Anecdote of the Moonshie and the
Snake-catcher.--The Cutler.--Sour curds.--Clotted
cream.--Butter.--Singular process of the Natives in making
butter.--Ice.--How procured in India.--Ink.--All writing dedicated to
God by the Mussulmauns.--The reverence for the name of God.--The
Mayndhie and Sulmah.
The various trades of a Native city in Hindoostaun are almost generally
carried on in the open air. The streets are narrow, and usually unpaved;
the dukhauns[1] (shops) small, with the whole front open towards the
street; a tattie[2] of coarse grass forming an awning to shelter the
shopkeeper and his goods from the weather. In the long lines of dukhauns
the open fronts exhibit to the view the manufacturer, the artisan, the
vender, in every variety of useful and ornamental articles for general use
and consumption. In one may be seen the naunbye[3] (bazaar cook) basting
keebaubs[3] over a charcoal fire on the ground with one hand, and beating
off the flies with a bunch of date-leaves in the other; beside him may be
seen assistant cooks kneading dough for sheermaul[3] or other bread, or
superintending sundry kettles and cauldrons of currie, pillau, matunjun,[3]
&c., whilst others are equally active in preparing platters and trays, in
order to forward the delicacies at the appointed hour to some great
assembly.
The shop adjoining may probably be occupied by a butcher, his meat exposed
for sale in little lean morsels carefully separated from every vestige of
fat[4] or skin; the butcher's assistant is occupied in chopping up the
coarser pieces of lean meat into mince meat.[5] Such shops as these are
actually in a state of siege by the flies; there is, however, no remedy
for the butcher but patience; his customers always wash their meat before
it is cooked, so he never fails to sell even with all these disadvantages.
But it is well for the venders of more delicate articles when neither of
these fly-attracting emporiums are next door neighbours, or immediately
opposite; yet if it even should be so, the merchant will bear with
equanimity an evil he cannot control, and persuade his customers for
silver shoes or other ornamental articles, that if they are not tarnished
a fly spit or two cannot lessen their value.
The very next door to a working goldsmith may be occupied by a weaver of
muslin; the first with his furnace and crucible, the latter with his loom,
in constant employ. Then the snake-hookha manufacturer,[6] opposed to a
mixer of tobacco, aiding each other's trade in their separate articles.
The makers and venders of punkahs of all sorts and sizes, children's toys,
of earth, wood, or lakh; milk and cream shops; jewellers, mercers,
druggists selling tea, with other medicinal herbs. The bunyah[7]
(corn-dealer) with large open baskets of sugar and flour, whose whiteness
resembles each other so narrowly, that he is sometimes suspected of mixing
the two articles by mistake, when certain sediments in sherbet indicate
adulterated sugar.
It would take me too long were I to attempt enumerating all the varieties
exposed in a Native street of shops. It may be presumed these people make
no mystery of their several arts in manufacturing, by their choice of
situation for carrying on their trades. The confectioner, for instance,
prepares his dainties in despite of dust and flies, and pass by at what
hour of the day you please, his stoves are hot, and the sugar simmering
with ghee sends forth a savour to the air, inviting only to those who
delight in the delicacies he prepares in countless varieties.
The most singular exhibitions in these cities are the several shroffs[8]
(money-changers, or bankers), dispersed in every public bazaar, or line of
shops. These men, who are chiefly Hindoos, and whose credit may perhaps
extend throughout the continent of Asia for any reasonable amount, take
their station in this humble line of buildings, having on their right and
left, piles of copper coins and cowries.[9] These shroffs are occupied the
whole day in exchanging pice for rupees or rupees for pice, selling or
buying gold mohurs, and examining rupees; and to all such demands upon him
he is entitled to exact a regulated per centage, about half a pice in a
rupee. Small as this sum may seem yet the profits produce a handsome
remuneration for his day's attention, as many thousands of rupees may have
passed under his critical eye for examination, it being a common practice,
both with shopkeepers and individuals, to send their rupees to the shroff
for his inspection, always fearing imposition from the passers of base
coin. These shroffs transact remittances to any part of India by
hoondies,[10] which are equivalent to our bills of exchange, and on which
the usual demand is two and a half per cent at ninety days, if required
for any distant station.
The European order is here completely reversed, for the shopkeeper sits
whilst the purchasers are compelled to stand. The bazaar merchant is
seated on the floor of his dukhaun, near enough to the open front to
enable him to transact business with his customers, who, one and all,
stand in the street to examine the goods and to be served; let the weather
be bad or good, none are admitted within the threshold of the dukhaun. In
most places the shops are small, and look crowded with the articles for
sale, and those where manufactories are carried on have not space to spare
to their customers.
