CHRISTMAS IN INDIA.

Lyttelton Times, Volume LVI, Issue 6503, 30 December 1881, Page 6

CHRISTMAS IN INDIA.

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Thtoitfasr m eveiyono is with* the pictured reprveenlAtkm* of Cbristauslido spent Xu climate*, I doubt If aayoue who has act gone through it cm quite realise the «** teMi oddncM of - till Slth of December, beginning with lawn tennis at 0 an,, and iadlng until gasping In muslin dresses oo a moonlit verandah at U tun. Such, bowiWffi was the manner In which, we pasted our last Christmas day. Cu at five ond of in A sehfekery, which Admirably CAfried .out It* UAtne, Along (lie red, tteeahftdsd road limding to the bMutltol house And spacious compound or garden of our host for the morning. Beiug stronger* in the laud, we found Hie five miles anything hut tong, for at every turn some new wed Amusing group met our eyes. ■ Whose gravity would be proof Against the light of two solomu-looMog Hindoos, squatting close opposite each other on the ground, one the barber, the other the patient, the former holding the latter by the nose, "and perform* lug bis office with the sublime tmg fluid and utter Imperturbability common to the eastern nteesP There they sat upon a ipacioue banyan, one or two idiom looking on, from sheer look of .anything to do. It gives one a feeling of hopelessness about this people, to eee these throngs of Idlers at this early hour) thereon always hundreds who seem to have nothing to do. A sudden jolt, worse than any preceding it, and making ttnr notes intimately acquainted with each other (a thielery I* «o niugow, you alt opposite your companion), told ue we bad reached the beginning 'of the road-mending miseries. A atmngo eight it woe, In the misty early morning, to see these throngs of dark* skins, capriciously covered or uncovered—as many women os men—alt bending to the weary toil of carrying buketlmids of stones to fling on the red earth % while ethers boro over their •boulders the frightful pigskins expanded with water to A hideous resemblance with their living brethren, to water the ground previous to the huge roller being brought and dragged by a team of straining natives, I was told by an inspector, who in a moment of enthusiasm aspired to moke those natives work like Britons, that his hair nearly tamed white through his efforts to tasks them work systematically in a row. They could not keep the line, nor had they any idea whatever of time. Once over the bit of tod road, wo scuttled along at a good pace, amused at every turn. It wss evident that rice time was. juft over, judging from the extreme tightness of the strings round the children's fat little waiste. Some native shlckeries xused us. Every day since we arrived we use been on the look-out to sue the people pi in and out of these vehicles, for, without seeing, one would feel compelled to believe that they wore built in. Perhaps they are, at either end ot the journey, as they never seem to dirgorp by the way. The native shiekery bears a family resemblance to our OVD, but it Is about the size of a wheelbarrow, I with a cover to it, and a little well in the middle to put all the various legs of the occupants into, and a tiny door behind. Into this £ Is quite common to see four great fat Brahmins crowd, a driver apparently slicking on in front, and one pony as large ae an average Newfoundland to draw the whole load. It Is horribly cruel, but there seems to be no effort made to ameliorate the condition of the poor beasts of burden. It was not aUil we exchanged & hearty " Merry Christmas ” with oar host that we at all realised the season, and even then it seemed rather like a hoax. It wse a cheery scene, indeed, that met our eyes a* we glanced round after the first greetings were over. Four splendid gravel lawn-tennis courts, smooth as billiard tobies, were already dotted with business-like performers, both ladies and gentlemen, almost all In white. Bound each court stood some four natives to run for balls. This was, indeed,the very acme o? business miasmtennis playing. The great seriousness with which these darkles did their running or throwing was exceedingly comic. Under a group of magnificent treat, whoso shadows a* the sun rose lengthened over all four courts, were spread brilliant carnete, and the whole paraphernalia for chotl hagra, or hasty tea, iresided over by our hostess in the most I switching of tea-gowns and dainty cap. A cheerful background was formed by the servants, horses, and carriages of the guests, all stabled under various trees. The home token out, and tb» natives in their brilliant dressee grouped about In lazy content—real happiness t nothing to do for an hour and a half. Nothing can to more enjoyable than soch a reunion j absolutely unconventional, it makes a pleasure of the exercise It is superlatively necessary for everyone to begin the day with in this trying climate who wishes to j keep any show whatever of health. At a quarter to eight there was a general stir and a kaleidoscope appearance m the background, as the gay native coachmen began to put to their horses. Already the delielois air has fallen, and the steady rays of the pitiless sun find us out through the interstices of the leaves. We bid adieu to the bright scene with regret, and, along with our fellow guests, streamed slang the red road on our return and warmer journey to Madras proper. Arrived there, a second trob and general smartening up was necessary i preparatory, to going to church at 11.30. To, ihe uritiated, a euite of rooms in an Indian hotel is rather an unpleasant novelty. Oars consisted of a huge sitting-room, which, though three aides were all windows from ceiling to floor, hod not one single pane of glass, hut were sll Venetians, so,that there was no medium between total darkness end a blocs of Ikhl and consequent beat, for these were not the civilised Venetians of our English horns*, bat permanent shatters, having an angle of their own. and submitting to no modification from anybody. A vault-like bedroom, having so outlet whatever, except Into the sittingroom. and receiving all its light from the corridor, from which it was divided by a wall some eight feet high, leaving the remainder open to anyone who chose to mount a chair and look over, and to birds of the air (these unpleasantly frequent), and two bath-rooms completed our apartment, also with only half walls between the nest room and themselves. The doors were perhaps the most trying of the whole affair) they were, in fact, only wooden frame* with chintz stretched over them, some tour feet long, and fastening in the middle with a wooden holt. A* they are a toot from the ground, they do not serve the usual purposes or a door, which is presumably to he locked. Of what avail to took a screen under which anyone may crawl, or over which anyone may tale stock of the occupants of Ibis unpleasantly public chamber? Tn the middle of our substantial luneh, called breakfast, however, a cariosity in the way of a cord was handed to us, inscribed "0. ihoyamod MoodeHiar," and the corner ornamented with a cord and tassel This was ' no less a prson then our landlord. He followed up thie mtrodeetloo, : and, salaaming, presented ns each with mangoes corerad with gold ppr. After mutual good wishes, ' he bashfully hocked himself out. II JO found - ue in the cathedral. As we auprootbed, we bad been very cu.km* ae to the 'movements of some native* stationed dl round outside the building, and having bamboo poles, which th«y Uni slowly towards the ground, and then let tly op again, in regular sequence. The cause was soon espial*«d. Thee* were attached to U,o long Heavy punkahs, which ore kept going during too whole service. These large ones are tor the eoogr*t[aUoo t but prieet aiici clergy, choristers andi organist, all and each have one j and to eee the tiny one over the pulpit begin to jingle the moment tbs clergyman ascended was very trying to the gravity of one unAßiaainted with the ways of India in general, ana punkahs In particular, hucH a r liaising of bands was never seen as took piece in the great parch after service j then some friends carried us off to lunch with them, a* if we had not bad two meal* already and it wa* wt I o'clock ystt Of all the pretty pore lira I had seen, I think theirs was the prettiest, A flight of white stops? led, as is uiuai, up to the house) a woodwork soriof colouuadet with a most picturesque thatched

