About The Author
William C. Douglas, A judge of the Supereme Court Of United State of America, visited India in 1950. During his visit, he happened to travel from New Delhi to Ranikhet, a hill station in Himalayas. He was a realist and supporter of labour. He also loved self-respect and self-confidence. He was fascinated and charmed with the natural beauty of India, 'A Girl With A Basket' is one of his famous essays.
About The Lesson
'A Girl With A Basket', has been written by William C. Douglas who came to India after the partition of the country in 1950. At that time, India was full of refugees who were driven away by the communal fanaticism of Pakistan. He has a unique experience at one of the railway stations. Many refugee children were selling small articles like baskets and fans. He was impressed with a little girl of nine years. This essay is the recollection of his valuable experiences.
[A Girl with A Basket Full Lesson]
I had left New Delhi for the Himalays. I was going as for as Bareilly by train and the by car to Ranikhet-an old British army hill station located on a 6,000-foot ridge opposite a 120-mile stretch of snow-capped Himalayas. Then train was slow; and it stopped at all the way stations. At every stop, I swung open the door of my compartment , and walked the platform.
The platform where packed with with people-Sikhs, Moslems, Hindus, Suldiers, merchants, priests, porters, beggars, hawkers. Almost everyone was barefoot and dressed in loose white garments. I would ask al least three people before I could find one who spoke English. We whould talk world affairs and every major topic, the News of the day produced. In this way I was trying to get a feel of the pulse of the nation, checking opinion against official attitudes and reports.
The route lay through one the richest of India's agricultural areas. This was the plain of the upper Ganga River, A thousand feet above sea level but tropical. The Ganga was brown silt, swollen with flood Waters, its overflow inundating thousands of acress of rice. to the north were jungles-great expanses of grass, higher than a men's head and unbroken except for an occasional clump of trees-the home of tigers, elephants, Pythons, and cobras. Everywhere else there was flat land running to the horizon, but dotted here.
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