Cauvery

"kannadam thaai veedu endrirundaalum, kanni un maru veedu thennagam aagum, gangaiyil melaana kaaviri theertham, mangala neeraada mun vinai theerkkum, neer vannam engum mevida nanjai punjaigal paaradi, oor vannam enna koorume devalogame thaanadi, verengu sendra podhilum indha inbangal yedhadi"
(River Cauvery , though you are born in Karnataka your in-law house is TamilNadu,You are as pure as River ganga and you remove all sins of whoever who takes bath in you .Wherever you flow there is greenery around,wherever you flow the place is divine,wherever we go we don't get such a happy feeling)

Written by Poet Vali the above lines portray the exact feeling of every guy who is born in the beds of River Cauvery. I am fortunate enough to be one who was born in Tanjore and brought up in Srirangam. Both the places blessed with Cauvery river.
I used to play in River Cauvery right from my childhood. My Grandparents were living in a place called "Neduntheru" which is on the beds of the river. Swimming in the river was a wonderful experience during my childhood days. Me and my cousins used to play cricket in the dry river during summer vacation. Man, you won't get better ground anywhere in the world :)
After coming to Srirangam, I continued playing cricket in the dry river. Not only cricket, we do lots of activities in the river and on the banks of it .Playing throw ball while swimming. Getting bitten by small fishes. Asking people to stand in river so that fish eats the wound and it will cure your wound.Throwing stone flat in the river so that it goes like a frog (Reminds me of Rahman's worldspace ad ...)
Having puliyotharai(tamarind rice),thayir sadham(curd rice),thenkai saadham(coconut rice),vathal(fries) sitting in the beds of the river during Aadi-18(18 th day of Tamil month aadi).
Cauvery is always associated with my family. My Grandfather breathed his last in the banks of the same river where he used to take bath for nearly 40 odd years.
Cauvery is still a passion for people down south. Be it a guy from Tanjore,Trichy or nearby areas we worship the river.
After all she is a daughter-in-law for us(Tamils)