Most Indian languages have a saying which goes something like: “Do not go looking for a river’s origin or a Rishi’s lineage”. I thought this was because these stories become eclectic and frankly scandalizing as we trace them. But while looking at several origins of River Godavari on the Brahmagiri Mountain, I realized that the meaning can be much simpler (or much complicated): It is difficult to decide on a single origin for a river.
Continue reading “उगम: Story of Godavari and Vaitarna’s Origin”Category: Rivers
Lessons for Other River Basins from the Cauvery Dispute
Guest Article by Prof Bhakti Devi
Numerous articles have cropped up explaining the reason behind the Cauvery water inter-state dispute. A remarkable thing to note in these explanations is that every one of the articles focuses on the volumetric allocation of water. Even the documents relating to legal agreements between the two states on how the water of the Cauvery River will be shared focus on the volumetric distribution. Which, on the surface, appears completely logical but seems illogical when you understand the science of how a river gets its water which is the elephant in the room.
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Co-sculptors of the Central Highlands: River Sindh and its People
GUEST ARTICLE BY POORVA GOEL
At Pachnada (see the photo above, the river in Uttar Pradesh, photo by Poorva Goel), the Sindh River meets four other rivers- Yamuna, Chambal, Kunwari and Pahuj, in a rare spectacle. Over time, the gentle currents of these rivers have meandered and unloaded their sediment on the floodplains. The floodplains are lush with mustard and wheat fields, and the scrub slopes are dotted with grazing cattle.
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From River to Cup: History of Assam’s Tea Plantations and the role of Brahmaputra
Guest article by Anantaa Ghosh
[Feature image above: A NASA Earth Observatory image by Lauren Dauphin]
Author’s note: In this article, I have taken grammatical liberties by omitting the use of ‘the’ before a river’s name and ‘it’ when referring to them. I firmly believe that reimagining and re-understanding rivers necessitate a profound change that extends to our lexicon as well. Consequently, I am deliberately employing the pronoun ‘they’ to refer to Brahmaputra and all the rivers mentioned herein, rather than ‘it’ which may reduce the river to an object. I also refrain from using ‘he’ or ‘she’ (as per Indian mythology) as these pronouns tend to impose a mythological identity as the sole identity of a river,, negating the multifaceted nature and diverse forms of identity that a river has.
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India Lost 10 More Gangetic River Dolphins In One Year in 2022-23
(Feature Image: Post mortem being done of a dolphin carcass found at gate number 01 of Girija barrage in Bahraich, UP. Image Source: Dainik Bhaskar, Nov. 2022)
May 18, 2023, would mark 13 year of declaration of Gangetic dolphin as a national aquatic animal. However, the habitats of this ‘highly endangered’ species continue to suffer anthropogenic threats including wrong operations of dams & barrages, inland waterways projects, decreasing flows & increasing pollution in rivers, sand mining and poaching etc. in India. As a result, there are frequent incidents of mysterious and unnatural deaths of these fresh water mammals.
SANDRP has been tracking such incidents since January 2020 and our previous two reports published in January 2021 & April 2022 on the subject have complied deaths of at least 21 Gangetic dolphins in 2 years (2020 and 2021). In continuation of the same, this account covers the incidents of deaths of Gangetic river dolphins during past one year.
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Changing Course: Teesta Mahananda Rivers in North Bengal
Guest Article: Steve Lockett, Mahseer Trust
(Above: Teesta-Mahananda Link Canal, part of a water-use strategy that seems broken. Copyright: Adrian Pinder, Mahseer Trust)
Rivers change course, it is part of their being. A river changing course can bring unexpected or unwanted ramifications. Sometimes they can be quite devastating. But when they come as a result of deliberate actions to alter the river’s course how can we expect people, whole communities or wildlife to cope?
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The Eternal Ganga: A Journey Through Artistic Depictions of India’s Sacred River
(Feature photo above: “… But I go on forever” The pristine Ganga flowing through the mountains (Rishabh Gagneja, June 2021))
Guest Article by Anantaa Ghosh
The Ganga, often termed as the ‘River of Heaven’ has always been deemed as the purest and most sacred of all rivers. In the west, Ganga was believed to be Phison, a river flowing in Eden. The river has found its place in the works of several famous authors, including Kalidasa who describes the river in words of unique grace.
Then in familiar Alaka find rest,
Down whom the Ganges’ silken river swirls
Whose towers cling to her mountain lover’s breasts,
While clouds adorn her face like glossy curls.[1]
Tirthan’s Way
Abhay Kanvinde’s photo story of Tirthan, as the free-flowing river makes its way out of the Great Himalayan National Park, then flows close to villages, touching the people and finally when it gets dammed as it comes out of the valley that is its home.
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In Photos: Gharats of Tirthan: For the tastiest Parathas
In the Tirthan Valley of Himachal Pradesh, as we crisscrossed tiny wheat fields moist with dew and apple orchards laden with white blossoms, a rhythm accompanied the steps: a constant ghrr-ghrr-ghrr. It came from small slate shelters with sloping roofs, which looked like tiny shrines. Sometimes, the shelters were made directly over a stream, but many times they were on the banks, with a channel diverting some water to them.
These were the Gharats: water-mills running on the kinetic energy of flowing water and milling fresh, cool flour.
Throughout Tirthan Valley, Gharats dot the streams at several locations. Raju Bhartiji says that Tirthan had many more Gharats in the past, but the floods of 1995 washed many of them away and most remaining fell into disrepair. Even so, as compared to other parts of Himachal, Tirthan valley is fortunate. Hydropower dams, including mini hydro projects, with their headrace and tailrace tunnels, flow diversions and blasting have destroyed thousands of Gharats in Himachal and Uttarakhand. These water mills are special not only because they are decentralized and appropriate technology structures. They are a part of the heritage of the land: almost all of the materials for building one come from the surroundings and the masons who build them are artists.
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Boat Races of Bengal: A River Carnival
In the Nadi-Matrik land (born to the river) of Bengal, where a blade of grass takes on layered meanings, river boats are not to be taken lightly. For boatmen who row down a vast river for days at end, a boat is more than a mode of transport. It is symbolic of the mortal body: frail, tattered and adrift, in search of a safe harbor.
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