Very few gentlemen condescend to make their own purchases; they generally
employ their confidential domestic to go to market for them; and with the
ladies their women servants are deputed. In rich families it is an office
of great trust, as they expend large sums and might be much imposed upon
were their servants faithless. The servants always claim dustoor[11]
(custom) from the shopkeepers, of one pice for every rupee they lay out;
and when the merchants are sent for to the houses with their goods, the
principal servant in the family is sure to exact his dustoor from the
merchant; and this is often produced only after a war of words between the
crafty and the thrifty.
The diversity of cries from those who hawk about their goods and wares in
streets and roadways, is a feature in the general economy of the Natives
not to be overlooked in my brief description of their habits. The
following list of daily announcements by the several sonorous claimants on
the public attention, may not be unacceptable with their translated
accompaniments.
'Seepie wallah deelie sukha'[12] (Moist or dry cuppers).--Moist and dry
cupping is performed both by men and women; the latter are most in request.
They carry their instruments about with them, and traverse all parts of
the city. The dry cupping is effected by a buffalo's horn and resorted to
by patients suffering under rheumatic pains, and often in cases of fever,
when to lose blood is either inconvenient on account of the moon's age, or
not desirable by reason of the complaint or constitution of the patient.
'Jonk, or keerah luggarny wallie'[13] (The woman with leeches).--Women
with leeches attend to apply the required remedy, and are allowed to take
away the leeches after they have done their office. These women by a
particular pressure on the leech oblige it to disgorge the blood, when
they immediately place it in fresh water; by this practice the leeches
continue healthy, and may be brought to use again the following day if
required.
'Kaan sarf kerna wallah'[14] (Ear-cleaner).--The cleansing of ears is
chiefly performed by men, who collecting this article make great profits
from the sale of it, independent of the sums obtained from their employers.
It is the chief ingredient in use for intoxicating elephants previous to
the furious contests so often described as the amusement of Native Courts.
'Goatah chandnie bickhow'[15] (Sell your old silver trimmings).--The
several articles of silver trimmings are invariably manufactured of the
purest metal without any alloy, and when they have served their first
purposes the old silver procures its weight in current rupees.
'Tale kee archah wallah'[16] (Oil pickles).--The method of pickling in oil
is of all others in most request with the common people, who eat the
greasy substance as a relish to their bread and dhall. The mustard-oil
used in the preparation of this dainty is often preferred to ghee in
curries.
The better sort of people prefer water pickle, which is made in most
families during the hot and dry weather by a simple method; exposure to
the sun being the chemical process to the parboiled carrots, turnips,
radishes, &c., immersed in boiling water, with red pepper, green ginger,
mustard-seed, and garlic. The flavour of this water pickle is superior to
any other acid, and possesses the property of purifying the blood.
'Mittie wallah'[17] (Man with sweetmeats).--The many varieties of
sweetmeats, or rather confectionery, in general estimation with the
natives, are chiefly composed of sugar and ghee, prepared in countless
ways, with occasional additions of cocoa-nut, pistachias, cardimuns,
rose-water, &c., and constantly hawked about the streets on trays by men.
'Kallonie wallah'[18] (Man with toys).--Toys of every kind, of which no
country in the world I suppose exhibits greater variety, in wood, lakh,
uberuck[19] (tulk), paper, bamboo, clay, &c., are constantly cried in the
streets and roadways of a Native city.
'Punkah wallah'[20] (Vender of fans).--The punkahs are of all descriptions
in general use, their shape and material varying with taste and
circumstances, the general form resembling hand-screens: they are made for
common use of date-leaf, platted as the common mats are; some are formed
of a single leaf from the tor[21]-tree, large or small, the largest would
cover a tolerable sized round table; many have painted figures and devices,
and from their lightness may be waved by children without much labour. I
have seen very pretty punkahs made of sweet-scented flowers over a frame
of bamboo. This, however, is a temporary indulgence, as the flowers soon
lose their fragrance.
'Turkaaree', 'Mayvour'[22] (The first is vegetables; the last,
fruit).--Vegetables of every kind and many sorts of fruits are carried
about by men and women, who describe the name and quality of the articles
they have to sell. It would occupy too large a space to enumerate here the
several productions, indigenous and foreign, of the vegetable world in
India. The Natives in their cookery, use every kind of vegetable and fruit
in its unripe state. Two pounds of meat is in general all that is required
to form a meal for twenty people, and with this they will cook several
dishes by addition of as many different sorts of vegetables.
Herbs, or green leaves, are always denominated saag,[23] these are
produced at all seasons of the year, in many varieties; the more
substantial vegetables, as potatoes, turnips, carrots, &c., are called
turkaaree.
