
ADVENTURES OF AN OFFICER IN THE PUNJAB (2 vols.) by Major H. M. L. Lawrence, under the pseudonym of Bellasis, published in AD 1846 by Henry Colburn, London, and reprinted in 1970 by the Languages Department, Punjab, Patiala. The book which is a rambling account, half fact half fiction, of the author`s adventures, provides information about the rise of the Sikhs and about the person and government of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. This is "a dose of history, which the reader may read or not, as he pleases" (p. 236), mixed with scandal and bazaar gossip.

Explore the life of Beli Ram, treasury head and guardian of the Kohinoor diamond, caught in Lahore's royal politics under Maharaja Ranjit Singh.position in it. Besides, he received numerous jagirs, including that of Ranghar Nangal worth 30,000 rupees a year. Beli Ram maintained strict discipline. He annoyed Raja Dhian Singh, the prime minister, by declining him to show a rare piece of jewellery in the to shakhana, royal treasury, without the Maharaja`s permission.
