Free Belonging by Umi Sinha

anywhere.’

Cecily
Cuttack, 3rd December 1855
    Dear Mina,
    There is so much to tell you, I don’t know where to begin! I am writing to you from our new home in Cuttack. The journey took just over a fortnight by pony cart, and palanquin in the places where there were no metalled roads. I do not know why people complain about travelling in India for to me it seems quite delightful, like an extended picnic. We spent the night in pretty little rest houses, called ‘dak bungalows’, which provided everything we needed – a simple meal of an omelette or chupatties, and a curry of meat or lentils. Afterwards we would sit on the verandah talking until it got dark.
    We arrived in Cuttack just as the sun was setting. There is no dusk here – night falls suddenly, like someone blowing out a lamp. And then, out of the darkness, we saw pinpricks of light, like fireflies floating towards us and growing brighter and brighter. Then drums started up and there was shouting and cheering and a crowd of men in colourful uniforms and turbans appeared out of the dark, bearing torches. They were Arthur’s men, come to greet us. They garlanded us both with gardenias and marigolds and tied a gold turban on his head.Then they lifted him on to a white horse and led him ahead of us through the streets with the band playing, and people threw rice at us as we passed. It was so romantic – like being in a story from the Arabian Nights !
    But I have told you nothing of Cuttack and the house. Briefly, then, Cuttack is a pretty town strung out along a river, with a church, a mosque and a temple, and the cantonment is full of little white bungalows with small gardens bursting with flowers. It all looks quite English and very clean, with straight roads and neat white fences.
    Our house is the same as all the others. The drawing and dining rooms are connected by double doors, and there are two bedrooms with their own dressing rooms and primitive bathrooms. Arthur has a study at the back, and a verandah runs all the way round the house. The rooms are high, with cloth ceilings, which are removed in the hot season to allow the heat to rise and punkahs to be hung. The kitchen and servants’ quarters are behind the house in the compound. It is so strange to see things that I have only heard talked of, or read about in books. It is all very bare but Arthur says I can order anything I want from the catalogues and make it just as I want it, for he knows ‘women like their fripperies’. He has ordered me a piano as my Christmas gift. He is so very kind and thoughtful and I am determined to love him, and I know I shall when we know each other better.
    Give my love to Mama and Papa and tell them I will write to them soon.
    Your loving Cecily
     
    P.S. I almost forgot to say Merry Christmas (although I know you will not receive this till nearly February).
1st January 1856
    Darling, darling Mina,
    Thank you so much for the beautiful shawl, which is perfect for these cooler mornings. I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw it. How ever did you find the time to embroider it all? Whenever I feel homesick I shall wrap myself in it and feel comforted.
    I wore it to church on Christmas Day but I am afraid I heard nothing of the service for all my thoughts were with you at Home. I kept picturing Mama and Papa and you in our little church. Do you remember the time Peter put burrs down the back of my dress and Mama sent me out of church for fidgeting? And now you are engaged! Oh, Mina, I am so happy for you both. Please do give him my love and my congratulations on his commission. I am sure you will miss him when he goes away but, as you say, it is important for him to establish his career before he marries.
    I am afraid I am not managing my household tasks very well – with so many servants it is hard to remember who does what, so I am forever getting it wrong. It is all so complicated. You can imagine how nervous I am at the thought of having to oversee them all.