Both sexes are extremely fond of tobacco, which they smoke in pipes called hookas.
At the conclusion of my visit, I was offered sweetmeats, fruits, raisins, etc.

The sweetmeats were mostly composed of sugar, almonds, and suet, but were not very palatable, owing to the predominance of the suet.
Before leaving the house, I visited the ground-floor to examine the room, in which, once a year, the religious festival called Natch is celebrated.

This festival, which is the most important one in the Hindoo religion, takes place in the beginning of October, and lasts a fortnight, during which time neither poor nor rich do any business whatever.

The master closes his shops and warehouses, and the servant engages a substitute, generally from among the Mahomedans, and then both master and servant spend the fortnight, if not in fasting and prayer, most certainly in doing nothing else.
The Baboo informed me that on these occasions his room is richly ornamented, and a statue of the ten-armed goddess Durga placed in it.

This statue is formed of clay or wood, painted with the most glaring colours, and loaded with gold and silver tinsel, flowers, ribbons, and often with even real jewellery.