CHINGAM VILLAGE , KISHTWAR..
Chingam is a small beautiful valley in kishtwar area . It can be approached from Jammu and Srinagar as well . From Kashmir side , the village lies about 41 kms from SIMTHEN TOP on the Road connecting Kokernaag -Daksum Area with Chhaatroo- kishtwar . A crystal clear water stream passes through the village which is otherwise surrounded by dense forests .Like village UBUD in upper/ hilly area of Bali ( Indonesia ) , this village also has beautiful paddy fields and lush green Forests around .The village falls in Inderwal Tehsil of Kishtwar . People speak kashmiri , kishtwari and Urdu / Hindi . The Jamia Mosque and ancient Parna Mata Temple at Chingam attracts devotees from far off villages in the area .Parna Mata is another name of Sharika Goddess.
Presently the Srinagar road Link remains cut off after heavy snow fall at SIMTHEN TOP and accordingly Government has decided to make it all weather link by opening a tunnel at the base of SIMTHEN pass near village VAILOO in Kashmir .
( SIMTHEN TOP ON WAY TO KISHTWAR .PHOTO ..Dr.Autar Bhan )
To this brief post on CHINGAM , I add details of kishtwar as these appear in “TUZUK I JAHANGIRI “ translated by Alexander Rogers ( Volume II Page 139 chapter “ from Thirteenth day to the beginning of the Nineteenth year of his reign “ ). I quote …
“ Kishtwar produces wheat , barley , Lentils , Millets and pulses .Differing from Kashmir , It produces little rice .About a hundred hawks and falcons are caught there annually .Oranges , Citrons and water Melons of the finest Quality are obtained in this area .Its melons are the same as that in Kashmir and apart from that other fruits like grapes , peaches , apricots and sour pears are also grown here .If these fruits are cultivated , it is possible that the variety may improve . Its saffron is finer than that of Kashmir. The Raja of kishtwar knows both Hindi and kashmiri languages .The Raja was brought chained to my presence and he did the homage. A currency coin by the name of Sanhasi is in circulation over here . Ten rupees are equivalent to fifteen sanhasi in business transactions . Ten rupee is called Paadshaahi Muhar over here . T hey call two seers of Hindustani weight as Munn ( Maund ).The saffron produced is assigned as pay to a body of Rajputs and about 700 Musketeers ( Tupchi ) who are old retainers .When this saffron is sold, four rupees per Munn ( maund ), or two seers are taken from the purchaser. The raja does not collect revenue from Cultivators . He takes annually six sanhasi from each house and the rest is collected through fines that he imposes even for small or petty offences . From all sources his Income is about 100000 rupees . He has 6000 to 7000 men on foot for a war with few horses . By conjecture , his jaagir was worth 1000 men and 1000 horses according to Jahangiri rules . “
( Autar Mota )
CHINAR SHADE by Autarmota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License.Based on a work at http:\\autarmota.blogspot.com\.
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