story of ichalkaranji by h.george franks

8/19/2019 Story of Ichalkaranji by H.george Franks

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THE STOF

OF

ICH LK R NJI

BY

H GEORGE FRANKS

Printe4 b1 tl e Scottial M i ioa ladWilriee Co Lacl J. R Euo .

Manat•r) Eut Street . . aall pl ll li Led b H C a e F . . . . . . .

Poona

1929


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CONTENTS

Page

Chapter I ~ r o~ l h d c oJoshi

II \"cnkatrao Narayan 30

I l l Narayan Venkatrao 44

IV. Vcnkatrao Narayan II - 66v.

~arayan Rao BaLasahcb

89

VI. Venkatrao Narayan Rao Il l andKcshavrao TatyasahcL 1 8

YIJ. Perilous Days 123

Vlll. Narayan Rao BaLasahcL 130

l.lST OF I L L U S T R T l O ~ S

I Raja Shilhu anJ hi:; Mini:;ter, Ualaji Bajirao '16

2. Bajirao I as a Warrior 32

J. Tara Jai, Queen of Kolhapur 48Bajirao I Enjoying Music 64

5. Ma.Jhnrao rc:b.ltwa ro

6. ~ l a b a J j iSt·inJia 967 ~ h r i m n t~ t v i n d l 7 l oAl..ta.s.lheb, the la.te O t i d of

lchalla.ra.nji 112

8 lhc l a L ~ o : l ,I'ha. Uu.uji 1. 3


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PREFACE

The sole idea of this monograph is to give a concise andinteresting account of the Founder of lchalkaranji State and ofthe history and character of the subsequent rulers. lchalkaranji, whi h was a small village in the eighteenth century, hasnow grown into a good-sized town. and is the capital of aState whose rise and growth forms one of the most romanticand thrilling tales that the annals of Maharashtra u n produceOne of America's most famous men found his birth in an humblecabin, and later was installed in the President's White House asLord and Master; but here is a tale even more romantic, forit is the tale of a boy whose tenacity of purpose and whosepersonal bravery, encouraged by a wondrous mother-love, tookhim from the rudest of huts in an obscure Konkan village, firstto the position of trusted companion of one of the greatestgenerals Maharashtrahad n r produced, then to the high oflic.eof Minister of a flourishing Empire, and 6nally to place hisname in the world's history books as the o u n ~ e rof animportant State.

lbis summarisedaccount is based largel7 on the history of

lchalkara.nji State Y.Titten in Marathi by the late WasudeoShastri Khare of Miraj, wbo has been recognised as one ofthe most c udul stu -nts of Mahratta history: but a d d i t i o n ~


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material has been introduced as the result of otherresearches, although these entail no responsibility on the Stateeither as regards facts or the conclusions drawn therefrom.Most of the spadework ·of this brief story was done by Pro-fessor C. G. Bhanu, to whom the most grateful thanks are given.

Mahratta history is, and always will be, full of surprisesfor the enterprising student; and that is why the present taskhas been so interesting, so romantic, and, at times, so thrilling,especially when the stirring days have been lived over againin the writer s imagination. And as for the battles of witsas well as arms of the l n ~ nAmazons, no story is deservingof greater attention, and it. is the author s only regret that in

this work the doings of Maharashtras famous women Queenscould receive such scant attention.

Thanks are also due to Mr. A. D. Parasnis for pennitting• the reproduction of the paintings of Bajirao I, Shahu with

Balaji Bajirao, and Madhavrao I from the famous Parasniscollection at Satara whilst we also tender thanks to the ChitraShala Press for the use of the pictures of Bajirao, Tarabai, and

Mahadji Scindia.


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CH PTER I.

Nuo Mahadeo Joshi.

E earliest tracrs of the family of the h r ~of thisd1apter are to be found in Varwada, a small villagein Ratnagiri District where for several generations

there had resided an unbtown and very poor Kon-kanasth Joshi family. Seeing few prospects ahead ofhim, and having in his blood that spirit of adventureand ambition which so often produces the most unexpectedresults, Vishwanath Pant, the grandfather of the founder ofthe lchalkaranji State, left his home \ illage in the sixteenthcentury. and settled do u at Mha.pana in Savantwadi StateTo poor Vishwanath Pant, however, the change was of little

consequence, and he died at Mhapanain

as great povertyu

obscurity as he would have done in Varwada.

His son Mahadji Pant was thereupon called to face afuture which was anlthing but bright, and many a tinie he musthave regarded the decision of his father to leave the village ofhis ancestors as only a vain attempt to better the fortunes of thefamily. Day a.fter day it became more apparent that his incomeu an agent of the hereditary Kulla.mi of Mhapana did not pro-\ ide im wit a living a.dequate for his family s needs. and is

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T H E S T O RY O F I C H L K R N J I

position made it very difficult for him to find any additionalmeans of making money. His good wife Gangabai like all Brah·min women tried her best to keep the household happy and con-tented with the small income of her husband although the fewrecords that are available go to show that it was often a very

difficult task even to keep up that respectability which theircaste demanded. Although like so many other important factsin Mahratta history. the actual date of birth of the founderof lchalkaranji State is shrouded with uncertainty the evidenceavailable seems to show that it was some time about 1663 thatGangabai gave birth to her only son Naro Pant. The birthof a son is always a memorable event in the family chroniclesof Hindus. and so despite their poverty both husband and wifeundoubtedly realised that they had been well blessed by theGods although neither of them could have realised or evenimagined that their only son would carve a name for himstlfin Mahratta history and be the founder of an important andOourishing State. And when five years later Mahadji Pantbreathed his last the widowed Gangabai found herself facedwith a mighty problem. a problem moreover. which few

Brahmin widows would have faced with such determinationand courage as she did. But she apparently was convinced thather son had a definite mission in life although here again itis not to be im gined that her ambitious eye saw so far into


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the future as to picture her fatherlessson becominga mightyaoldierand a great ruler.

It cannot be said definitelywhether it was Providenceor•heer accident that inspired her to leave the place which wasso ·wrappedround with the saddestof memories.but the stor)'

as it is now unveiled to us by very faded anddust)' recordscertainly seems to suggest the pointingof the finger of Providence. Be that as it may, earl)' in 1670G.angabaidisposedofher few householdchattels andpersonaltrinkets.andwithseven·year-old Naro Pant as her chief bodyguardleft Mhapanaandcrossed the Ghauts. It is a pity that the full slO J bf thisadventuroustrip is not available,for in thosedays such journeJ•ing as this was accompanied by dangers and thrills evento hardenedwarriors. Likewise,it is leh to us to guesswhetherCangahaideliberate )' plannedto set out for Kapshior whetherahe merelyaettleddown there haphazardlyat the endof a longand wearying trip. But the fact remains that abe could huemade no better move than that which landedher at Kapahi forthat was the residenceof the braveMalojiChorpade.one of thewell-knownfa..ithlullieutenantsof Shinji

Maloji Chorpadewas a fine Canlry leader and had m dea na.me "'·hich was renowned almost s.econd to that of ShivajiM.J}.lraja throughoutthe Empire "'·hichthe great Emancipatorof Mahar&$htrahAd built up The great SUvaji had freed and


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saved the people from religious persecution and political des•potism. had united all Maharashtra into a great nation, and hadopened to men of ability and ambition a vast field of endeavoutin which they could work for the religious and political better·ment of the Mahrattas. Maloji Ghorpade was one who readilyaccepted the challenge which Shivaji had thrown out to allbrave subjects of Maharashtra. and he quickly placed himselfin a position in which he could do valiant service for the newempire; whilst, recognising that there was a greater work tobe done in the future even than had been accomplished in thepast Maloji trained each of his three sons in the arts of war andstatesmanship. one of the three. Santaji Rao. especially distin·

guishing himself in Shivajis Carnatic War for which he receivedthe particular approbation of Shivaji.

It was this Santaji who first saw in the young Narayan themakings of a future soldier. Shortly after Gangabai and thebo had settled down near the camp of Maloji Ghorpade,Naro Pant showed that he was not an ordinary child. Althoughull of life and energy. he seemed to spum the usual childish

games and tricks. and found his greatest recreation and enjoy·ment in listening to the glowing and heart-stirring accountstold him by Maloji•s Shilledars ·and Bargeers of the heroicexploits of Shivaji and his captains. No stories are morethrilling than the adYentures of Tanaji Malusare and Netaji

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Palkar. of Moro Pant Pingle and Baji Oeshpandt. and heneeit is not surprising that they quickly stirred the ambition of theyoung Naro Pant, now known more farru1iarly as Narayan. Whenhe was not listening to the exploits of the famous quartettewho had done so much to help Shivaji. Narayan was either

thinking of them or training himself to emulate them.One day he requested a syce to let him mount a spirited

horse. The syce hesitated. but his caution was transformedinto enthusiasm by the earnest entreaties of the fearless boy.Although he had never ridden a horse before. he held the animalwell in hand and made his first ride a triumph of horsemanshipwhich was witnessed. unknown to the boy but fortunately forhim. by Santaji who had been passing by and who had stoppedto \\1tness the unusual self-imposed lesson n ricEng. His expertt ye uw with satisfaction the devemess nd enthusiasm shownby Narayan in taclling the horse, and tradition adds that heparticularly admired the pluck as weD as the presence of mindof the intrepid youtll. which suggests that his first lesson wasin all respects an exciting affair. From this t m ~onwardsSantaji took a personal interest n Narayan. and himself made

arrangements for the boy to obt in all the advantages of thecivil and military education which was availabJe n thos days.Narayan proved to be very intelligent. and quic11y b e c m ~expert in the three R a n general and in accountancy in partic

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ular. But his favourite subject was military training, andthe sterner and more spartanlike it was, the better it suitedthe son of the brave Gangabai.

