7
Accustomed to veil everything in mystery, they divided the terrestrial globe into seven dvipa or islands, each encompassed by its own peculiar ocean; and placing the habitation of the human race on Jambudvipa, which is nearest the centre, and consists partly of Meru, a mountain of gold of enormous height, reaching as far beneath as above the surface, appropriated to themselves one of its most highly favored localities.
India is the seventh largest country in the world, approximating in size to the continent of Europe minus the USSR.
A physical map of India shows strikingly that the country can be divided into three well-marked regions each having distinguishing characters of its own. The first is the Peninsula or Peninsular Shield (“shield” being a term used for geologically very old and stable parts of the crust) lying to the south of the plains of the Indus and Ganges river systems. The second division comprises these Indo-Gangetic alluvial plains stretching across Northern India from Assam and Bengal on the east, through Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, to the Punjab and the Sind on the west. The third is the Extra-peninsular, the mountainous region of the mighty Himalayan ranges and their extension into Baluchistan on the one hand and Burma and Arakan on the other. These three divisions exhibit marked contrast in physical features, stratigraphy and structure.
“Foremost amongst them stands pre-eminent Cashmere.” “Fiction: Non-Indian Authors:” “Who has not heard of the Vale of Cashmere?” Jon Cleary, The Faraway Drums (1982). “It is a hackneyed quotation.” Elizabeth Cadell, A Lion in the Way (1982). “Nor are we here called upon to consider its roses and romantic aspects.” Brian Cooper, A Touch of Thunder (1962). “(Albeit that no really wise man will reject the ‘beautiful’ as an element of mundane politics.)” Brian Cooper, Monsoon Murder (1967). “But rather its sanitary and strategic capabilities.” Marjorie A. Dimmitt, Wife (1975). “Especially as containing sites adapted for a ‘military colony’ or ‘reserve circle.’ It may, however, be objected in limine that to speculate and lay down laws for the disposal of a neighbor’s estate may savor of the questionable and premature.” Francis King, Act of Darkness (1983). “But it is forced on our attention if we really contemplate the probable march of the political history of India.” Bertha Hettleman, The Forbidden Land (1947).
“The importance of Cashmere in this point of view, as the pivot of our advanced frontier, cannot be overestimated.” Emma Smith, The Far Cry (1950). “Flanking as it does the approaches to and from Northern India.” Cecile Leslie, The Golden Stairs (1968). “And especially guarding by flank pressure ‘The Khyber,’ that old conquering route of so many invaders, both of ancient and modern times.” Paul Scott, The Day of the Scorpion (1968). “As an illustration, let us take the earliest invasion on record, that of Alexander the Great, about BC 325. Starting from Balkh, that conqueror, passing through Iskandahar and Kabul, appears after emerging from the north-west passes to have turned north into the Swat Valley, where, having formed alliances with the frontier chiefs and overrun the country on the right banks of the Indus, he crossed that river at or near Torbela, thence advancing through Hazara to Dhumtore, and the modern Rawul Pindi, as far as the river Jhelum, found himself there opposed by the warlike Porus, who may probably be styled King of Lahora.” Margaret Wilson, Trousers of Taffeta (1929). “He was there detained several weeks seeking a passage.” James Ramsey Ullman, And Not to Yield (1970). “Now was the time for Cashmere to have asserted herself, and had the chief of the ‘Caspatryi’ at this crisis, vigorously issuing from the passes, fallen on the flank of Alexander’s army.” Patrick Arthur Macrory, The Fierce Pawns (1966). “In aid of the gallant Porus defending his native land.” Simon Harvester, Tiger in the North (1962). “In that case ‘Macedonia’s madman.’” Berkeley Mather, The Memsahib (1977). “Being a hero and a great military genius.” Stanley A. Wolpert, Nine Hours to Rama (1962). “Might perhaps have found a remedy and fought his way to victory.” James Vincent Sheean, Rage of the Soul (1952). “But by all the laws of warfare he ought to have been cut off, and his army reduced by famine or the sword.” William Howard Baker, The Carrion Eaters (1971). “But a fatuous prince ─ I think Mihira-Koola or Merkul (surnamed Hustinuj, destroyer of elephants) ─ then ruled Cashmere, and the opportunity passed of emphasizing for all time the value of the flanking position of the Cashmere state.” Derek Lambert, The Kites of War (1969). “For be it noted that this manoeuvre might have been repeated at each river of the Punjab.” Hilda Wernher and Huthisingh, The Land and the Well (1946). “And with special force at Goozerat and Wazeerabad.
