Submergence of a culture

This was the feature published in Hindustan Times on March 26, 2007 in the Indore edition. We had carried the story days before the authorities were set to start impounding Narmada waters for the Omkareshwar Hydel project in Madhya Pradesh. Here is part one of the two part series.

AT DHARAJI, DAM WATERS WILL SUBMERGE A CULTURE

Tucked away amidst hills with dense deciduous forest, Dharaji was in news in 2005 when a large number of devotees were swept away by the water released from the dam upstream. With the reservoir for Omkareshwar Hydel Project set to fill, leading to submergence of Dharaji, it would not be a mere physical loss of land mass going under water. With it would end congregations of lakhs for the Bhootadi Amavasya, a unique cultural heritage, and ultimately the submergence of a place endowed with spectacular beauty, writes Nivedita Khandekar in a two part series.

Dharaji (Dist Dewas), March 25: Here, the Narmada cuts its way with full force through volcanic rock formations on both banks. It crafts an array of towers - showing the horizontal marks cut over ages - which rise bang in the middle of the flow, one besides the other before forming 3-4 cascades spanning a distance of about a kilometre. And then surprisingly, a short distance away, the ever-in-hury' water gives way to a deep placid flow.

An unfortunate tragedy in 2005 saw many pilgrims being washed away by a huge tide on Bhootadi Amavasya. Ironically, the tragedy occured as there were very few lights at night and the pilgrims could not see the water released from the dam to generate electricity at the Indira Sagar Project.

Though lakhs of people visit every year, the place has remained unsullied due to the sheer lack of accessibility.

This being the last year before submergence, word spread like wildfire and drew even more crowds from across the country as a holy dip here on Bhootadi Amavasya (intervening night of March 18/19 this year) is believed to get rid of the problems of the mentally ill and those 'possessed.'

Waters of the Omkareshwar reservoir would engulf it from April this year when the 520 MW Omkareshwar project executed by Narmada Hydroelectric Development Corporation (NHDC) is expected to be functional. An inventory of loss due to submergence can be revealing. Loss of mounds on the bank having layers of geological and archaeological (and even palaentological)  importance in their bellies, cultural - including archaeological and architectural - loss, vanishing of serene spots and last but not the least, the voiceless flora and the fauna in the submergence area.

The first to change would be the very pillars of culture - way of life and way of thinking. "Change? Its a loss of cultural heritage. The unque culture of Narmada bank is changing and soon would be lost," says priest Uday Singh, whose family has been looking after the Shiv Temple here since the time it was constructed some 250 years ago.

For the people on the banks, it was never a mere river. Revered as maiyyaji (mother), the Narmada is part of their emotional mindspace. This concept may change too, with time.

Echoes Sadanand, a saffron-clad sanyasi from Punjab, who is doing Narmada parikrama (circumambulation), "These people are building chakravyooh (vicious circle) for themselves. They (dam builders) are displacing not just people but uprooting an entire culture."

Thousands of people undertake the Narmada parikrama every year, wherein they trek on both the banks clockwise. People living on the banks feed and take care of the well being of the parikammawasis (as these pilgrims are called). "When these people are sent to live in villages far away from the water edge, their attitude changes drastically. Who will look after the parikammawasis then?" asks Mahamurakhdasji, who has been staying at a dharmshala near the Shiv Temple for the past week.

There are several people fighting for the rights of displaced people, but few to speak on behalf of the rich flora and fauna that would go under water. Who will speak on behalf of natural wonders like Dharaji, symbols of manifestation of culture and religion?

It couldn't have been more telling. Dharaji which today reverberates with the sound of water speeding through the several small but crooked gorges to fall into a deep kund with defeaning noise, is headed towards silent submergence.

(To be continued)