I am still chugging along working on the book on a near daily basis. I'm not quite up to speed yet, but I am getting there.
The KDR (Khalsa Darbar Records, v2) is proving a bit of a harder nut to crack than I expected, because some translations are missing/not provided and entire section heads are completely re-named every "X" number of years, usually when a new Diwan takes over the Finance Department. Which means that while I have access to the listings I need, etc.; I'm forced to go look for new definitions on a random basis (some of which, I do not have at the moment).
Because of the, literal, irregularity of the formations being listed in v2, there is also the tendency to dump in other "housekeeping" accounts with them, such as scouts, messengers, pioneers, etc.; but with no other details provided.
The, balancing, good news though, which is also adding a bit to the slowness of my work; is that I am re-reading Bajwa's "Military System of the Sikhs" at night before going to sleep on my Paperwhite (Nook) and I have been furiously bookmarking several pages a night as I go along. Since he had access to Indian State Papers, he provides useful tidbits of sourced information on a nearly paragraph by paragraph basis, which will allow me to flesh out the new and even pre-existing OBs from KDR, v1.
The bottom line is work is proceeding. I have tried to block out the bulk of March, just so I can spend at least a few hours a day on the book, exclusive of reading Bajwa and as time passes, I am adding a few minutes here and there on almost a daily basis. I will have a few tasks to take care of in early April, but I pretty much have that month staked out too.
Right now, all I am doing is the necessary paper pad and pen work, but once it gets frame-worked and formatted onto the computer, I will post a sample for your perusal (along with notes so you know just what I was up against and what I did to include or rectify such information).
As always, your encouragement is greatly appreciated!
Andrew
has been watching some documentaries lately set in the Western Desert, and was inspired to create this...