“The mountain kingdom of Cashmere may, like other Himalayan profiles.” Geraldine Halls, The Yellow Turban (1955). “Be considered as divided into three zones: “Christine Weston, Indigo (1944); Berkeley Mather, The Gold of Malabar (1967); Jon Godden, The Peacock (1950). “Viz. ─ the lower Zone (in the south, forest and morass; in the north, stony ranges) up to 3500 or 4000 feet unfit for European settlements.” Dorothy Clarke Wilson, House of Earth (1952). “And Industrial developments.” Robert Towers, The Necklace of Kali (1960). “And an Upper Alpine Zone up to 20,000 feet.” Frederick Prokosch, The Dark Dancer (1964). “And the snowy solitudes.” Roger Zelany, Lord of Light (1967).
“A noble valley not less than 80 miles in length and 25 in breadth, at a general elevation of 6000 feet above the sea; its climate tempered in summer by the cool breezes from the snowy peaks of its girdle of surrounding mountains, with a rich soil the gift of a lacustrine origin, bright with the waters of a thousand fertilizing streams and fountains, and balmy with the odors of groves and flowers indigenous to the soil forms no sterile cradle for a new race called forth from the barren steppes of Thibet and Tartary, and the mountains of the surrounding watershed. From the chill plateaux of Deotsai, Thibet, and Zanskar, from the sandy wilds of the Punjab, the favored peoples of Kashyadh flocked across the passes of Himaleh and the Pir Pinjal into the fair valley to which they had been called.
“The houses in Cashmere are built of wood, four stories high, and the flowers are often planted on the roofs. The people inhabit the third story, the lowest being devoted to cattle, and the highest to clothing and valuables.
“Some of the finest sites perhaps in India for villages are to be found in the spurs and lateral valleys which branch out of the main basin of Cashmere. Here, nestled amidst groves of plane-trees (chenars), walnuts, and other grand forest trees such as the fir, the oak, the pine, the elan, the poplar, and others, with brawling rivulets of pure water rushing down the mountain slopes; green with fresh sward and spangled with wild flowers, the flora of a temperate zone, are villages which may vie with those of the Alps or Switzerland in picturesqueness. Fruit trees of all kinds abound, and the natural types of most vegetable products are found in this favored land. The apple, pear, quince, plum, apricot, cherry; currant, mulberry, walnut, here flourish in situ. Most European trees are found and many others, peculiar to the country, abound; and liberal nature here yields ample crops of cereals and tubers to the hand of moderate labor and industry. Grapes may be added, from which some wine is made, and this industry is one capable of development; amongst other products, saffron made from the crocus is exported, and oil is expressed from the walnut; the attar of roses is celebrated. The people eat the singhara (water-nut), also the root of the esculent lotus (nadree), which adorns the lakes of Cashmere. The shawl and papier maché work is celebrated. Horses and cattle are of a small but hardy kind. Flocks of sheep numbering thousands roam the hillsides, and fatten on the fresh pasturage up to the snows.” Jack Denton Scott, Elephant Grass (1969). “Wine, cider, beer, honey, saffron, timber, wool, and grain are thus, amongst others, products of Cashmere. Here, if anywhere, could the dream of Arcadia be realized and the glories of the golden age, formerly attributed to the land of Kashyapa, be restored, the romantic spirit of the west imported into this favored Eastern Eden.” Paul Scott, The Jewel in the Crown (1966). “Nor do I speak alone of the valley proper, but of all the Kohistan or mountain country of Cashmere.” Edison Marshall, The Jewel of Mahabar (1938). “Nor are these elements of prosperity its only attractive feature.” John Ballard, Monsoon (1985). “The bear, the ibex, the stag, the chamois, and other game abound, and all the manly virtues could be deduced in their pursuit by hard settlers.
