CURE OR BODIES

Evening Post, Volume CXVII, Issue 21, 25 January 1934, Page 20

CURE OR BODIES

( oproblem

PUZZLES OF CASTE

i• If the care:; of; souls is ; a problem; " {everywhere, so equally is'the our'e of bodies in Calcutta; says a writer in the "•* '.Manchester Guardian." We are told that the port of Calcutta has for some ' years been on the black list of the Leaguo of Nations on health grounds. It is certainly true that we are^seldom frge from, dangerous epidemics; small■•.'..pix'in the cold weather, typhoid,'dengue, and allied fevers in the rains, to •ay, nothing of endemic diseases such as cholera, malaria, leprosy, and-kala-azar, which, are.with iis all. the year round in varying degrees of intensity. What holds good of Calcutta holds good of the hinterland of Bengal and Assam. Thirty years ago it.used to. befcalcu- . lated that of^^-every two ybungstßrs sent out to tie tea, indigo, or jute areas one would *c dead within t wo years. Improved drainage and sanitation have worked-wonderful improvements in health, but nowhere can it be said that the supply is adequate to the demand. . ' The water "supply is often- cut off or seriously, curtailed during the hottest hours of the day; in a number of ' areas the pressuro is insufficient' to admit of a-continual supply, of water,to the first floor of a house without the aid of a pump; and it is rare for'the bustee, or Avia. 'areas, to have piped connections .to; each .house. The discrepancy ;iibe-:-tween:. the present and, the ideal supply isj fiirthet increased _by v Indian traditions, which consider it unclean to wash lj£-u]^''bwzra^n'g\VaterfVhen;>tnia::>is ''t!^a^ai}«%'V'.th'e;> >Jiiaiaa;'.!wiriv^asli-:iliy pouring water over him, a method which « ' ;.'ip.t> ['economical.' ■ .Consequently, though^:the Calcutta 'Municipality supplies about -a hundred gallons of water (filtered arid nnfiltered) per - head—au . amount which compares favourably with the most generous quantities available ■elsewhere, wiikh London's forty gallons ;pW'head, say—this is still miserably insumcient to fulfil the needs of the populatiott.;s6rved.-.:'" -. 'v^vV^^^-H'^?^

:.;:;::]lTOTO^OZA;''raECAirriOm(.^"^ ..■;'':iwe:^,canr,i[)iders.tiihd,'...tlieriDfore,.'.-thi :extraprdinary' ''attention' paid; : by ; the :<iarefui"- h'6usewifo,:to all that; touches of^.her.household.;; HiiTJ-eyor; great .■''^e/'l^U!Bbm^ort..'i.nvolyea/;:wß.;''in''; sists; on' the usp| of the. m'psquito -net ipurid the bed during the ten months «t the year when, the mosquito bite ji» liable' to infect, andl: prescribes a dosil. tit .quinineat the'fii'st sign- p'fila^'teriipjjratvfre'' as a: precaution "against. M 5 latria. She takes ' constant precautions against^^{c'hblefii; ■and--typhoid'■■by.-allow-. ,ing:np:,pner-to drink ,nribpiled water;or mUk,V^pw«v«r,- insipid the taste; tabibs"and -salad[.stuffs areI'always diiinfectod with potassium, permanganate; fruit once ;cut never' appears:-:on; -her •tableJ:agaia'-''uUesß-/fllie'-:^sß^ss'e»;i'i'"-je-frigerator, ant amenity; ';becbmirigYinr creasingly ; :and .deservedlyS;popular. Then^ ■''. too,' the fight against the rats, ajjts, and- cockroaches, witht whicli We' ara; plagued will be unceasing, and, if necessary, a small fortune' will;bo. spent :kjßrp'^ne-.an4;inßecticiidesi;:^';'";'''''.v:i ': -tBuV it 'is "insufficient itoi.'safcgnard *nly; the..!• health of <'lthe members the family, /Customin this country; decrees that a small army of servants is indis- j pensable to the dignity of a European household/ and these are a constant source' of. danger. , With the fbvorcrbwding among th© poorer Indian population infection/ spreads/like'i wildfire.:.;lt- is, therefore, no mere humanitarian sentiment that prompts the Memsahib to make'frequent inquiries after the health of, her staff, and it is largely to the «elf-Tegarding instinct thai wb owe the prevailing enstomuridef. which the eni'plover doctors! his■'. servants, who • only call-inv.their own' doctors 'as' a last"'resource.'; / ;.':>';:■,-■-■' -:-;; -.•- ■/■■■■'. .■;';■. ;y ■•-'.-.'

