it may have been written by some Secretary and is perhaps at
present suppressed or concealed.
‘There is extant in India the writings of a Malabar poet, who
wrote nine hundred epigrames, each consisting of eight verses,
in ridicule of the worship of the Bramans, whom he treats with
great asperity and contempt. Would any of our diligent enquirers
after oriental learning favour us with an authentic account of the
works of this poet of Malabar, he would undoubtedly confer a
singular favour on the republic of letters.’^12
The author was probably a Deist: this is the secret
profession of many Bramans, who are often at no pains to
conceal their sentiments, and express openly their entire
disbelief in all the Hindoo deities. I have been acquainted
intimately with several Bramans who entertained these opinions,
and who avowed their belief in one God only, the supreme being,
the Creator of all. Reformers have appeared at different times in
India, and the Vedantic sect in particular put no faith in the
popular superstition.
The Malabars have a number of dramas or naticas and are
fond of theatrical exhibitions.
I have been present at these exhibitions. The theatre is
either in the open air, or under a slight temporary covering;^13 but
sometimes large enough to contain several thousand spectators.
On these occasions, they have regular rows of forms and
benches, on which the audience seat themselves. The men and
women are intermixed as in our play houses. This is an amiable
and remarkable contrast with the manners and jealous reserve
of other parts of India. I have seen probably two thousand men
and women assembled and sitting close together to witness one
of these exhibitions. This, however, was on a great occasion of
the marriage of a Raja’s daughter. There was a very large pendall
erected, with rows of seats one above another, for the
accommodation of the audience. The dramatist personae were
gods, goddesses, kings, heroes and their attendants. The actors
were dressed, suitably as they imagined to the characters they
represented, but there was no machinery employed. The whole of
the scenery consisted of a sheet or a calampoe, which formed a
curtain.