Observations on the Mussulmauns of India Part 36

The stalks of mahdhaar, when broken, pour out a milky juice at all seasons of the year, which falling on the skin produces blisters. The Natives bring this juice into use both for medicine and alchymy in a variety of ways.

The mahdhaar, as a remedy for asthma, is in great repute with the Natives; it is prepared in the following way:--The plants are collected, root, stalks, and leaves, and well dried by exposure to the sun; they are then burnt on iron plates, and the ashes thrown into a pan of water, where they remain for some days, until the water has imbibed the saline particles; it is then boiled in an iron vessel, until the moisture is entirely absorbed, and the salt only left at the bottom. The salt is administered in half-grain doses at the first, and increasing the quant.i.ty when the patient has become accustomed to its influence: it would be dangerous to add to the quant.i.ty suddenly.[32]

Another efficient remedy, both for asthma and obstinate continuance of a cough, is found in the salt extracted from tobacco-leaves, by a similar process, which is administered with the like precaution, and in the same quant.i.ties.

The sirrakee and sainturh[33] are two specimens of one genus of jungle-gra.s.s, the roots of which are called secundah,[34] or khus-khus,[35]

and are collected on account of their aromatic smell, to form thatch tatties, or screens for the doors and windows; which being kept constantly watered, the strong wind rus.h.i.+ng through the wet khus-khus is rendered agreeably cool, and produces a real luxury at the season of the hot winds, when every puff resembles a furnace-heat to those exposed to it by out-of-door occupation.

This gra.s.s presents so many proofs of the beneficent care of Divine Providence to the creatures of His hand, that the heart must be ungratefully cold which neglects praise and thanksgiving to the Creator, whose power and mercy bestows so great a benefit. The same might be justly urged against our insensibility, if the meanest herb or weed could speak to our hearts, each possessing, as it surely does, in its nature a beneficial property peculiar to itself. But here the blessing is brought home to every considerate mind, since a subst.i.tute for this article does not appear to exist in India.

I have seen the sainturh stalks, on which the bloom gracefully moves as feathers, sixteen feet high. The sirrakee has a more delicate blossom, finer stalk, and seldom, I believe, exceeds ten feet; the stalk resembles a reed, full of pith, without a single joint from the shoot upwards; the colour is that of clean wheat straw, but even more glossy. The blossom is of a silky nature possessing every variety of shade, from pure white to the rainbow's tints, as viewed in the distance at sunrise; and when plucked the separated blossoms have many varieties of hue from brown and yellow, to purple.

The head or blossom is too light to weigh down the firm but flexible stalk; but as the wind presses against each patch of gra.s.s, it is moved in a ma.s.s, and returns to its erect position with a dignity and grace not to be described.

I have watched for the approaching season of the blooming sirrakee with an anxiety almost childish; my attention never tired with observing the progressive advances from the first show of blossom, to the period of its arriving at full perfection; at which time, the rude sickle of the industrious labourer levels the majestic gra.s.s to the earth for domestic purposes. The benefits it then produces would take me very long to describe.

The sirrakee and sainturh are stripped from the outward sheltering blades, and wove together at the ends; in this way they are used for bordering tatties, or thatched roofs; sometimes they are formed into screens for doors, others line their mud-huts with them. They are found useful in constructing accommodations after the manner of bulk-heads on boats for the river voyagers, and make a good covering for loaded waggons. For most of these purposes the article is well suited, as it resists moisture and swells as the wet falls on it, so that the heaviest rain may descend on a frame of sirrakee without one drop penetrating, if it be properly placed in a slanting position.

I cannot afford s.p.a.ce to enumerate here the variety of purposes which this production of Nature is both adapted for and appropriated to; every part of the gra.s.s being carefully stored by the thrifty husbandman, even to the tops of the reed, which, when the blossom is rubbed off, is rendered serviceable, and proves an excellent subst.i.tute for that useful invention, a birch-broom. The coa.r.s.e parent gra.s.s, which shelters the sirrakee, is the only article yet found to answer the purposes for thatching the bungalows of the rich, the huts of the poor, the sheds for cattle, and roofs for boats. The religious devotee sets up a chupha-hut,[36] without expense,--(all the house he requires,)--on any waste spot of land most convenient to himself, away from the busy haunts of the tumultuous world, since bamboo and gra.s.s are the common property of all who choose to take the trouble of gathering it from the wilderness. And here neither rent or taxes are levied on the inhabitant, who thus appropriates to himself a home from the bounteous provision prepared by Divine goodness for the children of Nature.