“Its early history is obscured by fables and myths, both Hindoo and Mahomedan, for both claim the valley as one of the cradles of their theistic faith. All, however, agree in stating ─ and geology corroborates the statement ─ that the valley was at one time a vast (salt) lake, the pressure seems at some remote period to have formed an outlet for itself at the western corner of the Valley, where the barrier of sandstone rock at Baramoola seems to have been rent by some cataclysm followed by attrition, whereby the waters of the valley escaping formed the present Jhelum or Vitasta.” “Six or seven hymns treat the question of the origin of the world” (The Imperial Gazetteer of India). “This natural geological event.” “Though displaying much confusion of the origin of ideas.” “Approximately fixed by native annals to the agency of a mythical personage (Kashiapa), the muni or divine progeny of Brahma.” “These early speculations are very interesting as the sources of divergent streams of late thought.” “But the fables which involve the myth are too fantastic and puerile to need insertion.” “In one of these cosmogonic poems, the gods are represented as fashioning the world out of the body of a primaeval giant ─ a very ancient notion.” “The most rational chronology seems to approximate this.” “With its statement that Purusha is all this world, what has been and shall be.” “Even to the epoch of the Mosaic deluge.” “This hymn represents the oldest product of the pantheistic literature of India” (“Sanskrit Literature”).
“Authorities differ as to the origin of the stock of Cashmere.” “In one important point Krishna worship is sharply differentiated from the Rama cult” (The Imperial Gazetteer again). “In the latter, save in a few later developments, the worshipper’s adoration is directed to Rama alone, and the love exhibited for him is that of a father for his child.” “I should consider, however, that its mountains may have been sparsely peopled by the Naga aborigines.” “In the former the love is sexual.” “We find traces of the primitive religion to have been that of the ‘Tree and Serpent’ worship of prehistoric times.” “The object of worship is twofold, Krishna and, conjointly, his divine queen, Radha.” “Upon this seems to have been engrafted the Brahminism of the Aryan conquerors of India, afterwards merging into Boodhism.” “The relation of the individual soul to the Deity is the passionate adoration of a woman for her lover. The soul identifies itself with Radha, and is thus led by its religion to offer not of its own, but its whole self to God. Hence its devotion to the Deity is pictured by Radha’s self-abandonment to Krishna, and all the hot blood of Oriental passion is encouraged to pour forth one mighty torrent of praise and prayer to the Infinite Creator, who waits with loving outstretched arms to receive the worshipper to this bosom, and to convey him safely across the seemingly shoreless Ocean of Existence.” “We may quote ‘Ferishta,’ who states that in his time there were 45 places of worship to Mahadeo, 64 to Vishnoo, 3 to Brahma, 22 to Boodh, and nearly 700 figures of serpent gods in the country.” “Like the sexual idea on which it is founded, the whole parable is a mystery.” “And this notwithstanding the destructive activities of several iconoclast Mahomedan kings.” “And is only to be understood by a child of nature” (“Vernacular Literature”).
“Wer den Dichter will verstehen,
Muss in Dichters Lande gehen!“
“Physiographically, the Peninsula is an ancient plateau exposed for long ages to denudation and approaching peneplanation. Its mountains are of the relict type, i.e., they represent the survival of the harder masses of rock, which have escaped weathering and removal; their topographical expression may not therefore be directly attributable to their structure. Its rivers traverse, for the most part, a comparatively flat country with low gradients and have built up shallow and broad valleys. The Extra-Peninsula, on the other hand, is a region of folded and overthrust mountain chains, of geologically recent origin. Its rivers are youthful and are actively eroding their beds in their precipitous courses and carving out deep and steep-sided gorges. The Indo-Gangetic plains are broad, monotonous, level expanses built up of recent alluvium, through which the rivers flow sluggishly to the seas” (M.S. Krishnan, Geology of India and Burma).
