Pradeep Nettur is delighted to quote his father, the late Nettur P Damodaran’s poetic tribute to river Narmada. “My father, in a mesmerised state on seeing the river Narmada, quoted Malayalam poet Kumaran Asan’s poem in his book Narmadayude Nattil . It was thrilling to read but hard to translate. I sought help from my author cousin, CV Sudheendraan,” he shares, over phone from Bengaluru.
At 68, Pradeep has translated Narmadayude Nattil — as In The Land of Narmada (Author’s Channel) — written by his father who was also a member of the first Lok Sabha.
He calls it a fascinating tale of an unknown area of the country told through the Narmada from the pre-Sardar Sarovar days. The second of four siblings, Pradeep focussed on his father’s literary works after his retirement as Chief Engineer in the Department of Posts.
Duty calls
Published in 1973, Narmadayude Nattil is a travelogue born as a result of Damodaran’s travels around India. He was on official duty to identify Scheduled Tribes and help in implementing plans for their upliftment. While travelling around Central India, he was enamoured by the river Narmada. Written as a narrative, the travelogue builds a story on its culture, emerging development, the life of its people and mythology.
Poetry constitutes a significant part when it comes to describing places. “My father was thrilled on visiting Ujjain, the place where Kalidasa created his works and Krishna and Kuchela are said to have spent days in an ashram. He quotes Kunchan Nambiar to describe its historic importance. His writing style was simple, but the sentences were tough to translate without losing essence. It was equally hard to find suitable words to match his excitement.”
The book follows the river’s origin from Amarkantak plateau in Madhya Pradesh and its free-flowing course in Central India up to Hirankood. “A Google search on the Narmada shows only the Narmada Bachao Andolan that started in the mid-1980s. The younger generation is not aware of the beauty of this place,” Pradeep says, adding that he hopes younger readers would connect with the travel stories of a South Indian who toured Central India in 1964.
In The Land of Narmada , translated by Pradeep Nettur is available online
