https://m.timesofindia.com/Quiet-flows-the-Kaveri/articleshow/10386681.cms Quiet flows the Kaveri By - K S Ram Mar 5, 2012, 00:00 IST humburgerIconhumburgerIconhumburgerIcon OPEN APP location search Quiet flows the Kaveri By - K S Ram Mar 5, 2012, 00:00 IST Lifestyle Quiet flows the Kaveri Uma Ram and K S Ram are humbled by the indomitable spirit of the river that has lived through the ups and downs of Karnataka’s history. As part of life in a transferable job, we moved from our hometown Mysore to the tribal-land of Bastar in Chhattisgarh. In response to an inner calling, we chose to settle there. In the course of time, we built our humble dreamhouse in Bastar. When the house was ready, we wished to give it a name that would keep the nostalgia of our Kannada roots alive. We did not need to explore far. One name rang loud: Kaveri! A charming damsel This, perhaps, is a measure of the spell of this river on the people in Karnataka. You will hardly find any Kannadiga who views this river as a mere water-body. Other rivers in the state are simply rivers; Kaveri is special. It has a persona, a spirit. There are a number of stories regarding the genesis of Kaveri. These range from the usual fables (churning of the ocean and the broken partnership between the gods and the demons) to the usual do-good sages — Agastya in this case, who fetched an inexhaustible, ever-spilling bowl full of water from the Himalayas to bless the dry state of Karnataka. In all these stories, Kaveri is a charming damsel who transforms into a river. A popular Kannada film song eulogises Kaveri as 'Kannada-kulanaari', 'Lady of the Kannada clan'. She is a foster-mother who is eternally in the prime of her life. She has a divine charm, acknowledged far beyond Karnataka. She is in the elite club of the seven sacred rivers of the subcontinent — alongside Ganga, Yamuna, Godavari, Saraswati, Narmada and Sindhu — that are invoked at every religious ceremony to sanctify the water in the kalasha, or holy pitcher, meant for use in the ceremony. Ganga of the south Kaveri is hailed as Dakshina Ganga, the Ganga of the south. This is for reasons more than the obvious. Like the Ganga in the Gangetic plains, Kaveri in the Deccan plateau has been a catalyst for the growth of a distinct civilisation. Great dynasties (Chola, Chalukya, Wodeyar and Tipu Sultan) have flourished, nourished by her waters. Great centres of art and culture have risen on her banks: Mercara, Srirangapatna, Mysore, Thiruchirapalli, Srirangam, Poompuhar.... It is significant (but hardly surprising) that the Karnataka State Handicrafts Emporium is named after Kaveri. Some decades ago, we visited Karnataka on our annual vacation. The hot news at that time was that thirsty Bangalore would soon be serviced by water from Kaveri through a 100-km long pipeline. Symbol of fertility Wherever we visited, we saw our hosts thrilled at the prospect of receiving Kaveri water at home. They were not looking forward to just water, they were excited about Kaveri coming to their home, almost as though nectar was due soon to flow through the municipal tap! And why not? The small pond in Brahmagiri Hills in Coorg in western Karnataka, where Kaveri springs forth, is named Tirtha. At the Kaveri Sankramana every year, the river is worshipped in the ancient cult of fertility and vegetation rites. Women dress and install pumpkin or coconut — both traditionally strong symbols of fertility — as goddess and offer to her the offerings relevant to the Feminine Principle: vermilion, cloth, betel leaves, areca nuts, bangles and a mangal-sutra. The water of the miracle fount on the appointed day — the first day when the sun enters Tula rasi — is reverentially sipped as tirtha, sacrament. In the year to follow, Kaveri will bless her children by keeping the basin fertile, just as she has done year after year for ages. Kaveri’s connection, in fact, continues through the span of one’s life. The deity of fertility grants birth; as a river, she enables a bountiful harvest to sustain life, and finally, when a person dies, a handful of his ashes are let into Kaveri at Pashchim Vahini near Srirangapatna to journey down to wherever the river’s will may disperse it. She flows within us Once, when standing on the ramparts of Tipu Sultan’s fort in Srirangapatna, built on the banks of the Kaveri, we felt history whispering by as the river meandered below. We felt humbled by the river that had witnessed so much for so long: the rise and fall of kings, the betrayal of trust, the ransacking of the fort, the creation and desecration of holiness, the renewal of life just when all seemed lost! A passing thought breezed by with the weight of an epic: and quiet flows the Kaveri! Enfeebled by dams, but cheerful nonetheless, the river still flowed like hope indefatigable. And then, for some strange reason, we felt as though the river was flowing within our veins, as much as on the earth below! Could we have given our house any other name?