“Who of the dwellers of the Punjab knoweth not Murree and its fir-topped hills redolent of ozone and picnics, its wooded shades and forest walks and misty ‘khuds’ (hillsides); its bright culture down the valley side gleaming through the foliage of the woods; its pleasant club where many a true frontier soldier is to be met, ─ the rendezvous of sportsmen bound for Cashmere and the snows! At Murree also is the summer residence of the Lieutenant-Governor of the Punjab, and the head-quarters of Government and of the frontier force. In summer how pleasant a place is Murree after the blazing heat of the Punjab plains; and in winter how quiet and calm and Christmas-like the snow-fringed paths and forest walks of the valuable sanitarium of the Punjab” (Major-General D.J.F. Newall).
“Who that has visited Simla can forget its pine-covered hills and cultured valleys, gleaming away far below the mountain sides into the misty ‘straths’ and purple glens and gorges; its flush of rhododendron forest and groves of oak and ilex, its wild flowers and breezy ridges ─ haunts of the chikor.” “Stratigraphically, the Peninsula is a ‘shield’ area composed of geologically ancient rocks of diverse origin, most of which have undergone much crushing and metamorphism.” “The glory of novelty has long since faded from the writer’s mind, and he finds it difficult to impart to his words their enthusiasm of youth as formerly felt on viewing these fair mountains so as graphically to paint the scene.” “Over these ancient rocks lie a few areas of Pre-Cambrian and later sediment and extensive sheets of horizontally bedded lavas of the Deccan Trap formation.” “(As for the social aspects of Simla, they must be left to the novelist or social critic. Who, of the ancien régime could not draw on his memory for reminiscences of old Simla, Queen of Indian ‘watering places!’ Its provincial magnates and little great men, its exotic swelldom, and dandies male and female! Let them pass.)” “Some Mesozoic and Tertiary sediments are found mainly along the coastal regions.” “The northern road conducts the traveler to still finer scenery in the ‘interior’ as the country outside Simla is called.” “The Extra-Peninsula, though containing some very old rocks, is predominantly a region in which the sediments, laid down in a vast geosyncline continuously from the Cambrian to early Tertiary, have been compressed, overthrust and elevated into dry land only since the end of the Mesozoic times.” “The forest of Nakunda is almost unique even in the Himalayas and is filled with Koklas and Kalej pheasants.” “The core of the mountain.” “And chikor are abundant everywhere.” “Is composed of granite intrusions.” “The true watersheds are on Shunkeen and Hutoo Ridges.” “Of presumably Tertiary age.” “Where rise the Giri and the Pabur, and this may be held to form nearly the northernmost limit of the Keyonthal, as a few miles farther on takes one into the valley of Sutlej.” “The southern fringe, bordering on the plains, consists of fresh-water and estuarine deposits of Mio-Pliocene age derived largely from the erosion of the rising Himalayas.” “Here one of the oldest tea estates ─ the Berkeley ─ is to be seen. I am not aware that tea, as a speculation, has been very successful in these hills, as few, if any other gardens are to be found.” “The Gangetic Plains.” “Breweries flourish.” “Are built up.” “Saw-yards might pay.” “Of layers of sands.” “Farms for rearing livestock for the Simla market.” “Clays.” “Have been found a success.” “And occasional organic debris.” “And various branches of agriculture are fairly successful.” “(Peat beds, etc.)” “There is a source of profitable labor.” “Of geologically very recent date.” “That one day may lead to possibly vast developments.” “(Pleistocene and Recent.)” “Beyond all present thought and calculation.” “Filling up a deep depression.” “I mean gold!” “Between the two other units.” “It probably exists, but except slight washings in some of the mountain streams and ravines, has not been scientifically searched for. The matrix ─ ‘the father and mother of gold’ as the pyrites are called ─ have been noted by tried prospectors, metallurgists and travelers. Here and there the gypsum crops out under the very feet of the traveler almost on the high roads. Reports have been submitted to Government on this head, but it is believed it is not desired to encourage the idea of ‘diggings’ so near to placid imperial Simla, where, if I may be so bold as to assert it, the traditional drag is applied to progress of this kind, as calculated to attract the ‘interloper’─that dreaded and objectionable being.
