Narmada River

My association with Narmada river goes a long way back - when I  heard from my parents  that after his marriage his  father ( My Grandfather ) took them for a holiday for their wedding along the Narmada river along Satpura hills till they reached some water falls. I am very surprised to hear this as they were teenagers when they got married. 

The Narmada River is very special geologically. The Narmada flows through what is called the Narmada Rift Valley , a long depression in the earth’s crust formed because the land between two faults slowly sank millions of years ago. Instead of cutting randomly across mountains like many Indian rivers, the Narmada follows this ancient structural line almost straight westward across central India until it reaches the Arabian Sea near Bharuch.

What makes the Narmada unusual is the land through which it flows. Most of the great rivers of northern India, such as the Ganges River and the Brahmaputra River, flow through vast plains formed by sediments deposited over long periods of time. Many rivers of peninsular India, on the other hand, flow across ancient plateau surfaces. The Narmada is different. It flows through a true tectonic rift zone — a landscape created directly by movements and fractures within the Earth’s crust, giving the river a geological character that is quite unique in India.

So people often say “Narmada is India’s only river flowing in a rift valley.” That statement is commonly taught in geography, though geologists sometimes add nuance because a few other Indian river valleys also show rift-related features. Still, the Narmada Rift Valley is by far the most famous and textbook example.

The Narmada valley lies between two mountain systems. The Vindhya Range to the north and the Satpura Range to the south. That is why the Narmada valley has such a distinctive long corridor-like appearance. Geologically, this region is extremely ancient. Parts of the fault system connected with the Narmada lineament are thought to date back hundreds of millions of years, linked to the deep structure of the Indian plate itself. Even today the zone is considered tectonically sensitive, and earthquakes do occasionally occur there. During my several visits to Bharuch and interior we have never felt any kind of vibrations. Bharuch itself has a very old historical importance because the river meets the sea there. Since ancient times, Bharuch was a trading port connecting inland India with Arabia, East Africa, and beyond. The Narmada essentially carried the interior of India toward the sea.

There is also something emotionally beautiful about the geography. The river begins near Amarkantak in central India, travels through rocky marble gorges while passing through Jabalpur, forests, ancient temples, tribal lands, fertile plains, and finally widens near Bharuch before merging into the Arabian Sea. It is almost like a long geological journey across the spine of western India.

In my childhood we frequently went to a town called “Amod “. And crossing the bridge over Narmada river was fascinating. One of my uncle stayed in proper Bharuch  and took us across the river to a farm well known for a fruit called  “ Jamrukh “ in Gujarati and those  were delicious.

In later life, we two sisters stayed at our cousin house to attend a function and meetings at a small organisation called ‘ Shantigram ‘ in name of my father.

Another  cousin took us along the river to see an island in the river called Kabirvad. At that time there was no other way of crossing but to swim over the river - and that is what we had to do. 

On return he took us to a local family’s home for delicious lunch.

Kabirvad

It lies on a river island not far from Bharuch, near Shuklatirth. Traditionally, people travel there by boat across the Narmada. For many families from Bharuch and nearby regions, visiting Kabirvad has long been both a picnic memory and a spiritual outing. The name comes from the poet-saint Kabir. According to tradition, Kabir once stayed there, and from a twig or stick planted by him grew the great banyan tree. Whether literally true or symbolic, the story became deeply attached to the place.

What makes Kabirvad extraordinary is the tree itself. It is not a single trunk standing alone like an ordinary tree. A banyan spreads outward through aerial roots that descend from branches and become new supporting trunks. Over centuries, the tree expanded into what almost feels like a small forest rather than one tree. 

Now it is possible to cross river by a boat that takes them across the Narmada. On one of our visit to Bharuch to attend the meeting of “ Shantigram “ we requested them to reserve a government  house which was meant for Government officers. He managed that and we could stay for a couple of days.

Once I had gone for a clinical meeting may be in Jabalpur. I stayed with a family known to my father. The daughter in law suggested l will take you to Omkareshwar. We reached the island by sailboat. I went there in 1960 and everything around was just the river.

Omkareshwar

So I saw Omkareshwar itself sits on a hilly island, and from some angles the temple appears above you on rising ground, we returned also by sail boat. I can picture it a boat touching the bank of the Narmada, the river clear around the island, sparse buildings, and one temple standing above everything. But now the place has become very popular and crowded.