ABSTRACT
Addressing the environmental change is not only the responsibility of the scientists. The global environmental change is now a collective consciousness and responsibility as the effect and the consequence is felt by all. A book of river stories, poems and folktales are of course an allurement to ponder about the congress between rivers and literary works. The period we belong to is a juncture, to evaluate more or less about the status of the rivers, which we desperately need to analyse the moment in the history of the human relation to the environment, with the fact that most of the life on earth depends on fresh water. The upcoming generation is least aware of the goodness of river. They only witness the turgid water of the river contaminated that is the root cause of all health hazards. The glory of river is now limited to the text that has ceased to reverberate before the readers and yet were heard mingling with and overtaking one another. Although we are so dependent to our geographical roots, we have lost our emotional connection. There is a need to revamp our culture, values, ethics and responsibilities to address environmental problems. In the present global scenario of climatic crisis, everything is uncanny. We exist in a different reality not in this physical world anymore. Literature is all about what we are going through. People of Odisha have a long relationship with the rivers. The poets have tried their best to make landscape alive. Their writing creates an imaginative space in the popular unconsciousness, probably by adding some extra dimensions to life. Language is not about words but the human experiences. The research is an attempt to rediscover and reiterate the poems along the Mahanadi river line. The study would further stress on the necessity for revamping the role of government and individual to mitigate measures at the basin level and incorporate hydrological consequence to the long-term climate change and environmental degradation. The paper would serve as a new dimension for water sustainability. In addition, the paper would be an value addition to meet the changing needs of research.
