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Creation of Family Tree

Sitting in the basement of Bhavesh Machine Shop for a Kadiawad meeting in Montreal, Canada, a question came to our mind about how many people were able to trace back and name their families. We were about 15 people, and none of us could come up with more than three or four names. Then Chunilal remembered from the days in India when he was young, he saw a man called 'Vansavariya' with a Kadiawad family tree. He briefly recalled seeing 'Pitambar' on top of the tree. He had five sons and from there most of the Kadiawad had evolved. So we became curious to know how almost everyone in the room was related to each other. Someone said that Bachukaka had a copy of an old family tree back in India. So we phoned Bachukaka, and asked him to find a copy and send it to us. He found a copy, but the papers that contained the family tree were torn and fragile, and some portions of it were eaten by termites. It was a very crude map as different sections were taped together. It consisted of only three to four families and had many mistakes on it, but it gave us something to start with. It showed us our ancestral roots almost 200 years before Pitambar. It showed that in A.D.1474, a person named 'Bhimo' came from Surat and settled in Kadiawad. He originally came from village 'Sonari', somewhere near Junagadh or from the state of Rajasthan.

This was the only information we had to work with. We then decided to collect all the names, present and past of every family in Kadiawad. When Satish Nanu went to India, he was given this task. He went to every house with his nephew Chirag, and he meticulously wrote down all the names. Even in India, only a few were able to remember not more than four names in their families.

With all the information of the names of the families we had gathered, now came the big mission of piecing it all together. It was like a big jig saw puzzle. With the old map and new information we had, we started to join one family at a time and created one big family tree in 2005 here in Montreal, Canada. By 2006 we had already made a second revised edition and a copy was taken back to India by Rasiklal that year. The copy of the big family tree drawing was then framed and put up in front of the Ingraj Maa Temple in Kadiawad for every one to see.

In 2007, new information was found from a small village called 'Abhor' near Baroda, India. This year, we have completed a third edition on the computer and a copy of the family tree can now be found on the website.

Following is the list of people who helped in the creation of the Family tree:

Rasiklal Naranbhai Patel

Chunilal Zinabhai Mistry

Natubhai Gopalbhai Mistry

Satishbhai Nanubhai Patel

Chirag Thakorbhai Patel

Ravindra Parbhubhai Mistry

Kiran Rasiklal Patel

Ratilal Gopalbhai Patel

Maganbhai Chhaganbhai Patel

Thakorbhai Gopalbhai Patel

Pravinbhai Naranbhai Patel

Sureshbhai Patel (Alura)

It is a very beautiful family tree, containing lots of information of most of the families in Kadiawad. But it is still incomplete. In the family tree, we have covered almost all the families living in Kadiawad, no matter where they came from. There might be some mistakes that were created, or perhaps some one could be missing from it. If anyone finds any irregularities or if you have more information from the past, please let us know. For the time being enjoy the family tree on the website and if you want to know from where and why did our ancestors come to Kadiawad and what was the situation during their times then take a look at the events in history below.

It is very fascinating to know and compare the timing of our ancestors with the events in History of India. From the time of Bhimo to that of Pitambar, the second most important person in our family tree, following is the narration of events that took place approximately at that time.

During the time of Bhimo, almost 540 years ago (~A.D. 1475).

Delhi and the region was ruled by Muslim Sultanate.

During the time of Anvo & Nathu (~A.D.1490-1500).

Vasco De Gama the first European from Portugal, came to India and landed at Kalikat Port in A.D. 1498.

During the time of Valo & Uko (~A.D. 1525).

Babar, the great grandson of Tamerlane (Taimurlang), who on his mother side was a descendant of the famous Chenghiz Khan, came to India at the request of an Afghan Prince who sought Babar's help in his fight against Ibrahim Lodi, the last head of the Delhi Sultanate. Babar defeated Lodi at Panipat, not far from Delhi and so came to establish the Mughal (Persian for Mongol) Empire in India in A.D. 1526. Babar ruled until 1530, and was succeeded by his son Humayun.

During the time of Ranas (~A.D. 1560).

Humayun died in 1556 and the great Mughal Emperor Akbar came to power.

During the time of Moto & Bhagu (~A.D. 1590).

Akbar was still in power. He defeated many Kings. The defeated Kings had to give their daughter or sister as a bride to Akbar. Rana Mansinh of Chitod gave his sister to Akbar. Todarmal, Birbal and sangeet samrat Tansen were in his darbar.

During the time of Bhudar (~A.D.1620).

Queen Elizabeth I of England granted the establishment of the East India Company on December 31st, 1600. In 1602, the Dutch East India Company was created. In 1605, Akbar's son Salim who took the name 'Jahangir' came to power. In 1608, in a boat named Hector, Captain Hokins, landed at the port in Surat and later made a request to Emperor Jahangir in Delhi for permission to trade. In 1615, Sir Thomas Row came from England, and received permission to trade, and established Trade Post (Vepari kothi) at Surat, Bharuch, Amdavad, and Agra.

During the time of Khimo (~A.D. 1650).

In 1627, Jahangir's son Shah Jahan came to power. Though he spent much of his time subduing Hindu Kingdoms to the South, Shah Jahan left behind an extraordinarily rich architectural legacy, including one of the notable wonders of the world the Taj Mahal, the Pearl Mosque, the Royal Mosque, the Red Fort in Agra, and the old city of Delhi, 'Shahjahanabad.' His campaigns in the South and his flare for extravagant architecture necessitated increased taxes and distressed his subjects. As he lay dying in 1658, his crooked son Aurangzeb imprisoned him, seeking power for himself. In 1668, French representative Caron requested trade permission to Emperor Aurangzeb and established a fort (Kothi) in Surat.

During the time of Pitambar (~A.D. 1680 )

Aurangzeb, a crooked ruthless and a fanatic Emperor was in power. He double crossed Shivaji and imprisoned him. He defeated many Hindu, Rajput and Sikh Kings and forced them and their people to convert to Islam. He defeated the Sikh King Teg Bahadur, and captured him and his two sons and tried to convert them to Islam. When they refused, he imprisoned them and tortured them in prison for two months. When they still refused, Teg Bahadur was beheaded in public in Delhi and his two sons were buried alive in a wall. Aurangzeb died in 1707 and his three sons disputed over succession. BahadurShah I came to power but the empire started to crumble. Though the Mughal Empire survived until 1857, its true ruler was The British East India Company. The last emperor, the senile Bahadur Shah Zafar, was put on trial for allegedly leading the rebels of the 1857 mutiny. He was convicted and transported to Rangoon, to spend the remainder of his life on alien soil.