When this schooling was finished, Santaji made Narayan atrooper in his own squadron. Thrown among the hardiest ofmen and called upon to fend for himself, young Naro Panf,fast approaching manhood, quickly displayed smartness, intelligence, loyalty, honesty and perseverance. Santaji speedilyrecognised the worth of his new recruit and appreciated thesolid work of the young soldier. and so he raised him step bystep in the ranks untilhe became the Mujumdar or accountantof the. squadron leader. n the meantime, Santaji had himself

been rising in the estimation of Shivaji Maharaja, hisintrepid boldness, his resourceful mind, his strictness ofdiscipline and his wwavering loyalty being quickly noted bythe Napoleon-like Shivaji; and the Subhasad Bakhar states thatShivaji on his death-bed in 1680 particularly mentioned thatSantaji was one of the saviours of Maharashtra. It was undersuch a man as this that Naro Pant obtained his military schoolingand his wordly experience, and so we find him before long

accepted as the fully-trusted lieutenant--or one might evensay the proud colleague--of Santaji Rao.

Shivaji died; but there did not pass away with him tbespirit of independence which he had conceived and inspired,

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T H S T O RY O F I C H L K R N J I

Sambhaji, the brave son of a brave father, wasted his chances

and neglected his opportunities, it is true; but nen he by hisreckless impulses and unfortunate vices could not smother thedesire for national progress. The Mahratta nation was in noway daunted or discouraged by the tragic: end of ~ m b h j iv.hen he was caught in a trap by the Moghuls in 1689 andcruelly executed in the camp of Aurangzeb. the last of thegreat Moghul emperors not understanding, and therefore nofrealising, the exact character of the new empire that had grownup around Shivaji. Aurangzeb gloated over the fall of thintrepid son of the unconquerable Shivaji and naturally thoughtthat v.ith the death of Sambhaji the new Mahratta Kingdomwould speedilydie away, or at least be shattered into fragments.

But once again Aurangzeb miscalculated the power and tenacityof his opponents, and sittingthere in the luxury of his gorgeouscamp he probably did not even dream that this r y k.inglestlingdom of the Mahrattas would. in the not far distant future.actually shatter the folDldations of his own Moghul Fmpire.

Shiuji had died in glory: Sambhaji had died in sllame; butthe spirit of independence in the subjects of Shivaji and SamLhaji glowed more brightly than ever. The duty of defending theMahratta Kingdom \\'as quid..Jy rt alised by the great generalsof SarnLhaji. who were of coun.e really the great captainstlrillt and disciplint d under the banner of Shinji Amongst


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these Santaji Ghorpade was one of the greatest, and servedSambhaji with as great valour and loyalty as he had given toShivaji, his first lord and master. And in those busy days offighting he was loyally assisted, say the family chronicles oflchalkaranji, by Naro Pant.

It is hardly necessary to elaborate here, perhaps, theway in wllich the fanatic Emperor's suicidal imprudence incruelly killing Sambhaji reacted most unexpectedly on himselfand his own empire. The Mahrattas soon found that their long·cherished religion and their h a r d ~ w o nliberty were again n

danger, and that they .were faced with a return of the condi·tions from which Shivaji had rescued them. With such a pros· .peel of national calamity before them, they quickly sank their

personal differences and their hereditary separatist tendencies.They rallied round the standard of Rajaram, Shivaji's secondson. who now sought to take up the task which Sambhaji hadunfortunately refused. Pralhad Niraji, Ramchandra Nilkanth,Khando Balla), Santaji Ghorpade, Dhanaji Jadhav and others.who pledged themselves to win or to die in the new War ofl n d e p ~ n d e n c eunitedly advised Rajaram to become Regentof the Mahratta Kingdom during the minority of Sambhaji's

son Shi' 'aji, later so well known as Shahu Maharaj. Theseatatesmen and generals solemnly promised their combinedsupport to Rajaram in view of the fact that his Regency had

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become political nece-ssity.Rajaram rose to the occasion in remarkable way, for

whilst he was as brave as his elder brother Sa.mhhaji h d been.those who came in contact with him recognised that he was lessvicious and far more considerate. His masterly discernmentinchoosing reliable men for posts of responsibility and trustbrought to the fore all the noble qualities th t have alwaysnaturally distinguished the Mahrattas, but which have all toooften been allowed to remain uncultivated or even deliberatelyrepressed. Thus it was th t the eventful period of twentyyears, stretching from 1687 to 1707, definitely establishedthat great kingdom whose foundations had beenlaid by Shivaji.and. in spite of the fortunes, power andprestige of the Moghuls

and the ambitious Aurangzeb. it was in this brilliant periodth t Mahratta statesmen and military leaders proposed ndcarried out operations which will always redound to the creditof Maharashtra.

Among the foremost of these great men were SantajiRao and Naro Pant, working in conjunction with ~ c h n d rNilk.anth and Dhanaji Rao. In this War of Independence, thetactics of guerilla \\·arfare \\·hid1 bad been introduced by Sbivaji

\\ ere pel fected l y Sa.ntaji a.nJ Dhan.aji Rao. and it was thismethod of fighting that finally brought bout the defe t ofthe 10-CJ.lled invin Jble rmy of Aurangzeb and that raised the

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Mahratta Kingdom into the victorious Mahratta Confederacy ofthe eighteenth century. Santaji s masterful movements (asdescribed by such authorities as Grant Duff Kincaid, and Sar·desai), his wonderful strategies, his strictness of discipline andhis wtswerving loyalty to the cause of his country are nowgenerally admitted to have been largely responsible for t ~

·success which accompanied the army under the Mahrattabanner, and in all his activities Santaji was loyally supportedby Naro Pant who displayed both wisdom in planning operationsand courage in their execution. That is to say, Naro Pant, whobut a bare twenty years before had been a fatherless urchintrudging over the bleak Ghauts with a sorrowing pennilessmother. was now one of the leading men of the MahrattaEmpire, and his success is all the more praiseworthy becauseit was achieved without influence and without favouritism,being due solely to the inspiration of the mother's love and theenthusiasm of the youth s ambition. o ~ only was he thefaithful lieutenant of the famous general Santaji Rao, but hiotactivities in the world of politics p r ~ c e da relationsfiipbetween Naro Pant and Ramchandra Pant which ripened intoa great friendship and withstood the crucial tests of the days

of greatest misfortunes.Naro Pant s most striking qualities were his dt:votioo and •

his honesty. These characteristicswere mainly responsible for

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1 ~ \ _ 1 \:-;IL\111 \:\1> l l ~ : \ l l \ 1 : - - l l l < l L \ L . \ J l l \ \ J I R N J

l l ( /(1/J f J'tliJC Hl.


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THE STORY OF I C H L K R N J I

the trust reposed in him from the start of his c.arecr by Sa.ntajiRao, who was now the Commander-in..QUefof the MahrattaForces; and they were marked in course of time by a UotherMahratta leaders. Santaji Rao finally entrusted to Naro Pantthe sole managementof the accounts of the army and of hisO\\n personal Jagheer, and it soon became obvious that themaster loved his servant as well as, if not more than, he wouldlove his own son. On one occasion, says tradition.Dwarkabaithe wife of SantajiRao asked Naro Pant to cat food from theplate of Santaji in order to prove,according to the Mahrattacustom. that Naro was Santaji s son. Brahminas he was, NatoPant showed himselfready to comply and to sacrifice his allfor his benefactor. But Santaji Rao stepped in and said that

there was no need for Naro Pant to do such thing when itwas so generally recognisedin every other way that he wasmember of the family, although theincidentundoubtedlywonfor Naro Pant the still greater esteemand love of his patron andDwa.rkabai. In due coursethis lovingrelationshipwas definitelyexpressed when Naro Pant adopted Santaji Rao'$ surn meGhorpade for himself and his family, thus becoming a realnoblemanand a ffit"mlxrof the aristocracy. nus was as greata gift on the part of Santajias it was an honourfor Naro Pant,and the latter, like a dutiful On, in course of time repaid aluuld edfoldIus obligationsto Santaji,as this story will .how.

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T H E S T O R Y O F I C H L K R N J I

The successes of the Mahrattas, in both politic.al and military spheres, were fast bringing about the total defeat of theMoghul forces. From 1690 to 1697, the co-operation ofSantaji Rao and Dhanaji Rao was responsible formilitary operations of a unique character, whilst the political leadership of

the redoubtable Ramchandra Nilkanth (perhaps with the adviceand the assistance of Naro Pant resulted in MaharashtraProper being freed from M?ghul onslaughts and from thepossibility of further Moghul inroads. Santaji Rao and DhanajiRao ·were enemies whose very names struck terror to theMoghul army, nd had these two great generals been able tocarry on their united plans of offence and defence there is noimagining how different the Mahratta history of the succeeding-years would have been. But unfortunately they could netagree, and so there entered into Mahratta politics that spiritof separatism which has so often undone the excellent workof all great leaders of all countries. Santaji s straightforward-

.ness and his sense of discipline · were apparently unacceptable to Dhanaji who was a pOWerful , leader of thecavalry, but who was always called upon to act under the

:orders of Santaji, the Comman


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T H E S T O RY O F I C H A L K A R A N J I

c i ~ t e rRamchandra Pant, disliked Santaji for this vtry rtason.TI ey therefore gaYe their moral 5upport to Dhanaji. and fortome time a St.ries of intrigues was carried out between RajaramMaharaj, Ramchandra Pant and Dhanaji. Certain ffl'orts weremade to bring; about a comprorni 'e and to prennt ' &-finiteruptur


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murdered in cold blood. Verily a sad end for such a greatpatriot and gallant soldier.

