ROUGHING IT IN SOUTHERN INDIA 95 



CHAPTER IX 



River scenery — Kus-has grass — Crocodiles — Riverside folk — Riding on 

 gourds — Malaria — The Bamboo stone — Pigmies, their food and dress 

 — Methods in illness and old age. 



Our fishing expeditions were those most of all to my mind 

 because of the enchanting country into which they carried 

 us. 



Imagine a stretch of river fringed with swaying 

 bamboos, its surface of lake-like stillness, shimmering blue 

 under a vivid sky, and everywhere starred with water- 

 lilies resting on their broad, shining leaves, which float 

 languidly in the furnace heat. Dotted here and there 

 are numerous islets, softly grey-green with palms and tall 

 fern fronds, their reflections as lovely as themselves ; while 

 on either side are alleys of shade, refreshing merely to 

 look into, where the water darkly quivers beneath leafy, 

 flickering shadows. Many as lovely a region there is, I 

 doubt not ; a more lovely one there could never be. 



Here grew the kus-hus grass, the sweet-scented roots of 

 which are made into fans — the great circular fans with 

 eight-foot handles resting on the floor, and waved by 

 attendants behind their masters ; and also smaller ones. 

 The roots are spread in a thick, wide fringe round a centre- 

 piece of very light wood, gaily painted and jewelled if 

 for princely hands. I have several of these fans. When 

 wetted they give out a delightful fragrance, and a whiff 

 of their Eastern breath can waft me back, as with a 

 magician's wand, amongst those Indian surroundings, so 

 vivid in my recollection. 



