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ShopDay 10 - Cauvery Diaries: Of Motorcycles and a Mystic
After a grand welcome into Tamil Nadu yesterday in Hosur and Dharmapuri, Sadhguru heads further south to Mettur and Erode today, as people wait in anticipation to receive him.
Sep 1 - 2 Days To Go || Sep 2 - 1 Day To Go || Sep 3 - Day 1 || Sep 4 - Day 2 || Sep 5 - Day 3 || Sep 6 - Day 4 || Sep 7 - Day 5 || Sep 8 -Day 6 || Sep 9 - Day 7 || Sep 10 - Day 8 || Sep 11 - Day 9 ||
Meet Our Motorcyclists - Ramdas
Who knew a man who flew without feathers also rode on two wheels? We didn’t until his friend interrupted and disclosed his secret. Ramdas, from Bengaluru, a helicopter pilot rides with Sadhguru in the rally and is so excited about the bike ride. We thought you should hear it from him about his experience on the journey so far. Watch him here.
Every day a different set of police officers have been escorting the motorcade through Tamil Nadu. Each time, their conversations intrigue volunteers. Here is another tidbit, shared by a volunteer.
“One of the policemen asked, ‘Will he drive in the rains?’
I replied, ‘Yes, he’s been riding in the rain for the last 10 days.’
Then he said in surprise, ‘How is it possible to ride in rain? It’s very difficult to see.’
Before I could answer, another Police SI said, ‘That’s the difference between him and us, and that’s the power of Yoga!’”
Watch: Sadhguru rides across the Mettur Dam yesterday
Sadhguru - Yogi, Mystic, Batsman!
A few days ago in Bengaluru for Cauvery Calling, Sadhguru pulls over his motorcycle to whack a few balls over the boundary, as he takes to the crease with bat in hand.
He also encountered little Kenisha, who made a card for him and donated Rs. 42 per tree.
Some excerpts from the Erode event that just got over
Dr. A. K. Natesan, Chairman of Excel Institutions, spoke about their full fledged support to Cauvery Calling. “The Excel Institutions is a 126 acre campus in which about 10k to 15k trees have been planted by us. This year we have planned to plant upto 50k trees within the Rotary district. We will be part of your campaign and we will support this effort not only this year but all through the 12 years of Cauvery Calling.”
Chellamuthu, spoke about how rich and fertile Tamil Nadu was and how we have turned it into a desert. “20-30 years ago, the rivers of Cauvery, Noyyal and Amaravathi were flowing for 300 days a year with crystal clear water. But now we have come to a state where the water is polluted, nature is dead and the rivers have dried up.” He was awed by Sadhguru as he shared, “With great enthusiasm, Sadhguru has left on this journey to save the rivers, the people, the soil, and the farmers. With a fervor like a youngster, the whole youth community of the state will stand tall to be part of this campaign and make this a grand success.”
Padma Shri S. K. M. Maeilanandhan, founder of SKM Group of Companies, reminisced about the old times when Cauvery flowed like the magnificent river she was and said, “In our youth, we used to drink water from Cauvery after a long day in the field, after washing off our cows and ploughs. But today we are in a situation where the farmers need to carry water bottles to the agri fields.”
Mr. P. Thangamani, Minister for Electricity, Prohibition and Excise, spoke about the universal significance of Cauvery Calling, “This campaign is above all politics, caste and creed.” He spoke about the expenditure incurred for water in the state: “We spend about Rs. 2000 crore for water in Tamil Nadu every year. There is no water even at 1200 feet nowadays, when in the past we used to get water at 100 feet or so. This is because we have felled all the trees and we are struggling for water. Our kids should not face this, and that is the reason why Sadhguru has taken this up.”
Mr. K.A. Sengottaiyan, Minister for School Education, Youth Welfare and Sports Development, announced, “From the Education department and the Electricity department, we are waiting for the CM of Tamil Nadu’s approval that every student should contribute 2 trees. With 1 crore students, we will be in full support to this campaign and we promise to see this through to completion.”
Sadhguru Speaks!
“The reason why I am speaking today is because - you need to listen very carefully - each one of you should know and must inform this to at least 100 people,” Sadhguru began, explaining how this is not yet another tree planting program. He spoke about Cauvery’s significance: “Cauvery is not just one river. It is the product of 120 rivers coming together. 120 rivers that were perennial. Out of those 120, now only 31 rivers are flowing throughout the year.” Speaking about our responsibility to the future generations, “We should have the decency to leave this soil to future generations how our parents left it to us, if not better.” He spoke about the importance of water, “Water is not a thing we make use of. It is a fundamental element of our life.”
