“Mathura menunathi peruki yirukarai vazhiya, Vakaivakai kuthipAyung kurudi malaiyurai MurugA ,” goes a verse from The Tiruppugazh , the 15th Century anthology of religious songs sung by Saint Arunagirinathar. Translating to — “By the floods in River Madhuram inundating the banks, with water jumping about in all directions in this place called Kurudimalai..
.That is Your abode, Oh MurugA!” — the text is one of the earliest literary references to Kurudimalai, the origin of River Madhuram, known today as Kousika. Arunagirinathar’s poetic words imply the dynamic flow of the river, hinting at its historical and cultural significance.
Conservationists in the Kongu region, where the river merges with the Noyyal before joining the Cauvery, say, “Its present predicament does injustice to its beauty described in the text.” Debate on classification In fact, according to revenue records, the river is officially called ‘Vannathangarai Odai’. “The debate on its classification as a river has persisted for decades.
However, given its historical and archaeological significance, as well as its ongoing contribution to modern irrigation, it deserves recognition as a river,” says Selvaraj, secretary of the Kousika Neerkarangal Trust, which is involved in the watershed development and rejuvenation of the Kousika. Originating from the Kurudimalai or Kuruthi Hills, which boasts of a peak named after William Lambton, the renowned surveyor of India, this river once traversed 5.
