Gaidher

Last updated September 21, 2023

Gaidher / Gaidhar also known as Gajdhar is a word of Gujarati, Kutchi and Rajasthani language. The word Gaidher derives its origin from the word Gadh or Garh. The word Gadh in north Indian languages like Hindi, Gujarati, Rajasthani, Marwari, Marathi means a fort, like Chittorgarh, Sinhgadh, Mehrangadh.

The persons who were expert and had skilled knowledge to plan and build a fort were called Gaidher or Gajdhar. Gaidhar means chief architect.^[1] Gaidhar literally also means a construction foreman or a Master Mason.^[1] Forts were built at strategic locations, often on a hill-top, to guard the kingdoms.

Gaidhar held an important place in king's court and were looked upon with respect. Gaidhar were appointed by kings, upon their skills and also loyalty. Gaidhar were persons of high integrity as they used to make the blue-print of fort and whole forts were erected under his supervision and guidance. The kings used to trust them and they had the power and authority to hire manual laborers and skilled masons for such construction works.

For example, members from Mestri ^[1]^[2] and Suthar communities,^[1] who were master-builders, were usually appointed as Gaidher in Cutch. In Madhya Pradesh, Gajdhar was a title awarded to the city architects and held an important place in the royal court and were looked upon with respect. Sometimes upon requirement another, two or three Gaidhers were then appointed with his consultation by king and they used to work under head Gaidher as their assistants, Something like Assistant Engineer.

Surname

This is also one of the occupational surnames found in persons of India or Indian origin.

In India or persons of Indian origin you can find many people using Gaidhar or Gajdhar as a surname. The persons using this surname are usually found in people of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat.

Related Research Articles

Anjar is a town, township and municipality of the Kachchh district (Kutch)in the state of Gujarat, India. Founded in 650 AD, Anjar is a culturally diverse town of historic importance in the region. It is home to several historic religious temples, including the Jesal-Toral Shrines built in honour of a fourteenth century couple, whose lives inspired works of art and cinema. The town was devastated by several earthquakes, including the 1819 Rann of Kutch earthquake and 2001 Gujarat earthquake. In recent years, Anjar has become a hub of manufacturing activity.

Mistry or Mistry may refer to:

A chabutro or chabutra (Hindi) is a tower-like structure found in India that provides nesting sites for birds, especially pigeons. People, particularly Hindu women in Gujarat, consider it auspicious to feed pigeons. In the early morning, adults and children will feed the pigeons below the chabutro. The chabutaro is, therefore, usually found in the villages dominated or established by Hindus.

Nagalpur Moti or Nagalpar Moti is a small village in Kutch district in the state of Gujarat, India. It comes under Anjar taluka.

Khedoi is large village located 14 km from the town of Anjar and the taluka of Kutch district in the Indian state of Gujarat. The village is sub-divided into Nani-Khedoi and Moti-Khedoi. It has a primary health centre and a major electricity processing plant. The main occupation of the villagers is agriculture.

Devaria or Devaliya or Deoria is a village in Anjar Taluka of Kutch at a distance of about 3 km from Anjar town of Kachchh District of Gujarat in India.

Nagor or Nagher is a village in Bhuj Taluka of Kutch at a distance of about 8 km from Bhuj town, the capital of Kachchh District of Gujarat in India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dhaneti</span> Village in Gujarat, India

Dhaneti or Dhanetee is a village in Bhuj Taluka of Kutch District of Gujarat State of India. It is at a distance of about 26 km from Bhuj the Taluka and district headquarters of Kutch. Although it is in Bhuj Taluka, the Anjar Taluka headquarters of Anjar is only 18 km away.

Kutch Gurjar Kshatriya are a minority Hindu and one of the Socially and Educationally Backward communities of Gujarat in India, who claim to be Kshatriyas. They are an artisan community related with masonry, artistic carvings, sculpting and building and construction works. They are also known as the Mistri or Mistris of Kutch.

The Mistri are a Hindu caste found in state of Gujarat, India.

Mistri, or Mistry, is a term for a master-craftsman, foreman or supervisor of manual workers in India. Mistri is being replaced with "supervisor" and other terms, as for example by the Indian Railway who replaced it with supervisor in 2005.

