Intimate Glimpses of Life in India; A Narrative of Observations, Educational, Social, and Religious, in the Winter of 1899-1900 (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated.1919 Excerpt: ... CHAPTER VII THE CAPITAL CITY IN its situation and external aspects the City of Calcutta does not compare at all favorably, either for its beauty or its interesting sights, with the City of Bombay. Instead of being surrounded on three sides by the sea and backed by imposing hills, it lies straggling along a dirty river, at an elevation of only about twenty feet above tidewater. Like Bombay, it has a large commerce with which are concerned ships from all parts of the world; but its port is too thin and ragged to be impressive. Moreover, the Hugli is a very difficult and dangerous stream to navigate, not only on account of the cyclones, in some of which a storm-wave has overwhelmed thousands of people living along the banks, but also because its shoals are so constantly changing that only a daily experience of the changes can enable the pilot to take his ship safely to its dock. The Hugli cannot be navigated at all at night, and in the daytime only when it is at flood tide. Nor are the buildings and public places of Calcutta as fine as those of Bombay. The same thing is true of its principal streets, whether used for business or for residence purposes. Perhaps a more important difference is due to the inferiority in enterprise and social development of the native inhabitants of Calcutta. There are almost no Parsees here, --the race which we found to be so wealthy and influential in the rival city of Western India. Although there are now several hundred thousand Muhammadans resident in Calcutta, this class have never had such control of affairs here, where the comparatively modern enterprise of the English East India Company planted itself, as to leave any impress upon its architecture comparable to, or even resembling, that of Delhi and Agra. Of the Hindu nativ..