A somewhat widespread opinion prevails in this country that our
Anglo-Indian friends, with their handsome rupee-reckoned salaries,
are in the habit of living more than comfortably, if not luxuriously,
in the far East. But, in reality, whatever may have been the case
formerly, in what were called ‘the good old times,’ this is not so
nowadays; and we should remember that what in England may justly be
considered to be a luxury, in a tropical climate like India often
becomes a necessity. Our countrymen now—unlike their predecessors, who
lived like princes, spent their money freely, and made India their
home—wisely adopt the opposite course, and look forward to the time
when they may retire on a pension, and pass the remainder of their days
in old England.
Perhaps the chief cause which has given rise to the erroneous
impression above referred to is the number of native servants
which the young Anglo-Indian usually entertains on first taking up
his appointment in the Civil Service, the military profession, or
other line of business, as the case may be. His mother and sisters
are astonished to learn by the first letter received from Jack or
Harry—fresh from school, and perhaps hardly out of his teens—that
already he has enlisted into his service no fewer than seven or eight
attendants; and not comprehending the rights of the case, are apt
to moralise on youthful extravagance. This, however, is a mistake
on their part, which we will endeavour to explain, at the same time
offering a few remarks, for the benefit of our countrymen daily
leaving our shores for India, on native servants in general, their
duties, peculiarities, and the best way of treating them to meet with
success. But before taking them individually, it is with regret we
feel compelled to allude to a practice not unfrequently indulged in
by the young and thoughtless, of constantly using native terms of
abuse to their attendants for the most trivial faults. This is a habit
much to be deprecated. The natives of India are extraordinary judges
of character, and quickly lose all respect for a master who demeans
himself in this manner; and no native servant of any worth will permit
himself to be cuffed and knocked about, and, rather than submit to
such treatment, will give up his place immediately. The submissive air
and humble gait of the natives of India should alone be sufficient to
disarm a European, and prevent him from ever lifting his hand against
one of them, even when provoked to the uttermost by some gross act of
carelessness or stupidity. A little patience and kindness, coupled with
tact and firmness, will generally produce the desired effect, and is
much to be preferred to harshness and constant scolding.
The young Anglo-Indian, on reaching his destination at, we will
suppose, some up-country station in the North-western Provinces of
Bengal or the Punjab, will, generally speaking, require the following
servants: a _bearer_ or personal attendant; _khitmutghar_ or table
attendant; _bheestie_ or water-carrier; _dhobie_ or washerman; _mehter_
or sweeper; _syce_ or groom; and a grass-cutter to provide fodder
for his pony; and throughout the hot-weather months, two additional
_coolies_ will be necessary to keep the punkah moving throughout the
exhausting nights of the tropics.
On first landing from the steamer at the end of the voyage, the young
Englishman is sure to be met by numerous applicants for service. The
door of his hotel will be thronged by eager candidates for situations;
but unless under exceptional circumstances, such as a fellow-countryman
travelling homewards, and anxious to obtain a place for a really good
servant, he will act wisely to defer making a selection until he has
reached his journey’s end, when, probably, he will have more time to
look around and make his selection.
The first and most important servant to procure is a _bearer_, and it
is by no means an easy post to fill up satisfactorily. He should be a
Hindu of not too high a caste; nor, on the other hand, of the opposite
extreme, a very low caste. The latter is almost certain to prove a
failure. There is much to be learned from the personal appearance and
style of dress of native servants. Certificates to character should
be carefully examined and received with caution; for not unfrequently
these documents are forgeries, or borrowed for the occasion; sometimes
copies from some genuine certificate supplied to another individual.
The applicant for a place should also be questioned on the why and the
wherefore of his quitting his last situation. As to caste, perhaps the
_kahar_ is the best for a _bearer_. Taken generally, the _kahars_ are
an industrious, quiet race of beings. One of their chief occupations
is carrying palanquins; but the opening of railways throughout India
has in a great measure done away with this mode of travelling. It
may be mentioned that the title _kahar_ many years ago was also the
distinctive appellation of a Hindu slave.
