Says Jnanpeeth award-winning writer MT Vasudevan Nair: “For me, Nila’s significance is greater than that of the greatest ocean in the world. Much of my inner and external life is associated with the river Nila and Koodallur village located on its bank.'' The Nila and and Koodallur together form the backdrop for many of his novels, short stories and screenplays.

In a sense, the Nila has inspired and brightened Kerala’s mindscape. Poets P Kunhiraman Nair, Edasseri, Balamani Amma, novelists C Radhakrishnan, Kamala Das and OV Vijayan are only a few examples of celebrities who grew up near this river often wrote nostalgically about it.

Today, the river appears to be choked by the needs and greed of modern civilization and is reduced to a mere trickle. Its tributaries are dammed to oblivion, channels sucked out by commercial interests, cool forests on its catchments butchered to satisfy consumer needs. Death of the river Nila would mean an insult to a long line of writers, performing artists thinkers and sages who live on its banks and nurture Kerala's spirit, thoughts and dreams – in short, the very identity of the God’s Own Country.

'Near the river' is an effort to direct the spot light onto a unique river valley civilization.

It is the beginning of a series that will synergize various folk and classical artists from the banks of the Nila.

On 13th January 2005, at Alliance Francaise de Bangalore, 'Near the River' provided a window to a living and vibrant culture that lives beside a dying river.

As contemporary writer Anita Nair narrated her impressions of River Nila, unique folk artistes vividly captured its cultural heritage. Pulluvar, Poothan and Thira – local, ritualistic performing art forms – l sketched how the river weaves its way through the lives of the local people.

A photography exhibition capturing the Nila’s myriad emotions complemented these renditions at Alliance Francaise de Bangalore from 13th to 18th of January, 2005.

Help breathe life into the River Nila.

Pulluvar: The Pulluvar are a traditional people following a rural lifestyle in many parts of Kerala. On the banks of the Nila, they still play the role of holistic healers. They visit village houses on the banks of the river, singing the praises of serpent gods. During festivals like Onam and Vishu, they are gifted with rice, paddy, new clothes and money. Farmers give them a share of their harvest.

Most of the songs of the Pulluvar are related with agriculture, serpent worship, rituals and healing.

Pulluva-veena: Made out of thick bamboo, coconut shell and a particular kind of wild creepers Pulluva veena is an accompaniment in all the songs that the male Pulluva sings. There are several stories about the origins of the Pulluva veena. One such legend says that it was gifted to the Pulluvar by Indra, The King of Gods.

Pulluvakkudam: Mostly played by the female member of the group, Pulluvakkudam is made out of an earthern pot and calf skin. It is played by striking its stretched strings, using two small wooden pieces called ‘theru’.

The legend: One of the legends says that the Pulluva tradition of nomadic singing dates back to the period referred to in the great Indian epic Mahabharata. Its heroic princes Pandavas were building their new capital Indraprasta. As the story goes a Pulluva woman (Pulluvathi) saved a serpent king from a fire in the Khandava woods at the proposed site of the new capital. But the local elite declared her an outcaste for touching the snake. Seeing her misery and poverty, the serpent king appeared in her dream and told her that she could revive her livelihood by singing the praise of serpent gods, a healing process for the assorted diseases that the snake king had spread among people who had troubled her. People started providing gifts to her, a practice continued till date.

Poothan and Thira: Practised by the Mannan community, these ritualistic performances are popular during temple festivals on the banks of the Nila, especially in the districts of Malappuram and Palakkad. Thira represent the goddess Kali and Poothan represents the guards of Lord Shiva. Poothan and Thira wear wooden crowns supported by a twin edged cloth. Most of the wooden crowns have intricate and colourful carvings on them. Usually they wear garlands around their neck. Thira paints its face with a paste made out of rice powder and turmeric. Poothan is known to wear silk and does not use any facial make-up. These rhythmic dancers are known for their acrobatic performances.

Poothan and Thira visit village houses during local festivals and they are welcomed with gifts such a rice and money.

River Nila: Bharathapuzha (River Nila) is the longest river in Kerala, 209 of its 250 km course flowing through the state. The river originates from the Thirumurthy Hills of Anamalais in Tamil Nadu state at an elevation of 1964 m above mean sea level. It flows through Coimbatore district in Tamil Nadu and Palakkad, Thrissur and Malappuram districts in Kerala. The river drains into the Arabian Sea at Ponnani in Malappuram. It has an extensive catchment area of 6186 Sq. Km. River Bharathapuzha is bestowed with a rich web of tributaries and sub-tributaries. The river basin receives an average annual rainfall of 2,300 mm and the annual average stream flow is estimated to be 5,082.9 million cubic metres. About 40 Km of the main stream is navigable.

Nila Foundation: Primarly supported by The Blue Yonder, the Nila Foundation was formed out of concern about the state of decay of the River Nila (Bharatapuzha). The Foundation intends to provide a common platform for those who are concerned about rivers in Kerala and River Nila in particular. Its core group members range from anthropologists, documentarians, disaster managers, environmentalists to musicians and performing artistes . Registered as a non profit organisation, the foundation is taking up initiatives to document the ecological and cultural history of the river.

Nila Foundation, in association with CEDAR, is undertaking a study to analyse the status of rivers in Kerala, which is expected to be published by November 2005.

The Blue Yonder: Headquartered in Bangalore, India, The Blue Yonder organises tours along the River Nila, the lush forests of Wayanad, the historic remnants and thriving spice markets of Cochin and the vast backwaters of Alappuzha. It provides jobs to several local youth and contributes to the local economy in over dozen underdeveloped villages.

'The Blue Yonder' was set up as a tool to raise funds for a foundation we have set up to revive and regenerate one of the longest rivers in Kerala called Nila.

We take around tourists to the banks of rivers based on the oral tradition about the legends, folklore and history of the place. As part of this, we show the richness of our river by promoting traditional rituals, crafts and the whole unique river valley civilisation.

Right from the scratch, the whole project has been conceived based on the values of Corporate Social Responsibility. It is tourism that cares. During all the trips we organise, we make sure that we work only through local people who operate the tour programmes on our behalf. This is a way to bring in community ownership in various stretches of the river that we operate in. A healthy river would mean better livelihood options.

During day-long trips and camping on the hills and banks of the river, we make sure that we lunch and dine with local families that make up the labour force of sand mining contractors. Sand mining from its banks is a main cause of worry for the deterioration of the river.

Instead of investing in our own country boats, we hire country boats from local people and show them that they need not be part of an ecologically destructive practice to make a living. This in turn provides them with a job with dignity and ecological sustainability. For more details, please contact gopi@theblueyonder.com.

If you wish to be explore the concept of 'Near the River',
Contact US :

Nila Foundation
c/o The Blue Yonder
165, First Floor, VOICES
9th Cross, 1st Stage, Indiranagar, Bangalore 560 038

Phone: +91.80.25290302/ 303
Mobile: +91.9886053286
Fax: 080 -25290302