It was thought that Ahirani or Khandeshi dialect is spoken in Old

Khandesh district Khandesh District (or Kandesh, Khandeish) was a district, administrative division of Bombay presidency of British India under British rule, which includes the present-day Jalgaon, Dhule and Nandurbar districts of Maharashtra. In the 18th and e ...

. Now old Khandesh District of

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

is divided in several districts. Those are

Jalgaon district Jalgaon (Marathi pronunciation: ͡ʒəɭɡaːʋ is a district in the northern part of Maharashtra, India. The headquarters is the city of Jalgaon. It is bordered by the state of Madhya Pradesh to the north and by the districts of Buldhana to ...

Dhulia District Dhule district (Marathi pronunciation: ̪ʰuɭeː is a district of Maharashtra, India. The city of Dhule is the administrative headquarters of the district. It is part of North Maharashtra. The Dhule district previously comprised tracts of ...

, Nandurbar district, Part of Nasik District and part of Aurangabad District. Ahiras spoke Ahirani dialect. Ahir Wani means dialect of Ahiras. Wani means dialect. It is known as Ahirani as it was spoken by Ahiras. Same dialect in this region is known as Khandeshi dialect. Because it is dialect of old Khandesh district. Khandeshi is regional name and Ahirani is social name for same dialect. Ahirani was spoken within the basin of Satpura Range and Sanhyadri Range. High picks of Satpuda, of Sanhyadri range (Chandwad and Ajanta) did not allowed to spread this dialect out of this closed area of Khandesh District. But similar dialect having similar social rituals, similar lexicography, phonology and

syntax In linguistics, syntax () is the study of how words and morphemes combine to form larger units such as phrases and sentences. Central concerns of syntax include word order, grammatical relations, hierarchical sentence structure ( constituency) ...

newly foundout by Dr. Ramesh Suryawanshi in Melghat area of

Amaravati district Amaravati () is the capital of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is located on the banks of the river Krishna in Guntur district. The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone at a ceremonial event in Uddandar ...

. Near about fifty villages where Gawali people reside speak Gawali dialect. This dialect was not included in Griererson's Survey of India or Dr. Ganesh Devi's recent Bhasha Surveykshan. Gavali dialect and Ahirani dialect are same and one. Ahiras of Khandesh as well as Gawali of Melghat claim as they belong to God Shri Krishna's family. Both having back history of having relation with Ashirgad Fort, and Goddess Asha Devi. Both are cowherds indulged in business of milk and cattle. Gawali's of Malghat are not literate and reside in forest. Ahiras reside in towns and villages which are connected to metrocities with roads and railways. Ahiras left most of their past rituals and traditions. Ahiras of Khandesh nowadays are known by their business where as Gawalis are

milkmen Milk delivery is a delivery service dedicated to supplying milk. This service typically delivers milk in bottles or cartons directly to customers' homes. This service is performed by a milkman, milkwoman, or milk deliverer. (In contrast, a cow ...

and

cowherd Cowherd may refer to: Worker *Cowboy, an American who herds cattle on horseback * Cowman (profession) in the UK, akin to ranch hand or dairy worker in North America * pastoral farming who works with cattle; also known as pastoralist * Stockman (Au ...

s. Most of their surnames are different. Gavali's of Melghat give milk and milk products free of cost to villagers with rotation as per their Surnames. It is considered that Gawali family of Shaniware Surname should distribute milk and milk products free of cost on Saturday. ( Shaniwar is word for Saturday )Gavali reside in Paratwada, Chandur, Melghat, Amarwati, Yeotmal Chimur tehsils of Vidarbhs Region. A legend discloses history of Gawali's migration to Melghat area. Lord Krishna went to Kaundanyapur with these Gawalis along with their several cattle. As lord Krishna returned with his beloved Rukmani from Kaundannyapur. Some Gawalis with their cattle decided to reside therein Melghat area as it was rich grassy land, good for their cattle. This legendary story discloses the fact that Ahiras of Khandesh and Gawalis of Melghat both are of same race. So their dialect is same and one. This face is just disclosed by Dr. Ramesh suryawanshi in his article published in Critical Enquiry Vol.VI Issue IV. Oct.- Dec. 2014 by Institute of Knowledge Engineering.Critical Enquiry Vol.VI Issue IV. Oct.- Dec. 2014

References

{{Reflist Indo-Aryan languages Maharashtra