Lastly, Sadhguru made a request to the people of Erode: “The people of Erode should grow 5 crore saplings in 5 years, then we promise that maximum number of saplings will be planted in this district only. We will provide you the team, the saplings and whatever you want.”
Sub-collector of Dharmapuri, Mr. Shivam Arul, IAS, and family supports Cauvery Calling.
Cauvery Calling Karnataka Highlights
As the Karnataka part of Cauvery Calling winds down, let's take a look back at the blitzkrieg of events and fun stops that Sadhguru and the Cauvery bikers made on the way.
Students of Kavery College, Mettur offer a roaring send-off to Sadhguru and make their support for #CauveryCalling loud and clear.
"Everybody should see Cauvery at least once in their life," says Nikhil from Phoenix, as he shares his experience as a participant in the CauveryCalling movement.
Watch Sadhguru Live Now in Erode!
2:50pm - Sadhguru visits an agroforestry farm near Bhavani River, a tributary of Cauvery, on the way to Erode. He has a conversation with farmer Senthilkumar (who spoke in the Hosur event yesterday).
Senthilkumar shared how after shifting to agroforestry, his turmeric (as an intercrop) yield has more than doubled. The quality of his turmeric has also been enhanced as the curcumin content has increased, giving him a better rate for his produce in the market. Additionally, the strong winds do not knock over his banana plants as they do in neighboring farms, because of the presence of trees.
Sadhguru addressed a group of farmers, mentioning how once he was in a tea shop in California and they asked him if he wanted turmeric in his tea, saying it was healthy and anti-carcinogenic. Sadhguru asked them if they bought it from India, but they said the Indian turmeric had less than half of the required curcumin content, so they are buying theirs from Cambodia or Vietnam. The irony is the Vietnamese scientists had come to study in institutes in India, and took back some turmeric with them to grow there.
Sadhguru spoke about how the chemical fertilizers leached nutrients from the India’s soil. He asked, if there are no nutrients in the soil, how will there be nutrients in food? As a closing remark, he urged the farmers to loudly demand in one voice for the necessary policy changes for them to grow trees: freedom for farmers to cut, transport and sell trees; subsidies; and the formation of a timber board.
Young Sampoorna offers Sadhguru her pocket money - enough to plant 100 trees.
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The enthusiasm and energy of the school students is palpable for the passing motorcade, which fills with a renewed hope to save Cauvery. #CauveryDiaries - Day 10 #CauveryCallinghttps://t.co/CmGIhL1y82 pic.twitter.com/Sj7nK0lRa1
— Rally For Rivers - Cauvery Calling (@rallyforrivers) September 12, 2019
On the way out of Mettur, Sadhguru urges residents of this village to name every newborn girl child - "Cauvery". He further adds that Mother Cauvery's name must resound in everyone's consciousness.
Sadhguru makes a bend on the road for revitalization of Cauvery...towards JSW in Mettur this morning.
Watch some glimpses from Sadhguru’s engagements at the UNCCD COP14 (United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, Conference of Parties) in Delhi on 9-10 September.
At #UNCCDCOP14 , fan moments continue for Sadhguru as delegates from over 170 nations mill around, while Baaba Maal croons in the background.
Popular Senegalese singer, Baaba Maal, sharing with Sadhguru all the messages he has received from his Senegalese fans, who are ecstatic that he is sharing a stage with Sadhguru.
He also mentioned how all the young Senegalese are following him.
Sadhguru on his way to meet Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Shri Prakash Javadekar, Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, today at UNCCD in Delhi.
About Mettur
Mettur is famous for its dam, chemical manufacturing units, aluminum production, and power generation. Mettur Dam, also known as “Stanley Reservoir” is the largest of its kind in India. Two villages got submerged inside water in the year 1934 during this dam's construction, and the inhabitants were relocated to Mettur town.
For many years this dam has been fulfilling the irrigation needs of Tamil Nadu. But, from the past seven years, the popularly known “Kuruvai” paddy crops kept waiting for a heads up from the monsoon rains to fill the dam. Farmers’ hope of receiving water for their crops was dashed. Due to a serious lack of water, they have been forced to move to labor jobs.
The dam, as well as the farmers, still hope that things will get better if corrective measures are taken to align mother nature to its true nature.
The management of JSW Steel Works, Mettur join Sadhguru on stage to show their support for Cauvery Calling.
Sadhguru Speaks!
Sadhguru began the Mettur event by singing Nadi Stuti and the participants sang along with him.
