A Popular Account of the Manners and Customs of India — John Shaqi
A Popular Account of the Manners and Customs of IndiaAcland, Charles
History
A Popular Account of the Manners and Customs of India
Acland, Charles
India -- Description and travel; India -- Social life and customs
I am on the point of quitting this place for Cuttack. I have sold
the greater part of my furniture, as it is expensive to move; the
remainder is going forward on hackeries, or native carts. I want six
of these carts; about a dozen of them are come, and there is now a
crowd of native savages round the door, disputing as to who shall
go; and they were making so much noise that I was compelled to go
out and stop the cabal. I took a good thick stick in my hand, as if
I were about to beat them. I called out "Choop!" (or silence) as
loud as I could. I then explained that I only wanted six hackeries.
Then began a vociferation as to whose were the best. "Choop!--will
ye choop?" I roared again. I then called the mollee, and desired him
to turn out all the bullocks, for they had unfastened those which
drew the carts, and let them all loose in the rice-ground in the
compound, which was just ready for cutting. This order I hallooed
out loud enough for the men to hear; and told him, as soon as he had
done that, to come to me for a crowbar to break to pieces all the
hackeries but six. This made them submit; and although they still
continued making a great chattering, yet they soon began harnessing
their bullocks. With these people we are obliged to appear very
severe. They despise us as being of no caste; and were we not to be
firm, they would imagine we were afraid of them.
We are now engaged in packing up our things, and shall start on the
25th, reach Balasore on the 28th, and remain there ten days, and then
three days' more travelling will bring me to my head-quarters at
Cuttack.
I have, with much trouble, endeavoured to persuade the people
here that they ought to build a church: the Mohammedans have a
splendid mosque, the Hindoos have a large temple, and yet we have no
consecrated building for the worship of the true God; but, however,
I hope this will be remedied. As I was passing the mosque the other
day, I saw the muezzin shouting out that it was time for prayer,
and stopping his ears with both hands, that he might not hear the
terrible noise which he himself was making.
[Sidenote: GOATS.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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