Islands of the Godavari

Imagine a big river. Now imagine it flowing all around you. That is because you are on an island located in the middle of the river. Our very own Godavari happens to have several such islands, and many of them are inhabited too! It is common knowledge of course that the Godavari delta region is one big island. Just before its confluence with the Bay of Bengal, the Godavari divides into two large distributary channels after the city of Rajahmundry. These further divide into two more, creating a wide network of water channels. In this sense, the whole delta region is one big network of islands and waterways. However, it so happens that even before entering the coastal plains, the Godavari floodplain is wide enough to create large islands.

One such island is located near the town of Khanapur on the north banks of the Godavari in Adilabad district. It is known by the name of Badankurthi, after the village of the same name situated on the island. The Godavari here flows all around the island and the village. The place was humorously described to us by a Khanapur local as 'double Godavari'! As can be imagined, the monsoon create singular difficulties for the islanders of Badankurthi. The monsoon flood season cuts them off completely, and makes travel and communication close to impossible. However, things have improved significantly in recent times, as a bridge across the Godavari connecting Khanapur with the south banks passing through Badankurthi island was completed. There are many other such islands amidst the Godavari all through its course, many of which are inhabited. The unique perspectives of the Godavari islanders is very important for our expedition, because only they are completely at the mercy of the river.

Godavari Valley Civilization

They say sometimes that rivers are the birthplaces, cradles, and full blown birthing homes for great civilizations. If you think about it, this seems like such a widely acknowledged fact that it hardly needs any repetition. After all, nearly all of the world's early civilizations were located either on the banks of a large river, or in close proximity to it. The Egyptians had their Nile, the Chinese had the Yellow river, the Mesopotamians enjoyed the waters of the Tigris and Euphrates and our very own Indus valley civilization had India's namesake, the Indus, all to themselves. It seems like these civilizations were so closely dependent on this abundant supply of freshwater that they didnt make a contingency plan for when things went wrong. And they did! The Harappans exploited the Indus, Indus decided to give it back to them and bam, end of the glorious Indus valley civilization. If only they had respected the river and its ecology a little more.

When I started doing research on the Godavari river and the significance of its cultural history, I was pleasantly surprised to know that our very own mother river was in no way a lesser counterpart to the famous Indus. Great civilizations rose and fell on the banks of the Godavari, their lives determined by the flow of its water, and how well they adjusted their lives to its moods. The Satavahana dynasty, the earliest Andhran empire, was so acclimatised to the Godavari that three of their four successive capitals, Kotilingala in Karimnagar, Pratishthana and Junnar in Maharashtra, were all located on the banks of the river. The Chalukyas of Vengi, who located their capital near present day Eluru in Andhra Pradesh, used waters from one of the distributaries of the Godavari. The Kakatiyas ruled not far from its southern banks. Great spiritual centers one existed and flourished all along the Godavari in Andhra Pradesh, and during our preliminary field survey, we found numerous testimonies to this fact from villages and townspeople alike. Different factors might have led to their downfall, but I suspect being so close to the source of life might not have always turned out well for them. However, some of these ancient centers of knowledge that rose along the Godavari river valley survive till today. Basar, Manthani (Mantrapuri), Dharmapuri, Kaleshwaram, Bhadrachalam and Draksharamam are all legacies of a bygone era when the Godavari river banks served as the seat of learning. Our team is so fascinated with this idea that we are going to be making a few detours off our planned expedition route just to visit these bounties of the Godavari and get a shot of culture. After all, they are our very own equivalents of Harappa and Mohenjodaro, They are the legacy and the blessing of the Godavari Valley Civilization, our version of the more famous river valley civilization up north!

The Godavari river valley: An exploration of the river ecology, communities subsisting on it, and threats facing the river

The Godavari River, the second longest in India and the longest in peninsular (south) India, is the cultural, religious and ecological epicenter of the state of Andhra Pradesh. The river traverses a distance of around 800 km from west to east in the state, and has long been the cradle of Telugu culture and civilization, with many religious centers of importance located along its banks. The river supports several important natural habitats, such as moist deciduous forests, mixed forests, wetlands, mountain ecosystems and mangroves. Several indigenous communities, such as the ancient Gonds, Kolams, Nayakpods, Konda Reddy's, live in hamlets close to the river.
A bicycle expedition is being organized along the Godavari river valley, from Kandakurthi in Nizamabad district, where the Godavari river enters Andhra Pradesh, to Yanam/Antarvedi in East Godavari, where the river flows into the Bay of Bengal, a distance of 800 km. The expedition is being organized with support from the National Geographic Society (NGS), Expeditions Council. The expedition team consists of four cyclists. The expedition will follow the course of the Godavari river in the districts of Nizamabad, Adilabad, Karimnagar, Warangal, Khammam, East Godavari and West Godavari. It will pass through 9 wildlife sanctuaries in four districts, will cut across the major tributaries of the Godavari such as the Pranahita, Indravati and the Sabari and will traverse tribal homelands in the Eastern Ghats.

The aim of this expedition is to narrate the story of the Godavari, to generate information on the ecological and human services performed by the river, its biodiversity and anthropological wealth in order to create public interest and to highlight the various challenges facing the river. The objective of this expedition is to document the ecological services performed by the river, its socio-economic significance to the communities subsisting on it, and the various challenges confronting it. We wish to interact with tribal communities, government staff and other important stakeholders and try to understand their perspectives on conserving the river. The expedition will be conducted primarily on bicycle, foot and occasionally by boat and will not disturb the ecology. A comprehensive report, a photo journal and an amateur documentary will be produced after the completion of the expedition.

We request your kind support in helping us organize the expedition. Your assistance will be most appreciated.