INTRODUCTION. 33 Ashwin” is Chandi's month,t and everywhere Rams, buffaloes, and goats are slain to her. All woman put their finest dresses on, All except me; poor Phullarā alone Must rack her brains for food, or famished die; With all these victims, who my goods will buy? 3: * + + In Chaitra's f month the soft south breezes blow, In the sweet jasmine flowers the bees hum low; And with the spring's soft influence in their heart Maidens and youths are love-sick, though apart; All joy save me, but I for some old sin Must think of hunger's ravening pangs within.” With this description of the life of the poor may be contrasted “the sweet juice of mangoes and the fine grains of Shāli rice” in Jaistha (p. 366); the blooming of gay flowers in rich men's gardens, where women dressed in their best attire scented with perfume indulge in the play of swinging in the month of Phälguna (p. 368); and “the spreading of the Mallikā and the Mälati flowers on couches of love and the drinking of wine and the indulging in dance and songs in Chaitra” (p. 368) together with “the lotus blooming by the touch of the bees in Asādha” (p. 803) and many other descriptions of this nature. The reader will find Vāramäsis by various authors quoted on pp. 322, 335, 366, 376, 801, 856, 1050, 1052, 1058, 1085, 1102, 1103 and 1104. These by no means exhaust the list. They are only a few typical ones selected from a great variety of such descriptions. Besides the Vāramāsī, there were also several other favourite subjects of these Bengali poets. It is curious that the fire of the kitchen, with its soot and smoke, has frequently shot forth rays supplying poetic inspiration. The poetry of cooking may be called in question, but it will certainly interest a large number of readers who appreciate good food more than good poetry. The skilful preparations of indigenous food have now been mostly forgotten. But considering that the Bengali women were once specially trained to excel in the culinary art, it may be worth while to revive a taste for these indigenous preparations. The descriptions are written in poetry and used to be sung; they related to a subject which was the special province of Hindu women who appreciated these writings very much. The high class Bengali women used to The culinary Art.
- Half September and October. t Chandi or Durgā is worshipped in the month of Ashwin.: Half March and April.
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