Page:Malabari, Behramji M. - Gujarat and the Gujaratis (1882).djvu/80

64 her people. Bráhmins worship her more fervently than they worship Bráhmá. According to official reports, she is a highly intelligent woman, and extremely dharmi. She is, of course, at the head of the palace, and the palace expenditure having been left to Her Highness's control has happily increased by about a lakh. Last year's item stands at sixteen lakhs and odd (£160,000). There are several departments of the palace—the household, kárkhánás, and dharmádága being the principal. Each of these costs considerably over six,four, and four lakhs, respectively. With the utmost respect for Her Highness's prudential instincts, I submit the dharmádagá items are disastrously heavy. The kárkhánás include the jewel establishment, the elephants, horses, bullocks, fireworks, sporting establishments, dancing girls, and the athletes, that is,the animals employed in the arena. The dharmádagáis maintained for giving khichri to the poor and gifts to the Bráhmins. Looking to the item under this head, Ido not wonder at the report that some of the mendicant Bráhmins of the royal