STREET SCENES IN INDIA.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXII, Issue 52, 2 March 1901, Page 6 (Supplement)

STREET SCENES IN INDIA.

A distinguished Indian traveller contributes to the "Universal Magazine" an article on "Street Scenes in India." "A common Tndian street scene is," he says, "to see a man being sha-ved on the road-

side. The barber keeps waiting under the shade of a tree or beneath the projecting roof of a house. A pair of old razors, one or two pairs of scissors, a black piece of leather, an apology for a looking glass set m rough wood, and a small brass cup to hold water, form his paraphernalia. He shoves his little lookineglnss into the hands of his patron, pulls out his brass cup, fills it with water, dips his fingers into it, passes them over the face of the man. and begins feT shave him. Immediately he notices that his

razor is not in good condition. He whets it. and begins shaving again. It takes a long time before the operation is brough to a close; his razor requires constant whetting, and his eyes are often fixed on tho next patron. Shaving over, the barber sets right the man's ears, his nostrils, and his fingers; and when "all is done and he has looked at the penny he has earned, he turns round to shave another. The regimental barber in India is an improved edition of the street barber; albeit he is not much more dexterous in his calling. He is certain!, better paid, but scarified chhs! are not the less frequent in English regiments, and sometimes the regimental barber ha to pay dearly fo» errors in excoriation. It is not unusual to see a clever and unscrupulous barber being surrounded by a number of half shaved men, waiting to go through the rest of their operation. . .... In the evening, the temple in the street is the centre towards' which the generality of the people converge. The pyramidal pagoda, of great architectural beauty, with its artistic carvings and its thousand pillared mantapams, absorbs a great part of the population. Men and women — and the latter in the gayest of their clothes and buoyant with their bright ornaments—with their hands filled with offerings to' the gods, thread their way to tne temple, and some of them proceed first lo the temple tank to perform their ablutions before they-tread on the sacred steps in the interior of the abode of God. And among them you perceive a girl with supple sides and limbs, and superior personal attractions, walking gently, gracefully casting amorous glances around, and captivating passers by, by her elegant carriage. She is the nautch girl attached to the temple. She i 2 educated, retined. She cultivates the fine arts."