Naro Pant was not present with his leader when the fouldeed was committed, but on learning of it he at once hastenedto the spot, ·arranged for all the necessary obsequies to beperformed, called Dwarkabai and Santaji s relatives together,and took them to a place of safety. urging them ~ t to bediscouraged or overcome w ~dismay by the untimely deathof the great Mahratta general. t was from now onwards thatNaro Pant had the opportunity to repay the goodness of Santaji to him in his early days, and he demonstrated how dutiful ason he could e by becoming the mainstay of the Ghorpadefamily whichhad fallen on such evil days.

Although apparently having thrust upon him the positionof a losing cause. Naro Pant did not hesitate for one momentas to his future plans. He immediately created an independentarmy under the standard of the Ghorpades, and it quicklybecame evident that he had organised a fine fighting machine.Perhaps because he did not wish further to intensify the internaltroubles of the Mahrattas, or perhaps because he wished firstof all to try out his strength on an enemy of his country ratherthan on his fellow-countrymen, Naro Pant first concentrated hisefforts against the Moghuls, and repeatedly defeated them inthe Districts of Bijapur and Gulbarga. A careful study of all


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the records available on tlus point sttms to ~ o l o wthat GrantDuff is not correct when he says tl1at from 1698 to 70.5 theGhorpades were 6ghting for their own aggrandisement. It isadmitted that Mr. Sardesai, generallyregarded as a very carefulstudent of Mahratta history, agrees -ith Grant Duff in this

opinion; and \\nile it is not perhaps worth willie or necessary·to examine here all the arguments for and against this opinion,it should e mentioned that a sanad was granted in 03-{)4by Sluvaji the son of Tarabai, Regent of the Mahratta Kingdom.to Piraji Ghorpade, tl1e legal descendant of Santaji, reaffirmingthe grant of all Watans and c.ash allowances granted to hisfather. TI1is sanad has been quoted in full by Khare in hisHistory of lchalkaranji State,and from it there is no doubt thatthose at the head of affairs in Maharashtra recognised that intl1e Ghorpade family tl1ey had friends and not enemies. Like-wise it should be noted tl1al it was Naro Pant \ \bO successfullyinduced Dwarkabai and her young son Piraji Rao to take anactive part in tl1e great national war which followed the deathof Santaji, and it was his vigilant acthity and efficient'adminis -tration during tlat troublous time that raised the statas of the

Ghorpade family to its former level His sen·ices wereultimately recognised by tl1e Mahratta Government. andOhilawadi, a ,·illage on the River Krishna. was granted in loamto him personally and a Mansab of 6ve hundred horse was

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T H ES T O R Y · O F I C H L K R N J I

awarded to his young son Venkatrao in the s a m ~year ( 1703-04) • although at that time Venkatrao was only two years old.T h ~ : efacts, coupled with many more that could be cited,certainly EO ~ o .show that Naro Pant s activities by no meansneglected the interests of the Mahratta Empire•

· . But while Nara Pant was fighting for the reputation of the· family whicb had adopted him and was daily increasing thereputation of his own n a m e ~ .his worldly prosperity producedthe· fullest happiness.·: A Hindu does not think he has a homeif he has no c h i l ~ r e nand so Naro Pant 'and his amiable wifeLaxmibai c o ~ t i n u a l l ylamented that they had n t been blessedwit any issue. , Time after time they had made religious vows,~ week after week they had performed deeds of charity,~ p p a r e n t l y ·all to no purpose.· But at last i o 1701 L:nunibaip r ~ s e n t e da son, to _N .iro·Pant, who decided to call the boyYenkatrao because IIaribhat Patwardhan, a saintly Bralunin andthe ancestor o_f the ·fan'lous Patwardhan Chiefs, had advisedNaro Pant and La. (..llibai to pray to V nkoba of Giri for theblessing of a son; Naro Pant had learned of the powers of theGiri deity while he was fighting the Moghuls in the Carnatic

.under Santaji Rao, and so when Haribat Patwardhan advisedL a . ~ b a ito make special ·prayers to this deity, Naro Pantstrongly supported his counsel. Lamubai therefore went toGiri and devoutedly worshippedVenkoba, praying for the gift

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of a on. Not only was the gift memorialized by the name · ~the deity being incorporated into the name of the Ghorpadefamily, but from that day onwards Naro Pant accepted V e n k ~ a

of Giri as his family God. This is remembered up to the presenttime by the annual observance of Navratra festival in the month

of Ashwin in honour of Shri Venkoba and by the Ruling familyof ld1alkaranji reciting the name of this deity every meal·time.

During the minority of Piraji, the eldest son of SantajiRao, the Deshmukhi and Sardeshmukhi of Miraj Prant wereadministered by Naro Pant on behalf of the f ~ 1 y .TheMolasa Ammals of lmalkaranji, Ajra, r a g ~ndMane Rajurihad also been granted to him by Santaji Ghorpade. TI1e1t in1697 98 Naro Pant added to the area under his administrationby purchasing the Kulkarni Watan of 1\lhapan. the place of hisbirth, the whole ,·illage subsequently being granted to him inlnam by the Sardesai of Savanl\\·adi.

The year I707 saw, to the great relief of ·most Mahrattas.the death of Aurangzeb, the great antagonist of the indurdigion. On his death there was considerable doubt as to the

line of action \\hicb would be adopted against the Ma.hrat.tasby his successor. Azim Shah. But all doubts were £ ~ e d i J y

dissvh·td lt'n Azun Shah rtleastd from prison Shh·aji, other·\\ l:>e L n o ~ uas Shalau. the son o Sambbaji. the murdertd


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Mahratta. Looking at this incident, however, with that perspective which time gives, it is now evident that the release wasonly a clever diplomatic move intended to sow the seeds of dissension amongst Rajaram the son of Shivaji and Sambhaji s sonShahu, both of whom were the grandsons of the great Shivaji

Maharaj. Shahu, however, represented the eldest branch andas such was, according to the Institutes of Manu. entitled tothe throne. But then, as now, possession was generally lookedupon as nine points of the ·law, and as Rajaram s son Shivajiwas in actual possession of the throne, the astute MoghulEmperor shrewdly believed that the release of the legal claimantto the throne of Maharashtra would produce a fratricidal warwhich would immediately weaken and ultimately shatter the

strength of those people whom Aurangzeb the Great had foundunconquerable.

As anticipated by Azim Shah. the return of Shahu pro-1roked a civil war in 1\taharashstra. The cause of a man whohas a legal claim on something which he lost through no faultof his own is always a popular one, and so many importantMahratta leaders, such as the Bhosles, Dabhades and ChimnajiDamodar, flocked to his banner. The other side was supportedby Parashram T imbak Pratinidhi, the Ghorpades, Thorats,tnavans Kanoji Angria and others who believed it their dutyln obey the call of the King in time of peril. Wid- both sides

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·T H E S TO RY OF I C H A L K A R A N J I

trongly upported and well organised. plans were laid for adecisive battle. the ite elected being Kheda. On the eve othe battle, however, Dhanaji Ja.dhav, the general commandingthe forus of Ta.rabai and Shinji, changed aides, and hisdefection to Shahu turned the scale in the latter'• favour. Iathe course of a vigorous battle, Shinji wu defeated androuted. Following such a \'ictory, Shahu for a time met \\ithlittle opposition, and pursued his conquering career all onrMaharashtra. But after a little time Ta.rabai gathered togethera few scattered forces and put up a steady and lengthy resistance. In order to secure more- troops m granted Inamsfreely, but even the loyal e1forts of Ramchandra Pant andParashram Pant were of no avail to the brave queen who was

fighting so nliantly for the cause of her son S:Uvaji the SeconJ.Shahu was successful on aU occasions. and within two yearswas able to capture for himself more than half of the countryruled over by Shivaji and Ta.rabai.

Lening for a time the smoke and din of b a t ~ eit wille interestingto trace the religious side of the lile of Naro Pant.n 1709-10 he performed the thread ceremony of his only son

Venkatrao, \\no was then nine yean old. The ritual was ledby Haribhat Patwardhan and it was on this occasion that thitsaintly Brahmin was granted the family priesthood of NaroPant. Haribhat personally tookpart in the recitation of the

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.Vedic ~ l n t r son that occasion. which reveals a very closerelationship between the lchalkaranii family and that of thePatwardhan Chiefs of the Southern Mahratta Country whoseancestor Haribhat was. Following the thread ceremony. Hari·bhat Patwardhan was definitely and regularlypatronisedby Naro

Pant and took up his residence at Bahirewadi with his patron.Shortly after this. Naro Pant was successful in inducing PirajiRao Ghorpade to assign the Sardeshmukhi of the PanhalaDistrict to Venkatrao, ·and T imbak Hari Patwardhan wasappointed to his son's Dewan. It was at this time also that theDeshmukhi of Ajra was granted to Naro Pant by Bahiraji Hindu-rao Ghorpade. The villages in the District of Ajra must havebeen assigned to Naro Pant about 7 2 to meet the expenstsof the army of the Ghorpades of Kapshi. It also seems certainthat about this time Ramchandra Pant Amatya obtained forNaro Pant the Office of Pant Sachiva of Kolhapur which hadfallen vacant by the death of Shankraji Narayan.