The red and green spinach is brought to the market throughout the year,
and a rich-flavoured sorrel, so delicious in curries, is cultivated in
most months. Green peas, or, indeed, vegetables in general, are never
served in the plain way in which we see them at our tables, but always in
stews or curries. The green mango is used invariably to flavour their
several dishes, and, at the proper season, they are peeled, cut, and dried
for the year's consumption. They dislike the acid of the lemon in their
stews, which is never resorted to when the green mango or tamarind can be
procured.
The fruits of India in general estimation with the Natives are the mango
and the melon. Mangoes are luscious and enticing fruit; the Natives eat
them to an excess when they have been some hours soaked in water, which,
they say, takes away from the fruit its detrimental quality; without this
preparatory precaution those who indulge in a feast of mango are subject
to fevers, and an increase of prickly heat, (a fiery irritable rash, which
few persons are exempt from, more or less, in the hot weather); even biles,
which equally prevail, are less troublesome to those persons who are
careful only to eat mangoes that have been well soaked in water. The
Natives have a practice, which is common among all classes, and therefore
worthy the notice of foreigners, of drinking milk immediately after eating
mangoes. It should be remembered that they never eat their fruit after
dinner, nor do they at any time indulge in wine, spirits, or beer.
The mango in appearance and flavour has no resemblance to any of the
fruits of England; they vary in weight from half an ounce to half a seer,
nearly a pound; the skin is smooth, tough, and of the thickness of leather,
strongly impregnated with a flavour of turpentine; the colour, when ripe,
is grass green, or yellow in many shades, with occasional tinges and
streaks of bright red; the pulp is as juicy as our wall-fruit, and the
kernel protected by a hard shell, to which fine strong silky fibres are
firmly attached. The kernel of the mango is of a hot and rather offensive
flavour; the poor people, however, collect it, and when dried grind it
into flour for bread, which is more wholesome than agreeable; in seasons
of scarcity, however, it is a useful addition to the then scanty means of
the lower orders of the people. The flavour of the fruit itself differs so
much, that no description can be given of the taste of a mango--even the
fruit of one tree vary in their flavour. A tope (orchard) of mango-trees
is a little fortune to the possessor, and when in bloom a luxurious resort
to the lovers of Nature.
The melon is cultivated in fields with great ease and little labour, due
care always being taken to water the plants in their early growth. The
varieties are countless, but the kind most esteemed, and known only in the
Upper Provinces, are called chitlahs,[24] from their being spotted green
on a surface of bright yellow; the skin is smooth and of the thickness of
that of an apple; the fruit weighing from half-a-pound to three pounds.
The flavour may be compared to our finest peaches, partaking of the same
moist quality, and literally melting in the mouth.
The juice of the melon makes a delicious cider; I once tried the
experiment with success. The Natives being prohibited from the use of all
fermented liquors, I was induced by that consideration to be satisfied
with the one experiment; but with persons who are differently situated the
practice might be pursued with very little trouble, and a rich beverage
produced, much more healthy than the usual arrack that is now distilled,
to the deterioration of the health and morals of the several classes under
the British rule, who are prone to indulge in the exhilarating draughts of
fermented liquors.
At present my list of the indigenous vegetables of India must be short; so
great, however, is the variety in Hindoostaun, both in their quality and
properties, and so many are the benefits derived from their several uses
in this wonderful country, that at some future time I may be induced to
follow, with humility, in the path trodden by the more scientific
naturalists who have laboured to enrich the minds of mankind by their
researches.
The natives are herbalists in their medical practice. The properties of
minerals are chiefly studied with the view to become the lucky discoverer
of the means of transmuting metals; seldom with reference to their
medicinal qualities. Quicksilver, however, in its unchanged state, is
sometimes taken to renew the constitution.[25] One gentleman, whom I well
knew, commenced with a single grain, increasing the number progressively,
until his daily close was the contents of a large table-spoon; he
certainly appeared to have benefited by the practice, for his appetite and
spirits were those of a man at thirty, when he had counted eighty years.
'Muchullee'[26] (Fish).--Fish of several kinds are caught in the rivers
and tanks; the flavour I can hardly describe, for, since I knew the
practice of the Hindoos of throwing their dead bodies into the rivers the
idea of fish as an article of food was too revolting to my taste. The
Natives, however, have none of these qualms; even the Hindoos enjoy a
currie of fish as a real delicacy, although it may be presumed some of
their friends or neighbours have aided that identical fish in becoming a
delicacy for the table.
