Book traces history of 'Pathare Kshatriyas of Bombay'

What do Rao Bahadur Yashwantrao Desai, J R Vanmali, Hari Keshavji Pathare, G K Devare, N G Pansare, G B Mhatre, Shivshankar Narayan Mukadam and Dr Bhavani Shankar Dadarkar have in common? They are all from the small ethnic community of Pathare Kshatriya or Pachkalashis, which played a crucial role in building Bombay and its transformation into Mumbai.

For the unversed, Yashwantrao Desai was the superintendent of the teams that built the Gateway of India, General Post Office, Sir Cawasji Jehangir Public Hall and the Prince of Wales Museum.

GB Mhatre designed buildings that today forms a significant part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Victorian & Art Deco Ensemble in Mumbai.

JR Vanmali was the social reformer and philanthropist after whom the Vanmali Hall at Dadar has been named. Similarly, Hari Keshav Pathare was the first Marathi-English translator.

NG Pansare was the maker of the Filmfare trophy and Shivshankar Narayan Mukadum was the first Indian Photographer in Western India. The list is unending.

For the first time, the history of the community has been documented in the form of a book - 'The Pathare Kshatriyas of Bombay' - which has been penned by Sandeep Dahisarkar, a young art historian, Indologist and heritage expert.

“The Pathare Kshatriyas are a small ethnic community from the city. Whether it is engineering or medical field, constructions, arts, literature, science, culture, sculpture, writing and documentation, the community has left its mark,” Dahisarkar told DH on Wednesday.

The Pathare Kashtriyas are believed to have migrated from Champaner in Gujarat to the ancient city of Paithan and then to Mumbai in the 12th century CE.

In establishing the story of the Pathare Kshatriyas, Dahisarkar has relied upon “Mahikavatichi Bakhar”, the oldest of all Marathi Bakhars and other important literary sources, that tells the story of North Konkan - and corroborates with new findings.

The community traces history to King Raja Bhimdev. According to tradition, the Pathare Kshatriyas or Panchkalshis derive their name from the fact that their former headman used to sit on a canopied throne surmounted by five kalashas.

Dahisarkar has traced the community mainly divided into two clans -- Somvanshis and Suryavanshis.

Being natives of Mumbai, many families in the community use surnames derived by adding the suffix “kar” to names of the old Mumbai villages like Sopara, Bhaindar, Malad, Goregaon, Chembur, Parel, Worli, Dadar, Mahim and Juhu.

Dahisarkar identified 29 families which migrated with Raja Bimba which are mentioned in the Mahikavatichi Bakhar to prove the historicity of this Marathi text.

This was the second step taken after contributing a research article to study place-names - Shiva Mandir of Oshiwara and Madh's Brahmakunda.

Check out latest videos from DH: