Kurnool's diamonds are forever: Not all fairy tales have kings and queens. This one stars only diamonds!

A number of districts in Andhra Pradesh eagerly wait for the monsoon. Not for agricultural reasons only. Hordes of people looking for something in their croplands in Kurnool in Andhra Pradesh is nothing new.

For, when the layers of soil get eroded after the rain, the fields yield diamonds.

Year after year, this diamond hunt has been going on — quite surreptitiously, of course. All you do get to hear is a few loose and vague bits of information, like a recent report that says a farmer has found a diamond worth Rs 60 lakh in his agricultural field and sold it to a local merchant for Rs 13.5 lakh along with some quantity of gold.

The details of these lucky winners are never disclosed and it’s quite surprising when you think of who is calculating the exact worth of those diamonds? Then, if the actual worth is so widely known, how come those diamonds are getting sold at such a cheap rate?

Local police must prefer to stay away from such controversies.

Who likes to stir the hornet’s nest?

Meanwhile, people from other states are also thronging these places in search of diamonds. Not all are lucky. Some go back empty-handed every year. What happens to the rest is a fabled story. No one checks the veracity.

But is it actually possible to find diamonds in agricultural lands?

The answer will take us back to the time of the Golconda Sultanate, the Vijaynagara Empire, or back to the days of Ashoka the Great.

It is believed that Jonnagiri near Kurnool was known as Suvarnagiri, the southern capital of the Mauryas — the reason being the riches hidden in the soil.

The Vijaynagara Empire (1336-1446) was also known for its riches — the kings have apparently hidden a huge cache of treasure in these areas, which are still not explored or discovered, people like to believe.

The Golkonda Sultanate (1518-1687), also known as the Qutb Shahi dynasty, was famous for diamonds which came to be known as Golkonda diamonds.

It is believed that the Kohinoor was mined at Kollur diamond mine, on the south bank of the river Krishna, which falls in this region of present-day Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

Routine excavation works on part of the government are going on. Naturally, there is always a smattering of dry sarkaari dust on the high hopes and seasonal excitements of diamond hunters in the area.

But even that has not been able to put an end to the sparkling tales lying about on the banks of the river Krishna. 

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