Listening to this song filled my mind with mixed feelings .
As a schoolboy in the 1960s I remember walking or bycycling 🚴 to school along the River Adyar .
On a clear day I could see the river flow by in all its silent glory … the waters were clean , the river banks were clear , not a single building or concrete structure anywhere … There were only two playing grounds on the banks . The rest of the riverbank on both sides of the river was covered with wild grass and trees .
The river estuary along the Bay of Bengal could be seen from the river banks as the Adyar travelled gently under the bridge and disappeared into the sea hedged in on the northern side by the wide , clean unlittered beach sands known as foreshore estate and on the southern side by the dark, sylvan woods of the Theosophical Society … As school kids I remember that on an odd adventurous day, we would saunter gaily along the river banks trying to catch sight of fish 🐠 and migrant birds 🦅….
Today , the Adyar riverbank has vanished . From the road leading to my school I can no longer see the river … It’s all covered chockablock by ugly concrete jungle — structures of all shapes and size. The old ecology has vanished. What I see now is its monstrous ghost.
So, this IIT Madras song leaves me with roiling mixed and wan feelings .
I am unable to say if this is a song of celebration or a song of lamentation? Do I feel joy listening to this song or is it sad reminiscence that floods my mind with despair?
This song is no doubt well-intentioned . I know it is a clarion call for action and responsibility. It is meant to give us all hope and resolve and rouse us to do our best to bring 125 rivers, rivulets, streams and brooks of Tamil Nadu back to life … It is a song to bring awareness amongst us that the situation of our rivers in our state is pathetic; nonetheless, not all is lost; it’s still possible to restore these scores of rivers to their past pristinity and good health.
So, I for one will be the first to join in the collective prayers of Tamilians that, at least in the time of our sons and daughters and grandchildren, the great hope for our rivers is realised some day.
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In Tamil Nadu we all see there is so much pride being expressed with such great bombast about Tamizh Thaai mozhi. It often makes me wonder silently who really is the mother of Tamil lands ? The language — மொழி — or the lands’ life-giving, life-sustaining rivers : நதி? Why don’t we Tamil people take at least half as much pride in our rivers as we do in our language ?
If மொழி is பெற்ற தாய் , we must realise that நதி is வளர்த்த தாய்…We Tamils are being overly partial to our biological mother but are culpably guilty of utterly neglecting our foster mother.
If we cared for வளர்த்த தாய் even half as much as we do about our பெற்ற தாய், wouldn’t we all be showing far more zeal and concern towards protecting and preserving the good health of our rivers as much as we go around boasting about our so-called, vaunted love for our great Tamil language?
Sudarshan Madabushi