“We have now fairly entered into the Himalayan watershed and the fluvial basins cis-nivean, which receive its drainage into the Gangetic Valley. The sketch map will show the fluvial systems between the Jumna and Brahmapootra better than any description I can well give. These embrace all the countries of the Milayas ─ Gurhwal, Kumaon, Nepal, Sikhim ─ between these extreme affluents of the Ganges and its delta; as also the subsidiary or cis-nivean watershed ridges which divide them. Each of these basins may be held to have its own tutelary glacier, out of which the head waters of the main stream and most of its tributaries emerge, ─ these glaciers are mostly found on the main axis of the Himalayan range.”
The great works of poetry in Sanskrit include: Kaviraja’s Raghavapandaviya, Jinasena’s Parsvabhudaya-Kavya and Sri-Harsa’s Naisadha-Carita. “Kumaon (the land of the tortoise), associated with East Gurhwal (the land of fortress or steep places), may be considered the very nidus or cradle of Hindooism.” Mankha’s Srikantha-Carita, Jayadeva’s Gita-Govinda and Dhoyika’s Pavana-Duta. “Amidst or beyond the snowy peaks which bound it north and east is found ‘Kailas,’ the Olympus of the Hindoo.” Sandhyakara-Nandi’s Rama-Carita, Bilhana’s Vikramanka-Deva-Carita and Padmagupta’s Navasahasanka-Carita. “Whence issue the great rivers Indus and Ganges, Sutlej and Brahmapootra.” Hemacandra’s Dvasraya-Kavya, Somadeva’s Kirti-Kaumudi and Jayanaka’s Prithviraja-Vijaya. “Whilst on the forest-covered banks of the ‘Surjoo’ (or Kalingunga) which rises in the same mountain tract was enacted the prelude of the drama of the war of Rama with Rawun.” The great works of drama in Sanskrit include: “The giant king of Ceylon, as related in the great epic the ‘Ramayana,’ the very text-book of Hindooism.” Bhavabuti’s Malatimadhava and Rajasekhara’s Balaramayana. “Bungootri, Junootri, Kedar-Nath, Bovdrinath, Trisool, and Pindri are all glacier peaks of this holy land, but the fables attached to these sacred resorts.” Damodars’s Hanuman-Nataka and Krisna-Misra’s Prabodha-Candrodaya. “Are too multiform to be entered on here.” We might also mention Somadeva’s Lalitavigraha-Raja among the drama. “These peaks are mostly subtended by temple shrines and places of pilgrimage.” And Kalhana’s Rajatarangini in poetry. “The holy name of the entire country embraced by the Ganges to the Kali is Ootera-Kund, which may be translated ‘the cardinal points’ (of the compass).”
“We now come to Darjeeling, the chief station in British Sikhim. The tea interest is here highly developed, and Chinchona is also grown. . . . The sheep stock of this country cis-Thibetan, are three, viz.─ (1) the barhwal, a large horned white sheep with fair wool, (2) the pheda, a black-faced horned sheep, bred at high elevations near the snows; the wool is fine, (3) an entirely black breed (horned), fine wool, bred at high elevations. There is still a fourth variety trans-Thibetan, a small hornless black-faced sheep; with very fine wool . . . . The cows of Sikhim (called the ‘sher-gau’) are fine animals, mostly red, white, or spotted, and with no hump; the other ─ the Nepal or Parbuttia ─ are smaller, and usually black or brindled. Pigs and poultry are fine and plentiful, and would form excellent stock for an industrial colony. Geese and ducks also thrive well. . . .
