Page:The Indian Antiquary, Vol. 4-1875.djvu/204

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Ju*i. BOOKNOTIi 191 or Kundelkkaud is populated almost exchuirdy idcnUy a eom- plctc stranger lu Hindu h-yumls and literature at ffr*t hand, untl ia in tin* habit of consulting only either Aluhattmuulan or pw ' ' iiainuiuduu authorities, who are far Uic most part bath pre* JadJeed and ignorant, it ia the naciusuj result of Mr. Atkinson's olfickl good I o luw never ltad much opportunity fcf mixing n rural population or acquiring ° knowledge of popu- lar |p H, except as regards the aecumnla- tion of statistics, Iiih position at head -quarters* has decidedly interfered with tho completeness of Ida topographical researches. Thus under no other circumstances would it be possible to espbutt tho fact of a civilian, of 10 year** standing inditing Much, a sentence as tho following;— "In 1-7-1 lbs. num- ber of Eaniyns in the La!: Tfttnil Sarnugia 323, and ifi 36f a form of expressian which would bo exactly paralleled by a tttateinuui that in wane . Hatha fol- lowers of tho I'rophat rnxmbored WO, of wham 90,0 were frf-ihnmroiid'tTT* and tho roranindiir Musal- mAtm. — Jainifl and Sarsugi s I wing term* of idenii- i-A import, Tho mistake must have orbeu from tho met that thcreturna were supplied by different native official*, on* of whom used tho ward Joint the other the word Saraagt; hut is u ootti less surprising thai Mr. Atkinson was unable, or neglected, to reconcile t he discrepancy. Tho lists of antes appended to tho doscript: the dif- towns in tho eacood half of the volume IS of a similar tdiftrtemn* ing. Loeehanio is more necessary to on ■ Ltural community than n carpenter, and one ' |n"r*on* plying that useful trade V iound in almost every village. Ordinarily Air. Atkiin-ou gives their number undnr the mmdiar name * BarhaV by which as a matter of fn< are universal 1 1 d ■' throughout (he whole of Upper India. Alunidihv however, in uffio.nl dOGQ> mania oacn prefor to otyle them ' Ihtrodgar* ;' and so he has followed their lead. lie can scarcely ha*o been ignorant of the i book of ftafci retention of a double noma ia a defect which ho should iiatfl been more careful to avoid, Similarly,

  • Sweepers* in some of the lists appear as ' Bban-

fa olhura a* 'KMk-rnbii and, speaking generally, tha office clerk— who in most case* I lw a forflfffoor— has been too hastily oe- U tin- monthpiuv- lia * Jt •*imot furftmotneiii -mod that » Bundeb khiuidJ knows th» inner ru dwelling- house by Ilia XVr- .>-And>ic name htyra «naU- nh»i, which la quoted by Hr, Atkinson, Tim Tidivildar In his Urdu return used tboword, no donnit hut that u a matter of no interest to the v. no in not taking a lesson in polite phra- seology, hut rather wants information about the Hundnlkhnntb" puj <Ue sumo way, I nv euuiuiiucnco to laani tliut the TahsildAr ofcrao part of the district naes tho word mujn&n j^oreons, while another prefers the term . or that una in his ccn<iuri fables brings ' under the hemling kum-natiiajh, and * lepers ' under that of korhi, whila another oalbi the first clana of unforiunales Jatir tiUaM, sad the leoond jazdm. And why, when tho number of blind, or deaf and dumb people ia noted, Mr. Atkinson should have thought it worth wliilo invariably to add that iu tho vernacular they won styled ooiU#, and tmhirt »ur y»inj*. b quite beyond our compcteney to explain; as the book does not profess to bo an elementary vooabalary of Uindn - A list of words supposed bo ba peculiar to litmdidkhoiid is given in thn flrnt port of tho Irat it luiA not l»e« very oorcfully com- I ided ; many of the farms <motod as axcoptinnal nroetmimuutliruughottt tha -< I -r India; whila those given ia tha comparison column as the ttdss are many of tbom comparatively rare. This is one indication of tho writer's imperfect knowfcdgft of colloquial nsagc, which in nmaxingly il!u5trai«.i.l Ckftda on the d h i tn a n , who (he Kay^) '■ correspond and proliaiily Iwlong to the kahir coslv elrtewhure, but the word ia perhaps psanliar, probably being a corruption of ttu> Sarut- i ",— the met tains that the word is in daily use ovarywhera. It i* nlno a ilafuct that in the list of Fair*, the only two of which lengthy descriptions are given ore the Mulwmm and the Iblm Lflo, Tbcso are celebrated in every port or India, and might Iiayq been parsed over with a hare mention of their nuns and date. Of uhar to the district, and of which, therefore, some explanation would huv« been oc- I do, the oocou «t given is most meagre, tearing it doubtful wbi bb— M for instanoe that of Mnhablr— art? ITiudu or J a ha nolenmitiea. In the l»re£ace it is sUted that "tlio prewnt volume i Hjf tho flr*t published in theso Provioow in which go keenrooy in transliteration has been made. The errors < prmsB are caunequcntly very nuirtfmnn." To this remark wc think the Saperintendcnt of the 1'reu* nuiy very reasonabi> lW though he has not aaooocded in jw-iucing a volume ol attractive exterior, and 1 y bo nusfla free from orrors in i f at aa we eon judge, ore not due to caretes&noas in corrt-i prooft. hut rather w Iba* funda- incut.. t» the part of tbo writer of which