166 THE HIGHLANDS OF CENTEAL INDIA. 



man an episode in their hard-worked and rather colourless 

 existence, in which a nominal object of little interest in itself 

 is made the excuse for an " outing," the amusements of which 

 chiefly consist in bothies for the sale of all sorts of miscella- 

 neous articles, universal gossiping for the elders, and peep- 

 shows and whirligigs for the younger members. It is sur- 

 prising how the familiar features of a fair at home come out 

 in an oriental costume, at these so-called religious gatherings. 

 The cow with five legs and the performing billy-goat ade- 

 quately represent the woolly horse and the dancing bear of 

 our childhood. The acrobats are there to the life, tying them- 

 selves into the identical knots we loved so well. The begging 

 gipsy appears in the fantastic Jogee. Ginger-pop and oranges 

 are even faintly typified in Mhowa grog and sticky sweet- 

 meats. Aunt Sally alone is nowhere : there is nothing at 

 all resembling the uproarious mirth of that ancient lady. 



Doubtless at all these gatherings there are a certain number 

 of genuine pilgrims, whose end in coming is the performance 

 of sacred rites at these holy shrines at such holy seasons ; for 

 the fairs are all held at times when the worship of the local 

 deity is held to be particularly efficacious. But generally their 

 number is no greater a proportion of the whole than is that 

 of the "members of the ring" in a Derby crowd. Such 

 gatherings usually occur near the large centres of population, 

 where solemn temples crown some sacred eminence by the 

 holy Narbada. But the gathering at the Mahadeo shrine 

 was of another character from these holiday outings. It draws 

 its multitudes into a remote and desolate valley surrounded 

 by the " eternal hills," where the Great God has his chief est 

 dwelling-place in these central regions. No gorgeous temples 

 or impressive ritual attract the sight-seer. The pathways 

 leading to the place are mere tracks, scarcely discernible in 



