Page 25 - Sugam Sarita

Indus, Godavari, Krishna, Narmada, Cauvery, and Mahanadi, are

also significant locations in Indian culture. The culture, tradition,
and history of the state of Tamilnadu are deeply entwined with the
Cauvery River. The Mettur Dam is built across the river, holding
water that would later be released for the agriculture of wet fields. The

Aadi Perukku festival (Adi means a Tamil month, Perukku means
swelling) is held in the middle of July when the river is at its full flow.

The water level reaches the dam’s highest point during the Aadi
Perukku (nearly 120 feet). After that, the water is released to help

farmers with irrigation and crop cultivation. People congregate
around the dam and its surrounds during the festival to perform
pujas (prayers) for Cauvery, the mother. On the eighteenth day of
the month Aadi, the gods’ weapons are cleansed in remembrance

of the Mahabharata epic figures, the Pandavas and Kaurava, who
fought for eighteen protracted days. A ruler of the Chola dynasty
named Karikalan used stones to construct the Kallanai dam close to
Tiruchirappalli during the second century AD.

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