[Illustration: A BOMBAY LADY] WOMEN OF INDIA _BY_ OTTO ROTHFELD, F.R.G.S., I.C.S. AUTHOR OF ‘INDIAN DUST,’ ‘LIFE AND ITS PUPPETS’ ‘WITH PEN AND RIFLE IN KISHTWAR’ _ILLUSTRATED BY_ M.V. DHURANDHAR BOMBAY D.B. TARAPOREVALA SONS & CO. _Printed in Great Britain by Turnbull & Spears, Edinburgh_ DEDICATED WITH THE DEVOTION OF A LIFETIME TO THE KINDEST OF FRIENDS MRS ARGYLL ROBERTSON A CONSTANT WELL-WISHER OF INDIAN WOMANHOOD Contents CHAP. PAGE I. AS THEY ARE 1 II. MARRIAGE IN INDIA 15 III. THE HINDU WOMAN IN MARRIAGE 31 IV. THE LADIES OF THE ARISTOCRACY 61 V. THE MIDDLE CLASSES 89 VI. THE WORKING AND ABORIGINAL CLASSES 127 VII. THE DANCING GIRL 149 VIII. WOMAN’S DRESS 175 IX. THE MOVING FINGER 197 List of Illustrations NO. FACING PAGE 1. A BOMBAY LADY _Frontispiece_ 2. A PATHARE PRABHU 7 3. WATER-CARRIER FROM AHMEDABAD 8 4. SWEEPER 10 5. FISHER WOMAN OF SIND 19 6. MUSSULMAN ARTISAN FROM KÁTHIAWÁD 23 7. PATHAN WOMAN 26 8. BORAH LADY FROM SURAT 30 9. A BRAHMAN LADY GOING TO THE TEMPLE 37 10. FROM JODHPUR 44 11. A MILL-HAND 53 12. A MAHAR WOMAN 60 13. LADY FROM MEWÁR 69 14. RAJPUT LADY FROM CUTCH 76 15. MAHRATTI LADY 78 16. NAIR LADY 83 17. MUSSULMAN LADY OF NORTHERN INDIA 87 18. FROM BURMAH 90 19. LADY FROM MYSORE 94 20. A SOUTHERN INDIAN TYPE 97 21. BENGALI LADY 99 22. A NÁGAR BEAUTY 101 23. JAIN NUN 108 24. BHATIA LADY 110 25. KHOJA LADY IN BOMBAY 112 26. MEMAN LADY WALKING 117