Chapter 9 Bombay, Kedgaon, and Madras 89-99

Bombay, second in population in the Indian Empire 91

Hindus outnumber Moslems and Parsees 91

The Caves of Elephanta, excavated in honor of Siva, god of reproduction as well as of destruction 91

His temple a cathedral, hewn inside of a mountain 92

The lingam, or phallus, gigantic, carved out of stone, in the innermost shrine 93

Its worship a deification of man's baser instincts 93

The Towers of Silence represent Parseeism 93

The dead are exposed in them to be devoured by vultures 93

Construction of the towers and details of the process 93

Compared with Christian burial in hope of resurrection 94

Kedgaon, a happy contrast and relief 94

The center of the work of Pundita Ramabai 94

The story of her life a romantic and thrilling one 94

The pitiable condition of child-widows in India touches her heart 95

In time of famine she furnishes a refuge for two thousand four hundred of them 95

The wonders of her plant, in schools, hospital, printing office, factory, and farm 96

A great scholar of the Brahman caste, she is recognized as the most influential woman in India 96

Madras, the third largest Indian city, gives us our first tropical heat 97

A center of mission work for the Telugus and their tribal conversion 97

New Year's Day reception at Lord Pentland's, the governor of the Madras Presidency 98

Followed by a reception from the Rochester men, my former pupils 99