At the conclusion of my visit, I was offered sweetmeats, fruits,
raisins, etc. The sweetmeats were mostly composed of sugar,
almonds, and suet, but were not very palatable, owing to the
predominance of the suet.
Before leaving the house, I visited the ground-floor to examine the
room, in which, once a year, the religious festival called Natch is
celebrated. This festival, which is the most important one in the
Hindoo religion, takes place in the beginning of October, and lasts
a fortnight, during which time neither poor nor rich do any business
whatever. The master closes his shops and warehouses, and the
servant engages a substitute, generally from among the Mahomedans,
and then both master and servant spend the fortnight, if not in
fasting and prayer, most certainly in doing nothing else.
The Baboo informed me that on these occasions his room is richly
ornamented, and a statue of the ten-armed goddess Durga placed in
it. This statue is formed of clay or wood, painted with the most
glaring colours, and loaded with gold and silver tinsel, flowers,
ribbons, and often with even real jewellery.
Pages:
408
409
410
411
412
413
414
415
416
417
418
419
420
421
422
423
424
425
426
427
428
429
430
431
432