Thus it was that by one of the most curious turns of thewheel of fortune. in the next year 1713 Naro Pant Ghorpade.once a poor village urchin but .. l.ow one of the Ministers of

Kolhapur, was the leading figure in the marriage of his sonVenkatrao to Anubai. the youngest daughter of Balaji Vish-wanath Bhat. \\no soon after became the Prime Minister of~ h uMaharaj. This Balaji Vishwa.'lath Bhat, th' Deshmukh

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of Shriwardhan in the North of Konkan, had crossed the luuband obtained service in the Mahratta Army under DhanajiJadhav. His wise y fearless counsels to Dhanajirao andShahu were very largely responsible for the slow but steadyadvance of the cause of Shahu Maha.raj, and Rajwade in hisessays actually states that had it not ~ nfor Bala i, hi•torJ

would have recorded Shahu Maharaj as a king without akingdom. t is not surprising, therefore, that Shahu quic11yappreciated the services of Balaji Vishwanath Pant whoseadvice had been as loyal as it was successful. Balaji waspromoted successively to high places of trust and responsibility,finally read1ing the top of the ladder of political progress in1714 when Shahu made him his Mulhya Pradhan, that is, PrimeMinister, or Peishwa. •

Returning now to the internal politics of Maharashtra, wefind that the civil war continued ~ i t hincnased activity. There~ e e m sfor some inexplicable ~ c a s o nconsiderable ditferenc-:ofopinion rrgarding the actual events of this era.. Some historiansmaintain that the mad Shivaji son of T raba.i. was deposed andimprisoned ~ i t hhis mother as a result of a palace intrigue atPanhala led Ly RaDlchandra Pant: ~ t u l s tother lustorians insist

that Shi aji dic: dof small-pox at the end of 1712 and that onhis death Sambhaji was placed on the throne by RamchandraPAnt who imprisoned Tarabai and Bhavanibai. In \lew of thi

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important difference of opinion, it is not perhaps necessary tomake any definite statement here as to how Sambhaji wasplaced on the Musnud at Panhala. But it is evident that inthese stirring events the Ghorpade family played a very import•ant part, for it is about this time that further honours w ~heaped upon them. Ramchandra Pant apparently induced ·Sambhaji to transfer the office of Sennapati from Bahiraji ofGajendragad to Piraji Ghorpade of Kapshi; but as Piraji wasyoung and comparatively inexperienced, the heavy duties of themilitary administration ·actually fell upon Naro Pant who,although Sachiv, also became de f cto Sennapati. Naro Pant,as the right-hand man and a sharer in the privileges, dignitiesand rights of Santaji Rao Ghorpade, thus obtained the honour

of using his own Naubat (Kettle drum) and Jari Patka(Banner) and was also given the title of Mamlakat Madar.t might also be added that the grant of Bahirewadi was made

to Naro Punt by Lakham Gouda Bassa Prabhu Desai in 1715 inhis own name, whereas that of Shippur was granted by SidappaDesai Sir Naik of Hukeri in 1714 who had a Sanad made outin the name of Naro Pant s son Venkatrao.

o stirring were the .e days and so uncertain were thehappenings that the historians of the time seem to have paidlittle attention to the task of recording for posterity certainimportant details regardingthe leaders of the contending sides.

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t is not definitely known, for example, when Na.ro Pant actuallydied, but Khare thinks that his decease took place some timebetween 1718 and 1720. He left behind him his wife Lwni-bai, his son Venkatrao, and a host of faithful followers andadmirers to mourn his loss.

n the foregoing paragraphs an attempt has been madeto give a brief account of Naro Pant s eventful career, althou hit is admitted that the meagre nature of this account barelysuffices to reveal in detail the outstanding qualities of hischaracter. et sufficient has probably been 1aid to i n d i c a ~ ethe sterling worth of the faithful services he gratefully renderedto Santaji Rao Ghorpade in times both of weal and woe. isunstinting support to Santaji Rao's sons at a time when theymost needed the advice of an experienced and trusted s t t e ~

man. his efficient and ~ c o n o m i c :administration, his judiciousway of obtaining Haks and Ammals, his bravery and strategyon the battle-field, andhis tactfulness and wisdom in the councilc.hamber.-aU these show beyond doubt that Naro Pant, thefounder of the lchalkaranji State, was a man of outstandingabilities, great mentality and energetic determination. a manat once trustworthy, prudent and tactful. As we ring ~the c:urtain on the life of this great man, no one will r f ~to

join in tribute to a son of Ma.harashtra ,,.ho arrh·ed t hirewadi on the Chauts a helpless urchin and died a nobleman ofthe 6rst rank.


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CHAPTER II

Venkatrao Narayan.

When Naro Pant died his son Venkatrao Narayan wasin age barely seventeen or eighteen years, although· inexperience he was probably equal to many of the great menof his day. He had been closely allied with his father in all

his activities from a very early age, and had undoubtedly beenwell primed not only in the part he would have to play n thefuture but also in the methods that were in those days adoptedto bring about prosperity and power. It will be recalled thathe was son-in-Jaw of Balaji Pant Nanna, the Prime Minister ofthe Satara King, as weD as the prime mover in forming, developing, a n ~consolidating the Mahratta Confederacy. Such arelationship naturally facilitated the rise of the young man inthe Satara Government, even if the reputation and record ofhis father s great work had not been regarded as a reason forspecial favours to e distributed to the son. Several opportuni·ties were offered to young Venkatrao Narayan to distinguishhimself. and this chapter will show what advantage he took ofthese opportunities..

On the :ath of Naro Pant, Piraji Rao G h o r p a d ~the son

of Santaji. h d paid the usual visit of condolence to the familyat Bahirewadi; and he took advantage of his visit to confirm

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all the Inims, llaks and Ammals granted c.Iuring the lifetimeof Naro Pant by Santaji Chorpade. Probably in the ntxt year,Shirdhan was granted to Vtnhtrao in lnam. In the foUo\\ingyear, I723, Sanads were issued for Mane Rajuri, Mhapa.na. razand Nandani. Mativade also was probably given in this yearand Uttur granttd in 1724. In addition to these gifts of landand revenue, Shahu Maharaj in 1724 assigned a MilitarySaranjam to Venkatrao with the exalted title of MamlakatMadar, and asked him to serve under Baji Rao who wasdenominated Peishwa in 1720, after the death of Balaji PantNanna. It appears that Balaji had been able to ~ t t u r anImperial Sanad empowering Shahu Maharaj and his Sinian tolevy 01outh and Sirdeshmukhi in all the Imperial Subha s His

son Baji Rao, aa h r a t t ~

leader second only in importanceand

influence to Shivaji Maharaj, took every possible advantage ofthis Imperial Sanad, and in the course of a comparatively thortperiod considtnbly developed the Mahratta Kingdom. It wasIus vigorous polic:y that gradually led to the ~ h i f t i n gof thepolitical centre of gravity in Maharashtra from Satara 'to Poona.

Vt nlatrao, therefore, attracted to the latter place, spenta certain period every year in Poor.a with his wife Am.:bai at a

fme house trected by Baji Rao for his brother-in-law. ThePeishwa then assigned to him the re\'enue of Vadgaon Turfa abn (Tur£, a group of ·illages and two large garden

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areas in the vicinity of Poona. Vcnkatrao s activities and responsibilities, however, were so great that he could not definitelysettle down· in Poona. and so the records show that he madef r q u n ~visits to Bahirewadi not only to realise and supervisehis own Haks and Ammals, but also to give advice to Ranoji,the son of Piraji Rao Ghorpade. These visits, moreover, werenot merely friendly trips but also had a political significance.The villages n the districts from which Venkatrao collected hisrevenue were in tlie neighbourhood of the newly-createdKolhapur Raj, and he frequently found it necessary to conciliatethat Ruler and to keep on terms of the utmost friendliness. TheMaharaja of Kolhapur had, in a weak moment, made commoncause with the Mahommedan Subhedar of Hyderabad,believing

that by such an alliance he could at least curb the growingpower of Shahu Maharaj if n ~ tdefeat him altogether. Kolhapur was supported by Chandra Rao Jadhav, Nimbalkar andother well-known leaders, but the Maharaja found that he washoist with his own petard in making an alliance with such astrong neighbour. The Subhedar of Hyderabad that is, theNizam) took upon himself the role of a special arbitrator.announcing that he would give an impartial decision as towhether Shahu or Sambhaji was the legal claimant. Such asuggestion was regarded both by Shahu and Baji Rao as aninsult and. as is usual n all cases of national affront. the


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2 BAJI {AQ I AS A \VA UUQ i{,

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insult could onlybe wiped out in blood. A battle was foughtin which the Nizam was surprised, defeated nd compelled in1728 to sue for peace. The army of the KolhapurDurbarwasonce again &battered.and although theNiz.am refused to handover Sambhajito Baji Rao, it was agreed that Sambhaji should ·go to Panhalaon condition that he broke his alliance·with theNizamand promisednot to siC e with him again.

Sambhaji returned to Panhala much depressed by thedefeat he had sustainedand tl1e treaty he had to sign with thePeishwa. Udaijirao


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Pratinidhi, who took Sambhaji unawares and forced a pitchedbattle. The forces of Kolliapur were completely routed, andboth Sambhaji and his adviser 01awhan fled from the battlefield. The zenana of the King and his ministers were capturedand taken to Satara as war prisoners. Among the latter were

Bhagwantrao, the son of Ramchandra Pant Amatya of Bavadaand Venkatrao Ghorpade of lchalkaranji. The Kolhapur Durbarobtained the release of his Pant Amatya by paying the usualransom to Satara, but .took no steps whatever to ransom hisPant Sachiva. Venkatrao was ultimately ransomed by hisbrother-in-law, Bajirao Peishwa.