There are some kinds of fish forbidden by the Mussulmaun law, which are,
of course, never brought to their kitchens, as the eel, or any other fish
having a smooth skin;[27] all sorts of shell-fish are likewise prohibited
by their code. Those fish which have scales are the only sort allowable to
them for food.
The rooey[28] is a large fish, and in Native families is much admired for
its rich flavour; the size is about that of a salmon, the shape that of a
carp; the flesh is white, and not unlike the silver mullet. The scales of
this fish are extremely useful; which, on a tolerable sized fish, are in
many parts as large as a crown-piece, and of a substance firmer than horn.
It is not uncommon to see a suit of armour formed of these scales, which,
they affirm, will turn the edge of the best metal, and from its lightness,
compared with the chain armour, more advantageous to the wearer, though
the appearance is not so agreeable to the eye.
'Chirryah wallah'[29] (Bird-man).--The bird-catcher cries his live birds
fresh caught from the jungles: they seldom remain long on hand. I have
before described the practice of letting off the birds, in cases of
illness, as propitiatory sacrifices. The Natives take delight in petting
talking-birds, minas and parrots particularly; and the bull-bull,[30] the
subzah,[31] and many others for their sweet songs.
The numberless varieties of birds I have seen in India, together with
their qualities, plumage, and habits, would occupy too much of my time at
present to describe. I will here only remark a few of the most singular as
they appeared to me. The butcher-bird,[32] so called from its habit, is
known to live on seeds; yet it caters for the mina and others of the
carnivorous feathered family, by collecting grasshoppers, which they
convey in the beak to the thorny bushes, and there fix them on sharp
thorns, (some of which are nearly two inches in length), and would almost
seem to have been formed by Nature for this use only. The mina[33] follows
his little friend's flight as if in the full assurance of the feast
prepared for him.
The coel[34] is a small black bird, of extreme beauty in make and plumage;
this bird's note is the harbinger of rain, and although one of the
smallest of the feathered race, it is heard at a considerable distance.[35]
The coel's food is simply the suction from the petals of sweet-scented
flowers.
The lollah,[36] known to many by the name of haverdewatt, is a beautiful
little creature, about one-third the size of a hedge sparrow. The great
novelty in this pretty bird is, that the spots of white on its brown
plumage change to a deep red at the approach of the rainy season; the
Natives keep them by dozens in cages with a religious veneration, as their
single note describes one of the terms in use to express an attribute of
the Almighty.
But enough--I must hasten to finish my list of popular cries by the Indian
pedlars, who roar out their merchandize and their calling to the inmates
of dwellings bounded by high walls, whose principal views of the works of
Nature and art are thus aided by those casual criers of the day.
'Artush-baajie'[37] (Fireworks).--Fireworks are considered here to be very
well made, and the Native style much extolled by foreigners; every year
they add some fresh novelty to their amusing pastime. They are hawked
about at certain seasons, particularly at the Holie[38] (a festival of the
Hindoos,) and the Shubh-burraat[39] of the Mussulmauns. Saltpetre being
very reasonable, fireworks are sold for a small price. Most of the
ingenious young men exercise their inventive powers to produce novelties
in fireworks for any great season of rejoicing in their families.
'Chubbaynee'[40] (Parched corn).--The corn of which we have occasionally
specimens in English gardens, known by the name of Indian corn, is here
used as a sort of intermediate meal, particularly amongst the labouring
classes, who cook but once a day, and that when the day's toil is over.
This corn is placed in a sort of furnace with sand, and kept constantly
moved about. By this process it is rendered as white as magnesia, crisp,
and of a sweet flavour; a hungry man could not eat more than half-a-pound
of this corn at once, yet it is not as nutritious as barley or wheat. I
have never heard that the Natives use this corn for making bread.
'Tumaushbeen'[41] (Wonder-workers).--This call announces the rope-dancers
and sleight-of-hand company; eating fire, swallowing pen-knives, spinning
coloured yarn through the nose, tricks with cups and balls, and all the
arts of the well-known jugglers. I have seen both men and women attached
to these travelling companies perform extraordinary feats of agility and
skill, also most surprising vaultings, by the aid of bamboos, and a
frightful method of whirling round on the top of a pole or mast. This pole
is from twenty to thirty feet high; on the top is a swivel hook, which
fastens to a loop in a small piece of wood tied fast to the middle of the
performer, who climbs the pole without any assistance, and catches the
hook to the loop; at first he swings himself round very gently, but
increasing gradually in swiftness, until the velocity is equal to that of
a wheel set in motion by steam. This feat is sometimes continued for ten
or fifteen minutes together, when his strength does not fail him; but it
is too frightful a performance to give pleasure to a feeling audience.
