Monsoon trail in Tootha puzha

photo1 : all set to face the monsoon. scene from a primary school

In the last two years when we went rafting through Tootha puzha (river), villagers came out to plead not to do it as they thought it was so dangerous to go down stream on a bamboo raft during monsoon! The tiny bit of land that Kerala is; it is crisscrossed by forty one rivers that flow down to the west (Arabian Sea) and other three that flows towards the east. With ponds, lakes, canals, rivers, waterfalls, streams and beaches all around, it's quite surprising to see that we hardly have any water sports other than some snake boat races here and there.

Originating from the mountain ranges of Silent Valley National Park, Tootha( known as 'Kunthi puzha in that stretch) is one of the richest tributaries of Bharatapuzha (River Nila). If not for Tootha, Nila would remain dry for most part of the year.

photo2:our host who served us 'sulaimani' (pic courtesey lukose francis)

The one hour drive from Kuttippuram to 'Muriankanni' itself was a feast for eyes. While rest of the Kerala is busy filling up paddy fields for other land use (mostly construction), most of the villages closer to the Palakkad border still continue their farming tradition. If not for looming rain and the anxious team waiting for building bamboo rafts, we would have just stayed there in those villages! The short walks through the stunningly green (and a hundred shades of them!) villages and interaction with the shopkeepers and villagers were so refreshing for all of us.

Knowing our interest in documenting the natural history of the river, one of the shopkeepers and our acquaintances, Baapputti(kka) these days takes extra interest in everything that has something to do with the river. It's as if he needs to be ready with at least a small bit of information every time Arun visits him. I was simply awestruck by the love he showered on us in the few minutes we stopped to say hello to him on the way. Just before we got into the car, he said, 'You know, sometimes I think that our rivers (Nila and Tootha) have so much in common with Tigris and Euphrates. The river culture that you guys are talking about is something of the sort of Mesopotamia, which was the cradle of civilisation!". Wow! And that came from an unassuming villager!

photo3: awaiting the kill - in the days of super and hyper markets

While shooting the lone vegetable shop in the village, I heard David exclaiming, "Man! After two months in Mumbai and Delhi, this is heaven for me!". Sandra sounded equally relaxed on having taken the plunge to accept my invitation to come and visit our village (and the river!) and interact with our interpreters as part of our capacity building program.

In less than an hour we assembled our simple bamboo raft with truck tyre tubes and coir rope. Equipped with "nentrapazham" (Kerala banana) and water, four of us literally plunged into the monsoon water by half past 12! Seen off by a group of excited villagers we sailed through Vellinezhi, Kaalikaavu and Tootha amongst several other small villages. Except for the strong current hitting the rocks under the Tootha Bridge, we hardly had a problem navigating the raft.

photo 4: tootha puzha

In two places we were invited by villagers to take a break and join them for warm tea. The first stop was near Kaalikaavu where the villagers are building a 'kali' temple. They gave us piping hot tea and asked us to stay back till the evening. We wanted to donate something for the temple construction, but obviously none of us had a wallet. The next stop was by the hill where a Muslim family served us 'Sulaimani'. Jack fruit chips and bananas supplied to us by our team on the way was such a good combination for the evening tea break.

Our 'offering' to the river was only David's lens cap. While I managed to drown my small digi-cam for a second or two, David managed to drop his expensive SLR on the rock! Luckily the lens remained intact except for the small bent in the outer cover!

While struggling to climb on to the raft after a decent swim in the swollen river with David, it didn't occur to me at all that I was fasting for the last ten days! For those who were worried that the rafting immediately after ten days of fasting wasn't a great idea, let me announce that I am still in 'one piece' and raring to do more :)!

Tirur © GP 2007