Ladāf. — Recorded, at the census, 1901, as a synonym of Dūdēkula. A corruption of nad-dāf (a cotton-dresser).
Lādar. — It is noted, in the Mysore Census Report, 1901, that "the Lādars are a class of general merchants, found chiefly in the cities, where they supply all kinds of stores, glass-ware, etc." I gather[1] that the "Lād or Suryavaunshi Vānis say that they are the children of Surya, the sun. They are said to have come from Benares to Maisur under pressure of famine about 700 years ago. But their caste name seems to show that their former settlement was not in Benares, but in South Gujarāt or Lāt Desh. They are a branch of the Lād community of Maisur, with whom they have social intercourse. They teach their boys to read and write Kanarese, and succeed as traders in grain, cloth, and groceries."
Lāla.— The names of some Bondilis, or immigrants from Bandelkand, who have settled in the North Arcot district and other localities, terminate with Lāla. Lāla also occurs as a synonym for Kāyasth, the writer caste of Bengal, immigrants from Northern India, who have settled in Madras, where there are a number of families. "In Madras," Mr. S. M. Natesa Sastri informs us,[2]" the Mahrattas and Lālas—mostly non-Brāhman—observe the Holi feast with all sorts of hideousness. The youngsters of the Lāla sect make, in each house or in common for a whole street, an image of Holika, sing obscene songs before it, offer sweetmeats, fruits and other things in mock worship of the image, exchange horseplay compliments by syringing coloured water on each other's clothes, and spend the whole period of the
