The Sikh College of Nandere
- report of a visit to Hazur Sahib, Nanded, 1817: (Sources in Sikh History 2)
Last week I shared an account and description of a visit to Patna Sahib by Charles Wilkins in 1781. Today, I will be sharing a slightly later account - but still among the first European ones - of a visit to Nanded.
This account appears in a description of the campaigns of the Anglo-Maratha War (1817-20) during which the English East India Company’s army passed through Nanded. The account is provided by Lt Col Macgregor Murray - the central figure in the sketch below, portraying a knife attack he survived, to live a somewhat fulfilling life as Governor of Barbados.
Murray’s account was recorded in the book whose title is shared below - a semi official record of the campaigns in which the English become masters of vast swathes of Central India.
The account of the visit to Nanded (Nandere on the Godavary River is shared below:
The account goes on to describe a recent flood in Nanded, during which the Godavari washed away numerous houses. Interestingly, Murray also mentions the story of a jogi who lived in seclusion -
The inhabitants observed the danger and sent a boat to rescue the jogi, who, thanks be to whichever god he worshipped, survived.
I find it interesting that there were close to 300 Sikhs in Nanded at the time. This is a rough number, it is possible there were more. Were they descendants of the remnants of the cavalcade which had accompanied Guru Gobind Singhji here? Or, where they local residents who had embraced Sikhi?
This, and Guru Gobind Singhji’s brief time spent at Nanded is a subject I will explore in the next essay.
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