While it means a lot of things to a lot of people in plenty of states in India, to a little hamlet Talacauvery in Kodagu, this day is the very reason of its existence. Kodagu is a is home to a race of Hindus who seldom take much interest in celebrating festivals barring a few they hold close to their very being. Kavery Sankaramana being one of them is the days when stars come together in the sky to make a pretty little fountain of water suddenly stem out of little hole on the hills of Brahmagiri at an exact time predicted to the accuracy of a minute. Now thats the miracle.
Kodavas then collect this water and store it in their homes all over the world as the holy water. Meanwhile the fountain gushes and threatens to fill a little clearing around it which is not allowed to happen because then it means calamity will strike Kodagu and beyond. So you'll notice priests fervently plunging buckets to the little pond and emptying it of the fast filling waters by spraying it very elegantly on the crowds around.
The belief is to make a trip to the hills and be there during the 'theerthodbhava' and then get the water back with you to your homes the next day. The next calendar day festivities begin with a prayer to goddess Kaveri . This is followed by taking blessings of the goddess and then the elders in the family. A special breakfast of dosa and yellow pumpkin Curry is cooked and is much looked forward to. I remember how as a kid I would wait to eat the sweet pumpkin curry with dollops of home churned butter!
What is beautiful for me is the visits to other houses that happen during rest of the day to take blessing of elders. Every Kodava touches feet of another older and married Kodava regardless of greying hair or a wrinkled face. I always believed the world was liked that where with age comes respect no matter what you do or where you come from (or so many other biases one can conjure!). But its only when you travel, smell, see and live with other cultures do I realise how different I am. That no matter where I go and no matter where I am on Kaveri Sankaramana, within my humble means I want to stay connected and blessed by the older members of my family and that I simply unquestioningly hold them in high regard although now unlike my childhood I do know they aren't superheroes but very human and do err!
Of course there are otherwise, of course you will all tell me that you know that some one Kodava who did this to his parents and did that to his in laws and the type. Of course there will be such cases. you are influenced by the society you live and the Kodavas God bless them are a well travelled race spread out far and wide and creating their own shires around the world. But the fact remains that when this day comes, all of us simply have that unipolar swing of faith, belief and devotion.
Kaveri Changranthira Shubhashaya
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