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North Arcot
District : Dusi - by P Krishnama Acharya
The village
of Dusi in the Cheyyar taluk, North Arcot district, is the headquarters of the
Deputy Tahsildar, the Sub-Magistrate and the Police and Abkari Sub-Inspectors
of the taluk. It is what is termed a ‘ firka, ’ a subdivision of a taluk, and
it is shortly to become the centre of an office of the Sub-Registrar of
Assurances.
The village
occupies an area of nearly seven square miles. No forests are situated near it.
It is situated on the southern bank of the river Palar. But the lands of the
place are not directly irrigated by water from that river. It is about 30 miles
from the sea-coast. A hill about five miles long is situated on the western
border of the village. This hill is attractive as forming the eastern bank of
the Dusi-Mamandur Lake, which is considered the biggest in those parts,
occupying an area of more than 25 square miles, and supplying 36 villages with
water for irrigation. In winter, when the lake is full, it is very picturesque,
and the few Europeans stationed in the neighbourhood enjoy boating on it. There
is a channel connecting the River Palar with it, whereby it is filled whenever
there are floods in the river.
Without any
great claim for excellence in regard to natural scenery, it can safely be said,
that the village has a peculiar simplicity and charm of its own which is alike
attractive and interesting.
Population—The
total population of the village is 1,266 individuals in 251 households. There
are nearly half a dozen castes in the village, such as Vaishnavite Brahmins,
Saivite Brahmans, Sudras or Vellalas, Padials or Goundans, the carpenter and
other artisans, and Muhammadans. It puts
the no. of Vaishnavaite Brahmans to be 64 families !
On the
average there are about six persons in each family. There are 89 living
children in the 66 Brahman families alone. According to the statistics of last
year there were 23 births and II deaths. As every one in the village is
expected to register any birth and death in his house within three days of its
occurrence, to the village munsif, under pain of punishment for default, and as
the village is divided into two hostile factions (one street against another),
and members of either faction are ready to inform against members of the other,
it is probable that the official record is accurate.
Land.—There
are 517*35 acres of wet land, 221*13 acres dry, 1,180*53 acres of common
pasture and waste. There is no land watered by wells, and no woods and forests,
but there are scattered over the village about 2,826 trees (fruit and shade).
Of the fruit trees the most important are mango (300), pomegranates (42),
coconut palms (576), plantains (142), and tamarinds (618) which is a most
useful tree, supplying the sour fruit essential for cooking purposes. The rest
are shade trees. Chief among them aremargosa, aswatha and pursa. The coconut
palms are mostly leased out for drawing toddy.
There are
also two channels in the southern portion of the village. They are used for
irrigation and drinking. The last and largest source of water-supply for the
village is the Mamandur Lake, which has been mentioned before. In the hill
adjoining the lake are several caverns, mandapams and temples, all ancient and
each of them having an interesting and ancient history of its own. These are
places of interest which have a deep meaning to the archaeologist; and these
places are held in sanctity by the people of the neighbouring villages. People
within a radius of about ten or twelve miles go there on pilgrimage.
Occupation of land and Agriculture—Tenancies.—Three-fourths of the land is let by the landowners on the “
varam ” or share system. One-fourth is let on lease. Under “ varam ” the tenant
does the work under the personal supervision of the landowner. The tenant has
to sow the land and reap the harvest for the landlord and in return for his
work throughout the year, he gets a certain proportion of the produce. There
are three landowners of the place who do not reside in the village but are
employed in other parts of the Presidency. The lands of these also are managed
and cultivated by their relatives in the village, who pay the kist and the
tenant out of the produce and hand over the remainder to the owner either in
paddy or its money equivalent.
This is what
is called the “kuthakai ” system. Here the tenant isfree from the landlord’s
interference during the period for which the lease is taken. The lease is taken
generally for one year and it may be renewed year after year. The landlord is
at liberty to increase or reduce the amount of grain which he may claim at his
tenant’s hands when he renews the lease. But the increase or reduction must not
be made during the term of the lease.
There are 57 landowners who let land on “varam,” and about 410 acres of wet
land are so cultivated.
There are
about eight non-cultivating landowners, and they are employed variously. One is
an Assistant Inspector of Salt and Abkari Department, another is a District
Munsif, some are employed as petty officials in Madras. These eight landowners
hold about 100 acres of wet land, and lease it on the “ kuthakai ” system.
The rents
paid by the tenants are always in kind. Under the “varam” system, where the
landlord supplies everything and the tenant supplies only labour, the tenant is
entitled to one-sixth of the produce. Under the “kuthakai” system where the
tenant supplies everything and cultivates the land at his own cost, the tenant
will have to pay to the landowner 10 to 15 kalams* for every crop on every acre
of land which he has taken on lease from the landlord. The amount of rent
varies according to the fertility of the land. The selling price of wet land
varies from Rs. 1,500 to Rs. 2,500 per acre, the price depending on the
fertility of the land, its accessibility from the village, and its proximity to
the source of irrigation.
