Volume 16

The Gazetteer of Bombay Presidency.

Date:
1877-1904
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: The Gazetteer of Bombay Presidency. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    21/702 page 5
    NASIK. 5 site. In other parts, where no rafter-producing forest is at hand, the village consists of flat-roofed low houses of sun-dried brick, and is often surrounded by a wall of the same material, above which towers the double-storied mansion of the village headman or some successful moneylender. From a distance these villages, slightly raised above the surrounding plain, look like large forts and resemble those scattered Provence villages of the desolate tract between Arles and the mouths of the Phone. The want of trees is a serious drawback to the picturesqueness of the Desh. Wherever sugarcane is grown there is a large demand for fuel and the hills are stripped of all brushwood. Babhul plantations are seen here and there, but, except in Baglan, they are not sufficiently thick to keep pace with the lopping that goes on every year. In the open country, tillage is in patches, the hedges are low, and often of cactus. If it were not for the background of mountains that is visible from nearly every part of the district, the country would be downright ugly. With the exception of the Sahyadris, the general direction of the mountain ranges is from west to east, the higher portion being nearer the west. Both flat-topped and peaked mountains are found; the former predominate in number, though not in height. In the extreme north is the Selbari range, the higher points in which vary from 3100 to 4200 feet. A few miles to the south and nearly parallel, come the Dolbari hills, a lower line, starting like the Selbari, from the Suken range. The last mentioned range, varying in height from 3700 to 4700 feet, has one peak, the fort of Saler, 5293 feet high. This is outside the limits of the Nasik district, and is now inhabited by a few Gaikwari soldiers, the descendants of the former garrison. Separating the larger rivers of Baglan are various minor ranges, none of them more than 3500 feet high, and the majority having few peaks of even that elevation. The southmost range is remarkable for the beautiful and striking outline of its peaks. The Satmala, Chandor, or Ajanta range, has been mentioned as running right across the district. It differs from the rest of the mountains in the north by the number and shape of its peaks, and by the absence of flat summits. These peaks are visible from nearly every part of the district and form a prominent landmark. The highest of them is Dhodap, 4761 feet. Several other peaks approach this height. Amongst these are Saptashring, a celebrated place of pilgrimage, and Indrai and Chandor, both of them forts guarding the high road from Khan desh to the Deccan, and the scenes of many engagements during the Maratha wars. Further to the south- east are the twin forts of Ankai and Tankai, which also dominate a road leading from the north to Ahmednagar. There is a curious frequency of such jingling names in this district whenever two neighbouring hills have been fixed on for purposes of retreat or defence. Besides the forts just mentioned there are, in the Satmalas, Raulia-Jaulia; in the Akola range, Madangad-Bitangad and Alang-Kulang ; and further north, Saler-Mulher, Mangia- Tungia, and others. Alow range separates Dindori from Nasik, and to the north of this line is a curious mass of rocks considerably higher and bolder than the Chapter I. Description. Aspect. Desh. Mountains. Selbaris. Sett maids.
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