Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, or the Central and Western Rajput States of India v2.c27.s7.t6.54

v2.c27.s7.t6.54

Rāsmi, on the Banās River.—December 12.—We had a long march through the most fertile lands of Mewar, all belonging to the Rana’s personal domain. The progress towards prosperity is great; of which Rasmi, the head of a tappa or subdivision of a district, affords evidence, as well as every village. On our way we were continually met by peasants with songs of joy, and our entrance into each village was one of triumph. The Patels and other rustic officers, surrounded by the ryots, came out of the villages; while the females collected in groups, with brass vessels filled with water gracefully resting on their heads, stood at the entrance, their scarfs half covering their faces, chaunting the suhela; a very ancient custom of the Hindu cultivator on receiving the superior, and tantamount to an acknowledgment of supremacy. Whether vanity was flattered, or whether a better sentiment was awakened, on receiving such tokens of gratitude, it is not for me to determine: the sight was pleasing, and the custom was general while I travelled in Mewar. The females bearing the kalas on their heads, were everywhere met with. These were chiefly the wives and daughters of the cultivators, though not unfrequently those of the Rajput sub-vassals. The former were seldom very fair, though they had generally fine eyes and good persons. We met many fragments of antiquity at Rasmi. Captain Waugh and the doctor were gratified with angling in the Banas for trout; but as the fish would not rise to the fly, I set the net, and obtained several dozens: the largest measured seventeen inches, and weighed seventy rupees, or nearly two pounds.