Kathiawar

“ In Kathiawar a chief named Bhatarka, probably of foreign origin, had established himself at Valabhi (Wala) on the ruins of the Gupta power (c. 500) , and founded a dynasty which lasted until it was overthrown by Arab invaders from Sind in 770. [1] The northern Konkan was held by the Mauryas of Puri near Bombay, the southerly coast by the Kadambas of Vanavasi, while in the southern Deccan Chalukyas and Rashtrakutas struggled for the mastery. ”

“ The ruling family of Jhalawar belongs to the Jhala clan of Rajputs, and their ancestors were petty chiefs of Halwad in the district of Jhalawar, in Kathiawar. About 1709 one of the younger sons of the head of the clan left his country with his son to try his fortunes at Delhi. ”

“ It includes the sacred mountain of Girnar and the ruined temple of Somnath, and also the forest of Gir, the only place in India where the lion survives. Junagarh ranks as a first-class state among the many chiefships of Kathiawar, and its ruler first entered into engagements with the British in 1807. ”

“ Limestone is largely exported to Bombay. This limestone is used for buildings in Porbandar without mortar, and is said to coalesce into a solid block under the influence of moisture. The town of Porbandar is the maritime terminus of the Kathiawar railway system. Pop. (1901) , 24,620. A large trade is conducted in native boats as far as the east coast of Africa. ”

“ DHRANGADRA, a native state of India, in the Gujarat division of Bombay, situated in the north of the peninsula of Kathiawar. Its area is 1156 sq. m. Pop. (1901) 70,880. The estimated gross revenue is £38,000 and the tribute £3000. A state railway on the metre gauge from Wadhwan to the town of Dhrangadra, a distance of 21 m., was opened for traffic in 1898. Some cotton is grown, although the soil is as a whole poor; the manufactures include salt, metal vessels and stone hand-mills. The chief town, Dhrangadra, has a population (1901) of 14,770. ”

“ That is one reason why the inscriptions of India are so valuable; they fill the void caused by the absence of historical books. Another reason is found in the great number of them and the wide area that is covered by them. They come from all parts of the country: from Shāhbāzgarhī in the north, in the Yūsufzai subdivision of the Peshāwar district, to the ancient Pāṇḍya territory in the extreme south of the peninsula; and from Assam in the east to Kāṭhiāwār in the west. ”

“ On solar eclipse days, most of the Hindu sects bathe and offer prayers to God. During the eclipse the sun is believed to be combating with the demon Rāhu, prayers being offered for the sun’s success. When the sun has freed himself from the grasp of the demon and sheds his full lustre on the earth, the people take ceremonial baths, offer prayers to God with a concentrated mind, and well-to-do people give in alms as much as they can afford of all kinds of grain.110
The Chāturmās-vrat, very common in Kathiawar, is a favourite one with Hindus. ”

“ What a person! What a frame! Katlu Khan, my lord! have patience! patience I say! You are in a flame! Ah! Katlu's body is burning! The cup! ah! the cup! Ha! what again? Again the laugh! again the glance! Wine! wine! What is is, eh? Kanchali?
What's that, my lord? What's that?
The circle of women rose up with a chorus of laughter, and fled.
Suddenly the lamp went out; Katlu Khan cried "Where are you, my charmer?"
Laying one hand on Katlu's shoulder, Bimala said,
"Your slave's at your feet, lord." Her other hand held the dagger.
Katlu Khan drew Bimala to her breast, and embraced her deeply. ”

“ Let Katuti herself tell thee how it all came about. Rameses compelled her to give her daughter to the charioteer. I do not know what he said of thee, but it was not complimentary. My poor mistress! she let herself be caught by the dandy, the ladies' man-and now she may weep and wail. When I pass the great gates of thy house with Katuti, she often sighs and complains bitterly. And with good reason, for it soon will be all over with our noble estate, and we must seek an asylum far away among the Amu in the low lands; for the nobles will soon avoid us as outcasts. ”

“ I will sacrifice the wine; there are jars of wine there that were old in my father's time—but it must be so! You are right! Many things have occurred which the king will not forgive! You are right, you are right—do what seems good to you. I will retire after the feast to the Ethiopian camp."
"They will hail you as king as soon as the usurpers have fallen in the flames," cried Katuti. "If only a few set the example, the others will take up the cry, and even though you have offended Ameni he will attach himself to you rather than to Rameses. ”