The land
revenue for wet land ranges from Rs. 10 to Rs. 12 per acre,! this difference
being due to the classification made by the * [One local kalam = 12 local
marakkals = 48 Madras measures = 120 lb. and at present wholesale prices is
worth about 5 rupees. The non-working landowner therefore receives from Rs. 50
to Rs. 75 per acre in rent, or from five to seven times the kist.—Ed.]
Of the two
lakes which supply water for irrigation, the Mamandur lake supplies water for
raising two crops every year with certainty. Therefore the assessment of the
lands under the ayacut (irrigable area) of this tank is compounded, i.e., the
assessment for first crop plus the assessment of the second, which is always half
of the first, is totalled together and something is deducted from the total and
the balance is fixed as the compounded assessment for two crops.
All the wet
lands are used for the cultivation of paddy. The dry lands are used either for
cultivation of groundnuts and at times gingelly or sesamum, or as pasture.
Eighty-three acres yield one crop per annum; 435 acres yield two crops per
annum, one being harvested in May and June and the other in December or
January. The old-fashioned Indian wooden plough drawn by two bullocks or
buffaloes is used.It is not customary to transplant paddy. The usual method is
to sow the seed broadcast in well ploughed land. After some time the weeds,
which grow along with the crop, are all plucked out. But in 1916 one enterprising
villager read some of the suggestions of the Agricultural Department and tried
to apply them to his own land. He replanted the young plants in another
well-ploughed field. Each plant was planted a yard apart from its neighbours to
give it space to take root and grow well. This, of course, leads to an economy
in the amount of seed. He used onlythe chemical manure of Messrs. Parry &
Co. The paddy grew about 5 feet tall, taller than the growth in the
neighbouring fields.
The sight of
the field itself was interesting. It seemed one big dark mass. But after the
harvest he complained that the produce of his fields was not in proportion to
the labour and money he bestowed upon them. That method of cultivation was
abandoned.
Live-stock.—The
village has: 260 oxen, 200 cows, 84 bull buffaloes, 92 cow buffaloes, 455 young
of above species, 2 horses, 5 donkeys, 98 sheep, 64 goats, and 17 pigs. The
villagers both buy and breed. They rely mainly on the cattle they breed
themselves; not many are bought. They buy the more valuable oxen for road work.
The quality of the cattle is pretty good, but the animals are usually small and
light. Oxen and buffaloes are fed with straw and powdered husks. Cows are fed
with grass, oilcake and cotton seed. Donkeys are fed on the waste lands. Horses
are fed with grass and gram ; the sheep and goats feed upon the leaves of
plants. The pigs live upon refuse ; they are not particularly cared for;
powdered husk is their favourite food. Each family engages a cow-boy to look
after the cattle. He is paid a small wage.
The
village.—The village occupies an area of 28 acres 55 cents. Brahmans live in
the western part of the village. This portion is called the “ agraharam.” The
other castes live together and form a sort of semi-circle round the Brahman
quarter, on its east, north and north-west sides. Most of the village houses
are thatched. There are 180 thatched houses, 64 tiled houses and 7 terraced.
Every house has a small garden attached to it, situated within the house
compound and occupying the rearmost portion. The gardens are used for the
cultivation of vegetable plants and small fruit trees. The chief plants
cultivated are brinjals, pumpkins, drumsticks, beans, bandaikkai and chillis.
The chief fruit trees are guava, pomegranate, plantain and coconut.
It costs a
man about Rs. 1,500 to build a house on a site 30 feet broad and 150 feet long,
the house itself occupying about one third of the area. This sum includes the
cost of the site which might be valued at about Rs.500. The maximum distance of
cultivated land from the home of the cultivator is two miles. The tenants
exchange lands in order to get their lands contiguous, if these lands belong to
the same pattadar.
There is no
industry at all in the village excepting agriculture and the minor crafts of
the carpenter and the other smiths. There are no weavers in the place. In some
adjacent villages, the whole population carry on the weaving industry and they
supply the neighbourhood with cloth. In
these villages men and women work at
their handlooms from morning till evening. The poorer weavers go to Conjeeveram
every evening with their daily turnout and sell to the traders there so as to
use their earnings for next day’s bread. Each weaver will on the average earn
nearly twelve annas profit a day. Only handlooms are used, and it is noteworthy
that the handloom industry is thriving well in these parts. Also in the village
of Pillaipalaiyam, five miles from Dusi, about 2,000 families carry on this
industry.
Almost all
the landlords have made savings. About 20 per cent of the savings is utilized
as agricultural capital, about 10 per cent in savings banks, about 50 per cent
on loans to neighbours, the rate of interest being about 12 per cent per annum
on promissory notes, and about 5 per cent on jewellery. Nearly all the
landlords are rich and they are not indebted to anybody. They have lent money
to the ryots, who in return promise to be their tenants under the usual
conditions, till they are in a position to redeem themselves from their bondage.
