Carrie Chapman Catt - Diaries, India, January - February? 1912 (Box 1, Folder 5)

Concerning India I have read: The Real India [Rus?] Hindu Manners and Customs DuBois The Web of Indian Life Sister Nivedita The Awakening of India Ramsay MacDonald The Tourist's India The Position of Indian Women - Maharani of Barod The Position of Women - Quotes from scriptures The Rajah - novel - Mrs. Penny The Tea Planter " " The Unlucky Mark " " The Guardianship of God Flora Anna Steel Nasrin - Native writer Jogendra Singh Mother + Daughter Native writer Concerning Burwah I have read[:] The Soul of a People Fielding (illegible) The Inward Light " "

India Bombay Taj Mahal Hotel February 9, 1912. As usual I must call to mind the events of the past few days as none were recorded upon the day of happening We left Columbo at 6 o'clock on SS Bahrata, Thursday Feb 1. We had dreaded this journey because the sea is usually choppy and the boat small and crowded. This time the sea was like a pond, the boat clean and nice, and the passage beautiful. We arrived at [Tulicorin?] at 7am Friday, grateful that gray clouds held back the sun for awhile. We went thro customs, got our baggage registered, found our compartment without difficulty, got a breakfast on the train and then

2 wanted [locke?] our short night's ration of sleep by a nap, but there was no place to lie down and no place to rest the head when sitting so sleep was impossible. We tried reading but the train was jerky and we couldn't distinguish the words. So we had to look at the country. It looked like S. A. the natives were not characteristic as yet - not different from the Indians of Ceylon and we did not particularly enjoy it. We arrived at Madura at 2:30 after lunch on the train. We were at once surrounded by carriage drivers and guides soliciting business We got the impression that the country was swarming with them. We divided [??lorest] before

3 making any plans. We were hot and sticky. I laid down and went to sleep. When I got up, the Dr. was ready and I soon was prepared for a lark. Alas, every guide and carriage had a job. There was a great annual Hindu festival and everyone had gone to it. We finally found a nice Hindu boy who thought he spoke English, altho' I couldn't agree with him on that point. We engaged a jutka, the native wagon of the country. They have two wheels and a cover like an American prairie schooner but are covered with oil cloth. The whole thing is very small. They are usually drawn by a bullock but we had a horse, about

4 as big as a good sized rat. The passengers sit on the floor cross legged, but being of a rheumatic tendency and not having crossed legged enough to do it with ease, we sat in the rear and dangled our legs out the rear. We had to take our hats off in order to manage it, and ever two minutes the bumps in the road knocked our heads against the side. I wouldn't recommend this form of rapid transit. The place we were bound for was the Hindu Temple.