Tome And Plume: Kerwa Dam; Nature's Bounty, Bhopal's Pride

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The Vetravati, with her playful waves and currents, is like a lightning flash with her restive nature—Meghaduta, Kalidas

Nearly 15 km west of Bhopal lies the scenic Kerwa dam, a brook hemmed in by bottle-green woody hills.

As the wind blows, the forest whispers into the ears of the stream that it is the time to romance. At daybreak, the wavy water of the river reddens with a blush as the rays of her eternal lover, the sun, set her aglow.

The songs of the Jacobin Cuckoo rhyme with the raindrops, particularly in the monsoon. The coppersmith barbets chant from the thick woods.

The lucky ones may have the sight of draped wood owls, but a tourist must identify it, as this species of bird is draped over a branch of a tree.

It is a home to flycatchers, woodpeckers, and peacocks.

When the clouds hover over the area, the place is agog with the calls of peacocks. At the fall of twilight, the tranquil Kerwa dam reverberates with the trills of nightjars.

For a rolling stone, the ideal time to visit the place is the monsoon.

The road that leads to the dam is good, though there are a few glitches, particularly in the Kotra Sultanabad area. Once a rider crosses the area, the riding becomes smoother.

At the end of the road on the right-hand side, there is a small street that leads the guests to the dreamland.

The dam water passes through a spillway. Here, the speed of the water is fast and turbid. A hillock stands on the other side of the river that looks like a thin black streak.

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One can enjoy the panoramic beauty of the place from the hilltop. A small but beautiful temple on the bank of the river adds a fresh tinge to the milieu.

The Kerwa River attracts thousands of tourists throughout the year and supplies water to a large part of the state capital. With its gross storage capacity of 25 million cubic meters, the dam is spread over 69 square km.

But the story of the Kerwa dam is incomplete without the tale of the Betwa River, whose ancient name was Vetravati or Shuktimati. She originates from the Jhiri village in the Raisen district of the state.

The Vedas and the Mahabharat refer to the river. On her banks the Chedi kingdom, one of the sixteen Mahajanpads, burgeoned from sixth to fourth centuries BCE.

The river, originating from the Vindhyachal Mountain, flows through MP and joins the Yamuna River in the Hamirpur district of Uttar Pradesh. The river mothers the Bundelkhand region of MP and UP.

The Kerwa River, on which the dam was built in the 18th century, is the gift of the Kaliasot River, which has an umbilical cord with the Betwa River. The water body is slowly fading.

Standing on the banks of the Kerwa River and looking at the hillock that makes a failed attempt to caress the sky bed, one takes a plunge into the ocean of time trying to ferret out the tale of the Vetravati. How restless she may have been. How the kingdoms prospered on her banks. Kalidas has aptly described her beauty in the Meghaduta.

But the sun slowly goes into the arms of the firmament. The lengthening shadows remind the rolling stone—it is time to say goodbye to his dreamland.