This gra.s.s is spontaneous in its growth, neither receiving or requiring aid from human cultivation. It is found in every waste throughout Hindoostaun, and is the prominent feature of the jungle, into which the wild animals usually resort for shelter from the heat of the day, or make their covert when pursued by man, their natural enemy.

The beneficence of Heaven has also exacted but little labour from the husbandman of India in procuring his daily provision. Indeed the actual wants of the lower order of Natives are few, compared with those of the same cla.s.s in England; exertion has not, therefore, been called forth by necessity in a climate which induces habits of indulgence, ease, and quiet; where, however it may have surprised me at first, that I found not one single Native disposed to delight in the neat ordering of a flower-garden, I have since ascertained it is from their unwillingness to labour without a stronger motive than the mere gratification of taste.[37] Hence the uncultivated ground surrounding the cottages in India, which must naturally strike the mind of strangers with mingled feelings of pity and regret, when comparing the cottages of the English peasantry with those of the same cla.s.ses of people in Hindoostaun.

The bamboo presents to the admirer of Nature no common specimen of her beautiful productions; and to the contemplating mind a wide field for wonder, praise, and grat.i.tude. The graceful movements of a whole forest of these slender trees surpa.s.s all description; they must be witnessed in their uncultivated ground, as I have seen them, to be thoroughly understood or appreciated, for I do not recollect wood scenery in any other place that could convey the idea of a forest of bamboo.

The bamboos are seen in cl.u.s.ters, striking from the parent root by suckers, perhaps from fifty to a hundred in a patch, of all sizes; the tallest in many instances exceed sixty feet, with slender branches, and leaves in pairs, which are long, narrow, and pointed. The body of each bamboo is hollow and jointed, in a similar way to wheat stalks, with bands or knots, by which wonderful contrivance both are rendered strong and flexible, suited to the several designs of creative Wisdom. The bamboo imperceptibly tapers from the earth upwards. It is the variety of sizes in each cl.u.s.ter, however, which gives grace and beauty to the whole as they move with every breath of air, or are swayed by the strong wind.

Where s.p.a.ce allows the experiment, the tallest bamboo may be brought down to a level with the earth, without snapping asunder. In the strong tempest the supple bamboo may be seen to bow submissively,--as the self-subdued and pliant mind in affliction,--and again rear its head uninjured by the storm, as the righteous man 'preserved by faith' revives after each trial, or temptation.

The wood of the bamboo is hard, yet light, and possesses a fine grain, though fibrous. The outward surface is smooth and highly polished by Nature, and the knot very difficult to penetrate by any other means than a saw. The twigs or branches are covered with sharp thorns, in all probability a natural provision to defend the young trees from herbaceous animals. I have heard of the bamboo blossoming when arrived at full age; this I have, however, never seen, and cannot therefore presume to describe.[38]

In the hollow divisions of the bamboo is found, in small quant.i.ties, a pure white tasteless substance, called tawurshear,[39] which as a medicine is in great request with the Native doctors, who administer it as a sovereign remedy for lowness of spirits, and every disease of the heart, such as palpitations, &c. The tawurshear when used medicinally is pounded fine, and mixed up with gold and silver leaf, preserved quinces and apples, and the syrup of pomegranates, which is simmered over a slow fire until it becomes of the consistence of jam. It is taken before meals by the patient.

The bamboo is rendered serviceable to man in a countless variety of ways, both for use and ornament. The chuphas (thatched-roofs) of huts, cottages, or bungalows, are all constructed on frames of bamboo, to which each layer of gra.s.s is firmly fixed by laths formed of the same wood.

The only doors in poor people's habitations are contrived from the same materials as the roof: viz., gra.s.s on bamboo frames, just sufficient to secure privacy and defend the inmates from cold air, or the nightly incursions of wolves and jackals. For the warm weather, screens are invented of split bamboos, either fine or coa.r.s.e, as circ.u.mstances permit, to answer the purpose of doors, both for the rich and poor, whenever the house is so situated that these intruders may be antic.i.p.ated at night.

The bamboo is made useful also in the kitchen as bellows by the aid of the cook's breath; in the stable, to administer medicine to horses; and to the poor traveller, as a deposit for his oil, either for cooking or his lamp.

To the boatman as sculls, masts, yards, and poles; besides affording him a covering to his boat, which could not be constructed with any other wood equally answering the same varied purpose of durability and lightness.

