Travels with Viswas
River Cauvery at Dubare
Test and Photos by Viswas Menon
The Kaveri, also spelled Cauvery in English, is a large Indian river.
The origin of the river is traditionally placed at Talakaveri, Kodagu in the Western Ghats in Karnataka, flows generally south and east
through Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and
across the southern Deccan plateau through the southeastern lowlands, emptying
into the Bay of Bengal through two principal mouths.
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| Cauvery Flows Serenely |
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| Cauvery Forms many small islands |
The Kaveri basin is estimated to
be 81,155 km with many tributaries including the Shimsha,
the Hemavati,
the Arkavati,Honnuhole, Lakshmana Tirtha, Kabini, Bhavani River,
the Lokapavani, the Noyyal and the Amaravati River.
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| Cauvery presents boating options |
The river's basin covers 4 states and Union Territories - Karnataka (34,273 km2), Tamil Nadu (43,856 km2), Kerala (2,866 km2) and Puducherry (160 km2). Rising in southwestern Karnataka, it flows southeast some 800 km to enter the Bay of Bengal.
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| Cauvery etches its presence on rocks |
East of Mysore it forms the island of Shivanasamudra,
on either side of which are the scenic Shivanasamudra Falls that descend about 320 ft (100
m). The river is the source for
an extensive irrigation system and for hydroelectric power. The river has supported irrigated
agriculture for centuries and served as the lifeblood of the ancient kingdoms
and modern cities of South India.
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| Cauvery Reflects its flora |
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| Cauvery creates numerous pockets of Beauty |
According to the legend a
girl called Vishnumaya or Lopaamudra, the daughter of Brahma was born on earth, but her divine father allowed
her to be considered the daughter of sage Kavera-muni . In order to obtain the beatitude for
her adoptive father, it solved to become river whose
waters would have to purify all the sins. (kavErasya apatyam stree = kAvEri);
Asides from the myth, in Tamil, kaa means forest/gardens; viri means to expand;
since the river expands alongside the course of forests and gardens, it takes
the sweet name kaviri, cauvery.
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| Stillness personified |
At Dubare, some 30 km from Kodagu, Cauvery forms islands that is home to the Dubare Elephant Camp run by the Jungle Lodges section of the Karnataka Forest Department.
Cauvery creates some beautiful scenes at Dubare. It is almost as if God created many paintings with his own creative paint brushes.
Jungle safari is offered by Jungle Lodges. Dubare Elephant Camp is home to numerous tame elephants that have been retired from their work or were captured when they strayed into human habitats, or rescued circus elephants. These elephant lead a retired life in this island and is cared for by the local villagers who work as caretakers.
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| Cauvery Paints many floral hues |
Cauvery offers visitors at Dubare water sport activities like boat rides, rafting, coracle rides, white water rafting, elephant interaction program, opportunity to spot aquatic birds.
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| Cauvery Frames |
Visitors get an opportunity to bathe, feed, ride the elephant. They also get a number of photo opportunity with the elephants. The naturalist associated with the camp also conducts a briefing session for the visitors and enlighten them on various features of the elephant. This elephant interaction program is available in the morning hours. So be there early.
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| Cauvery paints God's Easels |
Jungle Lodges also offer cottages for visitors to stay. Dubare Inn alongside the river bank at Dubare is yet another stay option.
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| Cauvery reflects |
The road to Dubare is reasonably good and motor-able. Local tourist taxis are available from Madikeri and Kushalnagar.
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| Rooted in Time |
There are a few restaurants on the river bank at Dubare where visitors can have food. They also have more options for food at Kushalnagar and Madikeri.
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| God Washes his paint brushes here |
Visitors can visit other near by sight seeing spots like Cauvery Nisargadhama and Tibetan Golden Temple.
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| Cauvery Stillness Preserved |
Our younger generation must learn to protect and preserve our beautiful environments like Dubare, so that their children and grandchildren can continue to enjoy te beauty of nature.
Have a lovely time at Dubare!
