Coorg-born artist GS Bhavani trails Cauvery — from Talakaveri to the spot where it merges with the Bay of Bengal. The result is a telling short film on the ‘lifeline’.
For Kodagu-born GS Bhavani, the Cauvery was an extension of her childhood. Her bonding with the river began when her parents took her and her two siblings to Talakaveri, where Cauvery originates.
“I didn’t pay much attention to the Cauvery in the beginning. For Coorgis, it’s deified as kula devatha (family deity) and for any function, be it the birth of a child or the death of a family member, a visit to Talakaveri is mandatory. I would visit the spot without realising the magnificence of the river. After all, we had a stream running through in our estate too.”
After her father’s demise, her family moved to Bangalore, where her interest in Cauvery got re-ignited. Bhavani would hear comments like “though Cauvery is ours, the water goes to Bangalore”. That made her wonder how such a huge river “could flow like a trickle and come out of a tap in Bangalore”.
“The bonding suddenly strengthened, which was surprising. My mother would fill the Cauvery water direct from the tap for pooja and drinking purposes. The same water, collected from the tank, wasn’t ‘holy’ enough.” The re-ignition happened.
Opting to be an artist instead of a professional degree, she went to Dubbare forest in 2009 to record the festivities of tribals. “There I saw a man chopping a pig on the banks of the river. And being a vegetarian didn’t help me. Blood was flowing into the river and he threw away the intestines into Cauvery.” That, she says, was the defining moment.
With more passion, Bhavani decided to trail the river from the ‘source’ to Bangalore to see what actually happens to the river. And she had the ‘path’ filmed. The short film got rave reviews at the city’s ‘Voices from the Waters Festival, 2010’ edition. The love story deepened and she yearned for more, setting her off on a poetic journey along the Cauvery last year, till the Bay of Bengal, where it ends. Thus was born Journey With The River Cauvery. It was akin to a tryst with a loved one. Unhurried, yet short.
“It is a project that is a collection of videos and photographs as well. There is a main video of about 22-23 minutes which is about Cauvery. The other videos are of 2-3 minutes which will feature my site specific installations,” she says.
Since Bhavani journeyed along the 765-km of the river by road, she travelled much more (about 2,000 km). It took her about 15 days for this journey though many of her short videos were shot during day trips to nearby destinations like Mekedatu.
Just before Srirangam, the Cauvery deviates and circles the temple only to join back at Kalyani. At Kalyani, the river splits into five and Bhavani followed the one that leads to Poompuhar. It is called the Koli River and one can clearly see how it joins the ocean. Tributaries and rivers like Kannika, Harangi and many more confluence with the Cauvery.
“I have seen so many beautiful sights along the river. The main source continues to amaze me even now. The water is the same at all seasons.”
“The Puranic stories mention that river Kannika existed before Cauvery, yet she too loses her identity after the confluence. I was surprised to see the width of the river getting bigger as she flows; the longest bridge was in Tiruchy, around 1 km long,” says Bhavani.
On the flipside, there are some sights that she wished she hadn’t witnessed. “There are small channels from the river to flow through the villages, but dirty water from the houses flows right back to the river. The river isn’t treated with the respect she deserves.”
Bhavani’s main video “negotiates the landscape of the river as she flows through the sacred and secular, private and public domains”. Her solitary journey (“except for the taxi driver”) was pleasantly interrupted by friends and relatives who would join her at different places and stay with her for a while. “At the last stretch, near Poompuhar, one of my friends came over to shoot the scenes that had me in the frame,” she says.
Her lament is that she could have spent more time with the river, but for her limited resources. “I spent Rs 1.5 lakh on the project. My mother is now happy for me, especially after she saw the video. Some people wonder why I didn’t follow in the lines of my sister who is working in the US and my brother who is into computers. But I am an artist and my family has always supported me; in fact my brother’s wife is helping me.”
Journey With The River Cauvery is on at Venkatappa Art Gallery till June 30.
THE CAUVERY STORY
CAUVERY was once a woman who married sage Agastya after persuasion from her parents. She put up a condition saying that she would flow away as a river if Agastya left her alone for too long. Sage Agastya once went to bathe in river Kannika and forgot the time. Cauvery lost no time to flow away like she had always wanted. 
She originated from one side of Bramhagiri Hills – Kannika is on the other side – went underground to avoid Agastya’s disciples and emerged at Bhagamandala.
source: http://www.BangaloreMirror.com / Home> Entertainment> Lounge> Story / by Jayanthi Madhukar / Monday, May 28th, 2012
