FASLI CALENDER – There are many books belonging to my father lying at the ancestral house at Govindupalli village neglected. These books belong to father’s student days and his early professional career. There are notebooks with his handwriting, the books he had read and certain official papers of those times. Books are there, dusted and exposed to the elements of nature. Unless they are properly cleaned, kept in a dust free place such as a cupboard, they won’t last long. The question is: Shall I buy a cupboard and shift them to the farmhouse at Nookapalli? Anyway, I will go one of these days to check on them.
There were also many letters written by father to his brothers in law, friends and his father. I took them long ago and preserved them to the best of my knowledge. Of course, I did not touch them during his lifetime, for his direction was let them be there only. After his demise I took steps to preserve them.
Among those books of my father, I found an old mathematics Book published by the Government of Nizam (sometime in 1910 – 1920) written in Telugu language:
The cover page is torn away, and hence it is impossible to talk of the exact year of its publication. Couple of years ‘+’ or ‘-‘, my estimation is that it could have been published between 1910 and 1920. I can also say it could have been read as a prescribed text book either by my grandfather or father. You may not understand the language in the photo above (and I thank those of you who could read Telugu), trust me, what is being recorded here is 100% truth. Let me write the translated version of a passage below (pages 168 & 169): This passage explains three types of calendar ‘Months’. They are:
- Moon-based Months
- English Months and
- Nizam Months / Fasli Months.
Moon Based Months
|
S. No |
Name of the Month |
S. No |
Name of the Month |
|
1 |
Moharram |
7 |
Rajjab |
|
2 |
Safar |
8 |
Shaban |
|
3 |
Rabbiyulavval |
9 |
Ramzan |
|
4 |
Rabbiyulsani |
10 |
Shawwal |
|
5 |
Jamadilavval |
11 |
Jeekhad |
|
6 |
Jamadulsani |
12 |
Jeehaja |
The total numbers of days in a year in moon-based months are 354. The number of days between one new moon to the other new moon is called a month.
English Months
I do not have to explain about the Christian Months, we are sufficiently aware of them. In a English calendar there are 365 days in a year.
|
S. No |
Month |
Days |
S. No |
Month |
Days |
|
1 |
January |
31 |
7 |
July |
31 |
|
2 |
February |
28 |
8 |
August |
31 |
|
3 |
March |
31 |
9 |
September |
30 |
|
4 |
April |
30 |
10 |
October |
31 |
|
5 |
May |
31 |
11 |
November |
30 |
|
6 |
June |
30 |
12 |
December |
31 |
Fasli Months
Fasli calendar (means ‘Harvest’) is a harvest-based calendar system that is mainly used in Deccan. It was the official calendar of Hyderabad Deccan. The Deccani Fasli calendar begins in October, marking the first of Azur. In our state of NIZAM sun-based months or Fasli months are in use. A Fasli year has 365 days.
|
S. No |
Month |
Days |
S. No |
Month |
Days |
|
1 |
Azur |
30 |
7 |
Khuddadu |
31 |
|
2 |
Dai |
29 |
8 |
Teeru |
31 |
|
3 |
Bahaman |
30 |
9 |
Amardadu |
31 |
|
4 |
Eppandar |
30 |
10 |
Shaha Revar |
31 |
|
5 |
Pharvardi |
31 |
11 |
Mehar |
30 |
|
6 |
Arthe Behastu |
31 |
12 |
Aabaan |
30 |
At this stage I may not be in a position to explain why the kingdom of Nizam/Hyderabad Deccan was using Fasli months. I will have to read more. All I can say at this stage is that the Nizams gave more importance to agriculture and hence they followed the harvest year. This kingdom watched the entire Hindu country getting its freedom from the British rule. The kingdom of Nizam was never ruled by the British. When faced with a choice: either to fight a war with Hindu India or merge in it, the Nizam preferred the later.
About the Author
Dr. K. Raja Gopal Reddy is a seasoned internationally qualified Insurance professional.
What you are reading here, may not answer all the questions we have, but has the absolute power of asking unsettling questions which increase the interest in the strange world, and show the contradictory wonders lying just below the surface of the commonest things of life. Look at this disturbing but beautiful thought of Friedrich Nietzsche “God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him”.
Dr. Reddy can be reached at: raja66gopal@gmail.com
