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Cauvery Calling Panel 5
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Asian College of Journalism
3:11
Welcome  to the fourth panel discussion on the theme, 'Cultural history and its importance in the conservation of Cauvery Basin'.
3:13
The panelists are Thanga Jayaraman, Professor and Author and Dr. Rama Kausalya, Cultural Historian. The discussion will be moderated by V.R. Devika, Gandhi scholar and Founder of Aseema Trust.
3:15
VR Devika opens the discussion by saying, "It has been quite amazing. Great education since morning."
3:16
"I wanted to make a social project from Palar. We did a whole study on Palar. In that article, it was said that Cauvery was two big rivers," explains Devika.
3:18
She adds that a lot of literature and music originated from Cauvery.
3:21
Rama Kausalya says that her family has been living in a village on the Cauvery for generations. She talks about the musical heritage of Cauvery delta.
Rama breaks into traditional song in Tamil.
3:23
3:26
"The Cauvery delta was home to music for thousands of years. It produced music for a lot of artists. Even today our Cauvery is a fulcrum around which we enjoy our life. Every festival expresses it," Rama explains.
3:30
Rama states that they protect their culture which is followed by entertainment. "Folk songs are sung in the festival. The following song will give you the feeling of a fully loaded bullock cart ride," she adds before singing a traditional Tamil song.
3:31
Accusing the non availability of agricultural lands for the lack of Bullock carts now, Rama asks, "The fourth day of Pongal is very important for the Cauvery delta. But there's no water in the river. How do we sing the songs then?"
3:32
"We want Cauvery amma to be with us. It's a sad thing that we don't get her along with us now," she says.
3:33
Thanga Jayaraman questions, "What can culture have to do with substantial things like food security and other things?"
3:34
"Since morning I'm listening to agroforestry and I remember in history about the imperial Cholas where land and cultivation was brought together by clearing forests," he recalls.
3:36
Pointing out the connection between culture and what is being discussed now, Thanga Jayaraman says, "There are umpteen narrative on the Cauvery delta. The Eastern part of the Cauvery, the old delta and it's major part would be held as a wetland."
3:37
He says, "We think by our language and we can never stray away from that. The Tamil that we're using now is not classical. They have been used by people but not attested by written sources."
3:39
Thanga Jayaraman says, "There's a mismatch between the discourse of the delta and the reality. In our view, the village is the last administrative unit. Naturally for a person coming from the delta, they can identify by their temples."
3:40
Adding that it is the deities that define the villages, he asks, "What has this got do with our discussion here?"
3:41
"You cannot create a new village. Villages are non-replicable," claims Thanga Jayaraman.
3:43
He says, "The soil decides the quantity of water it requires. East Tanjore doesn't need much water whereas West Tanjore requires a lost of rain."
3:44
"Roads and railways were built on failed bunts. They have been built on paddy fields. There has been a marked increase in construction. We shouldn't disturb nature and ecology in this way," he advises.
3:45
Thanga Jayaraman states that once we acknowledge a specific ecological zone, some of our problems will disappear.
3:46
He warns, "Rivers can't be steadied by just constructing dams. We must yield to nature and the ecology."
3:50
He asks that if for a distance of 1 km trees are planted, then where will the people living in the villages and near the riverbanks go?
3:53
Devika says, "In the paper, there is an interesting idea that the river transforms from youth to maturity as she runs its course."
3:55
Answering a question on fertile artists, Rama says, "Even before Senapatikaram, there were some fertile music. Unfortunately we lost the music, we still have the lyrics. After that the system completely changed but music was there for thousands of years on the bank of Cauvery."
3:56
Devika concludes, "Cauvery is an emotional issue. A scientific issue. It requires multi-layered thinking. Thus, one size fits all can be challenged."
3:58
After a short tea break, the sixth panel on 'Political and Governance Issues Relating to the Cauvery' will begin.
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