Search for Saraswati

The relationship between religion and myth depends on the nature of the myth; at the same time, all religious stories are not myths (“ >Searching for Saraswati ”, April 17). The saffron parties appear to be unnecessarily mixing up mythology with science. The Triveni Sangam is a myth although Hindu philosophers revere it. A similar confluence of rivers is believed to exist and revered at “Kooduthurai” in Bhavani, Tamil Nadu, where the rivers, Bhavani and Cauvery, are said to be in confluence with the mythical and invisible river, Amirtha.

C.R. Ananthanarayanan,

Bengaluru

The Haryana government’s plans to rediscover or recreate the Saraswati river are surprising. The issue of the Saraswati’s location is a contentious one and the time has come to shift the focus from trying to justify an idea in religious texts to one that is based on reality. There are thousands of people who are deprived of clean, drinking water and the priority of the government should be to provide them with such water instead of wasting money on an excavation which may not yield any dividends.

Tabish Naqvi,

Patiala, Punjab

Historian Irfan Habib’s thoughts on the Saraswati are well known. Michel Danino has written a scholarly book, The Lost River , in which the evidence for the river is very clearly put forward. In Prof. Habib’s article, the irony is that the cartoon, which shows an ostrich burying its head in the sand, is something that applies equally to “our eminent historians”. The river’s existence will cause the mythical Aryan invasion theory to which our historians are clinging onto, to crumble and also prove that the edifice of our country’s greatness stands as a great continuing civilisation for the last 5,000 years at least. Hence, it is understandable that there is resistance on the part of historians, evident in the tone of mockery in the article. The existence of the river will at least give the country and its youth a reason to be justifiably proud of our ancient culture and heritage, which “eminent historians” do not want to happen for reasons best known to them.

Pingali Gopal,

Warangal, Telangana