46 THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY. [February, 1873. Dakhan, for instance, men speak of the “ Fifty-two Berars,” which we call East and West Berar ; and Tod quotes a Hindi rhyme— M BAwan Bftij, chhapan darw&ja, Maina mard, Naen kA raj A.” However, it is possible that the name of this chauri, a purely colloquial one, may be only a corruption of “ Bhawan Chauri,” from its Martello-tower-like form. In the suburbs, besides the remains already mentioned, are several fine tombs, especially one very large one said to have been erected over a “ Habshi” of the Jinjira family. This, however, I doubt, as the tomb contains several inscriptions in honour of Ali (now defaced by some Sunni bigot), and I do not think any of that family have ever been Shialis. Near to these is a fine garden- house, said to have been built by the same Habshi when viceroy, or deputy viceroy here. But the tradition is obviously unreliable, and even the property in the garden had been lost and abandoned when Mr. Dickinson, mentioned above, came here some 30 years ago, and took up his abode in the old summer palace, which he 6till inhabits.* This place is called the Afiz Bagh which Europeans, rightly or wrongly, improve to Hafiz Bagh. The garden is now probably the best in its way in the Dakhan, containing besides all the fruits and vegetables common to Western India, many imported from the Antilles by the proprietor, and a little coffee plantation which thrives exceedingly well, as do also oats. Junnar, however, with all its old buildings and beautiful gardens (for the Hafiz Bagh is only the best among many), is sorely decayed and poverty-smitten ; and a Musalman subordinate of my own once complained bitterly to me of his exile to such a place, “ where he could not get a copper big enough to boil & sheep whole at his son’s circumcision-feast.” This man was in himself a curiosity in a small way, for he was the lineal descendant of Ibrahim Khan Gardi, the commander of the Peshwa’s regular infantry at the last great battle of Panipat. Ibrahim Khan was beheaded by the conqueror Ahmad Shah Durani. His son was consoled by the Peshwa with the grant of the village of Ahde, in taluka Mawal, in jaghir, which the family still enjoy. They have the title of Nawab, and are very proud of their descent ; but when this unlucky scion of the line came to Junnar, he found himself among families of ancient Muhammadan race who thought but little of Ibrahim Khan, the soldier of fortune of less than two centuries ago, and even hinted that an ancestor who had fought for the infidel against the true believers was not to be boasted of. Ilinc (more than from the dearth of copper- pots) ilia lacryma. These Musalman gentle¬ men of Junnar were my frequent companions in excursions, and pleasant society enough ; but they had preserved few traditions of the place, and no written records. Junnar, in fact, never got over the sack of 1657, when nearly every private house in the place was burned or stripped, and doubtless many manuscripts and records shared the common destruction. The chief families are three—(1) the Sayyids, who are Shiahs, and whose head is Mir Jamal ’Ali, a great traveller who has done the Haj, and wan¬ dered far in Arabia, Persia, and Turkis- tan ; (2) the Pirzada ; (3) the Begs: these last two are Sfinni families. They used to have fierce battles every Muharram, but the peace has been pretty well kept of late years, though the old feud still smoulders, ready to break out on the first opportunity. One advan¬ tage that I derived from the society of the Sayyids, who, like all Shiahs, are very particular about things clean and unclean, was that I heard debated with great vigour the question whether a man may, or may not, without mortal sin, eat green parrot. The prophet, it appears, forbade his followers to cat that which putteth its foot to its mouth, but elsewhere he permits them to eat every bird that has a craw. Now the parrot fulfils both conditions, and was therefore a sub¬ ject of considerable debate among the Shiah sportsmen of Junnar. I believe the general opinion was in favour of the legitimacy of parrot on the ground that a parrot in the cold weather is far too good meat to have been forbidden by the prophet. The place has no notable manufac¬ ture but that of paper, with which it once supplied the whole Dakhan ; but now it is under¬ sold, except for native accounts, by the conti¬ nental papers brought through the Canal. The Kagadis, or paper-makers, are all Musalmans and a very rough and turbulent set they are. If ever a Musalman outbreak occurs in Western India, it will be necessary to use the wild tribes of the neighbouring ghats to hold the Muhammadans of Junnar in check. The higher classes have lost power and position, the lower their employment ; and there are the materials for much trouble in the scattered and ruinous houses of the old viceregal city. ♦ Since this was written I have heard with great regret of my old friend’s death.
