Page:The Imperial Gazetteer of India - Volume 10 (2nd edition).pdf/136

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124 NAAF. US guardian to the Mahárájá, is more to the south-east, but on a loftier site, which commands a splendid view of the whole city. The building now the official residence of the Diwán was originally built by the Duke of Wellington (then Colonel Wellesley) for his own occupation. History.—The site of the town, according to local tradition, was formerly occupied by the village of Puragere. In 1524, a fort was erected by one of the earliest of the Wodeyar line, and called Maheshvru, buffalo town, from Mahesh-ásuru, the buffalo-headed monster slain by Chamundi or Kálí. This fort remained the capital of the Wodeyars until they obtained possession of Seringapatam in 1610. Tipu Sultán, in furtherance of his design to obliterate all traces of the Hindu Ráj, razed the town to the ground, and began to build a fortress on a neighbouring hill, to which he gave the name of Nazarábád. On his downfall in 1799, the present fort was rebuilt on the old site with the very stones that had been removed by Tipú. The late Mahárájá, who was then as an infant solemnly placed by the English on the fig-wood throne, continued to reside here until his death in 1868. His profuse expenditure stimulated the trade of the town. Since the British occupation in 1831, BANGALORE has been the seat of administration. N Naaf (or Náf).-An arm of the Bay of Bengal, forming a portion of the western boundary of Akyab District, and separating the Province of Lower Burma from Chittagong in Bengal. "Naaf' is the Bengali name given to the estuary, which is known to the Burmese as the Anauk. ngay. It is about 31 miles long and 3 miles broad at its mouth, shallowing considerably towards the head. Lat. 20° 45' N., long. 92° 30' E. The island of SHAHPURI, which protects the entrance to some extent from the monsoon, finds a place in history as the immediate casus belli of the first Anglo-Burmese war. In September 1823, a small British detachment, then occupying the island, was attacked by the Arakanese troops under the Raja of Ramiri, and this led to the war of 1824-25 Numerous rocks and shoals render the entrance to the Naaf estuary gerous. Ferry-boats ply regularly between Maung-daw, in Arakan, and the Chittagong side. Off the coast lie the uninhabited St. Martin's and Oyster Islands. Naaf (or Anauk-ngay, the Little West Country ?).— Township in Akyab District, Arakan Division, Lower Burma; lying between the Naaf estuary on the west, the Ma-yu Hills on the east, and touching the Bay of Bengal towards the south. The northern portion is but sparsely inhabited, and is covered with forest. The central part is