'Samp-wallah'[42] (Snake-catchers).--These men blow a shrill pipe in
addition to calling out the honourable profession of snake-catcher. I
fancy it is all pretence with these fellows; if they catch a snake on the
premises, it is probably one they have let loose secretly, and which they
have tutored to come and go at the signal given: they profess to draw
snakes from their hiding-place, and make a good living by duping the
credulous.
The best proof I can offer of the impositions practised by these men on
the weakness and credulity of their neighbours, may be conveyed in the
following anecdote, with which I have been favoured by a very intelligent
Mussulmaun gentleman, on whom the cheat was attempted during my residence
in his neighbourhood at Lucknow.
'Moonshie Sahib,[43] as he is familiarly called by his friends, was absent
from home on a certain day, during which period his wife and family
fancied they heard the frightful sound of a snake, apparently as if it was
very near to them in the compound (court-yard) of the zeenahnah. They were
too much alarmed to venture from the hall to the compound to satisfy
themselves or take steps to destroy the intruder if actually there. Whilst
in this state of mental torture it happened (as they thought very
fortunately) that a snake-catcher's shrill pipe was heard at no great
distance, to whom a servant was sent; and when the ladies had shut
themselves up securely in their purdahed apartment, the men servants were
desired to introduce the samp-wallahs into the compound, to search for and
secure this enemy to their repose.
'The snake-catcher made, to all appearance, a very minute scrutiny into
every corner or aperture of the compound, as if in search of the reptile's
retreat; and at last a moderate sized snake was seen moving across the
open space in an opposite direction to the spot they were intent on
examining. The greatest possible satisfaction was of course expressed by
the whole of the servants and slaves assembled; the lady of the house was
more than gratified at the reported success of "the charmers" and sent
proofs of her gratitude to the men in a sum of money, proportioned to her
sense of the service rendered on the occasion; the head samp-wallah placed
the snake in his basket, (they always carry a covered basket about with
them) and they departed well satisfied with the profits of this day's
employment.
'The Moonshie says, he returned home soon after, and listened to his
wife's account of the event of the morning, and her warm commendation of
the skilful samp-wallahs; but although the servants confirmed all the lady
had told her husband of the snake-charmers' diligence, still he could not
but believe that these idle fellows had practised an imposition on his
unwary lady by their pretended powers in charming the snake. But here it
rested for the time; he could not decide without an opportunity of
witnessing the samp-wallahs at their employment, which he resolved to do
the next convenient opportunity.
'As might have been anticipated, the very same snake-catcher and his
attendant returned to the Moonshie's gateway a very few days after their
former success; Moonshie Sahib was at home, and, concealing his real
intentions, he gave orders that the two men should be admitted; on their
entrance, he said to them, "You say you can catch snakes; now, friends, if
any of the same family remain of which you caught one the other day in
this compound, I beg you will have the civility to draw them out from
their hiding-places."[44]
'The Moonshie watched the fellows narrowly, that they might not have a
chance of escaping detection, if it was, as he had always suspected, that
the snakes are first let loose by the men, who pretend to attract them
from their hiding-places. The two men being bare-headed, and in a state of
almost perfect nudity (the common usage of the very lowest class of Hindoo
labourers), wearing only a small wrapper which could not contain, he
thought, the least of this class of reptiles, he felt certain there could
not now be any deception.
'The samp-wallah and his assistant, pretending to search every hole and
crevice of the compound, seemed busy and anxious in their employment,
which occupied them for a long time without success. Tired at last with
the labour, the men sat down on the ground to rest; the pipe was resorted
to, with which they pretend to attract the snake; this was, however,
sounded again and again, without the desired effect.
'From the apparent impossibility of any cheat being practised on him, the
Moonshie rather relaxed in his strict observance of the men: he had turned
his back but for an instant only, when the two fellows burst out in an
ecstasy of delight, exclaiming, "They are come! they are come!"--and on
the Moonshie turning quickly round, he was not a little staggered to find
three small snakes on the ground, at no great distance from the men, who,
he was convinced, had not moved from the place. They seemed to have no
dread of the reptiles, and accounted for it by saying they were
invulnerable to the snakes' venom; the creatures were then fearlessly
seized one by one by the men, and finally deposited in their basket.
'"They appear very tame," thought the Moonshie, as he observed the men's
actions: "I am outwitted at last, I believe, with all my boasted vigilance;
but I will yet endeavour to find them out.--Friend," said he aloud, "here
is your reward," holding the promised money towards the principal; "take
it, and away with you both; the snakes are mine, and I shall not allow you
to remove them hence."
