2010 Save water and Save life…in Karnataka style.
Karnataka is a state in South West India. It was created
on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation
Act. Originally known as the State of Mysore, it was
renamed Karnataka in 1973. Karnataka is bordered by
the Arabian Sea to the west, Goa to the northwest, Maharashtra
to the north, Andhra Pradesh to the east, Tamil Nadu
to the southeast, and Kerala to the southwest.The most important element in everyday life is water. In urban civilization, the supply of water never matches the demand. Since surface water is not sufficient, the dependence upon the underground water is increasing every day. Ever expanding civilization is rapidly diminishing the water within the earth and the result is pollution. This is forcing us to look for alternative resources for pure water. The only easy solution for this alternative source of water is rain water…the everlasting blessing from Mother Nature.
In India, the heritage of preserving rain water goes back to 5000 years. With increasing problems of water pollution, supply of water is also turning out to be a large problem for mankind. In India, different provinces, from the past, have different methods of water preservation and they are modernizing it with time and Karnataka has one of the oldest heritages of water preservation.
The most commonly used methods of preservation are – step-well, lakes, water bodies etc. In Karnataka’s Bijapur Golgombuj, the underground pipelines, used for water transportation and preservation is still present. Apart from this, another very famous process of water preservation in Karnataka is queued up multiple water tanks. When one tank is filled up, water spills over to the adjacent tank and so on. In Karnataka plateau it is known as “KEDE”.
Due to haphazard urbanization, the chloride and arsenic content in water is increasing rapidly. Urbanization is increasing the amount of underground water extraction indiscriminately. And as a result 81 blocks and 49 blocks out of 342 blocks in West Bengal are badly affected by poisonous side effects of arsenic and chloride respectively. This poison is entering our body through food chain. Not only that. A report published by Ground Water Committee shows that the level of underground water has gone down by 8 to 11 meters. This is the result of continuous extraction of water from 1958 to 2007. In Kolkata Municipal area, 86 crore 89 lakh liter of water is extracted every day. This is just an official record but the unofficial figure is ten times than this. Apart from this, filling up of ponds, water bodies, covering of soil by concrete are multiplying the effect by not allowing rain water to enter earth. The obvious result of this is water level for urban usage is going down. Here the only way of rescuing from such situation is the Karnataka’s old age process of rain water preservation.
Hope now you have started guessing about the theme of this year’s Pujo. Yes! People who always give preference to social responsibilities in whatever they do…Suruchi Sangha…this year will present glimpses of how to save our mother earth by preserving water. In this issue, Karnataka is pioneer and thus we will try to follow minute details of Karnataka’s heritage, art, culture, life to build public awareness and a motion. This is our Sarodia Greetings for you all.
Journey through the stage
Like all other temples in Karnataka, our stage will also have two entries (Gopurom). The entry will be made in the form of famous Karnataka dance mask Somana Kunitha. The masks are called Soma. The entire field will be divided into two parts. Right side of the entry will have famous Toda village from Nilgiri Hills.
The main stage will be in the form of Toda huts known as Mand. After crossing the Toda village, the court yard will display how the rain drops transform mother earth into a green heaven. After turning right from the court yard, the famous drama characters from Karnataka will be seen. According to researchers, Karnataka’s Humphy area is similar to the Kiskindhya mentioned in Ramayan. That is why the old drama plots are predominantly based on Ramayan and Sugreeb-Bali fight is very popular. Humphy is known as India’s Rock Capital. To keep synergy, the stage area is also made uneven and rocky. On the left, the famous step-well, which is the main water storage process in Karnataka, will be seen. The entire water supply is coming through corporation pipelines and the entire water, without wasting a single drop, will be returned to corporation pipelines as recycled usable water. This area will remind the Karnataka’s cultural atmosphere. The famous folk culture of Karnataka, Yaksagana, which is a beautiful blend of song, dance and drama, will be seen here in its complete form. Dharmadhwaja, the god’s chariot will also be here. Mysore’s Chamundeshwari idol will be at the exit gate. The name Mysore came from the fact that goddess killed Mahisasur in this place. The main stage will show different art form of 3 dimensional art and craft and famous leather puppet cut out of Karnataka.
Lighting – the interiors of the main stage will be appropriately lit. There will be two lamp pillars made of famous Karnataka lamp in front of the main stage. The social atmosphere will be made by the festive lighting. The performance area will be full of dramatic lighting.
Suruchi will be full of extravaganza!!