This cheerful old man was an example of how happiness does not depend
on comfortable surroundings. The hut, which was of his own
manufacture, was of the most miserable description. Inside there was
literally only just space enough for himself and his little girl to
creep in and lie down. In the monsoon it was reduced to a pitiable
condition, the rain coming through like a sieve. The floor having
become mud, the old man was at last obliged to invest in a native
bedstead, which only costs about 8d. Having secured this luxury he was
quite content, and when he looked across at the Mission bungalow,
which, though homely enough, was a palace compared to his hut, I do
not suppose that he ever felt any wish to exchange residences.
The only thing that he could not bear was the tyranny of clothes, and
he wore even less than is usual in India. His chief joy was to sit and
bake in the morning sun, and to be coiled up in the shade during the
hottest part of the day. Now and then he came over and sat in one of
our verandahs for a little while, and he would wander into church and
gaze round with admiration. He was always smiling, or laughing, or
talking, or working, or sleeping. Though quite ignorant, he was a
devout Hindu according to his lights. It was pathetic to hear him in
his hut calling loudly on his gods, just about the time we went to
Compline. He always repeated the names of about half a dozen gods,
calling on each about twelve times or more in succession, in a rapid
but clear voice which could be distinctly heard in the bungalow. I do
not think that he ever missed his evening exercise. We tried to teach
him something of Christianity; but beyond sharing in the general
appreciation of the fabric of the church, and feeling that Christians
made good neighbours, I do not suppose that he took anything in.
Pictures he did not understand, or when we showed them to him, laughed
merrily, thinking that we meant it for a joke.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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