Although after the battle of 1728 Venkatrao had parti·ally severed his relations with Kolliapur, the 1730 incidentcompletely alienated him from Kolhapui, and he public.lyrecognised Shahu Maharaja as his political superior. Shahu alsowas not slow to reward the allegiance of his new Sardar. Heincreased his military Saranjam from 5 to i troops and forits maintenance the villages of Kadlas, Papari and Bedag wereassigned to him in addition to his former jahageer. ShahuMaharaja also gave him a site in the Satara City on which

Venkatrao built a Wada, and the portion of the town (Peith)in which it stands is still known in Scttara as Venkatpura.After the crushing defeat sustained at Wama, Sambhaji

had no other alternative but to accept the terms that were


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offered by Shahu or recognising him u the head of tlieKolhapur Principality. In this connection. it will perhaps beinteresting to quote what one leading historian has to sarabout the Treaty of Krishna Wama concluded in 1730 whichreduced the Kolhapur Principality into FeudatoryState of

the Satara Kingdom. Tius is what Mr. C A. Kincaid sayson this Treaty:

..The clauses of the treaty did not err on the side of undueleniency. Their wording showed that the treaty was dictatedby superior to an inferior, and converted Sambhaji from anindependent sovereign to a prince in subordinate alliance toShahu and completely cut off Sambhaji from the North. Hecould only extend his dominions southwards and even then hebound himself to hand over his conquests to Wiliu. Sambhajinever again carried on war against the suzerain, but he oftengrumbled with the dearness of the W .ma Treaty and badmade various etlorts to get it modified. In 1734 and 74 hewent "ith his queen to Satara to try to in over Slahu tol ~ n i e n c ybut in vain. ' 1

It was in this year that V nkatrao became a Sardar of

Shahu. and in the lchalhranji State records there are snoeraJsanads issued by Shahu Maha.raj in the name of V nk.atraotogether with ~ e v e r a lletten from Baji Rao asking V nhtraoand his village officen to resist to the full Udhaji Cllawban. the

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free-lance soldier serving under Kolhapur. Having by thistime. fully demonstrated his own sterling abilities and a reproduction of the military spirit of his father, Venkatrao wasinformed by Shahu Maharaj that the latter thought of grantinganew to him the Deshmukhi and Sirdeshmukhi of Miraj Prantand Panlsa a. Gratefully acknowledgina the signal honour. thechivalrous Venkatrao, however, emulated the example of hisfather in placing first the rights and privileges of the Ghorpadefamily, and so the records reveal that he induced the Maharajato issue his sanads in the name of Ranoji. Ghorpade who wasthen representing the ·Ghorpades of Kapshi. Naturally Ranojiappreciated this very generous act at its full value and in return

made a free gift of those Hak:s to Venkatrao in perpetuity.Then in 735 he granted him the village of Rangoli in inam.With such large estates from which he drew his revenues andwith a growing importance as a Mahratta general, leader, andstatesman, Venkatrao decided to establish a definite seat, andhe ultimately selected lchalk:aranji as his home. where be builta fort in 739 with the loyal co-operation and assistance of hissubjects.

t might here be mentioned in passing that it is practicallycertain that the happy termination to the Kapshik:ar Ghorpade'smigration to Satara as a protest against the ill-treatment ofKolhapur· Maharajah was very largely due to Venkatrao't

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·· --- ·

influen(:e with the Shahu, lhis ~ i n yet another wtanceof the way in which the family rtpaid in overflowing measurethe initial help and encouragementmtted out to Naro Pant byhis 6rst Patron, the Kapshikar Chorpades.

Yet it was not to be expected that he would be able in such

unsettled days to spend long periods in his family residence.At that time a war broke out between the Mahrattas nd thePortuguese, and records show that although Venkatrao waspresent in person with the whole of his follo\\ en in Baji Rao'sctlebrated campaigns in Malwa, Bhopal_and Bundetk.hand. hisgreatest exploits were achieved nearer home when he assistedBaji Rao against the European aggressors. The Portuguesehadtaken possession of the western coast of Maharashtra early inthe seventeenth century and had quickly established themselvesas a fairly p o ~ r u lmaritime nation. But the greatest dangerto Maharashtra in those days was not the establishmentof a newnation's commercial activities but any e.fforts that might bemade to take a new religion along with merchandise on ntrade routes whether by sea or land. t was not long beforethe Hindus on the western c.oast of Maharashtra realised that

that their \ Cl) religion was in danger, for the Jesuit's work ofconvenion to Ouistianity was fast proving successfuL Onbeing awtaled to, Baji Rao and his brother OUmnaji Appastroasly and vigorously supported the c.ause of the onbn

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people and declared war against Portugal in 1737-.38.V nkatrao quickly realised the difficult task Baji Rao wouldhave in attacling ·a highly-organised European army, arid so heurged the Peishwa to create a strong.diversion to threaten thesafety·of the Goa Territory by thus taking the war right intothe heart of the enemy s coU.ntry; Venkatrao believed the Portu•

guese Government would not only be handicapped but wouldprobably even be paralysed by this move, and he had so muchf ith in his ix>licy that. he o ffered to lead such an expeditionagainst Goa,·an offer which was gratefully acceptedby Baji Raowho despatched him south with a powerful army. Furtherrealising that the Mahrattas would need the cooperation ofthose important States which lay between Baji Rao s capital andthe metropolis of the PortUguese, the Maharaja·succeeded in

persuading the ruling OUefs of Savantwadi and Sunda to joinwith him ·actively in the war. This further piece of strategynaturally prevented the Portuguese Govemnient from sendingmen and supplies from Goa to their northern possessions in theKoDkan, which were rapidly reduced and captured by ChimnajiAppa in 17.38. Ceasing activities as usual during the rams,V nkatrao found resuming his operations against the Portuguese in.the following year, one especiallybrilliant feat amongstmany episodes beingthe way in which he besieged. stormed anduptured the forts of Fonc Ja and Mandangad. reduced Sashti

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and Bardesh which were two talukas near Goa and actuallythreatened Goa itself. With the Mahrattas at their doors. thePortuguese Government ihowed the greatest alarm. moreespecially as they could not relieve the pressure on their troopsat Bassein and other places in tl1e North. Venkatrao's Khemehad proved entirely successful and when the Portusuese Government were attacked with fear, he consolidated his position byseizing a number of forts and strategic.al places, \\Umt theseactivities in the south enabled Cltimnaji Appa to capture thealmost impregnable Fort at Bassein, to reduce the whole of thenorthern Konkan. and place that territory once again under theMahra.tta rule. ·

t was on this occ.asion lliat a most curious incident oecurr•

t'dwhicl1 is

worth requoting from Kincaid who has dug it outof

some old Portusuese records. Referrin; to the Treaty bet14-et'Dtl1e Portuguese and the Mahrattas in which the former agreedto &i,·e tl1e Mahrattas a site for a factory Satsette Island.Kincaid says:

The site was to be chosen by the General of NorthUnhappily for llie Portusuese the General of the North wu atthe time Luis Botelho. the Viceroy's Df1>hew He was a YO\Dll

man of parts and courage, but of a violent temper. He hadalready quarre.Jledwith the Jesuits and \\itb many of the leacEngcitizens of Bassein. \\11en he learned tl1al he had to select in·

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side Salselle a site for a Mahratta factory, he resolved not do it.For a long time he put off the Mahrattas with fair promises. Atlast Bajirao, suspecting his good faith, sent to Botelho as hisspecial envoy his brother-in-law, Venkatrao Joshi,,better knownas Venkatrao Chorpade, the distinguished ancestor of the pre·sent Chief of lchalkaranji. V nkatrao was ordered to demand

from Luis Botelho the instant cession of the promised site.Luis Botelho, unable any longer to put off the fulfilmer.t of theViceroy's promises, lost his temper and so far forgot not onlythe courtesies of diplomacy but those of ordinary social life asto call, to Venkatrao's face, the handsome and fairskinnedBajirao a negro. Venkatrao at once broke off the interviewand returned to Bajirao who, deeply incensed, determined toavenge the insult without delay. -History o the .Mahrat-tas Vol. II pp 249-251.

