Ma Rewa

माँ रेवा थारो पानी निर्मल
माँ रेवा थारो पानी निर्मल खल खल बहतो जाए

अमरकण्ट से निकली ओ रेवा
जन जन करि रयो तारी सेवा
सेवा से सब पावे मेवा, असो वेद पुराण बतायो रे

This song left a heart rendering affect on me. I listened to it once and then again and again untill I could analyze it in my mind. Hearing "Ma Rewa" with my eyes closed I could visualize the shivering movements of the singer's closed eyelids may be with his head thrown back in some deep meditation, stretching the chords of his neck.

The folk song depicts the beauty and the life-giving of Narmada river. And the rhythm suggests the pain which people have been going through by the destruction of the river.

Narmada holds a strong and an important history. It was named as "Narmada" by Agasthya Rishi. Narmada means bliss and this bliss has been showered on people like Kalidas, Bhanabatta and Valmiki. It has been the savior of the dry lands of Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. Mythologically, Narmada is placed much higher above The Ganges. It originates from Maikal river in the Amarkanths. forming a traditional boundary between north and south India. Narmada is a river of its kind where its the only river which flows in a rift valley.

This river with so much of history and people's believe is under seize. A dam is proposed across Narmada. Half of the people go for the dam and the rest half oppose. The real cause eventually gets subdued in the dirty politics and Human Rights.

Right from 1921 when the first such anti dam movement started (by Senapati Bapat for Mulshi Dam) it had been a never ending debate of resettlement versus stop-constructing-the-dam. No body gets convinced by either sides of the opinion and celebrities, media and politicians keep adding fuel to the fire and locals stay burning.

The episode started way back in 1901 in an attempt to flourish the drought prone areas around Bharuch. No sooner did the issue came up by the Irrigation commission than it got shut by the British Rule suggesting that this Dam would ruin the soil. Years later Sardar Patel suggested to build up the damn so that the area could be more fertile and add more to the life of people. Almost 90% of Narmada runs through the state of Madhya Pradesh and the people were not happy. The issue of distribution of water led to the Water Dispute Tribunal between all the four neighboring states. Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and nevertheless Rajasthan (invited by Gujarat on the argue that it would share its water with Rajasthan as well).

The concern of the tribals and people on the bank of river Narmada got sidelined. The inter-state politics got its stream. Politicians and Social activists geared up and recently celebrities from bollywood also joined the race.

The "Save Narmada" movement has seen several faces. Ideology, faith, science to generate electricity, drought, hope to kill the drought, politics, celibacy and is still to discover newer tracks.