One of the definitive travelogues of modern Tamil is 'நடந்தாய் வாழி காவேரி! (And long you flow, Cauvery!). Written by Chitti and Thi. Janakiraman in the late 1960s, when I heard about it first about 20 years back, the book has fallen into the fate which envelops all literature in Tamil. It was out of print and was not available. I've to go through a lot of search - in the by-lanes of North Madras and in Triplicane and other places - to finally get hold of a copy of the book. And of course, it was worth all the time and energy spent on finding it.
The interest in rivers - especially Cauvery - for me, starts from my school days when we visited Kallanai and Mukkombu on a day trip. Someone who grew up looking into the ever-dry Vaigai all his life, it was eye-popping to see Cauvery flowing covering both the banks in a quite and menacing way. And having read 'Silappathikaram' - I was trying to visualize Cauvery as a women swaying across the bridge that day.
So, it was with a lot of interest that I was watching the news about this year's spate of rainfall which has actually filled all the upper riparian dams in Karnataka and in Tamilnadu. And the news just kept getting better - with the filling of Kallanai and the water flowing into the Vadavaru filling Veeranam.
It was then I decided that - while I cannot do a months long journey of Thi.Ja and Chitti - I will at least try to drive along the swelling waters of Cauvery.
I've done this trip a multiple times over the past 10-12 years. The lands between Veeranam and Kodikarai and between Trichy and Nagapattinam were very familiar for me. I've driven across (that story here and here), taken passenger trains to slowly watch the villages go past by, taken local buses during tense strikes and all and climbed the hills to the temples there, spent hours in the lonely temples on the banks of a very empty Cauvery, read with a passion on the history of the area multiple times and have always felt a connection to the place with Cauvery as the anchor for that affection.
Since I wanted to reach Srivilliputhur that evening to go to see Andal - a visit I planned for Aadi Pooram (Aug 13) but have to pre-pone it as my further travel plans did not accommodate the same - I decided to do this with an early start.
I've always seen the Veeranam lake when it was empty. So, on that Aug 11th morning, when we started, I really had no idea how big its gonna be. We started early and the kids promptly went to sleep and the drive was pretty uneventful and fast till we hit the bumps entering the Banruti/Neyveli road. The only thing I can say about the road is that it remains the same for the past 10-12 years.
It was Aadi Ammavasai that day and as the water birds started appearing around, every temple along the way had some kind of a festival going on with people walking, riding the tempos in their finest. It was pretty exciting to watch all that.
I was telling kids the story of Vanthiyathevan - unavoidable being so near to Veeranam lake - where the entire story of 'Ponniyin Selvan' starts on a similar Aadi perukku day with Vanthiyathevan riding his horse along the shores of the vast lake. It even crossed my mind that I am a modern-day Vanthiyathevan riding my car along the shore-road of the lake. (Yea, sure, I am that crazy).
While I cannot say how much the kids liked the story, they really felt awe-struck looking at the massive lake. We stopped at the Lake view point - with a little Amman temple having its share of the festivities going on - and started walking along the lake.
The lake was massive, full of water with boats bobbing around. I've seen the Great Lakes and stood on the shores of some of the large lakes of the world - but never felt the same as it was to stand on the shores of one of the fantastic feat of engineering - man-made by an emperor from distant times - which has stood the tests of time and still can make you feel awe.
I was telling the kids the view of that other Aadi Perukku day - when the sails of the Paluvoor come along the lake - carrying the most complex heroine of Kalki, Nandhini. I was telling Vanathy - of that princess of Kodumbalur, her namesake - meeting Arulmozhi somewhere along the shores of a canal from the lake. It was exhilarating.
We got into one of the numerous 'Padithurai's along the lake and starting wetting our feet. There were very few people in the water - it was deep sharply at that point and watched the different water birds that were flying past. There were check dams opening into different canals around - though they were all closed that day - which was pretty interesting of engineering to explain to the kids.
After spending what seemed an inadequate amount to time to justify seeing that beautiful lake, we started our real journey along the Cauvery - next stop being at that erstwhile capital of the Cholas - Gangai konda Cholapuram.
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| The Ride along the shore |
So, it was with a lot of interest that I was watching the news about this year's spate of rainfall which has actually filled all the upper riparian dams in Karnataka and in Tamilnadu. And the news just kept getting better - with the filling of Kallanai and the water flowing into the Vadavaru filling Veeranam.
 |
| The Veeranam lake |
It was then I decided that - while I cannot do a months long journey of Thi.Ja and Chitti - I will at least try to drive along the swelling waters of Cauvery.
I've done this trip a multiple times over the past 10-12 years. The lands between Veeranam and Kodikarai and between Trichy and Nagapattinam were very familiar for me. I've driven across (that story here and here), taken passenger trains to slowly watch the villages go past by, taken local buses during tense strikes and all and climbed the hills to the temples there, spent hours in the lonely temples on the banks of a very empty Cauvery, read with a passion on the history of the area multiple times and have always felt a connection to the place with Cauvery as the anchor for that affection.
 |
| The Princess and the Prince |
Since I wanted to reach Srivilliputhur that evening to go to see Andal - a visit I planned for Aadi Pooram (Aug 13) but have to pre-pone it as my further travel plans did not accommodate the same - I decided to do this with an early start.
I've always seen the Veeranam lake when it was empty. So, on that Aug 11th morning, when we started, I really had no idea how big its gonna be. We started early and the kids promptly went to sleep and the drive was pretty uneventful and fast till we hit the bumps entering the Banruti/Neyveli road. The only thing I can say about the road is that it remains the same for the past 10-12 years.
 |
| Trying to capture a Panorama |
I was telling kids the story of Vanthiyathevan - unavoidable being so near to Veeranam lake - where the entire story of 'Ponniyin Selvan' starts on a similar Aadi perukku day with Vanthiyathevan riding his horse along the shores of the vast lake. It even crossed my mind that I am a modern-day Vanthiyathevan riding my car along the shore-road of the lake. (Yea, sure, I am that crazy).
While I cannot say how much the kids liked the story, they really felt awe-struck looking at the massive lake. We stopped at the Lake view point - with a little Amman temple having its share of the festivities going on - and started walking along the lake.
 |
| The modern Vanthiyathevan and his horse |
I was telling the kids the view of that other Aadi Perukku day - when the sails of the Paluvoor come along the lake - carrying the most complex heroine of Kalki, Nandhini. I was telling Vanathy - of that princess of Kodumbalur, her namesake - meeting Arulmozhi somewhere along the shores of a canal from the lake. It was exhilarating.
We got into one of the numerous 'Padithurai's along the lake and starting wetting our feet. There were very few people in the water - it was deep sharply at that point and watched the different water birds that were flying past. There were check dams opening into different canals around - though they were all closed that day - which was pretty interesting of engineering to explain to the kids.
After spending what seemed an inadequate amount to time to justify seeing that beautiful lake, we started our real journey along the Cauvery - next stop being at that erstwhile capital of the Cholas - Gangai konda Cholapuram.
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