to every household in India. It must be a sad reflection to her who can recall such unparalleled and glorious memories, that the year in which she completes a reign longer than that of any of her predecessors on the throne should also have had to bear the impress of so terrible a calamity. It is, however, the hope of us all that she may be spared to witness the restoration to prosperity and content of the largest of all the communities which, in every quarter of the globe, have risen or come to maturity under her long and beneficent sovereignty.

HINDU WOMEN

BY KRISHNARAO BHOLANATH DIVATIA

OF AHMEDABAD

THE present condition of Hindu women has been the subject of much controversy both in Europe and in India, and extreme views are sometimes expressed by those engaged in the discussion. It will be our endeavour in this paper to give an impartial account of the position which Hindu women hold in India at the present day.

Much has been done within recent years to promote female education in India, but the education of girls is still in a backward state. Among the higher castes, such as Brahmans, Banias, Kayasthas, and Kshatriyas, female education has spread to some extent; a large number of girls attend vernacular schools, and a very small percentage receive English education. Except among the higher classes, however, the females are practically illiterate, and know little beyond the narrow concerns of their daily life. They are, nevertheless, taught from their childhood such practical work as cooking and sewing, and thus become useful helpmates to their mothers, and to their husbands when they marry. Marry they must; a Hindu girl must not remain unmarried. One may find an old bachelor in India, but never an old spinster. Girls are generally married between the ages of ten and thirteen. There are, however, instances of delayed marriages. Amongst the Jains and some Banias in Western India, and in

Orissa and some other parts of Eastern India, the marriage of a girl is deferred till fifteen, sixteen, or even eighteen. Owing to this custom of early marriage amongst the Hindus, the education of girls, even amongst the higher classes, is very limited. Girls begin to learn at the age of six or seven, and they have to give it up at eleven, or twelve, when they are married.

A thin petticoat and short jacket form the girl's home dress in Western India, while in Bengal girls and women content themselves with the sari, a long piece of cloth wound round the body, and covering it from head to foot. Women in India, as elsewhere in the world, are fond of trinkets and ornament; they use fragrant oil for the hair, and braid the hair up behind, parting it in the centre at the forehead. Occasionally a flower or a small garland is tied over the braid. Jewellery used by girls is smaller in size and less in value than that used by grown-up women.

Hindu girls in India have no voice in selecting their husbands; the parents arrange the match for them. And a marriage once concluded is final and indissoluble. Even the form of betrothal is considered to be final, and the only caste that allows a betrothal to be set aside is that known as the Nagar Brahmans, who allow an engagement to be broken off at any stage before the legalising ceremony is performed. When an engagement is broken off among the people of this caste, the presents that have passed between the families are returned, and the parents of the boy and girl then look out for another suitable match.

An unmarried Hindu girl is permitted various games and pastimes, and joins boys in games in which she can take a share. The Indian national games are various, and different in different provinces. There are some games, however, which are common to most provinces. They are not quite systematised like the

English games, but have the advantage of cheapness. After the age of ten or eleven a girl seldom joins games meant for boys; it is considered unmaidenly.

Kuka is an outdoor game of which Hindu girls in Western India are fond. It is a game played by two or more with small pieces made of silver, ivory, wood, or clay, according to the means of the players. There are also other games resembling chess and halma which girls often indulge in. But of all pastimes, that known as the garba singing is the most interesting and graceful. It is a pastime peculiar to the women of Gujrat. The singers, all amateurs, stand in a circle, and two of them lead a song called garba or garbi. The others follow, and while singing they go round and round, beating time with the palms of their hands, which are decorated with tinkling bracelets. The special holidays on which the garba is the favourite pastime are the Gauri holidays in August for girls, and the Navaratri holidays in October for women. During the Gauri holidays, which extend for about a week, girls give up taking anything which contains salt, and various special dishes without salt are cooked. In the mornings they go to the riverside for a bath, after which they come home and take their meals, consisting of various dainties without salt; and then they sit down, never to rise until after the evening meal, which they finish by five o'clock. During all these five or six hours they remain sitting, enjoying different games that can be played without rising. It is amusing to see them move from place to place without standing up; if they stand they frustrate the object of their vow! On the first day they sow a sort of yellow grass in a small bamboo basket, and day after day they pour water over it, and worship it in the morning, after bath, and before meals. On the last day, when the grass has grown, they take it on their heads and go to the river and throw it in the The holidays are closed on the same evening

water.

by a garba singing, in which girls, dressed in various colours and bedecked with ornaments and flowers, take part with joyous and innocent merriment, full of satisfaction at having pleased Gauri.

Some time in August or September, groups of unmarried girls are found in the cities and towns of Gujrat, clustering in the streets, each having a small cup full of kum kum, a preparation like saffron, and putting a red mark on the forehead of married women whom they meet. All over India, Hindu girls and boys delight in the red powder during the holi festival, a festival sacred to the god of love, of which we find accounts in ancient Sanskrit works written fifteen hundred years ago. Various vows and ceremonies, believed to bring good luck, are observed in the different seasons by Hindu girls in different parts of India.

The

We now turn to the subject of the marriage of girls, which in India, as elsewhere, marks the commencement of a new epoch in their lives. ceremony itself is variously observed in different provinces, but it generally comprises a sacrifice to the fire, a survival of the Vedic sacrifice of the olden days. After her marriage the girl generally remains with her parents, occasionally visiting and staying with her husband's family until she becomes familiar with them. By-and-by, she gets familiarised with her new home, and if the inmates are good and kindly, she lives in happiness. But unmixed good is rare, and there are few families which are spared the miseries of occasional differences and disputes. It must not, however, be understood that the Hindu joint family is a home of perpetual misery. On the contrary, while differences and disputes are only occasional, members of Hindu joint families generally live in peace and amity under the head of the family.

The daughter-in-law is expected to do much of the indoor work of the family. She cooks the daily meals