“The inhabitants of Sikhim are divided into about 8 different races, viz. ─ (a) ‘Lepchas’ . . . They are Boodhists, omnivorous, drink tea and murwah (millet beer), are partially nomadic in their habits. They wear the long straight knife called ‘Ban.’ (b) ‘Limboos’ . . . They wear the ‘Kookerie’ or curved knife. Religion half Boodhist, half Hindoo. They are not ruddy like the Lepchas, eyes smaller, and nose also, but higher in the bridge than the Lepchas. They bravely defended their country against the Goorkhas. (c) ‘Meehis.’ Inhabitants of the Terai ─ a belt of jungle of the lower hills ─ from Nepal to the Brahmapootra. Cast of face strongly Mongolian, closely allied to the Burmese. No caste, omnivorous except as regards the elephant.” “As I have insensibly drifted into a history of elephants” (Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, Travels in India). “They worship ‘Kali’ (the Earth Goddess).” “I shall add here some other remarks which I have made on the nature of these animals.” “The terai malaria does not affect them.” “Although the elephant does not approach the female after having been captured.” “They are a healthy race.” “It happens nevertheless that he becomes in season sometimes.” “They manufacture a red silk spun by the silkworm of the castor-oil plant.” “One day when Shahjahan was out hunting on his elephant with one of his sons.” “They have no written language.” “(d) ‘Haidoos.’” “Who sat with him fanning him.” “A distinct tribe inhabiting the lower ranges of East Nepal.” “The elephant became so much in heat.” “Worship Rawun.” “That the driver was unable to control it.” “In face Mongolian. (e) ‘Moormees,’ a Nepal tribe but found in Sikhim.” “And he told the Emperor that to arrest the rage of the elephant.” “Language a dialect of Thibetan.” “Which might crush them among the trees.” “But understood by the Bhootians.” “It was necessary that one of the three.” “Bury their dead on hill-tops.” “Who were on the elephant.” “(f) ‘Bhootians.’” “Should offer himself.” “Originally from Thibet.” “And that with all his heart.” “A very strong and robust tribe.” “He thereupon sacrificed his life for the Emperor and his son.” “Carry enormous weights.” “Begging his majesty to take care of his three children.” “Closely allied to the Chinese in nature, and do not possess the light and cheerful nature of the Lepchas.” “Having said this.” “Can carry as much as six maunds (say 500 lbs.) 30 miles in a day!” “He threw himself under the elephant.” “The word Bhootiah is sometimes rendered ‘porters’ or ‘carriers,’ as a generic term.” “And immediately the animal took him with his trunk.” “(g) ‘Nepalese.’” “And crushing him under his feet.” “A light nimble people of the poorer classes.” “Then became mild and tractable as before.” “Much employed on tea gardens as agricultural laborers.” “The Emperor.” “They are Hindoos.” “For this wonderful escape.” “(h) ‘Shebaahs.’” “Gave 200,000 rupees to the poor.” “A mixed tribe.” “And promoted at court each of the sons of the man.” “Half Nepalese, half Bhootiah.” “Who had so generously given his life.” “Chiefly coolies or porters.” “For the safety of his Prince.”
“Of Shillong and the Khasia Hills I am scarcely qualified to speak from personal knowledge, and must therefore advance my opinions with some diffidence, borrowing largely from other travelers. Although of slight importance from a strategic point of view, they nevertheless form an outpost against Burmah, and probably contain excellent sites for settlements of individual colonists, offering small sanitaria for the adjacent tea lands of Assam, so well known as the most productive center of that rising industry.”
“Hindoos perform a yearly pilgrimage to this shrine and to a devotee from the city of Srinugger there are no fewer than 22 places of ‘snan,’ or religious ablution to be observed before he can approach the holy adytum, or cave of ‘Amr-Nanth.
“Legends or absurd fables are attached to all these spots, but a detail of them were tedious.” Famous for their works of philosophy in Sanskrit are Kumarila, Mandanamisra, Sankaracarya, Ramanuja, Udayana and Madhvacarya.
“Worshippers, chiefly of Siva (the destroyer), and ‘Ophists’ (snake worshippers) believing, moreover, their own small valley to contain within its limits the germ or type of the whole Hindoo Pantheon; a Cashmere Brahmin, wretchedly superstitious ─ his mikrocosm as full of snakes, demons and demi-gods as a cheese of mites ─ must needs stumble at every step upon some stock or stone commemorative of the fabled adventures of his deities; adventures as puerile and fantastic as can be imagined, containing no single element (as interpreted to me) wise, historic or sublime, nor even redeemed from utter absurdity by the glory of poetic imagery or the vigor of a profound cosmogony.
