A PEEP AT INDIA.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume VLI, Issue 3323, 26 April 1935, Page 2

A PEEP AT INDIA.

THROUGH THE EYES OF A NEW ZEALAND WOMAN. As this is an article written expressly to be read by women, let us attempt to visualise India from the woman’s point of view. That is to say, from the point of view of a European woman, for it is indeed doubtful if the Indian woman has a point of view on any subject. For the most part she simply does not count, except, of course, when there is any hard work to be done, and then she does most of it. I hear some of you say that the same state of affairs exists in New Zealand ! But I am quite sure that much of the work that is done by the women here is quite unknown in our own fair country. And again, what New Zealand husband would walk serenely through the streets of even the most insignificent village, unconcernedly smoking his pipe, while his wife walked behind carrying all their worldly possessions

The other ,day I asked an educated man, an Indian schoolmaster, what educational facilities were extended to women in India. “None,” he replied, “because should we educate our women they would want something better than they are accustomed to having, and as improved conditions in India are difficult to obtain they would be discontent. As it is our educational facilities, although extending year by year, can only keep pace with the number of males requiring instruction in a country whose population is increasing by three and a half millions annually. ” However, as even educated Indians are content with illiterate wives, so long as they discharge the daily duties, such a state ■of affairs will probably continue indefinitely. But for the European woman Indian can indeed be a pleasant place to live. It is a new experience, something to which she has not been accustomed, all so different from New Zealand.

For example, madam has a cup of tea brought to her before she rises in the morning to supervise the daily work, a cup of tea which is probably the result of two hours struggle on the part of the cook and the house boy, who start work at six o’clock to have eggs boiled or scrambled for breakfast at nine! And even then if the cook were not “shaken up” now and again breakfast and lunch would be one and the same meal! The house boy takes at least half a day to do imperfectly what any 'New • Zealand housewife would consider an easy ° couple of hours work. But then, I hear you say, who could expect a man to be any good in the house “A cook and a house boy?” I hear you ask. But I assure you such does not always lead to a life of luxury and relaxation. Here the goodwife, although she does perhaps escape the more menial tasks of the daily round, is nevertheless called upon to display her skill in other directions. She must .be on constant guard against the unreliability of her servants, who efficient as they may have become after ; months of careful training, are still slow to understand the meaning of hygenic principles as applied to handling of food. Thus the boy, if he is not watched, cheerfully polishes the glassware with the same rag that a moment ago he used to dust the boots! Then, of course, there is the daily ’ ♦ 1 shopping to be done. This becomes a 1

matter in which the housewife rises to a high standard of efficiency. Probably the actual shopping is best done by the cook, as the natives are able to drive a harder bargain among themselves. But the cook will also see that he manages to buy at a price that will allow him to charge a little commission for himself and still return a price that is less than the lady of the house could obtain herself. But she soon comes to know the price of this and that and is ready to swoop down if the rate of commission creeps up too high. Then too, the boy will try to increase his monthly income, and will use subtle means. He is sent for a bottle of kerosene and given the exact amount of money necessary. Here is a problem, but not so great that his astute brain cannot eope with it. He buys half a bottle, puts the balance of the cash in his pocket, and fills the rest of the bottle with water. But although he does strive to make an extra anna or two here and there he also offers economical advice at times. The price of fuel concerns him. He comes to his mistress and tells her he knows of a much cheaper way of keeping the home fire burning. It is the native way he explains.* He offers to buy a few barkets of cowdung, make it into pancakes and put it on the roof of the kitchen to dry after which it will be much superior to charcoal! Needless to say, the more expensive item is in this instance preferred.