The carriers (generally of the bearer caste), by the help of a split bamboo over the shoulder, convey heavy loads suspended by cords at each end, from one part of India to the other, many hundred miles distant. No other wood could answer this purpose so well; the bamboo being remarkably light and of a very pliant nature lessens the fatigue to the bearer, whilst almost any wood sufficiently strong to bear the packages would fret the man's shoulder and add burden to burden. The bearers do not like to carry more than twelve seer (twenty-four pounds) slung by ropes at each end of their bamboo for any great distance; but, I fear, they are not always allowed the privilege of thinking for themselves in these matters.

When a hackery[40] (sort of waggon) is about to be loaded with of corn or goods, a railing is formed by means of bamboos to admit the luggage; thus rendering the waggon itself much lighter than if built of solid wood, an object of some moment, when considering the smallness of the cattle used for draught, oxen of a small breed being in general use for waggons, carts, ploughs, &c. I have never seen horses harnessed to any vehicle in India, except to such gentlemen's carriages as are built on the English principle.

The Native carriages of ladies and travellers are indebted to the bamboo for all the wood used in the construction of the body, which is merely a frame covered with cloth, shaped in several different ways,--some square, others double cones, &c.

Baskets of every shape and size, coa.r.s.e or fine, are made of the split bamboo; covers for dinner trays, on which the food is sent from the kitchen to the hall; cheese-presses, punkahs, and screens, ingeniously contrived in great varieties; netting-needles and pins, latches and bolts for doors; skewers and spits; umbrella sticks, and walking canes; toys in countless ways, and frames for needle-work.

A long line of etceteras might here be added as to the number of good purposes to which the bamboo is adapted and appropriated in Native economy; I must not omit that even the writing-paper on which I first practised the Persian character was manufactured from the bamboo, which is esteemed more durable, but not so smooth as their paper made from cotton. The young shoots of bamboo are both pickled and preserved by the Natives, and esteemed a great luxury when produced at meals with savoury pillaus, &c.

I am told, a whole forest of bamboo has sometimes been consumed by fire, ignited by their own friction in a heavy storm, and the blaze fanned by the opposing wind; the devouring element, under such circ.u.mstances, could be stayed only when there ceased to be a tree to feed the flame.

[1] The Indian rose-water is made princ.i.p.ally from _Rosa damascena_ about Ghazipur in the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh. It has no medicinal value, but is used as a vehicle for other mixtures (Watt, _Economic Dictionary_, VI, part i. 560 ff.).

[2] _Bibi Sahiba_. 'On the principle of the degradation of t.i.tles which is general, this word in application to European ladies has been superseded by the hybrid _Mem Sahib_ or Madam Sahib, though it is often applied to European maid-servants or other Englishwomen of that rank of life' (Yule, _Hobson-Jobson_[2], 78).

[3] It is one of the flowers which produce pollen catarrh. Pope's suggestion that a man with a hypersensitive nervous system might 'die of a rose in aromatic pain', is not an impossible contingency.

[4] Goulard water, named after Thomas Goulard, a French surgeon: a solution of sub-acetate of lead, used as a lotion in cases of inflammation (_New English Dictionary, s.v._).

[5] P. 235.

[6] Not in Platts' _Hindustani Dictionary_: probably _barhan_, increasing.

[7] _Ritha_, the berry of the soap-nut tree, _Sapindus trifoliatus_ or _mukorossi_. (Watt, _Economic Dict_., vol. vi, part ii, 468.)

[8] _Nila tutiya_, copper sulphate: used as an emetic in cases of poisoning, but not now recognized as a remedy for snake-bite.

[9] _Chichra, Achryanthes aspera_ (Watt, i. 81).

[10] _Arziz_.

[11] _Nim, Melia Azadirachta_. The belief that it is a prophylactic against fever and cholera is held even by some Europeans (Watt, v. 217).

[12] _Arand, Ricinus communis_.

[13] Alsi, _Linum usitatissimum._

[14] _Amaltas, Ca.s.sia fistula_. The pulp of the fruit and the root-bark form the most useful domestic medicine, a simple purgative.

[15] _Myrtus communis_.

[16] _Punica Granatum_. The best varieties of the fruit come from Afghanistan and Persia.

[17] _Phalsa, falsa, Grewia asiatica_.

[18] The shade of the tree is supposed to be unhealthy to men, animals, and plants, as it is believed to be haunted by spirits, and it is wors.h.i.+pped on a day known as 'Tamarind Eleventh'.

[19] See p. 194.

[20] Watt, however, writes: 'Tin is a highly important metal in dyeing as practised in Europe, but in this respect is apparently unknown to the natives of India.' (Watt, _Economic Dictionary_, vol. vi, part iv, 60.)

[21] _Sharifa, Anona squamosa_.

[22] Guava.

[23] _Bargat_, the banyan-tree.