44 PICTURES AND PEN-PICTURES

village folk are thrifty and" hardworking; and,
unless famine spreads its grim shadows, the large round
metal trays, the thalis, on which food is served and eaten
are seldom without enough even for the uninvited guest.
Be it towards the eastern borders near Baroda, or in
the regions of the Grirnar Bange and the western States
of Eathiawad, the traditional dance of Gujarat, the
garba, performed by groups of girls and women in
flowered saris is an ever popular expression of the
happier side of their lives. Though most of life is rural,
there are times when whole crowds come from every-
where and the scene, as it were, is a sea of Gandhi
Caps* Mute and reverent, thousands listen to their
leader preaching on the philosophy of the charfca, the
significance of non-violence, the advantages of abolish-
ing untouchability, or on the greatness of the Grita.
These and many other traits give the villages
of Gujarat, east or west, a remarkable family
resemblance.

Such, in short, is the story of G-ujarat gleaned
from written history; but the story would be incom-
plete both for the historian of today and tomorrrow
were it not remembered that G-ujarat is the land of
Gand.hiji's birth—a fact that gives G-ujarat historical
immortality,