MAHRATTA WOMEN.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 2578, 19 January 1889, Page 1 (Supplement)

MAHRATTA WOMEN.

-lit GtioK'iSi liiUDwooi), in im article iu i..!iu Asiatic Qii.irteiij- jiuyiuw, draws tho following picture of the MahratU uomou :—'Liu. Chitpavati women, arc of the most t'uliiiixl type, of feminine loveli-ue.-s ; and in tho s a outness, grace, mid dignity of their high-bred beuuty, ut once modern in its e.vquUito delicacy uml .intiqiie in its fearless freedom, Uiey might we.ll bu tak-.-n for the Greek originals of the Tciu.i.i'ra ' figurines, , awaited to a Inter life among the tropical gardens and orcijard.-i and eoooauul groves of the Southern Konkon. Ouo never wearies ut' watching- them, as seen in the dewy iiiuming in their gardens, porambulatiug, in archaic worship, the altar of Holy U.izil (tuUi, Ucyiniiui eaucliiui) placed berjre evriy Hindoo house ; or of au afterii'jon as they puss, in fetching water, to or l'ruiu the near riverside, or the lotinl.idun tank or the village temple, all iu d.iukig robes of cotton or unbleached ■viule, or dyed a single colour, pink, searlot, black, fa'ieen, or primrose yellow, pres.atirii; as they move, along tho red Uteriio roads in the deepening shadows ol the trous, and illumined across the bine sea by the side-long rays of the declining sun, the rienest chromatic; elieets, with all the bright glamour ot' a glowing Turner or a CiuuUe. And the outward and visible charms of these fair Gnit-pavina do but faithfully mirror the innate virtu.s of their inire and gentle natures ; ior they are perfect da.ugnte.rs, wives, and mothers, after tho severely liicciplino.l, self-sacrilicinn Hindoo itleal, Llie ideal also of Solomon, Sophocles, and St. i'aul, remaining modestly at home, us the proper sphere of their duties, unknown beyond Uieir families, and seeking in the happiness of their children their greatest pleasure, and in the reverence of their husbands, the amaranthine oroiVu of a woman's truest glory.