BIDI CAVES, Mirzapur
24.433300,83.350000
Description
Certain »Bidi Caves Kon Pargana Agori Tahsil Robertsganj« (the plural may be honorific) once have been noted (note 1) in connection with Myriapoda (note 2) collected from a place called »Bidi« (note 3) or »Kon« (note 4), which lies in the Agori pargana (note 5), an administrative subdivision of Robertsganj tahsil (note 6), which itself is an administrative division of Sonbhadra district in Uttar Pradesh (IMPERIAL GAZETTEER 1907-1909, XXI: 302-303).
NOTE 1: On a slip of paper in the "BSA-box India" held by the BCRA library, Matlock, Derbyshire. The document is written in a shaky hand reminiscent of the elderly Brigadier Edward Aubrey Glennie's in the 1970ies. NOTE 2: SILVESTRI (1923: 192-193) describes a female specimen of the milliped Glyphiulus (Plusioglyphiulus) cavernicolous (Myriapoda: Cambaloidea) with »Habitat: Bidi Caves (Cambridge Museum)« and I am inclined to surmise that the solitary specimen is at the Cambridge Museum while the Bidi cave (is it –>Siju Cave) itself is somewhere else (most likely in East Malaysia: Sarawak: Kuching: Assamat Bau). TURK (1947) reviews SILVESTRI (1923) and says the milliped was collected from »Bidi Caves in Assam« but the »Assam« of TURK (1947) is probably a short form of »Assamat Bau«. NOTE 3: In the Orao language, which is spoken in parts of Mirzapur, the sun is called "bidi" or the »shining one« (HAHN, F. 1903: Some notes on the religion and superstitions of the Oraos.- Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, Calcutta, vol. 72, part 3, article no. 1, page 12). NOTE 4: Kon N24°27': E083°21' (nima.mil/geonames accessed 16.11.2003) is not shown on AMS sheet NG44-16 Garwa (U502 series, 1962 edition) but marked in the India Road Atlas (Eicher Goodearth 2006: 57 H2). NOTE 5: Pargana: Fiscal area or petty subdivision of a tahsil, Northern India (IMPERIAL GAZETTEER 1907-1909, 25: xxii). Agori N24°33': E082°57' (nima.mil/geonames accessed 16.11.2003), headquarters of a pargana of the same name, is not shown on AMS sheet NG44-16 Garwa (U502 series, 1962 edition) but marked in the India Road Atlas (Eicher Goodearth 2006: 57 G2) on the south bank of the Son River (read: NOT on the Kon River, upper reaches in Madhya Pradesh, the lower in U.P.). NOTE 6: Robertsganj tahsil covers part of the area between N23°52': E82°32' to N24°54': E83°33' (IMPERIAL GAZETTEER 1907-1909, XXI: 302-303) and falls on (parts of) the Survey of India sheets 63-K/15, 63-K/16, 63-L/09, 63-L/10, 63-L/11, 63-L/13, 63-L/14, 63-L/15, 63-0/04, 63-0/08, 63-P/01, 63-P/02, 63-P/03, 63-P/05, 63-P/06, and 63-P/07. The town of Robertsganj (in Mirzapur district) is shown on AMS sheet NG44-16 Garwa (U502 series, 1962 edition) near 24°42'N: 83°04'E (nima.mil/geonames accessed 16.11.2003).
Caves nearby
| Distance (km) | Name | Length (m) | Depth (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13.0 | GUPT NATH, Baijnath | ||
| 20.6 | DHARAN GHAT SHELTER | ||
| 21.2 | GOMUNWA CAVE | ||
| 22.6 | HARNI HARNA CAVE | ||
| 23.4 | GHORMANGUR SHELTER | ||
| 23.4 | JAGDAHA CAVE | ||
| 26.9 | RAMKHOH | ||
| 36.2 | ROUP SHELTER | ||
| 38.3 | MOKWA HILL (Cave at) |