The diwan-i-Khas, or Hall of Private Audience, Is One of the Most Richly Decorated Buildings In India.
"The Critic in the Orient"
George Hamlin Fitch
Mussoudi, the diwan, says that the inhabitants had gone to rest as usual-as they had done ever since he had settled in the valley, twenty-five years ago-when, in the middle of the night, they heard a roar like many thunders, which woke them up to the fact that death was at work in the shape of an enormous volume of water, that, like a wall, came down, tearing the tallest trees with it, carrying away scores of villages at one fell, sure swoop into utter destruction.
"How I Found Livingstone"
Sir Henry M. Stanley
The Oswals are the most prominent trading caste in Rajputana; and they have also frequently held high offices, such as diwan or minister, and paymaster in Rajput States.
"The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India Volume II"
R. V. Russell