LÁLIÁ "BOYS."
Besides Hindus, Parsis, Mahomedans, and Boras, there are numerous mixed and aboriginal classes in Gujarát, such as Dhers, Mahárs, Bheels, and so on; of which I shall here introduce only one, the Lalias as we call them. The Láliás or Surtis profess to be Hindus, but are Hindu only in name. They are as pushing and mercurial as the Parsis, and are mostly in the domestic service of Europeans and Parsis. Surat and Nowsári are their head-quarters, but the more venturesome emigrate to Bombay every year, where they take kindly to no other calling except to be "boys" (menial servants) with European families. They pick up a smattering of English with the blustering habits of their masters. They are particularly in request among bachelor employers, under whom they work, play, drink, cozen, return home, grow fat, and die. Their women are generally fine, sturdy lasses, highly developed in muscle and bone, and "sound in wind and limb," as they say in disposing of a girl in marriage. The Láliáns are brisk, handy creatures for indoor or outdoor work. They make masterful wives; and it is, therefore, easy to account for many a droll Rip Van Winkle in Gujarát villages. Instances are on the records of the police court where an outraged wife has tried "to whip the offending Adam" out of her husband for indulging in "heroic love." The Láliáns themselves, however, are no votaries of Diana.