|
Young World
Rivers of discontent
MANOJ DAS
|
The Cauvery issue has thrown up many questions. Can sunlight or moonlight be the exclusive privilege of any region? Can there be special rights over any aspect of Nature? The legends and myths of our rivers teach us a few simple truths.
|
Nature's bounty...
The beneficent river Cauvery has been very much in the news, though for the wrong reasons. A lot of bad blood flows between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu on the issue of sharing its waters. Karnataka was reluctant to allow the quantity of water Tamil Nadu badly needed. The Supreme Court had to intervene. The situation seems to have become normal. But one wonders if true normalcy can really be achieved unless we have regained the spirit of goodwill that prevailed once upon a time. An ancient legend may or may not be factual, but it tells us much about a past generation, about the faith and idealism of the people of the time. Such a legend — a glorious one — goes back to the period of the very birth of Cauvery.
A severe drought in his land upset the Chola king, Thondaman. That was when the legendary sage, Agasthya, from the north, was roaming the south. He had been meditating in the Sahyadri mountains in the kingdom of Kutaka, (Coorg) and had come to know that a new river was to emerge from the hills before long. He persuaded Kavera, the king of Kutaka to divert the course of the river to the Tamil land. The scourge of drought ended. Agasthya named the river Kaveri in recognition of Kavera's noble gesture.
And quiet flows the Ganga...
The time has come for us to recognise a simple truth. Just as no region of the earth can claim the sunlight or the moonlight to be its exclusive privilege, no region should claim any special right over the benefits coming from any aspect of Nature. It is this realisation that made India agree to share the water of the Ganga with Bangladesh in a treaty made in 1996. Even when there is insufficient water in the Ganga, India does not grudge the quantity promised to its neighbour. This is the ideal that the States within India should follow even more zealously.
Many of you know the legend, of the heavenly Ganga's descent to the earth. Once, the sons of King Sagara offended the great sage, Kapila. The sage's curse reduced them to a heap of ashes. Two generations later Prince Bhagiratha of the dynasty, through his prayers, made the sacred river come down to the earth. He led it to flow on the ashes, thereby resurrecting his forefathers.
Tranquillity... but the cause of so much strife
The legend establishes the faith of our ancestors in the life-giving power of the rivers. The Ganga, of course, was especially sacred. Why? That is a story less known than that of its descent. It was a moonlit night. While returning from the earth to his abode in the heavens Sage Narada chanced upon a group of supernatural beings. They were a charming lot, but each one of them looked maimed. The inquisitive Narada found out that they were Gandharvas, the deities of the Ragas or the modes of music. When musicians sang improperly or with vanity, the deity of the Raga concerned received a blow. That explained their misery. Narada requested the sole perfect singer, Shiva, to sing for them so that they could become whole again. But Shiva would sing only if the perfect listeners, Vishnu and Brahma, were in his audience. The condition was fulfilled. But while listening to the divine concert Vishnu became totally identified with the flow of the music, so much so that a layer of his aura melted and flowed down. Brahma captured the flow in his hand-pot. Later the great god released it in the heavens and it flowed as a river. The Ganga is sacred because in its origin is the liquidised aura of Vishnu.
But even though we view the Ganga as sacred, we hardly do anything to keep it pollution free!
Yet another sacred river is Narmada. The legend of its origin is sheer poetry. Once Lord Shiva sat in meditation on the Amarkantak hill. He radiated a wondrous charm and serenity. These vibrations suddenly took the form of a beautiful damsel! As she bowed to Shiva, the Lord said, "You inspire tenderness (Narma) in my heart. Be known as the Narmada." Narmada loved freedom.
Sacred... yet polluted
When a certain god, enamoured of her, tried to capture her, she changed into a river and slipped through his fingers! However, if Narmada the damsel eluded the gods, Narmada the compassionate river has held out a variety of promises to Gujarat, through a Rs. 1000-crore project launched to utilise its waters and energy. But every scheme presents problems that need to be sorted out. The Narmada project must resettle about a 100,000 people who would lose their homes.
There are legends galore, sweet and significant, behind many rivers, from the mighty Yamuna on the banks of which the child Krishna played, to Tamasa, on the banks of which, the poet Valmiki wrote. They make for interesting study. While reminding us of our great heritage, the rivers can also contribute to our progress and prosperity today.
Ideas are in circulation for linking the major rivers of India into a network. That should not only solve the problem of water scarcity in any part of the country, but also withstand pollution and serve us in numerous other ways.
The problem is, the projects require a staggering sum of money, some Rs. 70,000 crore. But if we have the will, we can find the way.
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Young World
|