The food problem for white people is not always easily ( solved. Meat of a kind can be had but it is all the same, and will not yield enough fat to make the pan greasy, and gravy is unknown. Fresh vegetables as required by Europeans are not always to be had. Eggs are not plentiful and what there are might have been laid by sparrows, judging from the size So the good wife can help matters considerably by instructing a boy in the art of keeping the garden in order and’ stocked with all manner of vegetables which grow with great rapidity if sufficiently watered, and vie with the best produced in New Zealand. A few hens help .to furnish the table not only with eggs but with frequent dishes of roast poultry which is a welcome change after a week or so of undersized, over-sinewed mutton, or equally hardcase beef. Chickens are to be had at a reasonable rate but require to be kept in the pen for a few weeks to grow a little meat on their usually barren breast bones. Now and again someone manages to shoot a nilgai or an expedition to one of the many lagoon about the countryside provides a little variety in the shape of a good bag of ducks. To-day the ducks provide a feast; to-morrow we may face a temporary famine. But all considered, with garden and the chickens we manage to keep the wolf from the door.

One rapidly becomes accustomed to many new forms of dealing with tradesmen. Bargaining is a daily occurrence and the ancient system of barter is not infrequently used. Thus a seller of water pots with an eye to business offers to exchange’ a pair of earthenware jars for an old piece of board full of bent nails, and 1 a villager who probably has a craving for fresh vegetables trades' in a basket of flowers for jelly-making for a medium sized cauliflower.

But though the days are spent in this quaint domestic atmosphere, many opportunities offer for relaxation. Although it is impossible to describe in

a short article all the manners and habits of the people who surround us,

are wonderfully hospitable and invitations to attend some village function or join in a visit to a nearby temple are frequent. These occasions, especially the excursions to the villages, while interesting and instructive are not entirely without .their humorous side. Thus we are invited to attend a feast in celebration of some religious rite, and our hosts call the day before to borrow forks and spoons that we might eat in comfort. And the trips themselves are epic adventures. A motor bus is sent to bring us. To call it a conveyance would be rather much of a compliment; contrivance would be nearer the point. For it has probably accumulated piece by piece over the last decade, but for , all that displays a surprising turn of speed. The Indian roads are scarce worthy of the name and as the old bus careers along the one-way track at a breakneck speed we are given the thrill and ride of our lives. The driver is not particularly careful of the pedestrians lives either, and after all why should he be when the last old woman he knocked down (and incidentally killed) only cost him twelve annas, which consisted of bribes to one or two witnesses. “She would have died soon anyhow,” he said! Many people too consider India to be a place to be endured and not enjoyed. But in a country where one is not called upon to do more than one wishes to do, and one can dress and live exactly to the requirements of the climate, then one cannot complain and the heat is felt for only about two . months in this particular district in the north of the Bombay Presidency. Fo;r several months, from June when the monsoon has broken, the weather is extremely pleasant and enervating, the days are warm with being excessively hot, and the nights are reasonably cool. The evenings, clear and quiet, just after sunset and when the stars begin to come out one by one, are perfect; the motionless atmosphere adds to the charm. - In this district too the countryside is not the parched and arid landscape that one might expect. Trees are j close by on every hand. Among the trees lie the village fields, laid out in small plots of irregular size and shape. In and out among the trees, across the fields wind the roads, worn deep into the soil by centuries of traffic, and above the branches meet forming a leafy arbour to shade the traveller in even the hottest weather. Wild life is visible on every hand. Deer steal out at twilight to spend a night undisturbed among the Indian corn. Monkeys chatter in the trees, or descend into the fields where they do much damage and defy all efforts to drive them away, returning missile for missile any object thrown at them. Peacocks are to be seen in every secluded corner, o,r protected by law and the favour of religious beliefs strut proudly in the village streets. Birds of infinite variety and in countless number are present everywhere, on ground, and in the trees. High up in the unclouded blueness of the sky. countless birds of prey wheel on tire- ; less wings, only swooping earthwards when some sick or worn out beast falls by the wayside. And so one could go on and one, describing in endless number those countless typical scenes that combine to form an Indian countryside. Many things we do miss, and it would not be our intention to remain here indefinitely, but nevertheless, when the time comes to leave, it will be with some regret that we at last turn our backs upon a country and a life we have learned to like so well.