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From: harshawardhan_bosham nimkhedkar <>
Subject: Re: "dungah" Re: More Re: [India-L] Emam, Zuffer,
Date: Sat, 03 Apr 2004 11:10:30 +0530
References: <Law10-F357kVwyrXWWK00023751@hotmail.com><005401c417fd$d4297cf0$8b64013d@pentium4><002501c418df$785ad990$d3116651@Nicholas>


----- Original Message ----- From: "Nicholas Balmer"
I was also interested in Mary - Lynn Culliane, and your correspondance on
Dungah meaning boats. Are these wooden boats, or are they wickerwork boats?
I ask this because I have come across several references to the use of
wickerwork boats in the letters I am reading from 1825 to 1826. These were
being used on rivers north of Dharwar. The army had no bridging train, yet
in three days he was able to get two very large wickerwork boats built. Each
would hold 100 men, and when joined together, would support a 9 pounder gun.
Has anybody come across these boats in modern day India?
-------------------------------------------------------------

I will have to study this aspect, Nick; off-hand, I cannot say anything
about the type of boats they used to have in those days and in those parts.
The "dongas" that are still used in my part of the world to ferry across
small rivers/ rivulets and lakes are definitely wooden. I live in Nagpur,
Central India -- and the events you are interested in took place in and
around Kolhapur -- which is now a part of my native state of Maharashtra,
but it's about 1200 KMs away to the south-west.

BTW, wasn't there a "bridge of boats" used during the Anglo-Sikh wars? (I
vaguely remember having read something about this in one of George McDonald
Fraser's books.)

I too would be glad to know more about this from our learned listers.

--- Harshawardhan Nimkhedkar
April 3 2004

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