The Kaaval Deivam writes in anguish

Raja Ramakrishnan

I am the Kaaval Deivam of Chennaipattinam, nowadays called Chennai. The Romans called their Kaval Deivam ­‘Genius Loci’. These days, people have forgotten us but we are still around to help and protect our villages and towns. I write this in sorrow and anguish about the recent tragedy in my beloved ward.

My ward was once an undeveloped land with a long seashore, hot most of the year. It was a flat land with depressions and lakes, marshy lands and two rivers, designed to collect the water during the short rainy season when cyclones and depressions brought heavy spells of rains, which collected in the lakes and marshes and charged the groundwater for the rest of the year. There were naturals forests in certain areas. It was a place sparsely inhabited by fishermen, hosted small villages and a string of temples.

The south of India with its coast line had extensive maritime trade and contacts with the West from Roman times. The western coast was very active as also the southern part of the eastern coast. The Chennai coast was not active because of the shallow coast and unfriendly weather till the Pallavas started using Mahabalipuram for cultural trade with the East. After the Pallavas, the Chennai coast went into decline till the Dutch, Portuguese and English established settlements.

Against all odds, the English succeeded and it was the start of the British empire. I was very happy that my ward at last took off. Chennai was able to take the new development of the town in its stride. Water still drained and rivers flowed without inundating the city. The British set up the first Western type of corporation to manage the city and set up waterworks and drains. A canal was built from Nellore to the city to transport goods during the stormy season. Three waterways in Chennai and all flowing!

Cyclonic storms and heavy rains lashed the Chennai area every year – some years very heavily, some years failing. As long as Chennai was a small town, it took it in its stride, the rivers and lakes and marshy lands taking care of the excess rain. In drought years, the groundwater helped. The sea breeze which set in every day (except for a few weeks before the onset of the Northeast Monsoon) made Chennai livable. Pollution was negligible. It is not that disasters did not take place, but the damage to life and property was containable.

My ward had one of the finest beaches in the world and the view from the sea of the long pristine seashore was a sight to savour. Alas, it has shrunk and construction on the seashore has ruined it. Still, up to the middle of the last century my ward was a sleepy town which went to sleep early in houses on nice tree-lined streets. People said that it would never change.

Gradually, change came. The rivers and the canal became sewage drains. Attempts at cleaning them made things worse. The city experienced shortage of water. River banks were encroached upon and flow was reduced leading to flooding in rainy weather. Marshes were filled and built upon. Tanks were encroached and reduced and polluted. Industries came up without adequate pollution control. The numbers of automobiles and lorries exploded, causing extensive air pollution. High-rises became the norm, creating heat banks and confining the famous Chennai sea breeze to the shore areas. Sewage started overflowing in some areas when it got overloaded, having to deal with more apartments.

From about the 1970s, flooding in certain parts became endemic during the monsoon season. Like an unfolding tragedy these changes continued unabated with the connivance of the authorities, the building spree of the builders continuing at a faster pace. Imagine twenty-storey flats in Chennai of all places! Motorised vehicles continued growing in numbers unabated.

World over, weather patterns were changing and a few years ago when New York was devastated by hurricane Sandy, Chennai barely paid any attention. So, when in November and December, a deluge struck Chennai with a vengeance, from which we are still recovering, we were so unprepared that it was a disaster and the persons who suffered most for the negligence were the old and poor. The blame was put on nature instead of introspecting on the man-made cause. Relief from the political parties was a show. Instead of joining together in aid work they played to their own agendas. It was private organisations and individuals who pitched in and helped people with food and medical aid. Relief work by government was as usual slow and ponderous. Even in this time of tragedy, political parties had in mind only the elections round the corner.

History records many instances of cities withering away. There are also cities like London which have survived over 2000 years by adapting themselves. My ward Chennai can survive and bloom again. It requires spirit and sacrifice. We have survived by bringing water to a water-starved place. Such a beautiful place with three waterways and a dreamlike seashore cannot be allowed to decline. I am your Kaval Deivam to protect and help, but you have to help yourself first by making sacrifices.

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