1881.] visited and described by Tavemier. 33 



un-Indian sound about them ; but Eligada seems to be Oorlagondah of 

 Atlas sheet 75 (Lat. 17° 15' Long. 79° 55') and Sarvaron and Mellaserou 

 may very possibly be represented by the modern Singawarum and Mailla- 

 cheroo, they being separated from one another and from the crossing of 

 the Kistna river to certain diamond mines, by distances which correspond, 

 nearly, to those given by Tavernier. 



If the diamond mines of Coulour were situated south of the Kistna 

 and that was the river crossed and not its tributary the Moonyair then they 

 were wholly distinct from those of Partial. In favour of this there is much 

 to be said. On the south bank of the Kistna west of Chintapilly in Lat. 10° 

 42' 30" and Long. 80° 5' there is a diamond locality which on the oldest 

 engraved map I have seen, that by Thomas Jefferys, (London, 1763) is called 

 Kalur or Gani. This it may be thought would finally settle the question, 

 but as I shall have to say when speaking of Raolconda both this authority 

 and Rennell evidently took their information, from Tavernier, and not 

 from independent sources. 



Fortunately a manuscript map by Col. Colin Mackenzie, of the 

 Nizam's dominions, which is dated 1798, indicates this locality as Coulour 

 and marks it as a diamond mine. Partial is written separately in its 

 proper place as Gani-Purtial and so also is a well known intermediate 

 locality at Istapully and both are marked as having diamond mines. I 

 think on the whole we are bound to conclude therefore that Tavernier's 

 Gani Coulour was not identical with Gani Purtial the modern Partial but 

 with the modern Kollur as it is written on the Atlas Sheet No. 75. So 

 far as can be seen from the map its surroundings are not inconsistent with 

 Tavernier's description, he says the mine is close to a large town on the same 

 river (Kistna ?) which he crossed on the road to Raolconda, and that a 

 league and a half from the town there are high mountains which are in the 

 form of a cross. In the intervening plain the search for diamonds was 

 carried on. The locality too, it may be added, is in the middle of presumedly 

 diamond bearing rocks. 



Now as regards this word Gani there is still a remark to be 

 made. Its recurrence in the titles of two mines which I have shewn 

 were distinct, suggests that it was not a proper name, and that in fact it 

 really meant ' mine of ' being only a corruption of Kan i* We know that 

 the letters G and K are interchangeable in some Indian languages and 

 therefore no particular effort is required to accept the view that Gani 

 Coulour meant simply the mine of Coulour,*'. <?.,the modern Kollur. So that 

 to speak of, the mine of Gani, as is often done, is meaningless tautology. 



* I am indebted to Mr. Baden Powell, C. S. for this interpretation, vide ' Punjab 

 Manufactures', p. 197. 

 5 



