blinking behind horn spectacles. His
garments are of the dark red colour seen sometimes in certain parts of
the country when the earth is ploughed. His turban is a mighty erection
of green arranged with much dignity. You would think it hot and heavy to
carry all those yards of stuff on your head, but the habit has probably
arisen to protect the head from sunstroke.

"He is a _dhurzi_, Sahib," says Ramaswamy, who has followed us to
interpret if we want. "He making all clothes for mem-sahibs. Very clever
man and not asking too much money."

Yes, a _dhurzi_ will come and sit outside on a verandah and work by the
day and copy any garment you give him; sewing is a man's job here, and
not a woman's.

Then we see a sweetmeat shop with a crowd outside and a cloud of flies
bearing them company. While we look, many of the flies crawl slowly over
the sticky, syrupy stuff which has just come from the pan, and get their
legs entangled in it, but it doesn't seem to hinder the sale, which goes
on cheerfully. There are sweets in rings and coils and fantastic shapes.
A child gets a large pink slab for two pice, and ten pice go to the
penny, that is to say, the anna, so it is not dear. The buyer tucks the
sticky stuff up in the corner of her garment and ties it carefully into
a knot before starting homeward.

Standing a little aloof from the crowd and looking at them disdainfully
is a small boy with a twisted cord slung across his left shoulder. "He
be Brahman, Sahib," says Ramaswamy timidly. "Very proud and not eating
anything dirty peoples touch, just having had cord." Standing where he
is, so as not to approach nearer to the lad, he asks a few questions,
which are answered curtly and proudly, with a glance thrown across at us
as much as if to say they wouldn't have been answered at all except for
our presence.

"Just two, three days he been made Brahman," explains Ramaswamy.

But he was born a Brahman, of course, and what Ramaswamy means is that
up till then he was counted a child and could play and run about with
other children without responsibilities; now that he has been invested
with the cord he has taken up his birthright and is of the highest
caste, the caste from which the priests come; he may not eat anything
prepared by a lower caste, or even let others touch him, for he is set
apart, and very proud of his new dignity in spite of the many
difficulties it carries with it.

The child who stands staring at us with her s