Journey from Bombay to Malcolm-penth—The Mahabaleshwur Hills—The village and its temples—Elevation of the hills—Formation—Soil—Climate—Vegetation—Sites for chinchona-plantations—Paunchgunny—Waee—Its temples—The babool-tree—Shirwul—The village system—Village officials—Barra balloota—Cultivators—Festivals—Crops and harvests—Poona—The Bhore ghaut—Return to Bombay.
The districts best adapted for the cultivation of chinchona-plants are those in the southern part of the peninsula, at suitable elevations, which receive moisture from both monsoons. The Neilgherry hills are the centre of these hill districts, and as we advance further from that nucleus in a northerly direction the rainfall from the south-west monsoon becomes heavier, while the climate of the winter, when easterly winds are blowing, increases in dryness. In 14° N. lat. the hills of Nuggur sink down into the plains of Dharwar, and from that point to the Mahabaleshwur hills in 18° N. there are few parts of the western ghauts which attain a sufficient elevation for the successful growth of chinchona-plants.[481]
The Mahabaleshwurs, however, are upwards of 4000 feet above the sea, and it was therefore possible that they might present localities suitable for chinchona cultivation. In February 1861 I started from the Mazagon bunder, at Bombay, in a bunder-boat, for the purpose of examining these hills, and, crossing the harbour, coasted for a short distance along the shores of the Concan, and then sailed up the Nagotna river, with low jungle on either side. At Nagotna two sets of hamals were waiting for us, and we started for Mhar, a distance of forty miles across the low country of the Concan. The hamals or palkee-bearers belong to the Mhar or Parwari caste, who are also watchmen, porters, and guides, and are believed to be the aborigines of the country. They are athletic men, with slender and remarkably symmetrical figures when young, always working in gangs of twelve to each palkee, three at each end, and the others relieving them at intervals. They carry the weight with a skill which only a life-long practice could give, and go over the ground at the rate of four miles an hour, at a sort of trot.
The country is generally well covered with rice-fields, now in stubble; and the numerous stacks of rice-straw, raised five or six feet from the ground on stakes, formed the principal feature of the landscape. A few miles beyond Mhar the western ghauts rise abruptly from the plain of the Concan, in two gigantic steps. The first step is ascended by the steep corkscrew road of the Parr ghaut, and between its summit and the foot of the Rartunda ghaut, which winds up the second step, there is a level cultivated plateau. To the left of the road, overlooking the Concan, there is a steep conical hill, crowned by the famous robber fort of Pertaubghur. Here, in 1659, Sevajee, the famous founder of Mahratta power, assassinated Afzul Khan, the general of the Mohammedan King of Beejapore's army, at an interview. We could see the dark walls of the fort, with ruined buildings, and a tall tree rising behind them. The ascent of the second ghaut brought us, almost immediately, into the hill station of Mahabaleshwur. The view from our lodging embraced a foreground of rounded hills covered with green wood, with ranges of pointed, rounded, and flattened peaks in the distance, shimmering in the rays of a hot sun.
The Mahabaleshwur hills are the loftiest part of the western ghauts in the Bombay presidency. They form an undulating table-land of small extent, terminated to the westward by a very abrupt descent, often forming scarped precipices overhanging the Concan; and sloping down more gradually on the side of the Deccan. The highest point, close to the English station, in lat. 17° 59´ N., is only 4700 feet above the sea. The English station, with a native bazar and village, was formed by Sir John Malcolm in 1828, and has received the name of Malcolm-penth. Several of the surrounding peaks are named after his daughters. The roads are excellent, and are bordered by such trees and shrubs as jasmine, figs, Randias, Gnidias, and Crotalariæ, with a pretty white Clematis climbing over them. The station is near the edge of a range of precipitous mountain crags and cliffs overlooking the Parr valley. The cliffs are broken by several profound ravines, thus forming promontories commanding grand views of the hill fort of Pertaubghur, the Concan, and even the sea on very clear days. Good carriage-roads have been made to those points which command the best views, such as Babington, Bombay, Sidney, and Elphinstone points, all looking west. From Babington point there is a magnificent view. The station, with numerous bungalows peeping out amongst the trees to the north, is seen along the crest of a ridge which is separated from Babington point by a profound ravine. The precipitous cliffs, now dried up and barren, are scarped and furrowed by the water which deluges them during the prevalence of the south-west monsoon; but there was one bright green spot where some potatoes were cultivated in terraces, on the edge of a precipice.
The most conspicuous object in the station is an obelisk of laterite, erected to the memory of Sir Sidney Beckwith. From this point, immediately above the little thatched church, there is a good view of the station, the numerous bungalows, peeping out amongst their shrubberies, dotted about in all directions; the billiard bungalow, sanatarium, and public library, all built of laterite, standing in an open space; the native bazar at our feet; and a curiously shaped mass of mountain peaks to the south and west.
One day we rode over to the native village of Mahabaleshwur, which is three miles from Malcolm-penth. The little village consists of a few dozen thatched huts, on the side of a wooded hill, and some very interesting temples. By the roadside, in the hedges surrounding the huts, there were roses, daturas, and jambul-trees (Eugenia jambolanum) with heads of graceful flowers.
The chief temple, built at the foot of a steep hill, has an open space in front. The exterior wall is faced with pilasters painted yellow, the intermediate space being red. In the centre there is an arched doorway leading into an interior cloister, built round a tank. No European is allowed to enter, but, from the outside, a cow carved in stone is visible on the opposite side of the tank, with a stream of water pouring from its mouth. This fountain is said to be the source of the Krishna, and the temple is considered very sacred in consequence. To the right, and a little in front of the temple, there is a square chapel sacred to Siva or Mahadeo. A flight of steps leads up to three narrow arched doorways, the centre one being occupied by an image of the bull Nandi in stone, in a sitting posture, with its back to the people, and facing the image of the God inside. The chapel is surmounted by a very picturesque dome, with stone tigers at each angle. Tall trees and thick bushes cover the hill in the rear immediately above the larger temple, and on the left there is a long native choultry, with a thatched roof.
These temples were built about a century ago by a rich banker of Sattara, but they stand on the sites of more ancient structures, the work of Gowlee Rajahs. The Gowlees are a race of aboriginal herdsmen, scattered over the western ghauts from Mahabaleshwur to Kolapore. Though they now speak the Mahratta language, yet a great number of their words, their features, and many of their customs are Canarese; and they are evidently a branch of the great Dravidian group of nations.