THIS KAVERI, UNDISPUTED

Memory tags: A name I grew up within Tamil Nadu, and rediscovered in a bookshop in Bombay, when I bought The Eternal Kaveri by Marg Publications.

If I had a daughter, I would probably have named her Kaveri. At the back of my mind I know she was born of the hills. I can see her gurgle and totter, laugh and jump, her way to the plains which she would embrace in sinuous beauty. Kaveri of my dreams, poems, prayers and the hopes she has held in her sway. Sweeping down from Brahmagiri hills in Karnataka to her confluence at Poompuhar in Tamil Nadu, her 785km journey begins from Talakaveri in Coorg, Karnataka. One third of this now disputed river lies in Karnataka and two thirds in Tamil Nadu.

The young river in its 8km distance between Talakaveri and Bhagamandala jumps some 450 mts down to the plains of Karnataka. This young maiden now grows in strength and beauty. Its bountiful waters bathe the Karnataka table land through canals and dams. Some of the dams, are ancient going back to the time of the Hoysalas in the 12th and the 13th century. Others are more recent like the Krishnarajsagara dam, below which are the magical Vrindavan Gardens. Or the Sivasamudram powerhouse which draws energy from the 700 m electrifying leap of the Kaveri over the edge of the table land.

My young daughter is now a consort fit for kings. 10 km below Krishnarajsagara, the river divides to cradle the island of Srirengapatna. It has been capital to the Wodeyars of Mysore and to Tipu Sultan. The magnificent palace, mosque and township, containing over 100,000 people at its height are ghosts of their former selves. The pleasure gardens of Lal Bagh are still verdant and the Daulata Bagh brings history alive in its well preserved murals. The silent beauty of tombs of Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan stands in mute testimony to the fragility of human ambitions. The simple and elegant architecture of these tombs is an epitaph in itself. The Lord Sri Ranganathan blesses the abode in the Sriranganathan Temple that dates from 13th century. Its splendid Gopuram leads one into the heart of the temple where Vishnu reclines on Sheshnaag, welcoming all who came to him. This temple still has silver vessels given by Tipu Sultan. The tamarind rice served as prasadam, is an unequalled culinary delight!

Earlier, the Hoysala kings built their famous Kesava temple on her banks at Somnathpur. If stones could dance, these idols do! Their unbelievably, intricate ornamentation is a living lesson to the contemporary in fashion design. As the river now reaches the southern end of the tableland, she negotiates steep gorges and terrain, reaching the Talakad the capital of the Ganga kings of the 9th century. Only sand covered visages remain but pilgrims make it come alive during the Paachlinga bathing festival. My daughter gives water to pilgrims that is “not from the well” to borrow a metaphor from the Songs of Songs. Shaking off her serious mantle, she leaps goat like below the Sivasamudram, down the Hogenakal falls, till she crosses the political borders into Tamil Nadu.

The Stanley Reservoir upstream from Mettur, was built between 1934- 1954 harnesses the power of my daughter, now well into womanhood. Kaviri of the measured and gentle mien, spreading bounty and blessing on her way, to meet her tremendous lover the sea. The child, girl, the consort, and now the woman, in all her gentle yet terrifying beauty. She has another 502 km to travel. This journey takes her through Karur, Trichurapalli, Srirangam, Tanjavur, Kumbkonam and finally into Poompuhar. I yearn to describe every milestone of my daughter’s journey, but will restrict myself to Srirangam, Tanjavur and Poompohar. Before entering the delta my daughter pays homage as she cradles her second island, Srirangam. The island is an ancient sacred site, with the Jambukeshava Temple dedicated to lord Shiva and the Ranganatha Temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu. The latter is the second largest temple complex in Southern India, the town of Tiruchirapalli or Trichy. The 300 meters long Grand Anicut dam built by the Cholas in the 2nd century,was completely rebuilt by the British, and is still in use to this day.

She now moves into the delta region, distributing her waters into various feeder canals and secondary rivers. Her bounty waters the ‘rice bowl’. The district the river flows past is the Cholamandalam of the Cholas, Tanjore of the Tanjore paintings and Tanjavur of the political heartland of the delta. Rajaraja I made it the Chola capital and completed the famous Brihadeshwara temple in 1010. The Pandayas, the kings of Vijaynagar, the Nayaka King, the Marathas and the British have all left their mark here. A good portion of this vibrant history is preserved in the Saraswati Mahal Library, set up by the Marathi king Sarfoji II in the early 1800s. Culturally “the music trinity” of Carnatic music, Sri Thyagaraja, Sri Muthuswami Dikshitar and Sri Shyama Shastri were hosts of the Maratha courts. Silk weaving, brass work, pith work, making of musical instruments are all woven into the rich tradition of Tanjavur.

Richer feasts await us as the river enters Kumbakonam, sometimes referred to as the Kashi on the Kaveri. It is not only a temple city but an equally important economic centre. Intellectually too it has earned the epithet of “the Cambridge of the South”. Its influence in every sphere stretches deep into the hinterland. This more than a 1000 year old city is a vibrant today as it was in the days of the Cholas. In literature my daughter has entire books dedicated to her as in the Kavirittalapuranam.In classical Tamil texts like Manimekalai, the story of her origin is told with a Chola flavour. The myriad songs and prayers about my daughter only serve to swell a mother’s conceit.

In the final stages of her journey she meets the ocean at Poompuhar or Kaviripattanam, a town of ancient links with Roman civilizations during the time of Cholas. Truly, she is” Ponni’’ or the golden one born from the pot carried by the sage Agasthya. She blesses one and all as only my daughter, Rajrajeshwari can.

Main resources:

1. George Mitchell ed., “Eternal Kaveri” Marg Publications, 1999
2. And the tales of the Kaveri I grew up hearing.