Kalirai

Kalirai(Pronounced: Cali-Rye) is a surname that belongs to the Jat clan, and the Kalirai people are believed to have originated from the village of Khankhana]].

There are also people who use the surname 'Kallirai' which is just the same but with the extra 'L', after careful research the reason for this is because Lawyers made a mistake during name changes on documentation in the 1970s and this had not been noticed. This had been left too late to change and people did not want to go through the hassle of having to change it again so decided to let it remain the way it was.

There are often Kalirai people who use their surnames as 'Rai','Kalirauna' or 'Kalirao'.

Legend

There are many theories of the history surrounding this name, the most recent being that Kalirai is a modified version of the last name Kalrai which in turn is the modified version of Kalra. In the middle ages, the Kalra's have been traced to the jungles of Afghanistan where they bred cattle and sold goat cheese for a living. Legend states that a group of Kalra's preferred cow cheese to goat cheese. In the ensuing battle between the goat cheese people and the cow cheese people, the goat cheese people won. The cow cheese people were banished and started another sect in the name of Kalrai. Kalrai subsequently turned in to Kalirai. It is also said that this surname has been traced back to a generation when it was split from the jatt surname Bains.

There is a theory that the surname 'Kalirai' is a surname that comes from the words Kali(Black) and Rai(Mustard Seed) and it is said that earlier ancestors were merchants/travellers from the middle east dating back to over 300 years ago.

Khankhana

The village of Khankhana is a pind built and named after The Famous poet Abdur Rahim Khan-khana. It is located in the Nawanshahr district of the state of Punjab in northwest India. The village had a population of 485 people in the early 1990s. The nearest main road to this pind is Garhshankar-Balachaur which is at a distance of 4 kilometres and the nearest railway station, Garhshankar, is located 19 kilometres away. Khankhana is very close to the town of Banga (Nawanshahr).

Khankhana was previously known as 'Gadee'(donkey) pind, the reason behind this is unclear but one reason which is strongly believed is that there are a lot of Kumhaars (potters) in this Village who kept donkeys to bring in the clay for making earthernware and also carry their products for sale,to sell on donkey back. It is true to say that Khankhana was named after a famous poet but there is also another theory that a member of Emperor Akbar's Court visited the village after hearing from people that it was a village of 'weird' and 'backward' people, but after his stay he was surprised at how wrong people were and he himself said that the village was the 'best of the best' and worthy of carrying his name (khankhana) - Abdur Rahim Khankhana was one of Akbar's nine Ratne, a poet famous for his couplets "Say's Rahim" and a General which relates to the meaning of the pind's name (Khankhana).

Other Villages

Although the Kalirai people are originally from Khan-khana there are also other Kalirai pinds, these are:

• Ghunachur - many people of Khankhana origin who returned after the 1947 divide of Pakistan and India were allocated land in ghunachur. Ghunachur is on the other side of khankhana on the Banga(Nawanshahr) - Makandpur Road, next to Raja Sahib Da Mazara.

• Bhoot - 3km from Banga on the road to Nawanshahr(Now known as Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar), next to Khatkar Kalan (Bhagat Singh's pind).

• Lakhpur - near Maluporta Train Station, AbOUT 3km from Banga (Nawanshahr).

• Garhi - In Nawanshahr District(Now known as Shaheed Bhagat Singh District), originally in Jallandhar District (Changed a few years ago due to re-structuring and the creation of The New district 'Nawahshahr').

• Bishanpura - near Nabha, district Patiala. May also be referred to as Chotte Lopey. A small village with a majority of people having the Kalirai surname

• Other people with this gotra are living in Khanna(Purana Khanna),Jaatiwal(Near Bhadson,distt Patiala)

Notable people with the surname Kalirai

• Jason Singh Kalirai (Astrophysicist)
• Harsimran Singh Kalirai (Sarpanch of Gunachaur)
• Harmage Singh Kalirai (Director, Actor)
• Amber Kalirai (Character on British TV serial "Coronation Street" played by Actress Nikki Patel)
• Jasvir Ghunachauria (Song-writer)
• Inderjit Singh Kallirai (President: California Association of Parks and Recreation Commissioners and Board Members)
• Ajit Singh Kalirai MBE 1927-2008 (athlete, awarded MBE in 2002 for services to community and Athletics)

In Music

The hit song by Specialist & Tru Skool titled 'Mawan De Put Sher Gabru' mentions a line in the final verse about the village of Khankhana.

Books

There was supposedly a book that was published named 'The Book of Kalirai's' which listed the names, and addresses of people with the Kalirai surname all across the world.

See also

• Origin of Jat people
• Jat clan system
• List of Jat clans