As head-servant of the house, the _bearer_ should always be well
dressed, more especially so as one of his chief duties is to receive
visitors at the door. He should never appear without wearing a
turban, nor ever enter the house with shoes on his feet. These two
latter remarks apply to every class of servant. Nor should a plea of
forgetfulness for neglect of the same be ever accepted. The _bearer_
is responsible for his master’s clothes; he has charge of the keys.
He should be the first astir in the morning, and call the ‘sahib’ at
the proper hour to dress for parade, the early walk, or ride. He dusts
and arranges the different rooms while his master is out; and on the
latter’s return has the bath in readiness. With the exception of an
hour or two about mid-day, when the _bearer_ disappears for his dinner,
he remains in the veranda or within call. He keeps account of small
household expenditures, again attends his lord on the latter retiring
to rest, when the _bearer_ makes his final salaam or obeisance, and
takes his departure.
The next in importance among Indian domestic servants is the
_khitmutghar_ or table-attendant. It need hardly be mentioned that he
is invariably of the Mohammedan religion; and great care is necessary
in choosing this particular servant, for among their ranks are many
low, dissipated characters. A single glance at one of these latter will
generally suffice to make one aware of the fact. Old graybeards, though
of course less active than younger followers of the Prophet, yet often
prove to be better servants in the long-run. When questioned, these
gentry almost invariably deny all knowledge of the English language;
but, generally speaking, the Bengal _khitmutghar_, as he stands with
folded arms and imperturbable countenance at the dinner-table, readily
follows and fully comprehends the topics of conversation carried on by
his English masters.
The duties of the _khitmutghar_ commence at daylight, when he puts
in an appearance bearing the morning cup of tea. Unless otherwise
ordered, he is only expected to be present, properly dressed, at each
meal. One of his most important duties is to be able to cook fairly
well when called upon to do so, more especially when his master may
move into camp either on the march or on a shooting expedition. Then
he is expected to show his powers in the culinary art; and, generally
speaking, Mohammedan cooks acquit themselves admirably in this
respect. They are especially clever at making omelettes, soufflets,
and such-like. It may be here mentioned, however, by way of warning to
the uninitiated in such matters, that the native method of preparing a
meal is not always too nice to our ideas, so that it is well to avoid
visiting the cooking-tent immediately before dinner, or not improbably
you will there see something or other going on not calculated to give
one an appetite.
Next in our list comes the _bheestie_ or water-carrier, also of the
Mohammedan religion; but altogether a less troublesome mortal to deal
with. Generally speaking, the Bengal _bheestie_ is a good, willing,
hard-working servant, seldom giving trouble or requiring reproof. His
chief duties are to supply the house and stables with fresh water
from the best well in the neighbourhood. It is the special duty of
the _bheestie_ to keep the _chatties_ or earthen jars of the bathroom
filled with water. Where a garden is kept up—and in hot climates there
is nothing so refreshing to the eye as a few flowers and bright-green
shrubs around the house—it is the duty of the _bheestie_ to assist the
native gardener in watering the plants. He also, morning and evening,
sprinkles with water the flooring of the verandas, footpaths, and
dusty roads in the vicinity of his master’s abode. This has the effect
of laying the dust and cooling the air—no slight boon to exhausted
Europeans during the terrible months of April and May, just before the
first rainfall.
The _dhobie_ or washerman is another important individual in the
Anglo-Indian establishment. The great majority of _dhobies_ are Hindus;
but in Eastern Bengal, Mohammedan _dhobies_ are often to be met with.
Though given to assuming airs and importance, the _dhobie_ is of low
caste, generally speaking; a mild inoffensive being, plying his trade
industriously, and giving little trouble to his master. There is a
proverbial saying that obtains among the Hindus which pronounces a
_dhobie_ as untrustworthy; but in reality he is no worse than his
brethren in this respect. The _dhobie_ is one of the first to bestir
himself in the early morning, and accompanied by a small _bail_ or
bullock, carrying his bundle of clothes, he may be seen making his
way in the direction of some tank or distant pool on the river-bank.