“Fatuous ecstasy impressed upon their features, the miserable idolaters ─ male and female ─ may be seen, stark naked, abjectly groveling in the snow, and dragging their bodies over the icicle, or stalactite, which, in the form of Lingum ─ a Phallic emblem ─ issues from the frozen fount of the ‘Lord of the philter of immortality.’ We watched this strange scene for some time, and then returned to camp.”
“The full August moon rose majestically over the glacier of Panch-teren, and shed her soft radiance over the gray rugged cliff and rushing stream, the watch-fires of the pilgrim camp glimmering down the vale. We then ─ for the chill mountain air doth whet the appetite ─ made a particularly good dinner off an roast Hindoo! (‘hoondoo’ I should have written, meaning a Cashmere sheep─but let it stand!).
“Next day, before leaving so high ground, we determined to try for ibex. We accordingly marched sixteen miles over desolate snow-fields and the withered tops of mountains. After a tremendous climb across the very axis of the ridge, we at length arrived at a long gorge or ravine of snow. Down this we slid ─ with all our followers ─ upwards of a good mile; and then debouched into a charming Alpine valley of some extent, nestled in the strong heart of the rugged chain we had passed. A blue lake and clear rushing stream from the spring head, Sonarsir, watering meadows enameled with flowers; in the midst of which we pitched camp.
“F.’s classic mind expatiated on the suggestive influences of the spot; he sniffed the genial air; his eye glanced down the mossy vistas and arrowy stream. ‘In such a scene might one picture the happy valley of Rasselas, or the Elysian fields of classic story, or the fair Proserpine be imagined playing in the fields of Enna amidst the wild flowers ─ a valley rivaling a Hybla or a Tempe. Shut out by rugged peaks from the surrounding world this lovely spot might realize the fable of the golden valley. Here might the hunter Endymion, beneath the glimpses of the moon discover the chaste Diana, with her bevy of fair nymphs, reposing in the glades, Naiads be heard murmuring from the fountains, or Hamadryads caught peeping from behind the mossy oak trees. Here ─
“‘By Jove, F.,’ shouts S. ‘There’s a harput!’ and sure enough a large gray bear appeared across the river.
“F.’s cheeks reddened with generous ardor; he grasped his rifle. ‘Is no spot, however fair, to be free from this hateful brood? Is the dire chimera to intrude into fairyland and invade the very bowers of poetry and romance? A symbol of moral deformity in the picturesque world!’
“In such a view of the case, F. selected the hardest and most conical-looking bullet from his pouch, and rammed it home with peculiar asperity! That right noble hunter of evil beasts, S., then crossed the river, and commenced a scientific stalk of the common enemy. My approach being on the hither side, and parallel, I was in a position to observe the whole affair. There was the bruin, unconscious of danger, calmly grubbing up the roots on the edge of the ravine, and S. gradually working his approach towards him, partially directed by my signals, which he was able to observe. When close upon him the old bruin took fright, and ─ S. being hampered by the thicket ─ escaped after all, vainly saluted also, by two long parting shots from my rifle across the ravine. I record this as being, though unsuccessful, amongst the prettiest stalks I have seen.
“This charming spot was, it is believed, on this occasion first visited by an European; nor do I suppose it will ever be much explored, being, as it is, thoroughly ‘oojar’ ─ beyond civilization ─ and (not that this would in any way affect our gallant English sportsmen) the access to it difficult and dangerous. Supplies had to be carried with us over the mountains for the time we stayed.”
“Structurally, the Peninsula represents a stable block of the earth’s crust” (M.S. Krishnan) “which has remained unaffected by mountain building movements since practically the close of the Pre-Cambrian era. The later changes which it suffered have been mainly of the nature of normal and block faulting because of which some parts have sunk down relative to others. Along its coasts, there have been marine transgressions which have laid down sedimentary beds of Upper Gondwana, Cretaceous or Tertiary ages, but not of great thickness or extent. In contrast with this, the Extra-Peninsula has recently undergone earth movements of stupendous magnitude.” Famous for their works of astronomy in Sanskrit are Aryabhata II, Bhoja and Bhaskaracarya.