“ Katuti gazed into vacancy, and the steward started back as from a mad woman when, instead of bursting into tears, she clenched her small jewelled hands, shook her fists in the air, and broke into loud, wild laughter; then, startled at the sound of her own voice, she suddenly became silent and fixed her eyes vacantly on the ground. She neither saw nor heard that the captain of the watch, who was called "the eyes and ears of the king," had come in through the door of her tent followed by several officers and a scribe; he came up to her, and called her by her name. ”

“ With me it is a duty to see things as they are, and, although Cathay lieth plainly before the vision of my mind—thou, Lord, who hast implanted, for thine own great ends, the desire to reach that distant land, only know'st how plainly!—although Cathay is thus plain to my moral view, I am bound to heed the physical obstacles that may exist to our reaching it. ”

“ Katuti took the roll from his hand, read it through, and then returned it.
"The troops you equipped have conquered the allied armies of the Ethiopians," she said gravely, "and are bringing their prince in fetters to Thebes, with endless treasure, and ten thousand prisoners! The Gods be praised!"
"And above all things I thank the Gods that my general Scheschenk—my foster-brother and friend—is returning well and unwounded from the war. I think, Katuti, that the figures in our dreams are this day taking forms of flesh and blood!"
"They are growing to the stature of heroes!" cried the widow. ”

“ The Kathkuri, or Katodi, have a belief that they are descended from the monkeys and bears which Adi Narayun in his tenth incarnation of Rama, took with him for the destruction of Rawun, King of Lanka, and he promised his allies that in the fourth age they should become human beings. They practise incantation, and encourage the awe with which the Hindu regards their imprecations, for a Hindu believes that a Katodi can transform himself into a tiger. ”

“ What the noble organ of sight, the eye, overlooked, the callous despised sole of the foot found; and perhaps the small slave, Nemu, who knows nothing of honor, may succeed in finding a mode of escape which is not revealed to the lofty soul of his mistress!"
"What are you thinking of?" asked Katuti.
"Escape," answered the dwarf. "Is it true that thy sister Setchem has visited thee, and that you are reconciled?"
"She offered me her hand, and I took it?"
"Then go to her. Men are never more helpful than after a reconciliation. ”

“ He thought seldom, and only vaguely of Katuti’s daughter, for love had quite given place to hatred, and only one thing now seemed to him worth living for—the hope of working with others to cause his enemies’ downfall, and of being the instrument of their death; so he offered himself to the widow a willing and welcome tool, and the dull flash in his uninjured eye when she set him the task of setting fire to the king’s apartments, showed her that in the Mohar she had found an ally she might depend on to the uttermost. ”

“ When they are not sleeping, the lads must sit in a crouching posture without moving a muscle. As they sit in a row cross-legged, with their hands stretched out, the chief takes his trumpet, and placing the mouth of it on the hands of each lad, speaks through it in strange tones, imitating the voice of the spirits. He warns the lads, under pain of death, to observe the rules of the Kakian society, and never to reveal what has passed in the Kakian house. The novices are also told by the priests to behave well to their blood relations, and are taught the traditions and secrets of the tribe. ”

“ Let the Kotwal Sahib tell what they have said to him."
"I humbly represent to the throne," said the Kotwal, "that one and all have confessed to having been seduced by messengers from Elias Khan, and humbly beg their lives. They have shed no blood."
"Abbas Khan," said the Queen, in reply, "if it please thee, I give their lives into thy hands; do with them as it is good unto thee; unless, indeed, the Kazee demands them for trial." ”

“ POOH. I am told that her right heel is much admired by connoisseurs. KO. My good sir, I decline to pin my heart upon any lady's right heel. NANK. It comes to this: While Katisha is single, I prefer to be a disembodied spirit. When Katisha is married, existence will be as welcome as the flowers in spring. DUET—NANKI-POO and KO-KO. (With YUM-YUM, PITTI-SING, and POOH-BAH.) NANK. The flowers that bloom in the spring, Tra la, Breathe promise of merry sunshine— As we merrily dance and we sing, Tra la, We welcome the hope that they bring, Tra la, Of a summer of roses and wine. ”