Thanks to Venkatrao, therefore, history has recorded theunique story of the Mahrattas defeating a European nation nboth-of l ~ ~sections of one vigorous campaign,a defeat which

- the Portuguese ultimately admitted when they paid a largetribute to the Mahratta Government as outlined so graphicallyby Mr. Gordon, the English Ambassador at the Satara Court, n

his ac.coWll of this Mahratta Campaign. Had the Mahrattasalways showed such ability, how different would history havebeen ·


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- ---- On returning so victorious from the siege of Coa and going

to communicate his good sucetss to King Shahu who was t h ~ n

at Miraj besieging that fort. the ine went out himself tomeet Venkatrao and gave him a royal reception befittin1 hisrank and his prowess. And for his splendid service. ShahuMaharaj granted in Jagheer to Venk.atrao the whole of theterritory that liad been reduced by him in his southerneampaisn. whilst Venkatrao further obtained from SambhajiMaharaj. the King of Kolhapur, the Kamniw of all the terri·tories belonging to the Kolhapur State in the neighbourhoodof this new iasheer in return for the sa.fety that bad been ensured to Kolhapur territory. The King of Kolhapur also saveSulkud. Takali. and two Shiradyads in inam to V nl:atrao in

1739.'ith hardy a year a respite from fighting, Venkatrao was

several times ordered between 1740 and 1743 to co-operatewith Balaji Baji Rao, the third Peishwa, in Shahu s campaigns inthe north. At this time the Mahratta Empire found itself occ.a.sicD -ally pestered by the fresh ambitions of Jijabai. the ambitiousQuten of the Kolhapur Raja. and she it ~ s who apparentl1inaubUfated the suicidal policy of reducing the power and prestige o( the feudatory Jagheerdars of Kolhapur. altho-Jgb at thattime the policy met with little sucxess. In 1742 m demandedinam Tijai (that is. Me-third of the revenue of the inam pant)


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from Venkatrao demand which was determinedly rdused byhim on the grounds that it was wholly illegal. This provoked aninvasion of lchalkaranji by Arjhoji Yadava Kolhapur Sardaras result of which number of skirmishes took place betweenthe two States in which the forces of Venkatrao were always

successful. But probably owing to his troubled life and un·fortunately for his family and for the Mahratta Confederacysymptoms of consumption manifested themselves at this time.The ravages of the diseaseqUickly told even on the robust frameof Venkatrao and from 1743 he seemed to lose all interest inthe affairs of the State and of his own personal activities. Des·pile all eJforts both medical and religious no improvement wasregistered. andafter sinking week by week he succumbed to thefeU disease in 1745 breathing his last at Sadalage village nearlc.halkaranji.

n many respects Venkatrao was like his father Naro Pant.His active career both civil and military between 1720 and174 5 very plainly reveals that he was an able general judi·cious councillorand careful administrator. His great master·piece was his expedition against Goa but lie had previouslygained and maintan;ed high position of honour and prestigein the Durbars of Satara and the Peishwa. He was held in highesteem by all classes of people although of course it was ShahuMaharaj who Wi\S able to shower honours upon him for his

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aervic.es to the MahrattaState. By Shahu he \\'as raistd to theenviable rank of a first dass Sardar in the Mahratta Army, anhonour which meant more than railing him stiU further amongstthe nobility of the country, inasmuch as it showed that Le wasno longer in any way subordinate to Kolhapur. WhcneTer Le

went to the Satara Durbar, Sliahu Maharaj reeeived ru standing, the title of Mamlakat Madar always being recognised byShahu. Foilowing the custom of those days by which an izn.portant Sardar like Venkatrao was present i a person. Venkat•rao ac.eompanied the Peishwa whenever he led an expedition.and subsequentevents showed how fortunate it was for Baji Raothat he had by his side such an able soldier as Venkatrao.Although Naro Pant had brilliantly laid the foundations of thelchalkaranji State, it was left to his E OD to erect the edificeand Venkatrao by his .hility, his discretion. and his valour wassolely responsib e for further raising the status of the lc:haJ..lr.aranji State. His astute father. Naro Pant. had died an i:lamd u and a military commander under a wdJ..bOWD generalof Shinji Maha.raj, whereas the brave son died a first-classSardar who had bet'n himsdf the leader of a brilliant military

camp.1ign, tl1e strategy of which was inspired and planned bylumM Il. lie kft f>t.hind him his son Narayan. aged 20, and his\\·ife Anubai. the tory of whom will be recounted in the Dt :dchapter.


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CHAm R IIi

Nuayan Venkatrao.

It is very seldom that one 6nds in history a lon.s line ofexcellent administrators descending from father to son, andhence it is not surprising to see that Venkatrao, the brilliant son

of the brilliant father, was tucceeded by a ruler who did notlive up to the reputation of hiJ immediate forbears. NarayanV nkatrao, popularly known as Tatya Saheb Ghorpade, wasnot an able campaigner or a wise administrator like his father,even thoush every opportunity had been taken by his fatherwhen he was alive to initiate him into the art of good adminis·tration. For a reason for which it is difficult to account,Narayan took very little intelligent interest in the affairs of the

State which his father had bequeathed him. History recordsthat he was a man of energy and of couragP., and it is obviousthat if he had wished lie could have made cf himself a plendidadministratorwho would have earned for his fanuly still greaterLonoUJ'I to add to those which had been bestowed on his fatherby the Pcishwa.

There are some who say that the peculiar character ofNarayan Venkatrao was very largely the product of his earlyup-brinaing. for, as the only son of Venhtrao anJ Anubai,it seems probable that he was humoured too much and that the


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usual precocity of anonly child was allowed to devdop withoutbeing checked. This may have been due, of course.to thefact that his father was so often away from home and fromhis family, but nevertheless it was unfortunate for the newState which was being founded that its youthful ruler should

not have been trained in the arne school of experience and administration as that in which Naro Pant had taught theone who was to carry on his great initial work. In dignity andin social standing, young Narayanrao was a thorough nobleman,but his fiery passion and stubbom w quidly developed in hima haughty temperament which finally brought about his ownruin and w l l ~ n i g hencompassed the ruin of lchalkua.nji State.Had it not been for his mother Anubai, a noble lady of vigorousambition and abundant resources. the impulsive y0 ..1thmighthave undone all the good which the hard work and courageousenthusiam of his father and grandfather had ac ueved. Therearc cvidenc.es to mow that his unfortunate chara.ctcristia ofuncontrolled anger and wilful 5tubbornness were neither apparent nor marked in his early days. and thus it was not untilhe himself took over the reins of Government and was calJed

upon to administer a new State in a very difficult ptriod thatl ~ suttt-r inaLaity anJ incapacity 'ere disconred.\'t'l ahhou£h tlae t o n of \'enkatrao \\' S a d i ~ p p o i n ~ n t

t far as d1.1ract('r 'as toncerncJ. the heritage of wisdom.t ad

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and courage which his father had )eft to the State manifesteditself most fortunately not only in Anubai and her nephewsNana Saheb Peishwa and Bhau Saheb, but also in the civil andmilitary officers of the lchalkaranji State. That is to say, thewhole administration, apart from its tutelar head, still functioned

in the same way as it did when controlled by Venkatrao, withthe result that not only did the State remain intact despite thenpathy and carelessnessof its young ruler, but actually increasedits power and prestige ·because the shortcomings of NarayanVenkatrao were more or less shielded by the excellent work ofhis administrators. There were for a time few indications ofthe lchalkaranji State not progressing equally as well under itsnew ruler as it had under the brave statesman who wore himselfout on its behalf. And history records that the Peishwa NanaSaheb sought in many ways to assist the fortunes of the risingPrincipality. He confirmed Sanads of the Military Saraniamsof the Ruler, granted additional lnams from time to time, sanc-tioned specia c sh allowances, and gave to Tatya Saheb Chor·pade positions of trust and emoluments. In the Camatie cam·paigns of Nana Saheb Peishwa and his cousin Bhau Saheb, thelchalkaranji Ruler was present \\ith his full quota of troopsand was entrusted with the honourable duty of settling theamounts of tribute to be levied from the subjugated rulers inthe Carnatic, a work which because of the financial gains always

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accruing (rom such a settlement, was only given to the mosthonoured and favourite representatives. Even Stahu MaharajhimselE was generously disposed towards Narayan and Anubai,and in recognition of the services rendered to the MahrattaEmpire by Venkatrao some years before and in appreciation no

doubt of the work which the lchalkaranji State was then carrying on. the Maharaja of Satara conferred on Anubai in 746 aSanad confirming the grant of the whole Mahal of Ajra whichhad been in the actual possession and enjoyment of the rulersof lchalkaranji for a number of years.

In 1749-SOShahu Maharaj lay on his death-bed at Sata.raand. with an eye fixed on the future of Maharashtra. appointedthe Peishwa Na.na Saheb ~ be the sole administratorof the evergrowing Mahratta Empire, knowing full well that under theable achro.inistration of this proved statesman, the dream ofShinji Maharaja would stand the greatest chance of being fullyand definitely and lastingly realised. But as soon as am Rajawas raised to the throne in the place of Shahu Maharaja. l ara-bai. his grandmother, endea\'oured to oust the Peishwa frompower and to stize the reins of Government in h:r own hands.

Uith this object in view l>he had asked Dadoba Pratinidhi toraise an army and 6ght her cause, whilst on the other handS lharambbau. the lt'Dior and the only surviving Peishwa of9\ahU. \\M \\ IS treatly opposed to the. succession of Run

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Raja, had sent word to Sambhaji, his rival at Kolhapur, urginghim to seize that excellent opportunity of invading and capturingSatara. Nana Saheb Peishwa quickly realised that althoughRam Raja and Sambhaji were themselves deadly enemies, itwas very possible that between the two of them he himselfwould e placed in a very difficult position, especially if. asso often happens in such cases, they both centred their attackon him first.

Faced.wit such a formidable position. Nana S a ~ e bdecidedto move quickly and decisively, and so he at once put a stopto all the palace intrigues against the successors of Shahu, andthen led an expedition against the Deccan Subha of Hyderabad.

