The East Goftnr relates an affecting instance of sisterly devotion. Baiba, a young female of Dhundhuka, while on a pilgrimage to Benares, heard of the transportation for life of her brother on a charge of highway robbery. "With the instinctive faith of a sister, Baiba refused to believe that her brother could be guilty of such a crime, but as the poor man was already transported nothing remained for her but to resort to quite a romantic way for the establishment of his innocence and his subsequent release. Eor this purpose she disguised herself as an ascetic, and went aboat from place to place, and at considerable personal discomfort and humiliation, gathering proofs of her relative's innocence- The devoted sister is said to have visited Dhaudhuka, Dhrole, Wadwan, Ahmedabad, and several other places, beseeching official intervention in behalf of her banished brother. After incredible exertions she found herself in possession of written evidence showing her brother's innocence. This she "laid at the feet of" the hon. Alexander Eogers. Mr. "Rogers went through the whole with the patience of a kindly nature, and at last found the accumulative mass of evidence irresistible. Thus at last was the exemplary devotion of this young woman crowned with success, and Mr. Rogers communicated to the happy sister the news of her banished brother's release. But the romance of the whole story is spoilt by the news of the sudden derangement of the released prisoner's faculties, on hearing of his good fortune. The poor man arrived at Bombay only to be sent to the Colaba Asylum. Baiba, the heroine of the story, belongs to the class of hereditary minstrels, known in Gujerat and Kattywar as " charans," and is said to have inherited the gift of impromptu verse to such a large extent as to be able to make Mr. liogers the hero of some songs which^he might be heard reciting to admiring crowds in Bombay.
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Bibliographic details
Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XIII, Issue 78, 1 April 1878, Page 4
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320Untitled Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XIII, Issue 78, 1 April 1878, Page 4
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