2, A Progress Report on the Work done during the 
year 1917 in connection with the Bardic and Historical 
Survey of Rajputana. 
By Dr. L. P. TEsstrori. 
GENERAL REMARKS. 
During the year under review the progress of the work has 
been regular and satisfactory, for which not a small part of 
credit falls on the sympathetic and, unfailing support of the 
Bikaner Darbar. The only difficulty experienced was due to 
favourable circumstances which could not be remedied, and on 
the other hand the difficulty affected myself, in that it made my 
task heavier, rather than the progress of the work. Certainly 
the exploration of the district could have been more extensive 
if a traveller had been available for all the twelve months of 
the year, but in other respects I think I can say that the work 
suffered no hitches 
At the beginning of the year had twoemployees : an assis- 
tant in the person of Baratha Kisora Dana, whose services had 
been kindly lent to the Survey by the J odhpur Darbar since July 
21,1916; and an explorer in the person of Vitha Sita Rama. But 
early in April the Jodhpur Darbar intimated that they desired 
Baratha Kisora Dana to revert to his former duties in the 
Tawarikh Mehkma at Jodhpur, and so | lost him at the end of 
thesame month. The man, in spite of his complete ignorance of 
pes y and eet and his inaptitude for critical work, was 
t help to me in going through bardic manuscripts, as of 
all ie bards I know he is the one who can understand the 
meaning of old songs best. Therefore his loss was a great blow 
during these last. years that the very sons of those who were 
honoured by the title of kaviraja twenty or thirty years ago, 
now hardly understand Dingala better than an ignorant Italian 
peasant can understand the Latin of his Church. Happily, the 
more I become familiar with the bardic literature, the more 
easily can I afford to do without an assistant, but the amount 
of work increases as I have to do all by myse 
The explorer Sita Rama deckacsed his duties almost un- 
inspec ow though with much slackness during the summer 
months, from January Ist to about the end of September, 
