Sunday story: Kollur's forgotten brilliance home of the Koh-i-Noor

KALABURAGI: They say the Kohinoor, the crowning glory of the British Crown, was found here in the 16th century. So the inevitable question pops up: Are there more Kohinoors waiting to be mined in Kollur (M), a tiny village of about 2,000 people in Shahapur taluk of Kalaburagi district, located on the banks of the mighty Krishna?

Ask about this place, recently surveyed by the Revenue Department and Kollur(M) residents would reply with a wry smile, "E sahebaru diamond iro nadi pakkada jaga nodbekanthe" ( This sir wants to visit the place with diamonds on the river bank)".

Covered with thorny shrubs and bushes, the black soil dominated land, measuring eight acres and 19 guntas, has of late evoked a lot of interest, but for the majority of villagers, it's a 'kattu kathe' (hollow story) spread by a few individuals.

"We don't really know about diamondu having been found here. Nor have our elders ever talked about this.  You can visit the place and see for yourself," says Mallappa, a farmer in his forties with a disdainful look in his eyes. Fellow villagers, chatting with him over a cup of hot tea at a stall abutting the village bus stand, nod in agreement with a big smile.

But undaunted by the sarcasm, a Dalit youth from the village, Hanumanthappa Bangi, has decided to make known to the world the 'past glory' of his native place. Hanumanthappa, who had some years ago, fought the rampant sand mining in the river, turned his attention to the Kohinoor after an advocate from Shahpur, Bhaskar Rao Mudbal, threw light on the links of the place with the famed diamond.

"With my own funds, I got a display board installed here sir", he said pointing to the board and added, "This is the place where the world famous Kohinoor Diamond was found."

Mr Rao, convener of Surpur History Research Centre at Shahpur, quotes records to corroborate his stand that mining activity did take place in the vicinity of Kollur (M), which were later shut down after they were submerged by river water and the Kohinoor diamond was found.

"It is evident from the mining of gold ore at nearby Hatti, Tintini and that of uranimum ore at Gogi and other villages in Shahpur taluk that mines did exist  in this place once," he claimed.

Interestingly, in his book, 'Forgotten Empire' on the Vijayanagar empire, Robert Swell says the Kohinoor was found in the Krishna, probably in 1656 by a miner, Mir Zumla, who gifted it to the Golkonda Sultan. Subsequently, this Sultan gifted it to Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. Nadir Shah who conquered Delhi in 1739, took this diamond  into his possession and impressed with its brightness, called it Kohinoor (Mountain of Light).

Acccording to Mr Rao, South African mining company De Beers, which carried out an exploration a couple of years ago, had said that diamond ore is available in the vicinity. There are even revenue records which say mining activity had occurred here.

Diamonds or not, local revenue officials, on the orders of Yadgir Deputy Commissioner Manoj Jain, have completed a survey of the land which has been marked as reserved land for tourism development.

"We wish to plant trees and develop a park there", he said. In fact when Shalini Rajneesh was the Regional Commissioner of Kalaburagi, a plan was mooted for the construction of a memorial here. But before she could execute the plan, she was transferred.

"I would like to ask the Department of Mines and Geology to carry out an exploration to find out if mining activity happened here and whether diamond ore was available in the past. The Krishna has changed its course over centuries and some areas might have been covered with sand. There are reports which say that that it was at a place named Kollur, about 60 km from Hyderabad that the Kohinoor was found. Once I get the report, I will submit it to the government", Mr Jain added.

So while the Kohinoor, now part of the Crown Jewels of the British Queen, keeps jewel lovers enchanted, here in little Kollur, an effort is on to prove that the waters of the Krishna, indeed moulded its brilliant edges to lend an eternal aura to the diamond of diamonds.