now be accomplished with comparative comfoit and even in
luxury. Railways now so often run to the foot of the hills,
and carriages to the door of one’s house on the hill-top, that
the miseries of the dak gdri and doohj are almost a thing o
the past. Oh ! those dak gdri ! — boxes on wheels, with
dows which have to be opened with a bang, and doors which
are shut with difficulty, only to slide open again ! Then the
start — the wheels pushed from behind^ a rope fastened round
the horse’s leg pulled, and off you go at full gallop, the ser-
vants flying along and clambering up behind ! The maxim
must be borne in mind, “ It is not well to stop a dak gari, foi
it is always uncertain when you can start again. If you have
to travel some hours in one of these vehicles, it should be
packed with whatever may be required en route. In England
the smaller amount of luggage you have the greater your
peace, but in India it is just the contrary, and happiness
consists in carrying all kinds of creature comforts, and being
able to get at them easily. Servants love guthris, those inde-
scribable bundles, which, do what you will, they will bring
with them, and which often turn out as useful as the lucky-
bag in the “ Swiss Family Robinson.” Next to a dak gari for
misery comes a doolij. It is a box on a pole or poles, carried
by four men — with two or four more to change at intervals —
scantily clothed, and redolent of saturated humanity and
ghee. They pile their dirty clothes and shoes on the top of
the dooly, smoke the hubble-bubble with rank tobacco, and
clamour for buksheesh at the end of each stage. Make an
agreement with them, and advance the bidcsheesh. The
dooly can also be packed like the ddk gdri. The to?iga is
now pretty generally in use, and is an advance in civilisation ;
it is a low, two-wheeled cart, drawn by two or three horses,
which will carry three (or sometimes five) people, besides the
driver, and perhaps a few children also. It has a canvas top.
The best seat is that beside the driver. With a crack of the
whip and many ejaculations, off you go, rattling and jolting
at a grand pace !
198 The Indian Housekeeper and Cook
Going to the hills is not quite as simple a matter as going
to the seaside in England, but then there are the delightfully
hairbreadth risks and miraculous escapes as a pleasant excite-
ment, and there is always something new and wonderful.
Globe-trotters miss all these when they take good care to
return home at the end of the cold season, to tell their friends
that India has a most delightful climate. But it is almost
worth going to India to experience the pleasures of getting
to the hills; especially when one has undergone a captivity
in a shut-up house, the slightest fall in the temperature being
only “ mitigated misery,” the night a series of moanings and
tossings, the only relief an evening drive in the scorching
bl.ast of a furnace, with a })arched earth below and a sky of
brass above, lo leave all this behind, and to be hurried along
past murmuring streams, green grass, lovely flowers, and shady
trees is indeed refi'eshing. The life-giving breeze fans the
wan and hollow eyed children, and our physical and mental
energies are awakened.
Page 137
Presented as published in 1898. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
now be accomplished with comparative comfoit and even in luxury. Railways now so often run to the foot of the hills, and carriages to the door of one’s house on the hill-top, that the miseries of the dak gari and dooly are almost a thing of the past. Oh ! those dak gdri ! — boxes on wheels, with dows which have to be opened with a bang, and doors which are shut with difficulty, only to slide open again ! Then the start — the wheels pushed from behind, a rope fastened round the horse's leg pulled, and off you go at full gallop, the servants flying along and clambering up behind ! The maxim must be borne in mind, “ It is not well to stop a dak gari, for it is always uncertain when you can start again. If you have to travel some hours in one of these vehicles, it should be packed with whatever may be required en route. In England the smaller amount of luggage you have the greater your peace, but in India it is just the contrary, and happiness consists in carrying all kinds of creature comforts, and being able to get at them easily. Servants love guthris, those indescribable bundles, which, do what you will, they will bring with them, and which often turn out as useful as the luckybag in the “ Swiss Family Robinson.” Next to a dak gari for misery comes a doolij. It is a box on a pole or poles, carried by four men — with two or four more to change at intervals — scantily clothed, and redolent of saturated humanity and ghee. They pile their dirty clothes and shoes on the top of the dooly, smoke the hubble-bubble with rank tobacco, and clamour for buksheesh at the end of each stage. Make an agreement with them, and advance the baksheesh. The dooly can also be packed like the dak gari. The to?iga is now pretty generally in use, and is an advance in civilisation ; it is a low, two-wheeled cart, drawn by two or three horses, which will carry three (or sometimes five) people, besides the driver, and perhaps a few children also. It has a canvas top. The best seat is that beside the driver. With a crack of the whip and many ejaculations, off you go, rattling and jolting at a grand pace !
198 The Indian Housekeeper and Cook
Going to the hills is not quite as simple a matter as going to the seaside in England, but then there are the delightfully hairbreadth risks and miraculous escapes as a pleasant excitement, and there is always something new and wonderful. Globe-trotters miss all these when they take good care to return home at the end of the cold season, to tell their friends that India has a most delightful climate. But it is almost worth going to India to experience the pleasures of getting to the hills; especially when one has undergone a captivity in a shut-up house, the slightest fall in the temperature being only “ mitigated misery,” the night a series of moanings and tossings, the only relief an evening drive in the scorching bl.ast of a furnace, with a parched earth below and a sky of brass above, To leave all this behind, and to be hurried along past murmuring streams, green grass, lovely flowers, and shady trees is indeed refreshing. The life-giving breeze fans the wan and hollow eyed children, and our physical and mental energies are awakened.