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Show One Uvea easily In Kashmir. A host of servants cost about as much ns one good cook In the West, and they feed themselves. Each one has lils appointed duties and does them fairly well. Servants All Are Men. All your servants in Kashmir are men. The women seldom work out Even the little children of 'Westerners 'Western-ers frequently have men servants to care for them. Tour list may in-. in-. elude a MangI, or head boatman; a khitmatgar (chief house servant), assistant khitmatgar, a bhistl (water (wa-ter carrier, sweeper of lowest caste and doer of menial Jobs), a khansa-man khansa-man (cook), a dhobl (washerman), a dhurzl (sewing man), a mall, (gardener), (gar-dener), and three little chokeras, the small boys who paddle the Bhlkara, a small gondola-like boat in which you go everywhere you desire. It seems an ample list I If you take guests for tea to Shallmar gardens, the houseman goes along and serves a perfect meal under the spreading chenar tree. When you plan a morning in the bazaars, the houseman follows fol-lows respectfully behind, your guide. Tour days are carpeted with ease and your home Is a Joy, thanks to the willing service of an able houseman. house-man. Where but In Kashmir could one call back to a houseman as one Is leaving home for all day, "we will have guests for dinner tonight at nine o'clock," and return to find everything In perfect order, fresh flowers everywhere, the table set In holiday attire, and a coarse dinner perfectly planned? Many of the Kashmiris are fine looking, the women especially having hav-ing beautiful eyes and quite regular features. Like other native states of the Indian empire, Kashmir has an engllsh resident, or advisory official, offi-cial, and through him more sanitary ways of living are gradually being introduced into the country. There is an excelent mission hospital and t llUa)'" i N" ' 1 M t""! p" -1 --W jrw-iTM1( f"M r j Men Needleworkers of Kashmir. KASHMIR VALE FULL OF CHARM Srinagar Is a Lovely Place for a Vacation. Prejvared by National Geographic Society. Washington. D. O. WNU Service. A3 WARM weather approaches, the vale Kashmir, one of the famous garden spots of the world, beckons to the vacationists of India. Its wooded hillsides don a new green which is reflected In the clear, blue, placid streams of the valley; and houseboats are put in order for a busy season. The Tale of Kashmir lies among the lower Himalayas, north of the Indian Punjab. One reaches Srinagar, Srina-gar, the summer capital of the native na-tive state known as the domain of the Maharaja of Jummu and Kashmir, Kash-mir, over a long route by rail and motor. From Bombay one travels northward by trains, via Delhi and Lahore, the Rawalpindi, one of the chief army posts of British India. There the way to beauty opens. Almost at once on leavlngRawalpln-dl leavlngRawalpln-dl the motor road begins to climb. Up and up through the deodar-clad slopes of the lower mountain the road twists and turns, the heated air of the plains grows cool and Invigorating, Invig-orating, until, when travelers make their first overnight stop at Tret, they feel captivated by a joyous holiday hol-iday spirit. Everything seems amusing and Interesting. Ruffled punkas swing from the celling, though you may have no need for them. Your deft and turbaned servants patter bore-footed bore-footed about the rooms, unrolling your bedding on the stringed char-poys, char-poys, the fairly comfortable beds of India. Even the not-too-bad food served by the bungalow cook is a matter for hungry jest. Lovely, lovely world, with a summer of Kashmir ahead. Native Chauffeurs Are Speedy. The road from Rawalpindi to Srinagar Is a well-built motor road, some 200 miles long, and it lies through the mountains north of the Pir Panjal pass. Snowy peaks rise high above you. The rushing waters of the Icy streams chatter noisily below. be-low. Hairpin turns In the road make you catch your breath and curl your toes, for the ways of the native driver are his own and without fear, and, also, you have not the knowledge knowl-edge wherewith to express your feelings.