The Bahuda - A River Story Poem by Naga Vamshidhar Ratakonda

For years many it dried and stayed alone,
Caught in Draughts, Famine and Extreme Summers;
In Many Years devoid of any flow,
Visitors, Tourists, Media & Natives turned their back;
Emptied were the Canals & Channels that led to it,
Dusted and Rusted were its numerous flood gates,
May be God's curse and its fortune denied;
Water Pits a rare sight and with Sycamore, Wild Grass left,
Livestock quenched thirst and Peasantry engined the crops;

Any Memories of it two decades Old,
That squashed the town to submerse parts of it;
In Chaos and in Fear several drowned,
Included was a friend of mine,
Who got carried away whilst standing aside,
Unaware of its sudden Ferocity & Velocity;

The 'Bahuda' roared again in 2015,
With havoc of Powerful Monsoons from South;
Gods this time for a change were mercy enough,
To Grace and Embrace the 'Bahuda',
Making it a fairy tale of river stories to be told;
At its peak tiny streams on either sides of the roads,
Hurried and Flurried to the huge reservoir,
Sounds of which echoed with music ripples;
Flourished with water were - Wells, Ponds and Lakes,
But for damages to roadways on its way;

Gallons gushed with all the Flood gates lifted,
From every side to fill the lower 'Pincha' tank,
And downstream ponds of Five towns too with that;
With Aquatic life returned & restored in Abundance,
Water bodies got auctioned for never before High Prices;
'Water scarcity for a decade to be unfelt',
Soothsaid the Elderly, Farmers and Expert Authorities;

'Bahuda' in 'Many Ways', The Life and Saviour
Of our Four Centuries Town,
Returned to Life and Stood for its purpose,
Honouring its Promise to Millions,
That Survived & Thrived on it for Generations!