On reaching the scene of operations, he strips himself of superfluous
clothing, girds up his loins, and proceeds to business. Soon the air
resounds with the heavy thwacks of some article of raiment, which,
twisted into a small compass, the _dhobie_ again and again whirls round
his head, and brings down upon a flat piece of wood or stone placed
on the margin of the water. Each blow is accompanied by a grunt from
the operator, as if to give an additional impetus to the stroke. This
somewhat rough treatment is liable to wear out fine linen all too soon,
and to make buttons fly; but considering that the _dhobie_ has no
mangle to assist him, nor any of the ordinary appliances of a laundry,
and, generally speaking, only a small smoky hovel—probably filled to
overflowing with his wife and numerous children—wherein to complete his
work, it is astonishing how well he acquits himself of his task; the
well-starched, snow-white shirt-fronts bearing witness to his skill
and painstaking. Unless articles of clothing are plainly marked, the
_dhobie_ has a tiresome habit of sewing coloured pieces of cotton into
the corners of every shirt and handkerchief, to distinguish them from
others, which practice has anything but a beautifying effect. The
_dhobie_ considers himself so far independent that he need only appear
at stated times, to receive or make over his master’s clothes from the
hands of the _bearer_. He will never take service as an indoor servant
in the house of a European.
The duties of the _mehter_, sweeper or ‘knight of the broom,’ are so
commonplace as to require only a brief notice. He is always of low
caste; and though often addressed as ‘jemadar’ by the other servants,
he is always looked down upon, more especially for his habit of eating
or drinking anything left from the table of his master. It is his
special duty to take charge of and feed his master’s dogs. He supplies
them with food at a fixed rate, takes them in the early morning for a
bathe in the nearest tank, and towards sunset, produces for inspection,
in separate iron dishes, the food which he has provided for each one of
his charges.
It is amusing to observe how well-bred English dogs despise and turn up
their noses at their native attendant, permitting the latter to lead
them about and wash them when necessary without a growl of disapproval,
but at the same time clearly showing by their outward bearing that no
familiarities will be permitted.
Next we come to the _syce_ or native groom; and in a stable where
a valuable Arab horse has to be cared for, he is a most important
personage. A really good, trustworthy _syce_ is nowadays seldom to be
met with. There are Mohammedan _syces_ throughout Northern India; but
the great majority are Hindus of low caste. The duties of the _syce_
are, to groom and feed the horse he is put in charge of—a separate
_syce_ is necessary for each one of the horses comprising a stable—to
be ready to accompany his master to the parade-ground, the band-stand,
or for wherever he may be bound; and to keep the latter in sight and
follow him any distance, no matter at what pace the sahib may choose
to ride. It is astonishing what powers of endurance these native
grooms display in this respect; for however far the distance or quick
the gallop, he is seldom left far behind, and nearly always makes his
appearance soon after his master draws rein.
A Bengal _syce_ worthy of the name can hardly in any country in the
world be surpassed at his work. He is a most excellent groom; and by
means of hand-rubbing—which he often practises for hours together—he
brings out the muscles and sinews of a horse till they are as tough
and hard as iron. It is a good custom to inspect daily the allowance
of corn or grain provided by the _syce_ for his charge, as not
unfrequently dishonest grooms steal a portion of it and grind it for
their own food.
The ‘grass-cutter,’ the last in our list, is a humble individual,
who, as his title tells us, supplies grass for the horse to which he
is attached. Hay is seldom seen in India; but horses thrive well on
a particular kind of soft green grass, which the grass-cutter cuts,
or rather digs up with a small iron instrument called a _koorpah_.
It is well, every now and again, to examine the quality and quantity
of the grass supplied for each horse, or else lazy individuals will
likely enough bring in coarse hard stuff quite unfit for the purpose.
In large stations, a grass-cutter who performs his work properly has
often to walk many miles before reaching a spot where soft tender
grass is procurable. The grass-cutter is under the immediate orders of
the _syce_, and usually receives four rupees a month as pay for his
services.
In conclusion, it may be mentioned, that one of the most important
rules in the young Englishman’s household should be that each native
servant regularly receives his pay on a certain date in each month.
Without this being steadily acted up to, matters never work smoothly
in an establishment, but will cause constant bickerings. Whereas, when
paid regularly, and treated with kindness and forbearance, these poor
people speedily become attached to their master, and exert themselves
to meet with his approval.