Narayan Venkatrao was present during this campaign under thebanner of the Peishwa. Salabat Jung Subha was as muchalarmed as he was surprised by this Mahratta invasion, esped·ally as the expedition promisedto yield most substantial d v ~ ·tages. But at this mornept, when it appeared a though thePeishwa was about to consolidate his position in the south in avery profitable manner, the ambitiousTarabai definitely raisedthe standard of revolt against the Peishwa sgrowing supremacy,and her first move was to imprison and dethrone Ram Raja,the King of Satara. who had been definitely nominated byShahu as his successor. Tarabai then invited Damaji Gaikwadof Baroda to co-operate wit her in curbing the increasing


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3. TARADAI Qt.:EEN OF o u r P l J{

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domination of the Peishwa.When Nana Saheb heard of this unfortunate movement

which was aimed not only against him personally but alsoagainst the whole Mahratt.aConfederacy, he at once decided tomedia.te peace with the Pindharis who were too strong for him;and 5 he aent Narayan Tatya to assist the Pindharis and othenwho were bearing the brunt of the initialrevolt. He followedthis up by making a sudden treaty with Salabat Jungand thenhastening to Satara. where he defea.ted Damaji Rao Caikwadof Baroda. imprisoned him and used all available means torelease Ram Raja from imprisonment. In thia di.fficWtperiodNarayanrao Tatya. or perhaps it will be more accurate to uyhis mother Anubai loyally served the Peishwa and largely • .,.

isted in quelling the injudicious revolt ofT

rabai and putting aatop to the many intrigues of the palace.

But as T ra.bai reconciled was less dangerous than Tarabairevenge 11L Nana Saheb agreed to release Da.doba Pratinidhifrom prison and restore his Jagheer to him But Tarabaicould not, it JPpears refrain from military activities. and 5 heasked the PratinidU to raise u army and to lead au expeditionagainst the Nawab of Savanoor. Although the Peishwa was

opposed to this mo\'e of Tarabai, he could ot openly diue-;ard~ commands, as •he was the t f cto ruler of Sat.ara; andso he a ~ l e dNarayanrao Tatya to c:compa.D)' the Pratinic:IU in

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ttlls campaign, which, however, proved disastrous to the in·· vaders when the Pratinidhiwas defeated in 1752.

n the next year, when he was proceeding to the Carnatic,Peishwa Nana Saheb halted at Kolhapur and paid his respects toSambhaji Maharaja, the King, recognising that by paying such

homage both the King and the Queen Jijabai would be con·ciliated and honoured on this occasion. It is said that NanaSaheb promised that the Kolhapur Raj should infuture be keptsacrosanct, a promise· which so pleased the Maharaja that heconfirmed upon the Peishwa a Jagheer of the Forts of Bhima·gad, Parasgad, and Wallabagad with all the villages attachedto them. Nana Saheb entrusted the Mamlat, or control, ofthese forts to Anubai who waspresent with him in the Carnaticexpedition. This fact, when coupled with the sequestrationorder of the Peishwa to Narayanrao asking him to hand overNavalgund, Dharwar and Gadag districts to o l h a p u ~as re-corded in the Peishwa s Rojnishi, Volwne l),_seems to be proofpositive that in the early days of the lchalkaranji State its Rulerwas a feudatory of the Satara Durbar and took orders either

r o ~the Satara King or his representative the Peishwa.

n 1752 Ranoji Ghorpadehad granted Gavase in lnam to. Narayanrao in return for some valuable service rendered by_Anubai; and when in 1753 the Peish · made two very sue·cessful expeditions n the Carnatic, he added to the territories

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of Narayan Rao by making over to him the Mamlats of Dharwuand Terdal in return for ti1e excellent part he had played u aleader in those two Carnatic wars. There is no doubt that ua military tactician Narayanraofollowed vel ) dose)y the c:barac-teristics of his father, and Nana aheb used his martial capa•

bilities and talents to the utmost. In 1754 he wu orderedwith Mahadji Purandare again.to innde the Camatie countriesand recover from the recalcitrant rulers and chiefs the Mahrattadues. n this campaign he was obstructed by the ruling CobkOUef. but he defeated him. reduced his Pargana. and liberatedthe two sons of the former ruler of Cadag. In return lor theirfreedom, ti1ese sons gratefully granted to Narayanrao in lnamthe village of Hunshal. In this Camatic: expedition ~ a y a n r a orecovered Mahrattadues amounting to 3870 lalhs. and S hisefforts had proved so succ.essful and S he had such a wideknowledge of the intrigues and policies of the Camatic OUefs.the P e i ~ w aordered him toencamp at Dharwar with 5(XX)mento supenise the achninistration of the country and to watchti1e movements of the Carnatic Feudatories.

He remainoo there for some time doing good service. but

not for long could this intrepid 50ldier remain inactive. Henext joined his mother Anubai who was engaged ...,;th t. aePeishwa in the expedition against the Nawab of Savanoor in1756, but being seized with siclness on this trip Tatya Saheb

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returned home. Anubai, however, with Visaji Narayan, HariRam and other trusted civil and military servants remainedwith the expedition, taking a very active part and helpingGopaliao Patwardhan,one of the brave Haribhat s sons. to de·feat the Chief of Sunda and to reduce the Fort of Madangad.

Following the usual custom, thislatter fort was granted by thePeishwa as a further adjunct to the Ichalkaranji State. NarayanRao also secured from him the Mamlat of almost all the Talukasin the extensive Parganah of Dharwar, in return for which hepledged himself to maintain peace and order in that provinceand to guarantee the regular payments of all Government dues.

We now come to what is probably the most fortunateyear in the annals of lchalkaranji State, namely 756. At thistime, in addition to Jagheers, lnams, and Deshmukhi Haks inMaharashtra, the Ruler of lchalkaranji enjoyed the very Iuera·tive Mamlats of Dharwar, Kancanwadi. Kalanidhi, Khanapur.Olandgad and Bagewadi; the revenue of the three forb ofWallabagad. Parasgadand Bhimagad belongingto the Peishwa;and the Kamavisi mmal of Rayabag; but it must be admittedthat the excellent progress which had been made since the

death of Venkatrao was very largely due to the energies andabilities and courage of the ambitious Anubai, who alwayspromoted the interests of her Stateand endeavoured to raise itsprestige to the highest extenL She wielded a very great moral

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Ti l E STORY O F I C H A L K A R A N J I

influence over her nephews Nana Saheb Bhau Saheb and Raglna·nathrao Dadasheb and although Tatya Saheb her son ~ c m emost stubborn with the passins years •he managed for awhole decade to overcome any evil influences which his impul-siveness and foolishness were likely to produce. Fortune hadprovided many opportunities by which the lchalwanji Statecould assist the Peishwa. and Anubai was never slow in ma kin1the most of those opportunities. Her activities had beencrowned with such success in I i 6 that it appeared u i lc:hal·karanji was to become oneof the greatest States in Maharashtra.but just as the wheel of fortune so frequently takes an unex•peeled turn in the affairs of men even 1 does the history of

nations show that disaster comes just at the time when thetriumph of ambition is at its greatesLJn Tatya Saheb the lchalwanji State did not Lave a Ruler

of whom it could be proud. Although the IOD of a very blefathtr, the ntw ruler had neither initiative nor ambition. whilsthis mother Aunbai adopted such a domineering attitude thatTatya Saheb did not take even the smallest put in the afainof the State. This attitude on the part of Anubaiwas. however.

probably the result more of love for her heritage than of antag-onism to her SOD. Doubtless she realised his impotency ofmind and his intompeteDCy of ambition. and rather than permithim. b his indolence or inefficieDCy to ruin the State which

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had Leen built up with so much courage, wisdom, an :l states·manship, she decided that it would be better to control thedestinies of lchalkaranji herself. Auubai was also probablyvery weU aware of the intrigues that went on in those dayswhen the Ruler was weak and vacillating, and therefore she

adc,pted the only possible means to prevent the dissolution ofthe State.Tatya Saheb. however, was not so incompetent as to fail to

recognise the attitude of his mother, and more than once hevigorously objected to actions on the part of Anubai whichwererepresented to im as definite insults. In endeavouring tobreak the power of his mother, he several times plotted againsther hut on each occasion her counsellors or her spies cliscovered

the plots and foiled the enraged Tatya Saheb every time.Under such circumstancesit is not surprising that he finally lostall interest in the welfare of the State.

That such an unfortunate state of affairs. wit son plot-ting against mother and wit the legitimate ruler voluntarilyabdicating his powers, could not and should not be permittedto exist. several of the lchalkaranji leaders quickly realised:and thanks to their efforts the quarrel was patched up in 1759and the son beciune moreor less reconciled withAnubai. TatyaSaheb was encouraged to bear his share of the responsibilities

· of the administration, and that the persuasions of the counsellors


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were auccessful is shown by the fact that he \ \ U present atthe Battle of Udgir in I760. Shortly afterward. he wu alsosent with the seal of a Mutalik to the Camatic \\11ere CopalraoPatwardhan and Rastawere conducting an expedition. But,as events turned out. this was only a passing phase of authcrity

for when fighting ceased Tatya Saheb. drifted back to his oldways of creating disorder and fomenting intrigues to brin&about the do\\nfaJI of those who were striving to do t l ~ workwhich he should have been doing.

TI e Kolhapur Durbar, always alert to aggrandise itselfat the expense of any neighbouringState or fanuly whicl wasin difficulties, naturally took advantage of the di.ffercncesbetween Anubai and Tatya Sthtb to plunder 1omc of .thelchalk.aranji \'illages, even going to the extent of huming \c:mewhen the inhabitants manifestedresistance. Anubai howevtrwas not alow to tale up her quest for vengeance, and despitethe fact that Kolhapur was more powerful, m aet her forcesagainst the army of the Mahrattas, inflicting upon thtm aaenre ddu.t \\hich promised tl e safety of htr t t ~ t o r yforsome considcnhle time.

ll1en in 1761the Kollltlpur Paiute 5.uubhaji died. anJ iulUi rlace there ume to the throne Jijabai. RealillinS thatJij..ba.i ·as doing her ~ to thwart the intentions and to rWnthe p o \ \ U of the Pei:J1wa Nana SJH:b \\110 at tlli.t time was,


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it must be admitted seeking to annex the Kolhapur Statethe Peishwa asked Anubai to watch the movements of theKolhapur Darbar. Thus we have a picture almost unprecedent·ed in any history namely that of two warrior queens rulingtwo important States and each watching the movements of

the other and endeavouring to thwart her plans. t would bedifficult to imagine a more romantic story than could be toldof the political policies adopted by the two Mahratta heroines.but it must be left to the historical novelist to do full justice tosuch a romantic episode..

