Although The Natives
Of India Will Not Eat With Us, As They Know That We Do Not Scruple
To Partake Of Food Prepared For Their Tables, They Are Mortified And
Disappointed At Any Refusal To Taste The Good Things Set Before Us;
The More We Eat, The Greater Being The Compliment.
I was consequently
obliged to convey away some of the cakes in my handkerchief, to avoid
the alternatives of making myself ill or of giving offence.
When we were sufficiently rested and refreshed, we followed the
moonshee to his mansion. The moon was at the full, and being at this
time well up, lighted us through the less thronged avenues of the
village, these tangled lanes, with the exception of a few candles,
having no other illumination. Here, seated in corners upon the ground,
were the more humble traders of the fair, venders of fruit, the larger
kind being divided into slices for the convenience of poor customers.
In one spot, a group of dissipated characters were assembled round
bottles and drinking-vessels (of which the contents bore neither the
colour nor the smell of sherbet), who were evidently determined to
make a night of it over the fermented juice of the palm. From what I
have seen, I am inclined to believe sobriety to be as rare a virtue
in Bombay as in London; toddy-shops appear to be greatly upon the
increase, and certainly in every direction there are already ample
means of gratifying a love of spirituous liquors. In other places, the
usual occupation of frying fish was going on, while a taste for sweet
things might be gratified by confectionary of an ordinary description
compared with that exhibited in the shops.
As we receded from the fair, the bright illumination in the distance,
the twinkling lights in the fore-ground, dimly revealing dusky figures
cowering round their fires, and the dark depths of the wood beyond,
with now and then a gleam of moonshine streaming on its tangled paths,
made up a landscape roll of scenic effects. Getting deeper and deeper
into the wood, we came at last to a small modest mansion, standing in
the corner of a garden, and shadowed by palm-trees, through which the
moon-beams chequered our path. We did not enter the house, contenting
ourselves with seats in the verandah, where the children of our host,
his wife or wives not making their appearance, were assembled. The
elder boys addressed us in very good English, and were, the moonshee
told us, well acquainted with the Guzerattee and Mahratta languages;
he had also bestowed an education upon his daughters, who were taught
to read in the vernacular.
The old man told us that he was born in Mahim Wood at the time of the
festival, and, though a Hindu, had had the name of Mugdooree, that
of the saint, bestowed upon him, for a good omen. Having a great
affection for his native place, he had, as soon as he could command
the means, built the house which we now saw, and in which he always
resided during the fair, which was called oories, or the Mugdooree
Sahib's oories, at Mahim. After sitting some time with the old man,
and admiring the effect of the moonlight among the palm-trees, we rose
to depart. In taking leave of the spot, I could not repress a wish to
see it under a different aspect, although it required very slight aid
from fancy to picture it as it would appear in the rains, with mildew
in the drip of those pendant palm branches, green stagnant pools in
every hollow, toads crawling over the garden paths, and snakes lurking
beneath every stone.
Returning to the place in which we had left the carriage, we found
the fair more crowded than ever, the numbers of children, if possible,
exceeding those to be seen at English places of resort of the same
nature. The upper rooms of the superior houses, many of which seemed
to be large and handsome, were well lighted and filled with company,
many of the most respectable amongst the Hindus, Mohammedans, and
Parsees, repairing to Mahim, to recreate themselves during the
festival. The shops had put on even a gayer appearance, and though
there was no rich merchandize to be seen, the character of the meeting
being merely that of a rustic fair, I was greatly surprised by
the elegance of some of the commodities, and the taste of their
arrangement.
It was evident that all the purchasers must be native, and
consequently I could not help feeling some astonishment at the large
quantities of expensive European toys with which whole booths were
filled. Dolls, which were to me a novelty in my late visit to Paris,
with real hair dressed in the newest fashion, were abundant; and so
were those excellent representations of animals from Germany, known by
the name of "Barking toys." The price of these things, demanded of our
party at least, was high. I had wished to possess myself of something
as a remembrance of this fair, but as the old moonshee was the only
individual amongst us who carried any money about him, I did not like
him to become my banker on this occasion, lest he should not permit me
to pay him again, and I should by this means add to the disbursements
already made upon our account.
Upon leaving the fair, we found some difficulty in steering our way
through the bullock-carriages which almost blocked up the road, and
as we drove along the grand thoroughfare towards Girgaum, a populous
portion of the native town, the visitants seemed to increase; cart
followed upon cart in quick succession, all the bullocks in Bombay,
numerous as they are, appearing to have been mustered for the
occasion.
In the different drives which I have taken through the island, I
have come upon several fine tanks, enclosed by solid masonry of
dark-coloured stone; but, with the exception, in some instances, of
one or two insignificant pillars or minarets, they are destitute of
those architectural ornaments which add so much splendour to the same
works in Bengal.
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