'"Why, Sahib," replied the man, "what will you do with the creatures? they
cannot be worth your keeping; besides, it is the dustoor[45] (custom); we
always have the snakes we catch for our perquisite."--"It is of no
consequence to you, friend, how I may dispose of the snakes," said the
Moonshie; "I am to suppose they have been bred in my house, and having
done no injury to my people, I may be allowed to have respect for their
forbearance; at any rate, I am not disposed to part with these guests, who
could have injured me if they would."
'The principal samp-wallah, perceiving it was the Moonshie's intention to
detain the snakes, in a perfect agony of distress for the loss he was
likely to sustain, then commenced by expostulation, ending with threats
and abuse, to induce the Moonshie to give them up; who, for his part, kept
his temper within bounds, having resolved in his own mind not to be
outwitted a second time; the fellow's insolence and impertinent speeches
were, therefore, neither chastised nor resented. The samp-wallah strove to
wrest the basket from the Moonshie's strong grasp, without succeeding; and
when he found his duplicity was so completely exposed, he altered his
course, and commenced by entreaties and supplications, confessing at last,
with all humility, that the reptiles were his own well-instructed snakes
that he had let loose to catch again at pleasure. Then appealing to the
Moonshie's well-known charitable temper, besought him that the snakes
might be restored, as by their aid he earned his precarious livelihood.
'"That they are yours, I cannot doubt," replied the Moonshie, "and,
therefore, my conscience will not allow me to detain them from you; but
the promised reward I of course keep back. Your insolence and duplicity
deserve chastisement, nevertheless I promise to forgive you, if you will
explain to me how you managed to introduce these snakes."
'The man, thankful that he should escape without further loss or
punishment, showed the harmless snakes, which, it appears, had been
deprived of their fangs and poison, and were so well instructed and docile,
that they obeyed their keeper as readily as the best-tutored domestic
animal. They coiled up their supple bodies into the smallest compass
possible, and allowed their keeper to deposit them each in a separate bag
of calico, which was fastened under his wrapper, where it would have been
impossible, the Moonshie declares, for the quickest eye to discover that
anything was secreted.'
'Sickley ghur'[46] (Cutler and knife-grinder).--These most useful artisans
are in great request, polishing articles of rusty steel, giving a new edge
to the knives, scissors, razors, or swords of their employer, in a
masterly manner, for a very small price.
'Dhie cuttie'[47] (Sour curds).--This article is in great request by
scientific cooks, who use it in many of their dainty dishes. The method of
making sour curd is peculiarly Indian: it is made of good sweet milk, by
some secret process which I could never acquire, and in a few hours the
whole is coagulated to a curd of a sharp acidity, that renders it equally
useful with other acids in flavouring their curries. The Natives use it
with pepper, pounded green ginger, and the shreds of pumpkins or radishes,
as a relish to their savoury dishes, in lieu of chatnee; it is considered
cooling in its quality, and delicious as an accompaniment to their
favourite viands.
'Mullie'[48] (Clotted cream).---This article is much esteemed by the
Natives. I was anxious to know how clotted cream could be procured at
seasons when milk from the cow would be sour in a few hours, and am told
that the milk when brought in fresh from the dairy is placed over the fire
in large iron skillets; the skin (as we call it on boiled milk) is taken
off with a skimmer, and placed in a basket, which allows all the milk to
be drained from it; the skin again engendered on the surface is taken off
in the same way, and so they continue, watching and skimming until the
milk has nearly boiled away. This collection of skin is the clotted cream
of Hindoostaun.
'Mukhun'[49] (Butter).--Butter is very partially used by the Natives; they
use ghee, which is a sort of clarified butter, chiefly produced from the
buffalo's milk. The method of obtaining butter in India is singular to a
European. The milk is made warm over the fire, then poured into a large
earthen jar, and allowed to stand for a few hours. A piece of bamboo is
split at the bottom, and four small pieces of wood inserted as stretchers
to these splits. A leather strap is twisted over the middle of the bamboo,
and the butter-maker with this keeps the bamboo in constant motion; the
particles of butter swimming at the top are taken off and thrown into
water, and the process of churning is resumed; this method continues until
by the quantity collected, these nice judges have ascertained there is no
more butter remaining in the milk. When the butter is to be sold, it is
beaten up into round balls out of the water. When ghee is intended to be
made, the butter is simmered over a slow fire for a given time, and poured
into the ghee pot, which perhaps may contain the produce of the week
before they convey it to the market for sale; in this state the greasy
substance will keep good for months, but in its natural state, as butter,
the second day it is offensive to have it in the room, much less to be
used as an article of food.
'Burruff wallah'[50] (The man with ice).--The ice is usually carried about
in the evening, and considered a great indulgence by the Natives. The
ice-men bring round both iced creams, and sherbet ices, in many varieties;
some flavoured with oranges, pomegranates, pine-apple, rose-water, &c.
