The River Is the Motherland of Civilisation
It is on riverbanks that civilisations are born; this is the first lesson of history. Ancient civilisations flourished on the banks of the Indus, the Ganga, the Nile and the Tigris. On the Deccan plateau, this same credit goes to the Godavari. In its valley the first experiments in agriculture took place, trade routes developed, temples were built, saints composed abhangs and kings founded capitals. In the story of the Kumbh Mela, the river is not merely the backdrop but the main character.
The Cultural Line of the River
If this journey is drawn on a map, a cultural line appears: Trimbakeshwar (Shaiva), Nashik (Ramayana and Vaishnava), Paithan (Satavahana and Sant Eknath), Nanded (Sikh), Basar (goddess of learning), Bhadrachalam (Ram), Rajahmundry (art and education) and Antarvedi (confluence with the sea). On this line there are many layers of different languages, sects and arts. That is why some scholars call the Godavari a "cultural highway", because it binds the Marathi, Hindi, Telugu and other linguistic communities with a single umbilical cord.