A Brief History
of the
Nandwana Community
by Vrajlal Jivram Bole
1908 - 1997
Preface
Shri Vrajlal J. Bole (Kaka) wrote this history of the Nandwanas which was published in the September 1989 edition of the Nandwana Samaj Sampak newsletter.
He always wanted it to be translated into English so that the new generation of the Nandwana Brahmins , many of whom cannot read Gujrati and others who live outside India could also read it and become aware of our rich and interesting past heritage.
We tried to translate it earlier while Kaka was still alive, but abandoned the effort, thinking it would be too difficult and that we would not be able to do justice to his work. It has proven even more difficult to translate it now because he is no longer around to help clarify confusing and contradictory statements.
As a result, there are some discrepancies (especially in dates and places) and some area where the information might appear disjointed. Nonetheless, we feel that the endeavor is worthwhile both because it fulfills Kaka's desire to see his work made accessible to more people in the community and because of the interesting information it contains.
We have tried to stay as faithful as possible to Kaka's original work while realising that there are others in the community who might have much to add in this text or who might know a different version of some of the events mentioned. We see this endeavor as a first step in compliling a more detailed and accurate history of the Nandwanas.
Harshada P. Worah
Mussoorie
January 1998
