Romancing the rivers
Inderdeep Thapar

Waterlines
edited by Amita Baviskar. Penguin. Pages 210. Rs. 295

WATERLINES is an anthology of literary gems gleaned from the rivers that have inspired myriad authors. The book is about rivers Narmada, Kaveri, Ganga, Periyar and many more and brings home the truth that just as rivers shape the destiny of man so also man shapes the river. The agony of the dried, creased earth when the waters change their course, the glimpse of budding new, green life that tears the earthy mantle when it tastes moisture, the dislocation of the hitherto secure population brought about by the damming of the waters, the choking of the much-revered water bodies with careless filth and garbage of ignorance, the sinking of fertile lands when the same waters eat their banks, or even the mindless mining of the sandy banks which eventually erodes not only livelihood but also culture, for all those little stories associated with each bend, which give that part of the river its complexion also vanish with the dead sand, it is all here in this eminently readable work. But wait, the book is not pessimistic, nor do the stories about the degradation of rivers come in a single, unending dose of monotony. The book is interspersed with endearing stories, lyrical poetry and fascinating information.

The story of Mahaseer (fish residing in the holy waters of Rishikesh) by Stephen Alter, of its journey upstream against the current even when the food is plentiful to lay eggs is a reminder of the same adventurous streak in man. Geoffrey Waring’s description of the lives of Dhimars, the diving tribe residing on the banks of the Narmada who make their living by fishing out coins thrown by the devotees, and their clever, original antics to save themselves from the crocodiles, is also interesting.

Unparalleled is the story of the ghat of the Ganga by Tagore (translated). The imagery is so powerful that one can actually hear the sound of the water as one reads the spellbinding story of Kusum as told by the ghat. In the story, Tagore seems to effortlessly merged the two arts of writing and painting. The rivers have been caught here in all their hues. There is the anger of the Beas, the timelessness of Ganga, from its infancy on the pristine peaks, to its childish murmurings as it races downhill bringing the rich silt of myths to Benaras. Each river imparts its special flavour to the disposition of the people of its area. If one is looking for consistency in this endeavour, one is bound to face disappointment, for like the water of the rivers, the book is ‘inconsistently consistent’, but like the waters it is hypnotic. There is the flow of many styles (of writing). At times it is informative like the writings of Maw and Diana, at times poignant like Rom’s and Vasudevan’s, personal like Joshi’s on Howrah Bridge and Corbett on The Fish of my Dreams and tragic as in Arundhati Roy’s Crossing Over. To the above is added a splash of poetry.

The book assumes a novelistic tone with The Journey Episode by Adwaita Malabarman. It is a tale of the unpredictable life of a fisherman who journeys to a "river" where fish is plentiful, reaches it, fishes there and even wins a bride, only to lose all to river pirates. Even in the maze of so many eddies and currents the central message stands out loud and clear. The rivers are our lives, the core of our existence, spiritually, economically and culturally. The very fabric of our beings is interwoven with them. Sadly, only very few know how crucial they are to our being. The blatant exploitation of rivers for the so-called economic growth is sawing away at our foundations and very soon, as they say, we will be in deep waters. A commendable effort and a not-to-be-missed read.

HOME