The journey is not much, just 500 odd miles from Talakaveri to Poompuhar. The traveller too is certainly not in the league of a Ganga or Narmada, let alone an Amazon or a Nile. But this traveller is not like any other. She is much more than an Amazon or Nile. She nurtures and nourishes every blade of grass that is strewn on her path. She stirs up emotions like no one else can. She is intertwined into the lives of millions of people. She gives without asking and she bestows boons without a prayer. She is God. She is Kavery!
The genesis of her journey is from a small pond-like enclosure in Talakaveri, nestled among the woods of the Coorg. Which actually does little justice to the great bursts of energy, verve and raw power she exudes during the rest of her journey before she finally curls up tired and sick, in Poompuhar to meet her destination, the Bay of Bengal. No one would believe that this placid enclosure of water in Talacauvery would, only a 100 kms later, metamorphose into the mighty Shivasamudram falls.
Where exactly did she pick up the fearsome countenance during the course of that 100 mile sojourn? What made her transform from a cuddly infant to an angry, lissome brute?...
.....Well, after expending some of her fury there, she regains a little composure and flows quietly and majestically up to Mysore, to be again stymied by that mammoth Krishnaraja sagar!
The beauty of the man- made gardens there fails to soothe her and she is again back to her unbridled ways of an unkempt lass. She again erupts with full force as she nears Hogenekal. This time, at Hogenekal, she unleashes an awesome power that stuns the onlooker. Is she the same quiet infant one just saw at Talakaveri? Is she the same little brat of a girl who has now blossomed into a beastly yet beautiful girl?
After pounding the earth with trillions of gallons of water, and the skies with the spray of her watery scent at Hogenekal, she once again recoups some composure and begins her gentle trudge through the Tamil Nadu plains. This is where she is venerated and worshipped. This is where she enters her in-laws' domain. Leaving her violent temper and tantrums behind, she evolves into adulthood, dons the garb of the ever-beautiful Bahu and steps into her husband's abode, right foot first, into the home that she would never leave till her last breath. This is where she plays the loving wife, adoring daughter-in-law and compassionate mother to the denizens of the state. To the multitude that look to her for soul and sustenance. Where would Tamil Nadu be without the Kaveri? And can Kaveri be identified with the same love, lust and adoration had she not ventured into Tamil Nadu? Where she always belonged, by destiny or otherwise?
Bowing to the wishes of her children, she once again gets enchained at Mettur, so that the people can partake a bit of her boundless energy in the form of electrical energy. That task finished, she gently trundles along, playing hide and seek here and there, curling and twirling at places, before she reaches Trichinopoly. Parts with the company of her sister Kollidam there and chooses to garland Sriranganathar, just as Choodikkodutha Andal did. From Trichy, she meanders along, gently flowing into Thanjavur.
A smosgarbord of emotions do Thanjavur and Kaveri conjure to make. As if made for each other. An indelible page of history Kaveri and Thanjavur together create. The mighty Cholas looked upon Kaveri as their very own daughter as also the protector mother. Karikalan, the black- legged warrior, wished to leash Kaveri at Kallanai, and with a wist of playful laughter, the lady obliged. That piece of history still stands today, weathering all of two thousand years.
No sooner did she enter than the parched plains of Thanjavur became the granary of the south. Kaveri sauntered along in her wily gait. Sweeping away all flotsam and jetsam along her trail. Lush green paddy fields sprouted enroute, feeding millions. All made possible by that benefactor, Kaveri. Leaving behind Thanjavur, she deigns to favour the magic called Karaikal with her silken touch, just a tangential touch and that task fiinished, she steps gingerly into Poompuhar.
Having arrived at Poompuhar, she realises that her journey is complete. It's time to take a big breath. Time to say "my journey made, it's time I merged into the vastness of the ocean". "My time has come. I'm tired. I'm done". "Good bye, folks, I take leave but I will ever be with you". And thus merged the legend Kaveri, into the Bay of Bengal.
That's the end. That's the end of the mysterious legend spanning 500 miles. But is the end for real? Does Kaveri really ever bid adieu? Can she really? Leaving behind thousands in mourning?.....
.....Kavirithaye, kavirithaye, kadhalar vilayada poovirithaye!.....
Our mother, where do we look to for a helping hand but you, when we wish to unfold the carpet of flowers for our sweet-hearts?
Adi velli, thedi unnai naanadainda neram, kodi mutham nadi vandhen, kaviriyin oram....
Again, when the urge to kiss my valentine overwhelms me, where do I descend but on your banks?
Nadanthai vazhi kaveri, nadengume chezhikka, nanmayellam sirakka..
The world is fertile but because of you, the goodness pervades but because of you..
Kavirippenne vazhga, undhan kadhalan chozha vendhanum vazhga...
Your love saga with the Chola emperor is legendary, does it need any further elucidation?
Adiyile perukkeduthu adi varum kaveri, vadiyamma engalukku vazhithunayaga...
When shall we again witness those Adi perukkus when you used to swamp us with your vigour and vivacity? When we used to immerse ourselves within you and and you used to besiege us with your mind-blowing velocity?
When will we ever again wake up to the nostalgic memories of the swirling Kaveri in Thiruvaiyaru, the low pitched swoosh, the quiet roar to the accompaniment of divine Carnatic music?
You are now caught in a bind, my Kaveri, between the violent shackles of your home, by birth, on the one side, who suspect you are ill-treated at your in-laws and thus bay for divorce and your pugundha veedu on the other side, who see you as their own daughter and will brook none of the interference of your parents...You yearn for your parents but your heart is still with us. It is a long drawn battle, between the hearth and the heart. But we can wait and we will. Till you become all of our own. You were born into a wealthy clan, well endowed, but married into a family of small means. But you are a true-blood Tamil lady. You have the capacity to discern what lies close to your heart - wealth or well-wishers. And we will wait till eternity, even if our land you trod upon once with mirth turn into long stretches of barren sand and wilderness!
P.S.
Countless blogs of a superior quality are available in cyberspace about the great river's meandering 500 mile journey. I neither have the wherewithal to compete with them in quality, nor was that my intention in the first place. The idea was Kaveri, the intention was Kaveri and the end result is hopefully Kaveri.
And Thanks, internet, for the photos, whoever took them---.endharo mahanubavulu, antariki vandhanamulu
