The Awe Inspiring Landscape of the Cauvery Valley from Doddamakali to Mekedaatu - Abhijit Dutta and Kunal Sharma

Very often, an imagined view of ‘wild spaces’, bring to mind what we have often Absorbed through the popular media - Savannahs of Africa, the rainforests of Amazon, snow laden tundra of Siberia or the vast iciness of Antarctica. In India, it is difficult to imagine such huge stretches of wild- lands shared by humans and wildlife. Closer home, if you zoom in to the map, south of Bengaluru, you will be surprised to see huge green spaces, somewhat fragmented but continuously connected- spread across southern Karnataka and north western Tamil Nadu.

Infact, in many ways, the forests that start south of Bengaluru is connected all the way to Kodagu and further upwards via a consolidation of large forest patches of the Cauvery Sanctuary, Male Mahadeshwara hills, several forest pockets of Tamil Nadu, K Gudi, Bandipur and Nagarhole Tiger Reserve. This almost 14000 square kilometres and more sized landscapes not only astonishes you for its scale but also holds forth its claim as an ecological fortress where vast expanse of forested landscapes thrive brimming with wildlife and still supporting a number of forest fringe communities.

But it is the Cauvery valley at the border between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka where the dramatic nature of the eco-region blooms with elevations suddenly dropping to less that 250 metres and rising almost 1500 metres. These altitudinal variations coupled with the rainfall regime has led the valley to be modified by nature into an amazing biome, barely a small drive away from Bengaluru. But it is never easy to reach beautiful places and the drive from Bengaluru to Kanakapura is an exercise in patience. Burgeoning traffic and the physical expansion of the city limits has put a tremendous strain on the narrow highway which is already bursting at the seams.

Once one reaches Kanakapura, is when one realizes this town itself is on the verge of a population boom. Nevertheless, the moment you manoeuvre past the narrow lanes of this important administrative town, rural Karnataka smiles at you. The scene shifts and you cross several small villages with livestock grazing around. Then, just as suddenly, you enter a seemingly surreal dreamy world. Everything changes into an arid shrub land and then into a bustling forest. Villages are left behind and you would be excused for forgetting that this sight is a mere couple of hours away from the madness of the city.

The change is dramatic as the mega-city of Bengaluru is really not more than a hundred kilometres away. For a first timer, it must surely seem as if Bengaluru is an aberration and this was what the land was really like before development crept in. You experience lush forests as far as the eyes can see, deep valleys with patches of green even in the dry season, and the sudden drop of altitude as you enter the world of the Cauvery. From the soothing ambience of the Bengaluru plateau to the dry heat of the Cauvery valley, you enter a different world where cell phones still do not work and access to the benefits of electricity is an exception and not the norm. There is a sudden stillness as the heat takes over all actions, humans’ and animals’ alike, and it is then that you hear the roar of the Cauvery.

The crown of this bountiful landscape is the river that flows through it. With a predominantly dry climate - albeit rich with water from the Cauvery, the Palar and several streams - the river system is unique in this stretch of the Cauvery. In fact, the vitality of the river in the Kodagu hills revives and the Cauvery could be seen crashing into huge rocks and forming deep pools. After its journey through the Cauvery Valley, bound by dense forests on both sides, the river enters Tamil Nadu through a series of wild gorges and falls at a place commonly known as Smoking Stone or Hogenakkal.

These forests form a semi-arid shrub landscape which is the lap of the Cauvery river to flow fearlessly. This is the isolated Cauvery Valley, the last stretch of the free flowing mystic river in Karnataka, before it spreads wide in the Thanjavur delta. This valley is home to the most dramatic fauna seen anywhere in India, from the endangered giant squirrel to a large population of river otters and the tiger of all fishes - the Mahseer. Not only this, it supports a number of forest-dwelling and forest-fringe communities whose lives and livelihoods depend on forests, rivers and streams of this landscape.This landscape holds elephants, tigers, leopards, sloth bears, grizzled giant squirrels, birds like fish eagles, fish owls, hawk eagles, kingfishers and bee-eaters, and aquatic animals like otters, muggers and mahsheer.

The landscape is a popular eco-tourism site among the urbanites from Bengaluru and Mysuru and a space for rejuvenation and replenishment of soul for travellers and was once the meeting ground of dedicated anglers who would come from all parts of the world and of serious nature enthusiasts who walk miles to click pictures of their favourite birds.

Of all its gifts to mankind, the Cauvery bestows the land with an amazing richness and diversity of flora and fauna. Its river basin of more than 72,000 sq. km. is replenished by tributaries such as the Harangi, Chicklihole, Shimsha, Hemavati, Arkavathy, Honnuhole, Lakshmana Tirtha, Kabini, Bhavani, Lokapavani, Noyyal River, Amaravati River and more. The river has been used for irrigation in this stretch for centuries. It provides the Mysore region with its economic strength and vast, rice fields. The river provides much needed drinking water to several towns and villages along its path, besides being the backbone of the water supply to Bangalore, one of the fastest growing cities in the world.

Nature has created this valley and accorded protection to it. The sheer drop from the Mysore plateau ensures that there is no unwanted entry into the forests. Most of the original forests remain and all that you can hear is the whistle of birds and the gushing of the river. Running at a steep gradient, the river often crashes into rapids and rushes down as small waterfalls. This setting brings forth much needed life into the river systems and unleashes a wealth of diversity with profuse fish populations and an abundance of other life forms. In lieu of its isolated nature, the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary was instituted in the year 1987, so that the inhabitants of this valley could be protected. This landscape is a repository for biodiversity which provides fresh air and hope. But not all is well in this enormous landscape. Poaching, conflict, development, and dams are inflicting injuries some of which heal and some of which don’t heal and some of which grow into wounds that rupture the landscapes with scars. Assimilating the beauty and treating the lands, flora and fauna as a part of our own community and softly treading it in the form of sustainable development is the path that combines best of both the worlds and refrains from extremist views like anti-development narrative and anti-forest or anti-tribal thinking.