roof, corned the steps and stretched across the drive) under this our aatvlaiee pulled up, overhead were trained most exquisite crespmrs, dangling thslr flower clusters right into the tefriage) keks of toms and terge-leavsd plants met the eye on every side §. the air was “idea with the too sweet perfume df gardenia and magnolia. Here we spent a long after* noon, and at flve all started to drive on the promenade, a broad and beautiful road mantel along the hsaeh tor miles. Here sal the world pf Madras ttoagtegates, the band plays, the pate children come out to get a breath of the invigorating sea braese, as hteeses go here, and society has its hWe gossips and scandals Just aa it has the whole world over. The most curious failure of this rhmion is that it teles place in the dark, or at brat by moonlight, tor by el* the fierce sun ha* hidden his head. The lights are put to the carriage {amps, and friends must find each other as best they ran, the respective turbans and sashes of the servants bring the safest landmark. At about 7.30 there is a general stampede, and we hurried home to dress for the 8,80 dinner, ae we had another long drive before us. You do not take your knife, fork, and spoon out to dinner, but you take your servant, not to dine, but to wait on you. Tho flower decorations were entirely different to anything I had hitherto seen. Garlands of leaves and flowers, each leaf and flower kid separately, curved and wound in and among all dishes, pktee, and ornaments, and heavy flowery sprays wound up each epergne and candlestick) banks of ferns filled each comer of the room, which was entirely white, and contained no furniture beyond the table and ohaira through the usual space open to tho outside air one saw the gloomy banyans sharply defined against the etarilt sky. The servant of each i most motionless behind bis chair, and the hrons of white-robed native servantc oomEleted a picture not easily forgotten. Tho eat wee intense, and aven the swaying punkah only ssemed to male one warmer. I adjourned to the verandah, free from light, and par eon* sentient comparatively free of inieote. It was an agreeable change) and when we returned and retired to rest, we felt that it had been one of the most fatiguing but most charming Christmas days we ever spent. _____ O.F.P.