PLACES

KALAMB.

Kalamb is a compact square-shaped village in Yavatmal tahsil situated 22.53 km (about 14 miles) north-east of Yavatmal on the Yavatmal-Ralegaon road. Its population was 5,258 in 1961. It was formerly an important fortress which is said to have extended up to Drug village, of which outlines can still be seen though the structure has completely disappeared.

Kalamb is a place of great antiquity. The earliest reference to Kalamb is found during the Vakataka period. During the reign of Narendrasena of this dynasty which ruled Vidarbha the Vakataka Kingdom was invaded by the Nala King Bhavadatta. King Bhavadatta issued the Riddhapur plates which record the grant of a village Kadambgirigram which is identical with modern Kalamb which is situated a few miles to the north-east of Yeotmal. Situated as it is among hills, the description girigrama suits it extremely well. At the end of the 13th century, the Muslims invaded the Deccan and the Vidarbha region first passed under the Delhi Sultanates and then under the Bahamanis. Berar formed the northernmost province under the Bahamanis and the fortress of Kalam next only in importance to Gavilgad and Mahur was the stronghold of the northern part of Yeotmal district. The garrisons at the forts of Kalam and Mahur prevented the Gonds of Chanda from crossing the boundary of the district of Yeotmal. During the reign of Ahmad Shah Bahamani Eastern Berar was rocked by a revolt of local zamindars and the fortress of Kalam along with Mahur was captured from the royal troops by the rebels either by or at the instigation of the Gond ruler of Chanda. Ahmad Shah thereupon first marched against Mahur, captured it and then proceeded towards Kalam which he took over without difficulty. From Kalam Ahmad Shah sent an expedition into the Chanda dominions to ravage the country. In 1596 Berar was ceded to the Moghals by Chand Bibi and was then divided into thirteen sarkars or revenue districts by Akbar, the Moghal emperor. Kalam and Mahur are mentioned as two of the thirteen revenue districts of Berar with their headquarters at Kalam and Mahur respectively. Shortly before the death of Jahangir on November 7, 1627 Khan Jahan, the Moghal governor of the Deccan rebelled and sold the Balaghat of Berar to Hamid Khan, the agent of Murtaza Nizam Shah. The Commanders of military posts in the Balaghat surrendered their posts to Deccani Officers. Kalam and Mahur were probably among the posts so surrendered. The Moghal supremacy in the Deccan ended with the death of Aurangzeb in 1707 and the Marathas who had made vast gains under Shivaji again came to the forefront under Shahu, the grandson of Shivaji. Parasoji Bhosle was at the time of Shahu's accession in possession of Berar and was made by Shahu the sena-saheb-subha with a grant of sanad for Gavil, Narnala, Mahur, Khedale, Pavnar and Kalamb. The sarkar of Kalamb then was constituted of 19 villages. Kalamb lost its earlier importance during the following period when Berar formed part- of the Nizam's territory. The first two decades of the 19th century saw the establishment of British rule in India but the country was harried from time to time by bands of men under defiant and frustrated leaders. In 1849 a man who called himself Appa Saheb the ex-Raja of Nagpur entered Berar and openly took the field with about 4,000 men. A battle was fought among hills near Kalam between this force and the British irregular forces when the former were driven off. In the encounter Brigadier Onslow died. To the south of the village there is an antique but fine underground temple of Chintamani with only a kind of spire rising above the surface. A rectangular chamber, not of very great proportions and about 30 feet below the surface, contains an idol of Chintamani or Ganapati. It is installed on a raised platform against the back wall in the traditional sitting posture. To the right and left of the main entrance to the shrine are two chambers, the one to the right housing idols of Shankara, Parvati and Ganapati and to the left that of Mahadeva alone. The whole is enclosed by a courtyard wall with stepped entrances on the east and the west. In the courtyard there is a dharmashala and a well whose waters are drunk by the devotees as tirtha. In Magha a fair attended by nearly 3,000 persons is held in honour of the deity. An interesting legend has grown round the shrine and the sanctity of the place. It is told that once Indra, for trying to violate the chastity of the wife of Gautama, was cursed by that mighty sage as a result of which Indra's body became pockmarked. On hearing this all the gods approached the sage and pleaded unto him to have pity on Indra and show him a way by which he can absolve himself of the curse. Yielding to the pleadings, Gautama asked Indra to recite Ganapati mantra in the village of Kalamb which was then called Kadambakshetra. Thereupon Indra coming to Kadambakshetra assumed the form of a bhramara and entering a lotus flower in a large lake, on which site the temple is believed to stand today, recited the Ganapati mantra for one thousand years. Ganapati appeared before him at the end of that period, whereupon Indra worshipped him with due ceremonies and brought the heavenly Ganga on earth to give Ganapati a holy bath, further commanding her to bathe him annually on the same day. It is still believed by the people that Ganga appears on the fair day in the well and hence the well water is considered as tirtha. Thus Indra got rid of the curse and the disease. Kalamb is undoubtedly an ancient village as it is mentioned in a copper plate grant of the fifth century A.D. There is also a small temple to Tapeshvara containing an old linga on the banks of the Chakravati river. Near here, there is a deep pool in the river called Kagaj Doh from which formerly utensils could be obtained by praying, on the condition of returning those back. This, however, is a usual tale related about many pools and lakes and wells. A road map of Kalamb, as it existed in 1599 A.D., on a stone-slab was recently discovered here. It has been deposited in the Nagpur museum. Kalamb has a mosque and two dargahs none of which deserve any notice.

Kalamb is largely an agricultural village producing jovar, cotton and irrigated wheat. Irrigation is provided by a tank, wells and the Chakravati river. Some people belonging to Sarode community make a living on dairy business. The village is the headquarters of a development block and has a sale and purchase union, a supervising union, a multi-purpose co-operative society, branch of the district central co-operative bank and a land development bank. There is also a unit of the Soil-Conservation Department. The educational institutions of the village comprise, besides Urdu and Marathi primary schools, two middle schools, a basic training school and a high school. There are an allopathic dispensary, a sub-centre of the veterinary dispensary, a police station and post office. Whereas a weekly market for provisions, vegetables and other daily necessities is held on Tuesdays, a cattle market is held on Thursdays at which principally bullocks are sold and bought. Kalamb is quite a progressive village and has a garden maintained by the gram-panchayat.

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