O Nadiye – An Ode to Cauvery River.
Originally written in English and set to music by Kamaan Singh Dhami
Translation to Kannada by Manjunath
A river is more than the quantity of water it carries, and she displays many different facets of her personality to those living at its shores. But today, for most people the river Cauvery has been reduced to a conflict between two states.
The song ‘O Nadiye’ tries to reclaim River Cauvery as not just a provider of water to humans but to innumerable plants, fish and animals; as a source of our imagination, as the subject of many myths that get passed on through generations; as a healer for those who visit its shores; and as an ecological system that connects the mountains to the oceans and maintains our climate and makes life possible.
Read the English translation below and listen to the original Kannada song in the video below.
Young, and aged,
Calm, and full of anger,
Innocent, and wise.
You are all these, O River!
Young, and aged….O River.
The gurgling waters,
the swirling pools,
the floating leaves hurrying past..
Why don’t these come to mind anymore,
whenever someone takes your name, oh river?
Young, and aged….O River.
The forests, the mountains, the shady valleys, the lichen and the moss
Everything that stores your waters are being destroyed.
Hundreds are ready to fight for your waters
But who is there to fight to save you, oh river?
To some, the skittish lamb is just meat,
To some, the elephant is just ivory,
And to some others, a tree is simply wood for furniture.
What are you to the thirsty city, O River?
Young, and aged….O River.
For millennia you quenched the thirst of whoever came to your banks
You’ve held the mighty Mahasheer in you
Elephants have swum in you
And now they say your waters aren’t enough, oh river.
The powerful sage Agastya couldn’t keep you prisoner
Naughty Ganesha let you free
But now they have captured you in big walls
Who is there to free you again, O River?
Young, and aged….O River.
The monsoons transport the oceans waters to the mountains
Because of you, the oceans get a taste of the mountains’ minerals
Man is not content to watch this beautiful cycle.
What happens when this cycle stops, oh river?