“ Never have soldiers, priests, sailors or astrologers breathed such a romance as this true recital.
“Signori, ladies; no man hath so much knowledge and experience of the divers parts of the world—and especially that of Cathay—as hath Messer Ruy de Gonzales Clavijo!”
The speaker, broad as he was tall, black-bearded and mellow of voice, bowed very low, sweeping the heron plume of his cap across the floor of the library of the Contarini Palace. His enormous cloak of Armenian velvet vied in color with his scarlet doublet of Persian silk. ”

“ Do you ask where Tilottama and Bimala are? Search the seraglio of Katlu Khan and you will find them.
'Tis the way of the world! Such is the inexorable turning of Fortune's wheel! Youth, beauty, sincerity, purity—all, all are crushed out by its relentless pressure.
Katlu Khan had made a rule that whenever any beautiful woman should be taken captive in the capture of any village or fort, she should be sent for his pleasure. ”

“ From the Sukh Mahal to the Palace the road ran through the heart of the city, and by reason of the continual shouting of the munshis, not more than ten thousand of the fifty thousand people of Boondi knew for what purpose the Sahib was journeying through their midst. Cataract was the most prevalent affliction, cataract in its worst forms, and it was, therefore, necessary that men should come very close to look at the stranger. ”

“ The head of the family has accumulated great wealth, and risen to the highest position in the service of the nizam of Hyderabad in India, as Jamadar, or commander of an Arab levy composed of his tribesmen, numbers of whom go abroad to seek their fortune. The Kathiri tribe was formerly the most powerful; they occupy the towns of Saiyun, Tarim and el-Ghuraf in the richest part of the main Hadramut valley. The chiefs of both the Kaiti and Kathiri are in political relations with the British government, through the resident at Aden (q.v.) ”

“ Katuti's face clouded darkly; once more she sent forth her messenger. The minutes of his absence seemed like days; her bosom heaved in stormy agitation, then for a moment she controlled herself, and again her heart seemed to cease beating—she closed her eyes as if her anguish of anxiety was too much for her strength. At last, long after sunrise, the steward reappeared. ”

“ You hope to rise high, and I am to whet your knife, and hold the ladder for you. Poor little man! there, sit down-drink a gulp of milk to cool you, and listen to my advice. Katuti wants a great deal of money to escape dishonor. She need only pick it up—it lies at her door." The dwarf looked at the witch in astonishment.
"The Mohar Paaker is her sister Setchem's son. Is he not?"
"As you say."
"Katuti's daughter Nefert is the wife of your master Mena, and another would like to tempt the neglected little hen into his yard." ”

“ The tribe, deeply imbued with the fanaticism of the day, had suffered severely in the massacre of Nehrwân, and ever since had nursed its resentment against the Caliph. Ibn Muljam loved Catâm, a beautiful maid of the same tribe, who having on that fatal day lost her father, her brother, and other near [413] relatives, was roused thereby to a savage ardour. ‘Bring me,’ said the maid to her lover, ‘the head of Aly as my dower; if thou escapest alive, thou shalt enjoy me as thy guerdon here ”

“ You gave the first impulse to all that is plotting here, and I will confess to you that, regardless of all consequences, I should in a few hours have given up my pretensions to the throne, if that woman Bent-Anat had said 'yes' instead of 'no.'"
"You make me believe," said Katuti, "that the weaker sex are gifted with stronger wills than the nobler. In marrying us you style us, 'the mistress of the house,' and if the elders of the citizens grow infirm, in this country it is not the sons but the daughters that must be their mainstay. ”

“ The territory that has been conquered should be kept so peacefully that it might sleep without any fear. When it is in rebellion, it is to be pacified by bestowing re- wards and remitting taxes, unless the conqueror means to quit it. Or he may select his battle fields in a remote part of the enemy's territory, far from the populous centres; for, in the opinion of Kautilya, no territory deserves the name of a kingdom or country unless it is full of people. When a people resist the attempt of the conqueror, then he may destroy their stores, crops, and granaries, and trade. ”