I will sketch my ideal of a model _Chupprassee_. He is a follower of the
Prophet, for your Gentoo has too many superstitions and scruples to be
generally useful. He parts his short black beard in the middle and
brushes it up his cheek on either side, the ends of his moustache are
trimly curled, he wears his turban a little on one side, carries himself
like a soldier, and is always scrupulously clean. He comes into your
presence with a salutation which expresses his own dignity, while it
respects yours. He wishes to know whether the protector of the poor has
any commands for his slave. When you intimate your wishes he responds
with a formula which is the same for all occasions—“Your Lordship’s
commands shall be executed.” And they are executed. If he knows of
difficulties or impossibilities, he keeps them to himself. Alas! this is
an ideal, how antipodal sometimes to the real! I am thinking of the
gigantic Sheikh Mahomed, with his terrible beard and womanly voice, who
would convey my commands to a menial of lower degree and return in five
minutes to detail the objections which that person had raised. Another
type of Mahomedan _Chupprassee_, whom we see is to abhor, expresses his
opinion of himself by letting half a yard of rag hang down from his
turban behind. He calls himself a _Syed_ and, perhaps, on account of the
sanctity implied in this, forbears to wash himself or his clothes. This
man is clever, officious, familiar, servile, and very fond of the
position of umbrella-bearer in ordinary to your person: therefore,
transfer him to the personal staff of some native dignitary, where he
will be appreciated. If my model does not suit you, there are many types
to choose from. We have the lofty and sonorous _Purdaisee_, the
_Rajpoot_, son of kings, the _Bhundaree_, or hereditary climber of palm
trees, the Israelite, the low caste, useful, intelligent _Mahar_, and
many more. Even the Brahmin in this iron age becomes a _Chupprassee_.
But three-fourths of all our belted satellites come from one little
district south of Bombay, known to our fathers as Rutnagherry,
re-christened Ratnagiri by the Hon. W. W. Hunter, C.I.E., A.B.C., D.E.F.,
etc. Every country has its own special products; the Malabar Coast sends
us cocoanuts and pepper; artichokes come from Jerusalem; ducks, lace,
cooks, and fiddlers from Goa. So Rutnagherry produces pineapples and
Mahrattas, and the Mahrattas do not eat the pineapples. Till quite
recently they employed themselves exterminating each other, burning each
other’s villages and crops, and inventing new ways of torturing old men
to make them confess where their money was buried. We have stopped these
practices without stopping the religious arrangements for keeping up the
supply of the race; so the Mahratta marries, as in duty bound, and
multiplies, and then casts about for some way of maintaining his growing
family; and our _Chupprassee_ system, looked at politically, is a grand
escape pipe.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account