They can produce ices at any season, by saltpetre, which is here abundant
and procured at a small price; but strange as it may appear, considering
the climate, we have regular collections of ice made in January, in most
of the stations in the Upper Provinces, generally under the
superintendence of an English gentleman, who condescends to be the
comptroller. The expenses are paid by subscribers, who, according to the
value of their subscription, are entitled to a given quantity of ice, to
be conveyed by each person's servant from the deposit an hour before
day-break, in baskets made for the purpose well wadded with cotton and
woollen blankets; conveyed home, the basket is placed where neither air
nor light can intrude. Zinc bottles, filled with pure water, are placed
round the ice in the basket, and the water is thus cooled for the day's
supply, an indulgence of great value to the sojourners in the East.
The method of collecting ice is tedious and laborious, but where labour is
cheap and the hands plenty the attempt has always been repaid by the
advantages. As the sun declines, the labourers commence their work; flat
earthen platters are laid out, in exposed situations, in square
departments, upon dried sugar-cane leaves very lightly spread, that the
frosty air may pass inside the platters. A small quantity of water is
poured into the platter; as fast as they freeze their contents are
collected and conveyed, during the night, to the pit prepared for the
reception of ice. The rising sun disperses the labourers with the ice, and
they seek their rest by day, and return again to their employ; as the lion,
when the sun disappears, prowls out to seek his food from the bounty of
his Creator. The hoar frost seldom commences until the first of January,
and lasts throughout that month.
'Roshunie'[51] (Ink).---Ink, that most useful auxiliary in rendering the
thoughts of one mortal serviceable to his fellow-creatures through many
ages, is here an article of very simple manufacture. The composition is
prepared from lampblack and gum-arabic; how it is made, I have yet to
learn.
The ink of the Natives is not durable; with a wet sponge may be erased the
labour of a man's life. They have not yet acquired the art of printing,[52]
and as they still write with reeds instead of feathers, an ink, permanent
as our own, is neither agreeable nor desirable.
There is one beautiful trait in the habits of the Mussulmauns: when about
to write they not only make the prayer which precedes every important
action of their lives, but they dedicate the writing to God, by a
character on the first page, which, as in short-hand writing, implies the
whole sentence.[53] A man would be deemed heathenish amongst Mussulmauns,
who by neglect or accident omitted this mark on whatever subject he is
about to write.
Another of their habits is equally praiseworthy:--out of reverence for
God's holy name (always expressed in their letters) written paper to be
destroyed is first torn and then washed in water before the whole is
scattered abroad; they would think it a sinful act to burn a piece of
paper on which that Holy name has been inscribed. How often have I
reflected whilst observing this praiseworthy feature in the character of a
comparatively unenlightened people, on the little respect paid to the
sacred writings amongst a population who have had greater opportunities of
acquiring wisdom and knowledge.[54]
The culpable habit of chandlers in England is fresh in my memory, who
without a scruple tear up Bibles and religious works to parcel out their
pounds of butter and bacon, without a feeling of remorse on the sacrilege
they have committed.
How careless are children in their school-days of the sacred volume which
contains the word of God to His creatures. Such improper uses, I might say
abuses, of that Holy Book, would draw upon them the censure of a people
who have not benefited by the contents, but who nevertheless respect the
volume purely because it speaks the word 'of that God whom they worship'.
'Mayndhie' (A shrub).--The mayndhie and its uses have been so fully
explained in the letters on Mahurrum, that I shall here merely remark,
that the shrub is of quick growth, nearly resembling the small-leafed
myrtle; the Natives make hedge-rows of it in their grounds, the blossom is
very simple, and the shrub itself hardy: the dye is permanent.
'Sulmah.'[55]--A prepared permanent black dye, from antimony. This is used
with hair-pencils to the circle of the eye at the root of the eye-lashes
by the Native ladies and often by gentlemen, and is deemed both of service
to the sight and an ornament to the person. It certainly gives the
appearance of large eyes, if there can be any beauty in altering the
natural countenance, which is an absurd idea, in my opinion. Nature is
perfect in all her works; and whatever best accords with each feature of a
countenance I think she best determines; I am sure that no attempt to
disguise or alter Nature in the human face ever yet succeeded, independent
of the presumption in venturing to improve that which in His wisdom, the
Creator has deemed sufficient.
