River Cooum spoke of the misery man has offered it: Surendra Chaurasiya
The name Cooum is derived from the Tamil word Coopam, which means well
By : surendra chaurasiya
Update: 2015-08-20 05:55 GMT
Thanni is one of the most powerful and lethal words that I have learned during my fortnight long visit to Tamil Nadu, a few days ago. I do not know Tamil. I accompanied my friends, walking the 100 plus km stretch along the banks of the Cooum that goes through tremendous fluctuations derived from natural and social causes, right from its origin from a village named Cooum.
The name Cooum is derived from the Tamil word Coopam, which means well. The riverbed hosts every possible man-made element, except clean and potable water. The Cooum runs along some breathtaking landscapes, with varieties of flora and fauna.
Walking along the river, we saw small beautiful villages, lush green fields, man-made structures connecting villages at both ends, along with beautiful people. Over our complete walk, we saw the river changing course from a depth of about half-a-kilometer to as much as 10 feet wide. It had no clean water from the beginning till the end.
Public defecation, industrial waste, man-made graveyards, sewage of all kinds and sizes, garbage pile ups of all sizes, illegal water pumping, illegal sand mining, encroachments from both ends .........every part of the river spoke of the misery man has offered it.
I have no clue how and where to stop writing, just like the river does not know when and where its clean water vanished.
(Surendra from Mumbai is a multi disciplinary creative professional. Documentary and travel based photography takes him across India, where he freezes people, expressions, moments with the shutter)