When I was a kid,my father and I used to visit a check dam on the river Godavari nearby our house.Come summer holidays we would definitely make a visit to that dam.Covering our faces with scarves and after a long ride on my dad's bike we used to reach the riverside.Crossing the whole check dam was a kind of achievement for me.Dad early on infected in me a sense of interest in adventure and history.In between our leisurely dips in the river my dad used to tell me about the history of dam.He told me the check dam was constructed by Sir Arthur Cotton.I was fascinated about Sir Arthur Cotton from then.We have all heard or read about the stories of the atrocities of the British Raj,But here was a man who honestly strived to improve the conditions of the villagers.So much so that Cotton was hated by his administrative superiors—thanks to his loving attitudes towards the people of India.Millions of people of the Krishna and Godavari delta still fondly call him Cotton dora.More about the man now.
He was a British general and irrigation engineer.He was born in the 1803 and entered the Madras Engineers in 1819.From 1828 he started his irrigation works in India starting from Tanjore.After his successful work in Tanjore he moved on to his next project which was to become one of his most important works.
In 1848 after a series of floods in the Godavari delta Cotton dora suggested that a plan to minimize the impact of the the floods and at the same time increase the productivity of the area.His plan was to build an anicut (The word anicut derives its origin from the tamil words anai cutta) across the Godavari river at Dowleshwaram near Rajamundary.At that time this area was one of the poorest in the Madras Presidency and Cotton dora firmly believed that creating irrigating cum navigating facilities would revive the area and turn into a rich area.He put forward his proposal in front of the East India Company and got their assent.
In 1852 the project was completed and the results of his work showed in the coming years.The region turned into one of the most prosperous in India and the people became well to do.After this work he moved on to the Krishna district where he built another anicut. This too had proved very beneficial for the people of the region.
Alexander John Arbuthnot in 1901 said-
''The effect of Cotton's works in preventing or in mitigating famines is unquestionable. In the great famine of 1877 four million persons are supposed to have perished in the more or less unprotected districts of the Madras presidency. In the districts protected by the great irrigation works, viz. Godávery, Krishna, and Tanjore, there were no deaths from famine, and it is estimated that the surplus food exported from these districts was sufficient to save the lives of three million persons''
He was knighted in 1861 for his services.He died on July 14, 1899 at Dorking, Surrey, at the age of 97.But people of Andhra Pradesh still remember him.Some of his ideas like the one about interlinking all the rivers of India are still being discussed today.Even today one can see the portraits or photographs of Sir Arthur Cotton in almost all government offices in the East and West Godavari districts.It is said that he is the only Englishman whose statue was installed in India after Independence.There are some 3000 statutes in all.
Once when we were on that check dam my dad asked a man crossing the dam that who had built this dam.Pat came the reply 'Cotton dora'.Thats something that would have made cotton dora more happy than his knighthood,The love of the people even after the passage of almost 150 years.
In 2009 a team from Andhra Pradesh went to London to find Cotton Dora's tomb and they found it in Dorking 50km from London.Here is the link for the full article.
Chhattisgarh is a state in eastern part of India.It has an image of being backward and being naxal infested.But there are many other facts about it which many people are ignorant about.Here are five facts which people not familiar with with Chhattisgarh may find interesting.
1- Chhattisgarh has huge mineral resources.
Chhattisgarh is one of the most mineral rich states in India.The mineral wealth in this part of India(along with Chhattisgarh, Orissa,Jharkhand and other eastern states) is still among the most valuable in the world.It has around 28 mineral varieties.Its the only producer of tin in India.One of the best quality Iron ore in the world is found in the mines of Bailadila in Chhattisgarh and is exported to other countries.
2-It has one of the largest Power and Steel Sectors in India
Its one of the few states in India which has surplus power production.With powerplants of NTPC,CSEB and Private companies like Jindal Power Limited,Korba West,DB Power,SKS Power and others it is in a enviable situation.It also has Steel Plants in Bhillai operated by SAIL and a plant in Raigarh operated by Jindal Steel and Power Limited among others.Raipur,capital of Chhattisgarh has become the center of Steel Sector in India.
3-It has nearly 44% land area covered by Forests.
With over 44% of its total area under forests, Chhattisgarh is amongst the greenest states of India.It houses 3 National Parks and 11 Wildlife Sanctuaries.Also Some of the best sal forests in the country are found in this state.It also has around 80 varieties of medicinal plants.
4-It Records the highest Freight loading among 17 zones of Indian Railway.
South East Central Railway with its headquarters in Chhattisgarh records the highest freight loading every year in India.It is known as the 'Blue Chip of Indian Railway' with 5600 wagons being loaded everyday.
Representing one's school in a competition is one of the best feelings one can have.I got my chance to represent my school when I was selected to be in our school's(Atomic Energy Central School,Manuguru) Quiz Team for a youth fest that was going to be held in Mumbai.It was one of the best things to have happened in my life.I was part of a large group of students selected for the fest.It was something like Olympics.Only difference that you are representing your school rather than nation.At that age school was our identity.And AECS,our school,was something of which we were very proud of.
My quizzing journey started back in my 9th class.I got third position in a written quiz conducted by the Library Dept of our school.And there was a big Quiz contest coming organised by 'The Hindu' in Hyderabad. I was hoping to attend the selection trials for that and was upbeat about my chances.But to my dismay I found out that our school had already selected a student and was sending him without conducting proper trials.I moved on and in my 10th there was a intra school Quiz Competition.Our house was conducting selection trials and I attented them.There were four people to be selected to form a team,Many students attended and soon the first three positions got filled up.The fourth was left.I beat many others and finally it was between me and another boy.The selector asked us the tie breaker question.We both couldnt answer.She asked another.Now we both knew the answer.She asked another and this time I answered and was in the team.I was delighted and finally my dream to be on a quiz team finally came true.The day of the tournament came and our house won the first prize with me playing a significant role in our win.After this win I constantly participated in other quiz contests and won a number of them.
