The complete Indian housekeeper & cook : giving the duties of mistress and servants, the general management of the house and practical recipes for cooking in all its branches / by F.A. Steel & G. Gardiner.

  • Flora Annie Steel
Date:
1902
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The complete Indian housekeeper & cook : giving the duties of mistress and servants, the general management of the house and practical recipes for cooking in all its branches / by F.A. Steel & G. Gardiner. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    49/400
    The prices of bazaar furniture are the same as those given for Madras. Blackwood furniture is famed, and it may be good in the damp climate of Bombay, but in more dusty places is a weariness to the good housewife’s soul, by reason of its many crannies, which nothing bigger than a toothbimsh will c ean. House rent in Bombay itself varies from Rs. 80 to Rs. 100 for one suitable to newly married couple, but rooms can be had in the Fort from Rs. 60 to Rs. 80. In the country Rs. 50 to Rs. 60 would be a fair rent. It is necessary to have a butler or boy, at, say, Rs. 20 ; a cook at Rs. 15; a hamal at Rs. 10 ; washerman at Rs. 5 a head. In Bombay itself water is laid on, elsewhere a water-carrier must be kept at Rs. 6 ; and everywhere some sort of servant is necessary to do the rough sweeping and attend to conser- vancy arrangements. A really economical bazaar account for two people would be from Rs. 2 to Rs. 2'8 a day. This apparently does not in- clude milk or bread. Beef is 2 annas a pound, and mutton 3 annas. Sufficient fish should be got for 3 annas to serve for one day. Milk is about 7 sm-s the rupee. Eggs are 6 annas a dozen. Punkahs in Bombay itself are little used, and when required from March till June at meal times are often pulled by the hamal. It is never advisable to take out furniture. Indeed, in Bombay due attention must be paid to the fact that one is in direct communication with England; and that therefore everything can be bought in the shops more reasonably than in any other part of India. The dam]) is another potent factor in Bombay life, and stores should all be kept in stoppered bottles. Estimate for Madras Ks. a. House rent (town) ..... 100 0 ,, (up country) .... 50 0 Indoor servants, five ; outdoor, two . 50 0 Punkah coolies, necessary all the year round 8 0 Stable servants, per horse 10 8 Average cost of hoi’se per month (including stable, oil. farrier, &c.) ..... 18 0 Average bazaar account .... 00 0 Firewood ...... 8 0 Furnishing six-roomed house, including china. glass, &c. . 1000 0