Man and his dam will to succeed

Thirukkural with the Times explores real-world lessons from the classic Tamil text ‘Thirukkural’. Written by Tamil poet and philosopher Thiruvalluvar, the Kural consists of 1,330 short couplets of seven words each. This text is divided into three books with teachings on virtue, wealth, and love and is considered one of the great works ever on ethics and morality. The Kural has influenced scholars and leaders across social, political, and philosophical spheres.Motivational speaker, author and diversity champion Bharathi Bhaskar explores the masterpiece.I travelled to Melur to attend the book release event for ‘Neeradhigaram’, written by Vennila. This fascinating historical fiction recounts the story of Periyar Dam, detailing how the engineering marvel by Colonel J Pennycuick saved Madurai district from devastating famines.My driver was chatty, and I was thoroughly enjoying his ‘Madurai Tamil accent’, laced with special words such as ‘a-la varainga’ (they are coming), ‘porainga’ (they are going) and ‘angittu’ (there) and ‘ingittu’ (here).I was pleasantly surprised to learn that his name was ‘Logan’, a common English name and asked him who he was named after. He said several children in the area were named after Pennycuick and his assistant Logan. The sons of the soil of the Madurai, Theni areas remember these Englishmen, even after 130 years! I smiled at the coincidence of Logan driving me to an event about his boss ‘Penny’.During the 19th century, India experienced the worst famines. ‘Thadhu Varusha Panjam’ or the Great Madras famine of 1877 saw millions die; it is estimated that 20% of the population of Madurai was wiped out. The famines were not only caused by drought but also by British exploitation of our resources. However, a part of the same British administration was deeply shaken by the deaths and wanted to alleviate the situation.Two rivers originate from the Western Ghats—the mighty and massive Periyar, which flows west with several tributaries, and the small Vaigai, which flows east. Floods affected the western region, while famines hit the other side.A plan to divert a part of the Periyar River eastwards to feed Vaigai was proposed by Muthu Irulappa Pillai, minister in the Ramnad kingdom. The proposal took almost 100 years to be firmed up and handed over to Pennycuick (1841-1911), a British army engineer, who began work on the project in September 1887. More than 3,000 workers were assembled to construct the 175ft dam at an elevation of 3000ft amidst a violent river and a dangerous mountain-forest terrain. Moving the material was a gargantuan task – the requirement of limestone alone was about 75,000 tonnes!The back-and-forth tussle between the British administration and Travancore royal family on land allocation for the project, the morbid monsoon, the administration's hiatus in fund allocations, incessant rains, outbursts of cholera and malaria, unexpected attacks by wildlife and insurmountable deaths of the labourers – nothing deterred Pennycuick.The dam was completed in October 1895, at Rs 53 lakh. Post-construction, millions of acres of land in the Melur and Madurai areas were irrigated, and generations of people thank Pennycuick. They name their children after him, perform Pennycuick Pongal and continue to venerate him.Interestingly, he returned to England immediately after the dam was completed. He did not get any accolades from the British govt for his great work. When he died in 1911, his epitaphic note or memorial services did not even mention his contributions to Mullaperiyar dam. I wonder how some people have the mettle to pursue their path amidst challenges. What makes them continue the struggles even after recurring failures and humiliations? It didn't matter to Pennycuick that this was not his land or that he was fighting against the mighty fury of nature. He was on a mission that his soul felt was required to save people from hunger and he marched on till he finished his duty. He met every limitation, and every time he fell, he stood up again. He walked away when he reached the destination, not waiting for tributes.Rudyard Kipling writes about the monumental human spirit of perseverance.‘If you can meet triumph and disaster and treat the two imposters just the same, If you can lose and start again at your beginnings and never breathe a word about your loss, And you can hold on when nothing is in you except the will, which says, ‘hold on’. You will be a man, my son.’ Thiruvalluvar too confirms that the unconquerable will push people to pursue excellence amidst hitches. Such people are sure to succeed.Enniya Enniyaangu Eydhuba EnniyaarThinniyar Aagap Perin.(That which they yearned, and as they yearned, they achieveIf they have the steadfastness of determination.)