“Its strata are marked by complex folds, reverse faults, overthrusts and nappes of great dimensions.” Famous for their works of mathematics are Mahaviracarya, Sridhara and Bhaskaracarya. “There is no reason to believe that these movements have not yet completely died down, for the region is still unstable and is frequently visited by earthquakes of varying intensities.” Famous for their works of politics are Somadeva, Hemacandra and Candesvara. “The Gangetic plains owe their origin to a sag in the crust, probably formed contemporaneously with the uplift of the Himalayas. This sag or depression has since been filled up by sediments from both sides, and especially from the lofty chains of the Himalayas which are actively being eroded by the many rivers traversing them.
“The little geological interest which these plains hold is confined to the rich soils and to the history of the river systems.” Famous for his works on music was Sarngadhara. “Indeed, the alluvium effectively conceals the solid geology of its floor, a knowledge of which would even be profitable.” Famous for their works on grammar were Sakatayana, Hemacandra and Kramadisvara. “The alluvial plains are, however, of absorbing interest in human history, being thickly populated, and the scene of many important developments in the cultural and social history of Hindustan.”
“One day we saw the tracks of two rhinoceros, which had crossed the road that morning” (Major-General D.J.F. Newall). “My companion and the pad elephants kept the road to the camp (The Highlands of India, Volume II). I followed the tracks for some miles, till I came on four rhinoceros wallowing like great pigs in a mud hole (Being a Chronicle of Field Sports and Travel). I had to wait till they got up, then I singled out the one with the best horn (“Note on Rhinoceros Shooting in Assam”). He was hit too far forward, and I gave him the second barrel in the ribs.
“His track led into some thorn jungle ─ very thick and dark ─ at the bottom of a deep and narrow nullah. I was stooping to avoid a jungle vine, which was hanging down, when out came the brute open-mouthed; my elephant wheeled around like a top, and before I could get my rifle up, I felt the elephant being shoved up the banks as if there was a locomotive behind, and we went up that bank considerably faster than we came down. I had to hold on to the howdah, and even if I could have turned round I could not have got a shot, as the rhinoceros was too close under the elephant’s stern; so he had it all his own way for over a hundred yards, when my shikari ─ who was in the backseat ─ let fall my large leaf umbrella onto the animal’s back. This seemed to frighten him, or perhaps he was blown, but he sheared off, so I got a snap shot at him.
“The elephant continued to urge on her wild career at her best place for about a mile, fortunately through open and level ground, and was at last stopped with difficulty. After pacifying her with biscuits, and letting her gather wind, we took the back track, to where we had been driven out. The elephant shied at everything she passed till she came to my umbrella, when round she spun, and away we went again. When again stopped, she would not retrace her steps, but had to be brought round by a circuit. I dismounted some distance from the jungle and went in on foot, as the elephant would have no more of it. I followed the spoor, and found the rhinoceros dead: the last shot had hit him through the lungs.
“On reaching camp ─ where the elephant was examined ─ it was found that the rhinoceros had bitten her severely behind; the skin was badly bruised, and the wound was evidently tender: next morning there was a lump like a large sirloin of beef, and the elephant had to be put in the sick report, and I had to take another which was not nearly so steady.”
“The natives we found at first rather shy of Europeans, as they had an idea that we wanted to press them to work at the new cantonments, but as soon as they found that we wanted them only to beat the jungle, and that whenever an animal was killed they were at liberty to take what meat they could carry ─ besides being paid for their day’s work ─ they came at us readily. The neighborhood of our camp was made unpleasant by long strips of meat hung to dry in the sun, and when the drying was completed the men made the dried meat into bundles and took themselves off to their villages most independently, but as fresh relays were constantly arriving in the hopes of a supply of meat, we were not inconvenienced; indeed, it was a satisfaction to find that the meat was not wasted. I have always thought that the chief drawback to one’s pleasure in salmon fishing in an out-of-the-way river is the difficulty in getting rid of one’s fish.”
8: Madras