In Kali's Country: Tales from Sunny India

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mother, taking her naked baby from her hip, astride of which he had been carried during the journey, would let him stand beside her, and the father would take a fresh chew of pan, spitting out the red ju

had been but a despised and neglected widow in the home of her dead Hindu husband. She knew that they were going to some place afar off to worship the god Krishna and that some special blessing was coming to them for making this journey. She knew that her father and mother and she herself had worked hard in the fields that they might earn the money needed to pay the visit to the sacred city. She knew, too, that a large portion of this money had been spent upon her

HAI WAS N

oad with naked, ash-smeared bodies, seeking by such self-torture to win rest for their souls. Sometimes they would meet ox-carts loaded with produce for the city market; at other times, bands of coolies carrying sugar-cane or bundles of fuel cakes upon their heads. It was all of interest to Shama Sahai,

wn they stopped in front of a little wayside temple, the names of whose gods she did not know, and lost an hour of travelling before dark while they put flowers upon the necks of the idols, poured a little oil upon their bodies, and lighted tiny lamps before t

by high walls and above the gate was a tower tapering upward many stories, on each story of which stood figures of gods, many of whom the girl knew and feared, but others whom she had never seen before. Passing under this tower they entered a court and from there went under another tower to another court and on until, entering a covered building in the centre, they found the god, a great black

e containing foul and slimy, but none the less exceedingly sacred, water. Into this tank they stepped and with prayers and the reciting of charms bathed with the throng of worshippers. Carefully they washed out their mouths with the filthy water and then drank of it. During all this time the fat priest kep

t keep from thinking of those girls in the temple. Towards morning her mother was taken ill. And the groans of the woman kept her awake. She stole out upon the doo

that building and by so doing having done his whole duty, set himself to the pleasant task of chasing some chickens which were running at large in the compound. Shama Sahai had to approach the building alone. As she came nearer the little knot of people, she noticed that every one of them looked ill and almost every one carried a little bottle in his hand. Through the open door of the building she could see a white memsahib in a blue striped dress, sitting at a little table, writing slips of paper and handing them out to the sick people. Occasionally the lady would touch one of the patients and he would run out his tongue. It was all very queer but interesti

timidity and each time being more attracted by the white lady who was so kind to her and called her by name and who, one day when there had

's visits to the dispensary ceased. She hoped that they would soon go home. By this time so frightened had the

m near the outside door, she heard her father and mother talking

y, but he's a hard one to drive a bargain with! We will settle the money part

ome and was about to close her eyes so that she might sleep and be rested

he necessary ceremonies in a short time and we can leave her there," answered the man. "I wanted it don

won't need so much rice without

his way and have one less to feed than to have the cursed creature always around in the way. We'll not go hungry now. A good business we've done here at Kamadabad, old woman, although you did waste a lot of time and money by being sick, for of course we had to pay extra for the longer sta

have thought of bringing the girl, if I hadn't s

hat they were asleep, she crept out-of-doors and darting around a corner sank down upon some steps. She knew from what she had overheard that her parents-in-law were planning to go home in the morning without her and that t

doorway, she looked up and down the street. No one was astir; only a quiet form here and there on the little porches could be s

h the streets, the lightness of her footfall

she did not hesitate, but, running up to

emsahib? Quick,

thing strange that a girl should call the doctor in the night, hasten

. She always sleeps on th

frightened sobs was telling her story. "I've come

in pulled out from Kamadabad for Mattera, a native Christian woman with a Hindu girl, disguised in the slightly differ

doctor that morning. Although she was used to witnessing crises in people's lives with real, professional calm, this morni

s of her. As she was leaving her compound gate towards evening for her daily exercise, she met a man and a woman

pose, for we're rid of her anyway. Of course he pretended he had not seen her and was

bad luck go with her

e Shama Sahai's parents-in-law going home without her, believing that the priest had stolen the girl. Instead of going on to the river for her usual evening con