Maharao Pragmalji II, (1839−1875) was the Rao of Cutch, a ruler of Jadeja dynasty who ascended the throne upon death of his father & king Rao Deshalji II on 26 July 1860 and ruled till his death on 19 December 1875.

Mistry, or Mistri, is an Indian surname. The name can be found among people from Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, and Bangladesh. This surname is used by Vishwakarma communities of India. It is an occupational surname.

Jagmal Raja Chauhan (1887–1974), better known as Rai Bahadur Jagmal Raja, was a noted railway contractor, industrialist, miner, private banker, aviation pioneer and philanthropist of India.

Kutch Museum is located in Bhuj, Kutch district of Gujarat, India. It is the oldest museum of Gujarat which was founded in 1877. It is located opposite Hamirsar Lake. The museum was earlier known as Fergusson Museum.

Alfred High School in Bhuj, Kutch is one of the oldest educational institution of Gujarat and first high school of Kutch. It was founded by Rao of Cutch, Pragmalji II in year 1870 at cost of ₹150,000 (US$1,900). The school was named Alfred High School, after Prince Alfred, the Duke of Edinburgh.

The Kutch Gurjar Kshatriyas (KGK) contributions to the Indian railways were widespread from the late 1850s to the latest reorganization of the Indian Railways infrastructure in 2003–2006. The community also widely known as Mistris of Kutch migrated from Kutch to perform the work and were involved in the laying down of railway tracks and construction of rail bridges in almost all railway routes of undivided British India.

Cutch, also spelled Kutch or Kachchh and also historically known as the Kingdom of Kutch, was a kingdom in the Kutch region from 1147 to 1819 and a princely state under British rule from 1819 to 1947. Its territories covered the present day Kutch region of Gujarat north of the Gulf of Kutch. Bordered by Sindh in the north, Cutch State was one of the few princely states with a coastline.

Mulji Jagmal Sawaria, Rai Saheb (1889–1956) was a noted railway contractor, miner and Kutchi businessman, who established himself at Bilaspur, India.

Kalyanji Ramji Rathor (1912-1995) was a leading Gujarati businessman and mill owner from Raipur, India.

References

1 2 3 4 Gaidhar : Master Mason; Construction Foreman from Bhuj, Art, Architecture, History by Azhar Tyabji, Environmental Planning Collaborative (Ahmadābād, India)Mapin, 2006 :pp 72, 78, 138, 189, 238.
↑ Raja Pawan Jethwa (2007). Kutch Gurjar Kshatriyas: A Brief History & Glory. Calcutta. pp. 63–64. The post of Gaidher in Princely State of Cutch was generally held by Mistri community. Mistri Jagmal Pitamber of Anjar was Gaidher of the Kutch Raaj in early and middle of 19th century, when forts of Anjar, Mandavi, Mundra & Lakhpat were built under his supervision. Third in line of succession to Pitambar Padma was his grandson Ruda Jagmal Gajdhar and later his son Jairam Ruda Gajadhar Rathod, who became Gaidher for the State during the reign of Maharao Shree Pragmalji II and Shree Khengarji Bawa.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[bhuj-1] 1 2 3 4 Gaidhar : Master Mason; Construction Foreman from Bhuj, Art, Architecture, History by Azhar Tyabji, Environmental Planning Collaborative (Ahmadābād, India)Mapin, 2006 :pp 72, 78, 138, 189, 238.

[2] Raja Pawan Jethwa (2007). Kutch Gurjar Kshatriyas: A Brief History & Glory. Calcutta. pp. 63–64. The post of Gaidher in Princely State of Cutch was generally held by Mistri community. Mistri Jagmal Pitamber of Anjar was Gaidher of the Kutch Raaj in early and middle of 19th century, when forts of Anjar, Mandavi, Mundra & Lakhpat were built under his supervision. Third in line of succession to Pitambar Padma was his grandson Ruda Jagmal Gajdhar and later his son Jairam Ruda Gajadhar Rathod, who became Gaidher for the State during the reign of Maharao Shree Pragmalji II and Shree Khengarji Bawa.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

[1]

[2]