The fish rent, i.e., the rent paid
by the contractor who purchases the right to fish in the lake for one year, is
one of the sources of communal income. Another source is the price obtained
from the herd who is allowed to feed his geese on the lands of the villagers
after the harvest. These geese belong to a neighbouring village. Again there
are groves, the produce of which is sold and the sum divided among the
villagers. The extent of the communal income for the village is Rs. 2,000 per annum.
A portion of the money is spent on the festivals during the year. A smaller
portion is spent in digging canals which have silted up. The annual expenditure
on festivals is about Rs. 200. During festival days, the villagers arrange for
a series of dramas, the expenses of which are met from the communal
income.
For Chitra
Pournami, which falls in April, thousands of devotees come here to worship Lord
Sri Devaraja who comes in procession all
the way from Conjeeveram. The Abishekam or Tirumanjanam performed to Him in
Iyangulam is bothsacred and grand. This festival costs the villagers about Rs.
200, and they consider the occasion worth spending even more.
The general
sanitary condition of the village is good ; cases of persons suffering from
malaria are few, ill-health itself is rare. Cholera visits the village perhaps
once in five years and its victims are few in number. There are no cases of
plague. There are about five cases of tuberculosis. Though many are attacked by
smallpox it seldom happens that even one or two cases become fatal. About half
a dozen infants die per year in their first years. No case of snake-bite has
proved fatal, at least during the past two years. But there are about a dozen
cases of snake-bite every year.
All diseases
are treated successfully by the native doctors with the help of herbs. The
percentage of cures through such means excels the cure through even English
medicines in every variety of treatment, whether surgical or medicinal. In the
case of snake-bites, the person bitten is cured by the mere pronunciation of
certain mantrams; it is not a superstition to be lightly spoken of, is the
actualcase. And all men are cured of their poisonous wounds generally by means
of these mantrams, the pronunciation of which itself has some scientific
effect.
Everyone,
whether he is a Brahman or non-Brahman, especially the former, rises up early,
goes inspecting the fields and bathes in the channel water at 6-30 or 7 a.m.
Every man washes his own clothes, and so he always wears very clean though
cheap clothes. Drinking-water is got from the channels. The channel water is
free from any mud or dirt- It is healthy and sweet. The villagers also bathe in
the same channel. But as the water is flowing, bathing and drinking the same
water is not considered insanitary.
Education.—There
is only one school in the village, a small building situated at the end of the
Brahman quarter of the village, capable of accommodating about 150 children of
various castes studying up to the fourth standard. Arithmetic, kindergarten, nature
study, vernacular and a little English are taught. It is a primary board rural
school maintained by the villagers out of fees with the help of a small
Government grant. The teaching is done by a master and his assistant who are
matriculates and who have received training in the Government Training School,
Saidapet. The master is paid Rs. 20 and his assistant Rs. 15 per month. It was
at first a free school, but now a small fee is charged.
There are
about 61 boys and 22 girls attending the school this year, aged from five to
ten years. In the Brahman quarter more than 60 per cent of the inhabitants both
male and female read and write the vernacular. Among the non-Brahmans about 25
per cent of the males are able to read and write the vernacular. No non-Brahman
female can read. About eight or nine individuals can read, write and speak
English. There is only one pundit in the village who is well versed in the
Vedas and other Sanskrit books. There are about three persons who have taken
the degree B.A., and are employed elsewhere. Twenty-four boys have proceeded to
advanced schools elsewhere, but no girls.
Of those who
have passed through Secondary schools there are about half a dozen Government
servants (District Munsif, Deputy Collector, Salt Inspector, etc.). Some are
continuing their education. One is in the pass B.A. course and another in the
Honours, about two are in the Intermediate. The rest have discontinued and are
quietly reposing in their village homes. It is a credit to the village that one
of its sons is the State pandit in Mysore and is considered a profound scholar
of Sanskrit. There are about 200 books in the village
; all religious, either written in Sanskrit or Tamil. The villagers are all
very orthodox.
# # # # # # # # # #
Overall, the
book presents our village in high esteem in so far as Education, sanitary
conditions, agriculture and the culture of the people. We can be proud of Dusi village and perhaps
the same was the condition of Mamandur too.
The editor of the book - Gilbert
Slater (1864 – 1938) was an English economist and social reformer of the early
20th century. He was born in
Plymouth, studied economics and worked
as a professor. In 1909, he was appointed principal of Ruskin College. From
1915 to 1921, Slater served as the Professor of Economics at the University of
Madras. Slater died in 1938 at the age of 73.
Slater was
the first Professor of economics and
head of the new economics department of the University of Madras which was
founded in 1912. Slater had learnt the
Tamil language and was ready for his new assignment. Slater was nominated to the Madras
Legislative Council in 1921 and served for a year until his return to the
United Kingdom in 1922. During his term in the council, he recommended the
appointment of a committee to investigate the feasibility of the adoption of a
common script for the whole Presidency. Slater's motion was, however, defeated
by a huge margin.
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