Show ahe arh am fame AV daa in e ulf ark I 1 t 0 what the well dressed lady wears in darjeeling prepared by notional national society washington D C service ENGAL province india fearing BENGAL B extinction of its rhinoceroses rhinoceros es due to wholesale shooting has made killing or injuring ot of these animals illegal except in cases of self belt defense bengal straddling the northernmost point of the bay of bengal and stretching northward to the foothills of the himalayas nima layas owes much of its fame to an animal the bengal uger tiger which inhabits most large zoos the province Is one of the most thickly inhabited areas of the world it Is nearly equal in area to the state of kansas and as many people live within its borders as inhabit new york state pennsylvania illinois ohio texas and michigan more than eighty different languages are spoken not to mention the many dialects the narrow northern extremity of bengal resembles that of idaho like idaho the province spreads out as it stretches southward but after leaving that extremity no one could coald charge idaho with having such deformity of shape for the border line of bengal zigzags in all directions bangals Ben gals gateway Is its most homely feature the water that surrounds the coast Is laden with silt brought down from the north by the ganges and a labyrinth of rivers and creeks that alerie the coast line waterlogged jingles infested with tigers and other wild animals lie ile between these channels these wilds and the swam swampy py lowlands immediately north of them are called the Sundar bans when the ganges goes on its annual rampage and overflows its banks for miles from its mouth the Sundar bans arv arp submerged the less flooded area Is planted in rice and it Is an interesting sight to see row boat farmers tending their submarine crops when the water subsides it leaves a fertile layer of earth that causes jute rice and wheat and many other products to thrive in this region nearly all bonsai bengal Is a flat fertile plain from the Sundar bans to the foot of the himalayas nima layas which Is reached after a day and night of rough train riding A narrow gauge railroad Is then taken to reach ben gals roof darjeeling the snakelike course of the railroad passes thousands of acres of tea plants that from a distance resemble fields of boxwood hedge some of the plants grow six sit feet tall in bengal and are stripped of their leaves five fire times a year calcutta the capital of the province Is one of the most progressive citi cities of the east with all the modern modera devices to handle its tremendous commerce and entertain its native and foreign population in loss less than jo years it has become the largest city in india and second only to london in the british empire to the traveler who approaches calcutta by water its growth Is a mystery at the mouth of the hoogh ly y the indigo blue water of the bay of bengal turns to a dirty brown for much of the SO mile trip mud flats and waterlogged water logged forests forna form the riter rolde side scenery with no evidence of civilization save for the commercial craft plying the river only the most skilled pilot can steer vessel up the shifty channel when almost within sight of calcutta M the smoke stack of a jute will mill and here and there groups of native thatched huts buts break the monotony of the ho journey and then rounding a bend the great indian port appears hindus at the bath bathing gnats on both banks now tire are filled with hindus one of the popular r chats is at the botanical gardens where grows the famous calcutta banyan tree it covers nearly two acres and has about trunks A short distance beyond perspiring natives loading and unloading ocean go ing vessels solve the secret of calcut tas development commerce small boats resembling the chinese sam pans clustered about the wharves or flouting floating leisurely to and from bowrah llo wrab Calcut tas manufacturing district on the other side of the ehly handle much of the local small freight like most large cities calcutta has its slums with squalid houses of mud arid and thatch and sometimes brick bordering narrow dirty streets and in habited by half starved unkempt natives i dalhousie square a few blocks from the Is an attractive parkway the post office which faces its lake bears a tablet de designating the vicinity of the famous calcutta clack black hole episode the maldan maidan Calcut tas mall all with its race track cricket fields and gardens Is the rendezvous for sport lovers and nd promenades aders in the evening the chos who of calcutta are there colorful indian rajahs rajahn with their servants la in native costume wealthy natives and government officials both british and indian rub elbows on the walks or swiftly pass in their foreign cars with chauffeurs whose costumes and uniforms represent myriad styles and colors of the east and west fort william occupies much of the tha river side of the SI 11 aidan nearby are the eden gardens in the southeast corner queen victoria has been memorialized by a magnificent building in italian renaissance its central dome of pure white marble came from the same quarries from which the oas ble for the taj mahal was hewn hc achy D white marble palace of the 0 of bengal overlooking the maldan from the north was the residence of the viceroy before the capital was removed to delhi in 1512 1912 this and ohp palatial residences clubs and public buildings buH dings along the Mal Mai dans eastern side gave to calcutta the name the city of palaces r darjeeling nestling among the toot foot hi alua II 11 a 0 of f th the e III himalayas mala yas Is B bangals Ben enal en gals al s summer resort like simla miles farther west and Sri in kashmir darjeeling Is a godsend to perspiring europeans who must spend the hot period in india but it Is more than a cool retreat it Is a matchless observation post hen ben the clouds permit for the mightiest mountain scenery that the world affords forty five miles to the northward across deep chasms and beyond tier after tier of foothills rises KinchIn junga feet high buttressed by half a dozen peaks from to feet in altitude perched on a ridge darjeeling stands on a sort of stage before and above which sweep the amphitheater slopes of himalayan heights the town Is perched on and astride a steep ridge that rises about feet from the bengal plains on the side toward the mountains the ridge drops away for approximately feet forming what might in american terminology be called the grand canyon of the ranjit Ranj lt but whose heavily forested slopes and tropically luxuriant floor earns in india the more poetic name of vale of ranjit darjeeling has characteristics unlike those of most towns it can hardly be said to have streets most of the buildings face on paths or walks which run along the rosin main ridge and out on to its minor spurs or work their way by serpentine routes to other paths that clin cling to the steep sides of the slopes steps too serve in place of roads connecting terraces that rise one above the other one of the few carriage roads Is a driveway that skirts the lower end of the main ridge rind and leads below to the suburb labong and its barracks for british soldiers the villas bungalows shops government buildings hospitals churches schools barracks and native huts buts that make up darjeeling and its suburb form pendant communities like giant saddlebags saddle bags thrown over the ridge dwellings are scattered down alte 1 1 1 slopes for a thousand feet the ground floors of one tier on a level with the roofs of the next tier below if one must cover much space in darjeeling he rides on pony back or Is carried in a litter by four servants the center of darjeeling is observatory ifill hill a n knoll on the crest of the ridge topping the knoll Is a buddhist monument and surrounding it is a small forest of staffs from which prayer hags flags flutter their supplications ions from the benches near the monument ocemay sit when mist and clouds do riot not interfere and take advantage of best view of mighty aln chin junga arid and its fellows but often the vigil Is fruitless it Is only for relatively brief periods during the spring rind varly early winter that one may be sure of long uninterrupted views of the towering granite and lee wall wail and snowy slopes to the north |