Chapter SHEERMAUL to SHEVAROY HILLS of S by The Hobson Jobson Dictionary

the Cherif of Meca. …”—Bernier, ed. Constable, 133.

1701.—“… y^e Shreif of Judda. …”—Forrest, Bombay Letters, i. 232.]

SHERISTADAR, s. The head ministerial officer of a Court, whose duty it is to receive plaints, and see that they are in proper form and duly stamped, and generally to attend to routine business. Properly H.—P. from sar-rishta-dar or sarishta-dar, ‘register-keeper.’ Sar-rishta, an office of registry, literally means ‘head of the string.’ C. P. Brown interprets Sarrishtadar as “he who holds the end of the string (on which puppets dance)”—satirically, it may be presumed. Perhaps ‘keeper of the clue,’ or ‘of the file’ would approximately express the idea.

1786.—(With the object of establishing) “the officers of the Canongoe’s Department upon its ancient footing, altogether independent of the Zemindars … and to prevent confusion in the time to come. … For these purposes, and to avail ourselves as much as possible of the knowledge and services of Mr. James Grant, we have determined on the institution of an office well-known in this country under the designation of Chief Serrishtadar, with which we have invested Mr. Grant, to act in that capacity under your Board, and also to attend as such at your deliberations, as well as at our meetings in the Revenue Department.”—Letter from G. G. in C. to Board of Revenue, July 19 (Bengal Rev. Regulation xix.).

1878.—“Nowadays, however, the Serishtadar’s signature is allowed to authenticate copies of documents, and the Assistant is thus spared so much drudgery.”—Life in the Mofussil, i. 117.

[SHEVAROY HILLS, n.p. The name applied to a range of hills in the Salem district of Madras. The origin of the name has given rise to much difference of opinion. Mr. Lefanu (Man. of Salem, ii. 19 seq.) thinks that the original name was possibly Sivarayan, whence the German name Shivarai and the English Shevaroys; or that Sivarayan may by confusion have become Sherarayan, named after the Raja of Sera; lastly, he suggests that it comes from sharpu or sharvu, ‘the slope or declivity of a hill,’ and vay, ‘a mouth, passage, way.’ This he is inclined to accept, regarding Shervarayan or Sharvayrayan, as ‘the cliff which dominates (rayan) the way (vay) which leads through or under the declivity (sharvu).’ The Madras Gloss. gives the Tam. form of the name as Shervarayanmalai, from Sheran, ‘the Chera race,’ irayan, ‘king,’ and malai, ‘mountain.’

[1823.—“Mr. Cockburn … had the kindness to offer me the use of a bungalow on the Shervaraya hills. …”—Hoole, Missions in Madras, 282.