LIFE IN INDIA

Evening Post, Volume CXVII, Issue 18, 21 July 1934, Page 6

LIFE IN INDIA

INTERESTING DETAILS

THE STATUS OF WOMEN

Miss Grace Patterson, who is on furlough from missionary work in India, gave a particularly good impression of the work at Darjeeling, India, where she has been working for some years, at the Business Women's. Luncheon at tho Y.WiC.A. on Thursday.

Miss Patterson said she had been asked to speak about the "Women of India," but that was far too large a subject to be attempted at a luncheon talk, so instead she drew word pictures of tho district, and tho life in general of the people- among whom she had lived. There was, she said, a very great variety, of lifo among women in India, for the different religions meant different lives, under widely varying conditions. Sh,o mentioned one story in particular where tho girl was married when a child and had a very "storm-tossed" existence. She- was from the Punjab, and made a second marriage ,to a Mohammedan, and her lifo touched communities.. .;. A TOWN OF MANY TONGUES. Darjeeling, said Miss Patterson, was about a day and a half's,journey from Calcutta, and was on a; slope Of the lovely Himalaya : Mountains, Mount Everest being sighted from some parts. Slio thought that, although Everest was tho "giant" of tho chain, thero were other mountains moro lovely in form. Prom Darjeeling they could- sec five different States or countries, Nepal being one and being regarded as a separate country which made its own treaties with England. Then they saiv Tibet, tho mystery country of tho world,' so mountainous that they regard the height Of fourteen or fifteon thousand feet as merely hills'. There were mostly; teak forests there, but on tho lower slopes there are. many terraced parts with rice, maize, oranges, etc., growing. Darjeeling itself was about 7000 ft up, and there was a wonderful variety of people Of many creeds and nationals there. In the market about nine languages or more were heard ordinarily. A feature at Daijtfeling (and in many other places) was the shrine, the altar of which, was surrounded with "prayer flags." [On these were written tho'prayers of people who desired certain things, and it was considered that "when they waved in the wind a blessing was-wafted^ to the persons who had provided tho flags. ■ Tho, Tibetan folk had not a happy religion at all. It consisted mostly of fear, and devil; worship, mixed with a kind of ■ spurious Buddhism, prevailed. They did air kinds of things to keep off devils and evil spirits generally. Near Darjeeling there, was an immense cairu of stones, arid the missionaries found that when they were driven past this placo tho driver ,-always gdt down and threw atones on to the cairn. On inquiry it1 was found that it /was to terrify or placate some evil spirit Who lurkod; about in that district. The people .worked-as coolies, or on tea or other plantations, and varied greatly in character, some being alert enough/ while others were unpractical, dreamy, and contemplative. ■■ • WOMEN IN PURDAH. '-. Darjeeling had its "season" when tijio wealthy Bongaloso and others.came Up during the hot weather; bringing others.to wait on them. Some camo from Cashmero for trading purpose's, and the tea trade brought a certain

number of Chinese and a few Japanese. Nepalcso was tho usual language for trading, but tho native folk kept tlieir dialects intact. ■ Tho women's lives varied tremendously. Those in purdah had easy times with plenty of people to trait on them, but the hill women woro very hardly worked and were inftiensely strong. All theso pooplc were of very small stature, but still onft of the little women took a piano-on her back and carried it abous 500 ft lip a hill to a residence without apparently feeling any inconvenience. Tho stature of the peoplo might be judgod from tho fact that no man could become a. policeman unless he reached tho height of sft 2in. AWAKENING OP WOMEN OF INDIA. ' Speaking of the womenldiul, Miss Pattern said that in Nopal and Tibc^ tho poor -women -\\eio quite fioc, but the aristocrats and healthy women were under restrictions of soveral kinds. In tho main things, wero better thcro than in some other parts, for the mairiages of tho girls were usually at about the ago of seventeen. They had very little choico of husbands, however, on account of caste, which was very atrictly adhered to, making many difficulties in life. Tho wealthy Nepalese women dressed very beautifully, lovely, materials and embroideries being used. Miss Patterson concluded with an interesting sketch of the many societies and educational associations in India all of which, sha said, tended to the freeing of women from the miserable bondage of centuries of restricted lives. The awakening of women in India > as felt to be a. very real thing and a force to be reckoned with in the country.