- Soon, from the first traveling sahib, sa-hib, you may learn to say, "Ahlsta, ahista I" But you never succeed in making an Indian chauffeur drive slowly, slowly. It is possible to make the trip to Srinagar In a day, but not ahlsta 1 Quite the contrary. You spend two nights In dak bungalows (rest-houses) (rest-houses) along the way, the second at Baramula, which lies at the edge of the great depression known as the Vale of Kashmir. From Baramula one can go the rest of the way by boat, up the Jhelum river; but you may prefer to drive. The last 35 miles He across a level stretch, the road borderer on either side by slender poplars. The people passed along the way are quite different from those one sees In India. Ekkas and'tongas, the two-wheeled horse-drawn vehicles of the country, draw aside to let you pass. The Vale of Kashmir Is a level valley about 80 miles long and averaging aver-aging about 20 miles in width. It lies, a great oval, surrounded by mountains green with deodar and spruce on the lower reaches and white with snow until well Into the early summer. Skies of an Incredible Incred-ible blue complete a color scheme of fairy loveliness. Throughout the valley winds the curving line of the River Jhelum, along the banks of which straggle the streets and bazaars ba-zaars which form the ancient city of Srinagar. Quaint Scenes In Srinagar. Seven curious bridges span the river, and along the Bhore quaint old wooden houses lean sometimes at a rakish angle. Many of the city streets end In wide stone steps leading lead-ing down to the river's edge. These stairways are usually animated scenes of native life. Here the laundry laun-dry men wash the clothes ; here the women come to fill their water wa-ter jars. Children tumble and play about, and goata and cows ramble freely among them all. From the overhanging balconies lengths of dyed pashmlna hang out to dry. All Is colorful and gay. Also there is the interesting river life. A large part of the population popula-tion of Srinagar lives afloat. Odd, long-pointed boats, called dungas, with superstructures hung with mats of woven reeds, are the only homes which thousands of Kashmiris ever know. Sleeping quarters within, with-in, a kitchen of sorts open to the eyes of all, a few pots of brass or copper, and a poor Kashmiri's household house-hold Is complete. The native of more ample means has a better boat Walls of wood replace the woven mass, and as better bet-ter and better financial status is Indicated, In-dicated, so the boats Improve. The best are comfortable and well -furnished house boa's, si:rh ns one milit seg upon the River Thames. The Enplirii have made their contribiitl'tr.s In the dovolnriinpnt of the. house beat in PrinaL-ar; for the Vale of Kasl.mir has beroniR net only a favoriia varaii'.n land for the E:.?':rdi anr.y in India, lr;t tl,e Iern:ar;cr.t hom of many retired officers and their families. a zenana hospital, as the name implies, im-plies, for women, and a school conducted con-ducted by an English clergyman is doing wonders among the youth of the country. Foreigners Like Kashmir. The foreign element In Srinagar Increases yearly. From the terlble heat of the Punjab come English army people, seeking the cool air and health of the hills, and these bring with them the Influence of English manners and customs, and, better still, of Engllsh fair play. There Is not In all Srinagar a merchant mer-chant who does not rely whole-heartedly on the honor of the English sahib. sa-hib. Shopping Is a quaint pastime In this City of the Sun. As one strolls along the Bund, eagor merchants press their wares. Mohamad Jhan assures you that not in all Srinagar no, not even at All Jhan'a, his rival can you procure such embroideries, embroi-deries, such fine pashmlna, such beautiful designs. Will not the Lady Sahib but see? Or, as the small shikara of a merchant mer-chant Is rowed alongside your boat, deftly timed to find you at home, he eagerly spreads his wares. He Is Insistent that you see his treasures. "Only looking, Lady Sahib. Not buying, buy-ing, only looking." The foxy merchant mer-chant well knows his goods are tempting. He Is sure that some time you will buy. The native industries of Kashmir, alas, have cheapened and some have almost died out entirely. No longer, for Instance, can one procure the very finest shawls, such as made the name of Kashmir famed throughout the world. One can get good shawls, soft and fine, but the exquisite, old-time old-time shawls are hardly found out-Blde out-Blde of museums. Pashmlna is one of the loveliest products of the land. It Is a soft cream-colored woolen cloth, made from the fine under hair of the Tibetan Tib-etan goat. The finer weaves are incredibly in-credibly soft and the shawlmaker, hopeful for your order, will show you how a length of It can be drawn through a fincer ring. A much heavier woolen cloth, eometlmes akin to Scottish homespun, home-spun, is called pulton, and the better bet-ter weaves make splendid outing clothes. |