Just a "Kos" Away!


Kos kos par badle paani, char kos par vani. I am sure, everyone has heard this famous Hindi maxim. But, do you know how the usage of "Kos" came into the picture? Here is an interesting fact about its evolution. The term Kos slipped into common usage as an abbreviation of "Kos Minars". These were the tall pillars erected as milestones during the Mughal empire in India. The traveling caravans of olden times used them to mark their route and distance. The distance between the two Kos Minars was one Kos. Though it is not used as commonly as kilometers or miles to measure distance, but it is still used as a common indicator of large distances. 

15 comments:

  1. That is interesting. Thanks for sharing

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  2. interesting fact:) Nice capture:)

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  3. I knew about kos as a measure of distance but had no clue about kos minars erected during mughal reign. Good to know and the picture compliments it. :)

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    1. Thanks Kislaya, it is an interesting fact but present day's milestones are the advance version of what Mughals laid in their era. :)

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  4. you know i had a similar incidence when i was going to tungnath trek....i was leaving from anand vihar in noida...where i noticed the milestone mark for Mana.....funny though at that time i did not know about Mana....after tungnath trek we had some more time so we procedded towards badrinath as well.....it was then i realised which mana was marked in milestone :) tx for sharing


    InkMyTravel

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    1. It is indeed an intersting fact to know. Even I did not know about it until I went to Chopta-Tungnath.

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  5. Thanks Himanshu for sharing this information :-)

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  6. thanks for the info Himanshu about Kos which is used so casually ...

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  7. oh didn't know that! Thanks a lot

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