TALA CAUVERY - THE GENESIS OF RIVER CAUVERY

A month back, my brother and myself, along with our family went on a holiday to Coorg (Kodagu in Kannada) in Karnataka and stayed in Mercara (Medikere). On the top of a hill, the city still has the old world charm around it, with modernity creeping in slowly. Unlike the fast upcoming Munnar hill station in Kerala, one didn’t see the mushrooming of resorts and holiday homes here. Old buses, the Ambassador cars and the old shops are still there. Other than honey, coffee and spices, there isn’t much to shop here either.

We took time to travel to ‘Tala Cauvery’ where the river Cauvery originates. Cauvery has always been in news. It is the life line of people of two major southern states, Tamil Nadu & Karnataka. There had been many agitations, politicking and incidents about the sharing of waters of river Cauvery. Still, it is an unfinished story with a potential to explode anytime, particularly when there is water scarcity in these two States.

There is this other side to river Cauvery, that of the divinity. Cauvery is the Goddess to people of Tamil Nadu & Karnataka, particularly to Kannadigas. Every third girl in Karnataka is named Cauvery and the best name given for anything, be it commercial, technical or educational; is Cauvery. The reverence to Cauvery, even today, is phenomenal.

Tala Cauvery is located in Brahmagiri hills which is about fifty kilometers from Medikere. Before reaching Tala cauvery, one has to pass through Bhagamandala which is where one first sees the river Cauvery. There is a temple here with Lord Shiva as the main deity. The temple is good and kept neat. One could feel some good vibrations being inside. At Bhagamandala joins two rivers, Cauvery and Kannike. The legend has it that there is a third unseen river too, called Sujyoti, joining the the sangam (a la Allahabad, where Ganaga, Jamuna and the mythical Saraswathi come together). At its beginning, the river looks so small and insipid. One has to psyche himself to believe that here begins the most reverential ‘Ganges of South India’. However the place around has the feel of serenity and calmness. It is said that all storms begins calmly, may be river Cauvery too!

From Bhagamandala it is good climb to Tala Cauvery. The Karanataka government had taken good care to keep the place neat and serene. In fact what hits you there first is a notice board which alerts you that you are now at a sacred place and not a picnic spot (Good idea, it prepares one well). As you climb up the broad steps you reach a small man constructed pond and above it, a small temple with priests around it. All of us went with the thought that at Tala Cauvery, we could see a spring from the hills pouring out to form the stream called Cauvery. We saw nothing like that and we were initially disappointed. At the foot of the Brahmagiri hills, it is this spot (the man made pond)where Cauvery germinates and people reveres the spot with pooja and prayers. One could see the priest making good money as dakshina. From this place, one could climb up the hill through the neatly laid up steps which amounts to about 400 in number. The climb is steep and one may need to take breaks in between. At the top of the Brahmagiri hills, it is indeed a fabulous view of the Coorg district and the Western Ghats.

The myth about river Cauvery is that Brahmagiri was the dwelling place of the sage Agastya and Cauvery was his wife. She wanted to water the people of the place but it was not allowed by sage Agastya. She was kept imprisoned on the kamandalu (water carrying vessel) of the sage. Once she got a chance and jumped out of the kamandalu, and went underground to escape the sage’s attention and manifested in Bhagamandala. She flows as ‘gupt gamini’ (unseen river) between Brahmagiri and Bhagamandala.

Though there was this disappointment of not seeing Cuvery springing out of the Brahmagiri hills, the visit, the climb and the serenity of the hills gave all of us a wonderful feeling of rejuvenation.