Immediately follo\\ing the death of Sambhaji of Kolhapurwithout issue and the occupancy of the Cadi by Jijabai thePeishwa sent his troops to attach the State as there was nolegitimate heir. Naturally Jijabai registered a most vehementprotest and bitterly accused the Peishwa Nana Saheb of breachof faith and betrayal of trust. Historians of various schoolsdiffer however in their versions of this incident for while someof them accuse Nana Saheb of a most unchivalrous actionagainst a heroic queen and others seek to show that the Peish-wa deliberately broke a solemn promise the fact remains thatin acting as he i Nana Saheb was probably only followingdae c x m p l ~of Shivaji the Great by subordinating all hisperSonal feelings to the one objective of consolidating the1\lahra.tta Empire and as Nana Saheb had already received

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T H E S TO RY OF I C I I A L K A R A N J I

ample evidence that Jijabai of Kolhapur was none too friendlya neighbour, it would seem that he was justified in enduvouringto aafcguard the Poona Covtmrnent by absorbing the Kolhi.·pur territory into an Empire ruled by the Peishwa.

Just what would have been the outcome of this triangularcontest between Nana Saheb and the rival Queens is diflicultto state. But at that time events i another part of India settledthe question for both Jijabai and Nana Saheb. The crushingdefeat of the Mahrattasat Panipat i that year practicallybrokethe heart of the Peishwa who did not live long to bear hisdisappointment and his shame. Of this broken-hearted ma 1.one of the latest of the English historians has the followingto say :

''Sc.ant justice has been dealt to this eminent priace whodid the English the best turn ever done them by foreigner.Without the rul greatness of Baji Rao, Balaji was a wise andfarsighted politician. He met Y.ith rare skill and 6nnness thecrisis caused by Taraba .s intrigues and Oamaji's rebellion; hereduced to a shadow the power of the Nizam: and but forPanipat would have added the whole of Southern India to theM


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Saheb's son Madhavrao I. who succeeded him, quickly showedsigns of that statesmanshipand wisdomwhich later on made himthe greatest of all the Peishwas. Despite the avowed policyof his father to absorb Kolhapur, the young Peishwa decidedto permit Jijabai to adopt a son, a generous act which undoubt-

edly saved the life of the Kolhapur principality, but an act,nevertheless, which in course of time proved far less successfulin point of political advisability than was anticipated. Butgenerosity is not always repaid in the way intended by the onewho practises it, and Madhavrao not only lived to regret hispolicy of conciliation as far as Jijabai was concerned but laterfound the continued existence of this independent State ofKolliapur tobe a perpetual political thorn in the side of the Mah-ratta Confederacy.

Jijabai having been more or less reinstated as a ruler, shequickly manifested her belligerent spirit by seeking revengefor the defeat inflicted on her troops by her rival Anubai. smight have been expected. Jijabai could not forgive therestrictions that Anubai's watchfulness had placed upon herown activities. and so she took the 6rst opportunity of showing

Anubai that she still resented the part tl1at Ichallaranji haJplaytJ. Jija.bai s opportunity for re\ enge came in 1764,·hen the fighting force of lchalkaranji, under the leadenhip

of Narayan Rao, had been drawn away lo the Carnatic: and so

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the Kolhapurtroop$ ~ w o o p c ddown into tl1e l d a a l k a r ~ j ikrri ·tory time f t ~ rtime,harassing, plunderingand burninaa numberof villages in the Ajra District. Under ordinarycircumstancesthese acts of aggression and impudence wouldhave beenseverely dealt with by Narayan Raow h ~ nhe returned fromhis Carnatic expedition,but u n f o r t u n t ~ l yfor lchalhranji thisyoung man seemed to take no interest whateverin the affairsof his own family heritage, forhe once again plunged into acareer of recklessness. Althoughsuch an attitude on the partof her son assured for Anubai the continuanceof her positionas the Ruler of lcllalkaranjiState, me nenrthcleu did her~ s tto persuadeNarayan Rao to mend his ways and to takehis rightful placein the administration.

Similarlysome i n t ~ r e s t i n gunpublishedletters of Venuhaito her mother Anubai mow that various members of thePt ishwa family joined Anubai in her efforts to bring NarayanRao to hi senses: but all to no avail. Thenomincl Ud ofldwkaranji month after month denloped into a politic lnonentity. until NarayanRao did not even have t h ~heart orintenst to defend territories ofhis State against the inroadsof the greatHyder Ali who at this time wa..s gradually reducing

to subjectionthe Mahraua countryin the Carnatic.. As a resultof this acth·ity on the part f Hyder. lchalkaranji lost itsMamb.ts in Dharwu.a seizure \\ruch c:onsiderahl7reduced the


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revenue of the State inasmuch as the Carnatic Mamlah wereamong the most lucrative o all the lchalkaranjipossessions.

Probably realising from these attacks on the neighbouringStates that Hyder Ali was becoming a real menace to the exist•ence of the Mahratta confederacy,Madhavrao Peishwadecidedto curb the power of this great southern Ruler. He personallyconducted four expeditions against Hyder Ali and with thatvigour, celerity and strategy. which earned for him so great aname throughout the whole of his career Madhavrao eoura•geously took the war into the enemy s country; that is to say,into the territories which had been taken from the MahrattaSwaraj by Hyder Ali. Incidentally in so doing the Peishwa cameto the help of lchalkaranji, for when he captured the fort ofDha.rwar on November 5. 1764 he was able to restore theDharwar Mamlats to Anubai. Madhavrao then penetratedfarther south, and repeatedly defeated the forces of HyderAli, finally compelling him to come to terms by which all thecaptured Mahratta Pergunnas were restored and a heavy fine .paid by the discomfited Hyder.

Whilst. of course, the main objective of Madhavrao s ex·

peditions was to defeat the menacing Moslem King of theSouth. the Peishwas action in making good all the losses whichhad been sustained by lchalkaranji showed the esteem in whichthe State was held by the Poona Government, especially as in

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aduality the inJolrnte and i u d J f t ( r ~ n c cof N.uayan R•'} \\'OUidperhaps fla,·e justified the Ptishwa in retaining the territorieswhich he had recovered from Hyder Ali.

Not content with neglecting his rightEul duti and withrefusing to shoulder his responsibilities, Narayan Rao wentstill

furtl1er and deliberately plotted against the lchalhranji State byendeavouring to seduce the Shilledar and S ~ soldiersfrom allegiance to Anubai. It is probable. of c.ourse, that theseintrigues against his mother were primarily due to an inherentdesire to be master in his own house, and had Narayan Raoshown any honest inclinations or tendencies to adrniniater hisState properly, he would doubtle-ss have received good dealof sympathy and support. But his manners and methods nd

his utter recklessness cut him otf from any assistance \\hich hemight have received from some of th lchalkaranji counsellors,for no s t a t e ~ m a nwould l sten to his wayward schemes. Anubai' s influence, which was largdy the outcome of her widee x ~ r i e n c eand successful ~ g i m ealways p r e v a t 1 ~in thelchalk.aranji Councils,and so the various efforts of Narayanraoto foment trouble were all fruitless. Yet although Narayanhad shown himself so unworthy and so incapable of ruling.Anubai did not wish to assert her own power more than wasneuuary, and she fin.al y p ~ r s u a d e dMadhavrao Peishwa in1766 to rteognise Venkatrao, the son of Narayan Rao Tatya. at

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a Sardar. The Peishwa also empoweredeither Vcnkatrao orAnubai to raise a new lchalkaranji Corps: granted as a personalJagheer to Venkatrao the villages of Kadlas, Papari, and Bedag;issued orders to the village officers of Parvati, Hadapsar and

Padali to continue to acknowledge theownership of lchalkaranjiover the garden lands in those villages: and in the next yearsent a Yadi to Jijabai the Regent Queen of Kolhapur, askingher not only to restore the Deshmukhi Haks that she hadattached rom the lchalkaranji Chief but also to desist frommaking any more plundering raids against the lchalkaranjivillages on the borders of the Kolhapur territory. The aboveseries of personal attentions showed by Madhavrao to Anubai.

once more reveal the ret:pect in which the lchalkaranji Queenwas held by Madhavrao Peishwa.

It did not take long for Anubai and Venkatrao to usethe powers given to them to raise a new army of lchalk.ara. 1jitroops, for in 1763 we find Venkatrao II. although only about13 years old, being present in person with the army thatMadhavarao Peishwa ledagainst Raghoba Dada. later known asthe evil genius of the Peishwa and the Mahratta Confederacy.One cannot help thinking of the amazing contrast which thisincident produced. Here was the young Venkatrao just enter-ing is teens taking an active part on the battlefield at Dhodapt\o-hilst his father was wasting away his life and opportunities

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at home. All the previous heads of the lcha.lhra.nji fanu1yhad been born warriors as well as statesmen. and it must havethrilled Anubai to aee her grandson wear that mantle of martialbravery which should have fallrn on the fhoulders of her JOnb

story of ichalkaranji by h.george franks

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