It would occupy my pages beyond the limits I can conveniently spare to the
subject, were I to pursue remarks on the popular cries of a Native city to
their fullest extent; scarcely any article that is vended at the bazaars,
but is also hawked about the streets. This is a measure of necessity
growing out of the state of Mussulmaun society, by which the females are
enabled to purchase at their own doors all that can be absolutely
requisite for domestic purposes, without the obligation of sending to the
markets or the shops, when either not convenient, or not agreeable. And
the better to aid both purchasers and venders, these hawkers pronounce
their several articles for sale, with voices that cannot fail to impress
the inhabitants enclosed within high walls, with a full knowledge of the
articles proclaimed without need of interpreters.
[1] _Dukan_.
[2] _Tatti_.
[3] See pp. 57, 173, 174.
[4] The fat of meat is never eaten by the Natives, who view our joints
of meat with astonishment, bordering on disgust. [_Author_.]
[5] Many Hindoostaunie dishes require the meat to be finely minced.
[_Author_.]
[6] Known as _gargarasaz_.
[7] Baniya.
[8] _Sarraf_.
[9]: Cowries are small shells imported from the Eastern isles, which pass
in India as current coin, their value fluctuating with the price of
corn, from, sixty to ninety for one pice. [_Author_.]
[10] _Hundi_.
[11] _Dasturi_.
[12] _Sipiwala gila sukha_.
[13] _Jonk_, a leech; _kira_, a worm, _laganewali_.
[14] _Kan saf karnewala_: more usually _Kanmailiya,
kan_, the ear; _maila_, dirt.
[15] _Gota, chandni bikau_, silver lace to sell! The dealer is
_Gota, kinari farosh_.
[16] _Tel ka acharwala_.
[17] _Mithaiwala_.
[18] _Khilaunewala_.
[19] _Abrak_, talc.
[20] _Pankahwala_.
[21] _Tar_, the palmyra palm.
[22] _Tarkari, mewa_.
[23] _Sag_.
[24] _Chitra_, spotted, speckled.
[25] Quicksilver is used by Native physicians as the first of alternative
tonics.
[26] _Machhli_.
[27] Being considered to be like snakes.
[28] _Rohu_, a kind of carp, _Labeo rohita_.
[29] _Chiryawala_.
[30] _Bulbul, Daulias hafizi_, the true Persian nightingale.
[31] _Sabza, sabzak_, green bird, usually a jay, _coracias_.
[32] A shrike, one of the _laniadae_.
[33] _Maina_, a starling, _Aeridotheres tristis_.
[34] The black cuckoo, _Eudynamys orientalis_.
[35] The note of the bird at night, detested by Anglo-Indians, gives it
the name of the brain-fever bird.
[36] _Lal, Estrelda amandava_, the avadavat, is so called because it
was brought to Europe from Ahmadabad.
[37] _Atishbazi_, fire-play.
[38] Holi, the spring festival of the Hindus, at which bonfires are
lighted, coloured water thrown about, and much obscenity is practiced.
[39] See p. 161.
[40] _Chabena, chabeni_, what is munched or chewed (_chabna_).
[41] _Tamashawala: tamashabin_, a spectator of wonders.
[42] _Sampwala_.
[43] 'Mr. Secretary.'
[44] It is generally believed snakes do not live apart from their species;
if one is destroyed in a house, a second is anticipated and generally
discovered. [_Author_.]
[45] _Dastur, dasturi_, the percentage appropriated on purchase
by servants.
[46] _Saiqalgar_, corrupted into _sikligar_, a polisher.
[47] _Dahi khatai_. There is no mystery about the preparation.
Milk is boiled and soured by being poured into an earthen vessel in
which curds have previously been kept. Sometimes, but less frequently,
an acid or rennet is added to precipitate the solid ingredients of the
milk.
[48] _Malai_.
[49] _Makkhan_.
[50] _Burfwala_.
[51] _Roshanai_, 'brightness', made of lampblack, gum-arabic, and
aloe juice. Elaborate prescriptions are given by Jaffur Shurreef
(_Qanoon-e-Islam_ 150 f.).
[52] Lithography and printing are now commonly done by natives.
[53] Letters usually begin with, the invocation,
_Bi'-smi'illahi'r-rahmani'r-rahim_, 'In the name of Allah,
the Compassionate, the Merciful.' The monogram 'I' is often
substituted, as being the initial of Allah, and the first letter of
the alphabet.
[54] If the Koran were wrapped in a skin and thrown into fire, it would
not burn, say the Traditions (Hughes, _Dictionary of Islam_, 521).
Compare the care taken by the Chinese to save paper on which writing
appears (J.H. Gray, _China_, i. 178).
[55] _Surma_, a black ore of antimony, a tersulphide found in the
Panjab, often confused by natives with galena, and most of that
sold in bazars is really galena. It is used as a tonic to the nerves
of the eye, and to strengthen the sight.