..,~;i::- ■.■;• '/-:VAlitrAßlE;:'wrpßk.^;;-: -;" ':-'---. i in 'tti* vilna|ila educativo work Kas alif^ay'b^ndone-i in all his simple* ailments, or those of his family; tW.itidiin servant will immediately approach, his Memsahib--rthrough the I>earer, irof'course, for it is'by his kind offices alone vthat any Indian seriTapt has access to his, employer. .He hak learned to ask by name for tlie Epsom-salt which is the household •^••■;:■Biili^y' f ''/^'fol^;^quinin^'^for''^■.:!^^itment^i, iapd, latteriy,<or the t'eyespireenlgoli;?' • ■■■■• o'rjaspirin tablets.-; He ;haßVlearnDd.,t<> . ; use on Ms. own initiative the- simpler . disinfectants, such as iodine and "Koon Kairib^*?! tors:. Bad Blood, which-,, is his ' pictffresqne though, gruesome name for th« permanganate. He will unhesitatingly,submit to the yearly cold-weather vac«ination which, careful housewives «Morce!v'lipttn 'staffii'and.' family.; Trust; ' ■■■ingly;l-he.'[will' take .any "mi'ssin";:(his geh.OTic teria for any ■chemical or drdg) ■ that th« Memsahib chooses to prescribe as' ne'cessaiy^provided;.'■ always that . ttfere is no ;SUBpicion of rituals uncleann'ess attached. If "there is, .not ■ eveii ; ■'.' e^reme'-urgencj;: will '^persuade, many to ■ ' '.iptimit.^;;;:;;;'!'^;','- '"*i.,."rWi ■.■;>!, .■'-•'■ ';''/_.-■ :. ..[,\.^hus, meat extract., and occasional dbsei|';'of f¥fan^y were' prescribed;ior"» Moslem Tjearer in the writer's service ftultering from double pneumonia and in the, last stages of weakness. Being a devout old man he refused to take the alcohol; forbidden ito those of his faith, noif ■ would he tjonch the beef tea, l«t it contain forbidden matter or lest, what irat.permissible had [been defiled in*the .preparation.-.. '.-.''-:'.1- ■„.:':;■;{>. ,' '"■''. '■■■!

~;Equalljr .■nncbmpromising: was 'the mali, our gardener.:. Ordinarily the mail is/M * -fSirly1"low; .-caste,1 but ours -was ai'. Oriya■ Brahmin.• TraditiqiiV has it that these were formerly an aboriginal tribe invited by the Aryan Brahmins to become Hindus. Being a powerful'and self-respectiiig. : community they consented \ On condition;'that : ;they '■ T?ere admitted as Brahmins, which condition was accepted.; To the connoisseur in auch things thejr bear the marks of their, Drayidian origin to this day, being darker than." !th« Aryan twiceborn, -who tend to despise them.' Notwithstanding^ this, -they remain firm' in their claim and rigid in their practices. Tiis explains why, when the bearer reported that the mali was ill, all our offerings of delicacies wero Tefused, even th"c; oranges, for food touched by ,U3 was poiiu!t;ed. "Only an.aspirin tablet and a .bottle of soda water were acceptedj1 for,

though wafer is the most potent agent of^pollntibhj.in thjs form it- is permissible to accept if from anyone. r