  1. MY DEAR CHILDREN,—Hurrah! I am on shore again, after nine long days at sea. Yesterday I reached Bombay, the chief seaport of India. 2. Soon after I landed a friend came to see me at my hotel. He drove me round Bombay, and showed me all the sights. I wish you had been with me to see them. 3. Here in Bombay I seem to be in a new world altogether. It is a world of wonderful light and colour. The bright hot sun floods the streets and dazzles my eyes. Everywhere I see bright colour—in the sky, the trees, the flowers, and the dresses of the people. 4. The streets are always full of people. They are dark brown in colour; their hair is black, their eyes are bright, and their teeth are as white as pearls. Most of the people are bare-legged and bare-footed. 5. The men wear white clothes, with turbans and sashes of yellow, green, or blue. Yesterday was a feast-day. In the morning I saw thousands of the people bathing in the sea. Afterwards they roamed about the streets in their best clothes. One crowd that I saw looked like a great tulip garden in full bloom. 6. The women wear a garment of red, blue, or some other bright colour. This garment covers them from the neck to the knee. Almost every woman wears rings of silver on her arms and ankles. Some of them have great rings in their noses, as well as rings in their ears and on their toes. 7. You would be amused to see the people carrying their burdens on their heads. Yesterday I saw a dozen men carrying a grand piano on their heads. 8. From childhood the women carry jars of water or baskets of earth in this way. They hold themselves very upright and walk like queens. 9. Bombay is a very busy city. The streets are thronged with carriages, motor cars, bullock carts, and electric trams. As the people walk in the middle of the road, it is not easy for a carriage to make its way through the streets. 10. The drivers ring bells, or shout to warn the people: "Hi, you woman with the baby on your hip, get out of the way!—Hi, you man with the box on your head, get out of the way!" 11. I think you would like to see the bullock carts. They are very small, and are drawn by two bullocks with humps on their shoulders. The driver sits on the shaft and steers them with a stick. These carts carry cotton to the mills or to the docks. 12. In some of the carriages and motor cars you may see rich men wearing fine silk robes. Many of these rich men now dress as we do, except that they wear turbans instead of hats. |
|