In my Intermediate days I heard about the upcoming Mumbai Youth Fest where a number of competitions would be organised.It was a four day extravaganza and when I heard that quiz was going to be a part of it I was very excited.Soon the expected call up came and I was one of the first team members to selected for Quiz.I was also selected for Debate for which I declined saying I was much better performer in quiz than in Debate.I was given responsibility of the Quiz team being the senior most member and was given a say in the selection of other members.I selected some but due to their participation in other events They couldn't make it in my team.Finally after a lot of deliberations a four member team was formed comprising of Netrav Gupta,Sreenidhi,Venella and myself.All three of my teammates were excellent in studies.I was good at academics but nowhere near to my three teammates but in terms of General Knowledge we all four made a good team.Now with the team in place we were told to practice which we did but in our own way.We never really sat together and practice.All three of them were busy with their other commitments and all I could think was about going to Mumbai.Finally the day of departure came and we were off to Mumbai.My favorites teachers Amulya Ma'am and Hemamalini Ma'am were also accompanying us.It only made my the trip more enjoyable.There were only two members from Intermediate second year.Ananjay and myself.So we had a bit of responsibility on our shoulders.
Before the events started there was going to be a big display of tableaus from the various participating
schools.Our school was also making one.We had a skit to be performed on the truck.I was given the role of a British Officer.Two funny incidents happend regarding my role.One when I was walking by on the roads of the colony from the hostel where I got my costume on towards the venue of the tableu,many people mocked me and playfully hurled abuses at me.Someone shouted 'angrez ki aulad bharat chhod' someone else shouted 'simon go back' someone even threw some stones at me.I had a good laugh at this.Another thing to happen was to change into my costume my teacher called me to the girls hostel.I changed into my costume and forgot my T-Shirt there.The next day I casually mentioned in front my friends that I forgot my T-shirt at the girls hostel.They were like 'Dude how did your shirt end up in the girls hostel' and I had to start from the
beginning and stop their overworking brains to jump to conclusions.
By the Second day Our school had participated in almost
all of the events and were still to open our account of wins.Our event was on the second day.First there was a preliminary round.I was expecting the boring written round but to my delight I found out that it was to be a stage round.We were discussing amongst ourselves of clearing the prelims nevermind winning the whole contest.We were in the sixth round of eliminators.In it the first question asked to us was about the origin of names of months of a calendar and collectively we answered it easily.Soon other questions followed and we answered with ease.In this preliminary round my contribution was bit less compared with others.We qualified easily in this round.Having cleared the prelims we were in a relaxed state of mind.There was still time for the main round to start.
The time for the main round finally came.There were many round each dealing with different fields.There were many tough questions but my reading habit came to my rescue many times.I knew many answers from the novels that I had read.We were competing well.The audience was comprised of two sections of people.One section was supporting the home school,Mumbai.The other was supporting all the teams other than Mumbai.The mumbai crowd was bigger and was much more vocal of their support.Every correct answer was greeted by loud cheers,whistles and claps.Round after round we answered well and slowly we were inching to the top of the points table.Soon the last round came and We were trailing the home team by 2.5 points and the contest was heating up.There was one question left to be asked to the Mumbai team and were hoping that they not answer it and the question get passed to the other teams.In that way if we could answer it we still had a chance to win.Finally the quiz master asked the final question.As soon as I heard the question my heart rate increased cause I knew the answer.I also knew the question was a tough one and the answer was something that couldn't be guessed.What we hoped,happened.Mumbai couldn't answer it and one by one the question got passed by the other teams and was approaching us.With each 'pass' my expectations increased and I was already thinking of our win.After what seemed like an eternity our turn came.I took the mike in my trembling hands and with a shaky voice I answered.I knew the answer was correct and with the QuizMaster's confirmation my heart beat just shot up further.It was over.We won.All the teams supporting us started whistling and clapping.There were handshakes all around.Pats on the back and shouts of congratulations.I was feeling like a hero of a movie.It was a joyous moment for us.Here we were,tagged as no hopers we comprehensively beat all the so called big teams.As I came down the stairs of the stage a strange feeling came over me,I became calm and just a smile appeared on my face.No shouting,no dancing.Perhaps it was the shock of winning an India Level event.Later one of our teacher's told me that I should have been a bit more expressive while the event was going on.Well,I thought I was here to try and win and not put up a show for the audience.But anyway the joy of leading your school to victory comes once in a lifetime and I was truly proud and haapy that I had the fortune of doing it.
While I was going out of the venue, more good news came.One of our school mates and friend Trisha came hopping around and informed me that her team had also won the first prize in Debate.We high fived and congratulated each other.The campaign of Manuguru was well and truly off.We won a lot of prizes in other events too.After a memorable last dinner party we returned to Manuguru with the trophies in hand.While coming back my school mates started pestering me for a treat celebrating my win.I gave a small treat hoping to give them a big one later.But I couldn't and thats one regret I still have even to this day.Off all the compliments I received I remember Amulya madam's.She said 'you guys smashed them' I was filled with pride and happiness on hearing these words.This win in Mumbai was one of my life's best moments.It changed me in many ways.I made new friends,discovered aspects of myself that I didnt know existed in me and got a lot of confidence.
(Moazzam,Bhuvan,Trisha,Nikhil,Hemant,Yashwant,Ananjay,Sumedha,Niharika,Anjali,Vidhi,Abhijeet,Shahsank,Abhuday,Abhay Prabhu,Abhijeet,Vineet,and my quiz team mates all made this trip memorable for me.Thank you guys!)