“Many people don't understand my concern. It was with Cauvery that I grew up. I was not much interested in school. So I was with Cauvery. So many lives like you and me have passed since the day Cauvery began flowing. But Cauvery is such a magnificent life. But now she is depleting, that too in the last 7 years she is depleting drastically. If this continues, Cauvery will remain only in our memories,” Sadhguru reiterated the horrifying truth that will be staring us in the face if we don’t act now.
“This is not an afforestation initiative. Farmers need to plant trees through agroforestry and save the soil to hold water,” Sadhguru explained. Speaking about the 242 crore trees and the integrated approach of Cauvery Calling, Sadhguru said, “242 crore tree saplings looks like a very big number. But our population is 130 crore people. If each contributes for 2, it will be done. But there are some people who will not do anything, so we have to plant for them also.”
The event ended around 11.15 am, after which Sadhguru immediately took off on the next leg of the rally.
Watch Sadhguru Live Now in Mettur!
10:58am - Sadhguru is welcomed at the JSW auditorium in Mettur.
Meanwhile, an exuberant crowd dance to drum beats and line up along the roads outside the JSW auditorium to give Sadhguru a hearty welcome for the next event in Mettur.
Meanwhile, a festive atmosphere awaits @SadhguruJV at the JSW Auditorium, the venue for today's #CauveryCalling event at Mettur. #CauveryDiaries - Day 10 https://t.co/CmGIhL1y82 pic.twitter.com/mGLOXiEbey
— Rally For Rivers - Cauvery Calling (@rallyforrivers) September 12, 2019
Isha Vidhya students draw attention to the depletion of our river and what we need to do now.
Sounds of Isha does their sound check indoors.
Caught the campsite on camera!
It was a stormy night, yesterday, with the bonus of the torrential downpour that had the participants gobbling up the steaming dosas straight from the tawa. After the satsang with Sadhguru the participants snuggled into their tents to sleep to the pitter-patter of the raindrops.
The stunning sight of Cauvery at the foothills of lush green mountains awaited the participants in the early morning hours of today. The morning sun and the clouds conspired to give the participants a taste of nature as they had a darshan of Cauvery in all her glory.
Time for breakfast!
The participants were served an entire lineup of the Tamil Nadu cuisine by our ever loving kitchen team. From soft idlis to piping hot vadas, they had it all, not to mention a variety of chutneys. Oh yeah! They had salads too.
We caught a few volunteers having the time of their lives, serving this amazing food with oodles of love, while a few others were caught eating them with gusto!
Amongst the participants, we found actress Nithya Menen sitting amongst the riders, enjoying this scrumptious spread.
To top it off, we had Sadhguru walking in to mingle with the participants at breakfast!.
Also, here are some pictures of the participants out on a boat ride, steered by a local fisherman - just before breakfast! They get a chance to be close to Mother Cauvery.
9:35am - Nithya Menen has a chat with Sadhguru just before he leaves the campsite. He talked about the circumstances that have led to soil infertility and therefore farm distress.
9:48am - Heartwarming send off by the local villagers, with flowers, pooja and a shawl for Sadhguru.
9:53am - Just 500 meters further, another pooja for the motorcycle and an offering of local flowers.
9:58am - Another 500 meters later, local women offer auspicious turmeric water before Sadhguru’s bike for his safety and health.
10:02am - At last, they’re off!
Watch the Day 6 Highlights of Cauvery Calling!
A roaring wave of blue led by Sadhguru swept through some iconic locations of Bengaluru to make Cauvery flow again. Shri B. S. Yediyurappa, the Chief Minister of Karnataka, offers 20 million saplings from the state's forest department and the government's full support to all aspects of CauveryCalling.
Actress Nithya Menen joins the movement to FREE INDIA of Water Crisis.
Sadhguru gets a grand and traditional welcome at Dharmapuri.
Wing Commander Abhinandan's Parents Support Cauvery Calling Air Marshall (Retd.) Simhakutty Varthaman and Dr. Shobha Varthaman extend their wholehearted support for CauveryCalling.
Catch up on some of the videos from yesterday, as Sadhguru made his way to Hosur and then Dharmapuri to finally camp at night in Mettur. Sadhguru rides on…
A shower of affection & a monsoon shower welcome Sadhguru in Tamil Nadu
Sadhguru leaves behind a highly inspired crowd in Hosur as he heads for the next stop to answer Cauvery's call.
Sadhguru received a celebratory welcome from the people of Tamil Nadu at the Karnataka - Tamil Nadu border as he and his motorcade foray into the land of Chozhas and Pandyas to give Mother Cauvery a renewed chance of survival.
Sadhguru en route to Tamil Nadu from Karnataka to kick-off next leg of the movement in Hosur.
Sadhguru leaves Bengaluru... Onwards to Hosur!