Godavari in Rajamundry

Manasi Bandyopadhyay (Chakrabarti)

I still remember that day when I first met the river Godavari. We were going to Chennai from Howrah by Chenai mail. It was a shiny afternoon, we just had finished our afternoon tea, the train had departed from Rajamundry. The speed was slow and after sometime it became slower. “What has happened?” I was curious. Peeping through the window, I saw a vast river was stretched and the train was approaching slowly to the bridge.

“Godavari ! ” I exclaimed !

I knew Godavari is very wide here , the bridge over her is the second largest bridge in India with 56 pillars and 4 K.M. length, but I did not see it before. It was an amazing   scene! The muddy water was rippling slowly, glowing under the afternoon sun. The other two South Indian passengers in our  coupé,  paid their respect to the river with folding hand in Namaskar mood and started to chanted a hymn in a low whispering voice. Godavari is called ‘the Ganges ( or Ganga) of Dakshinatya ( South India)’.

On that very afternoon, I decided to go to Raja Mundry someday or other to saw Godavari from a closer look, to seat on its ghat to realize her grace.

It was a July morning of 2005. At last we managed to get down at Rajamundry station. A very neat and clean station with a typical South  Indian characteristic.  We ate breakfast and took tea in a not so large restaurant nearby and then hired an auto to reach  the Kotilingeshwar  ghaat – the murmuring morning wind, chirping of bird , the sound of water – everything had calm and soothing effect on mind.

To me, not only Godavari but all the river  seems to be Chaitanyamoy – full of consciousness.

Suddenly, one thing caught my eyes. A group of people were taking bananas to the local market with their bicycles.

There is a cruise system too on the river.

The bridge is an engineering marvel.  

Rajamundry is situated on the east bank of the river Godavari and is the main city in east Godavari district in Andhra Pradesh. The Chalukya king Mahendra established his capital here by giving the city her name as Raja Mahendri. ­Raj Mundri is derived from Raja Mahendry. Situated on the east bank of the Godavari, it is an agricultural place as well as a famous Hindu pilgrim .

 There are two ghat here – Pushkar and Kotilingeshwar. It is a belief that if a sinner, after taking bath in Godavari from Kotilingeshwar ghat, offers pujas to Kotilingeshwar temple ,  built on 10^th and  11^th century A.D. , she/he will be free from all sins.

There is another famous ghat, Pushkar, where in every twelve years Pushkar mela or fare  is being held . 

At that time I had a Hot Shot camera and took photos with that.