The Hindu Business Line : A dam good retreat

Natural waterfalls, archaeological excavations and an impressively high masonry dam — all these and more make Nagarjunasagar in Andhra Pradesh an ideal weekend getaway and picnic spot for city dwellers.

The Ethipothala Waterfalls

The tallest masonry dam in the world, the excavated ruins of a lost city and the radiant beauty of natural waterfalls all rolled into one within the distance of 150 km from Hyderabad... Is it any wonder then that Nagarjunasagar has become the ideal weekend getaway and a popular picnic spot for the city dwellers?

The archaeological marvel

Seventeen centuries ago, a city named Vijayapuri, a centre of Buddhist learning, flourished in this valley. The city went on to serve as the capital of the Ikshwaku kingdom during whose reign the valley reached the pinnacle of its glory. Never before nor afterwards did it witness such spectacular growth as the seat of a powerful Government and an important centre of art and architecture of Buddhist and Brahmanical faiths. Unfortunately, the city now lies submerged beneath the waters of the dam.

It's a brush with history for tourists at Nagarjunakonda.

However, the Stone Age relics found in the valley and the ruins of the Buddhist civilisation of the third and fourth centuries are saved from submersion by careful reconstruction on the Nagarujunakonda. Nagarjunakonda is named after the Buddhist scholar and savant, Acharya Nagarjuna, who lived here in the 2nd century AD. It is said that the Nagarjunakonda Island Museum is comparable with the world famous preservation scheme of Abu Simble near Aswan Dam in Egypt.

The museum is designed on the model of Buddhist Vihara and it houses a treasure of archaeological discoveries, the most remarkable finding being that of a beautiful sculpture of a standing Buddha, which is about four metres high. This monolithic statue, though partly ruined, is the main attraction of the museum owing to its being a striking image of peace and poise. The Museum also houses several relics of Buddhist art and culture. Famous among them are a small tooth and an earring believed to have belonged to Buddha. The main stupa of Nagarjunakonda called Mahachaitya is believed to contain the sacred relics of Buddha.

The Andhra Pradesh Tourism Department operates a motor launch service between Nagarjunakonda and Nagarjunasagar twice daily. The cruise symbolises a journey from the modern technological world to a tranquil and philosophic one — both worlds separated by the volume of water that is the third largest manmade lake in the world.

Anupu, the site of the Buddhist excavations reconstructed to near perfection with painstaking effort, is located a few kilometres away from the dam. A faithful reconstruction of a 3rd century Vihara or Buddhist University and an amphitheatre with fine acoustics make it a place of great architectural interest.

Engineering wonder

The Nagarjunasagar dam across the river Krishna is one of the earliest hydroelectric projects of India. The tallest masonry dam in the world, it scales 124 metres in height and stands as a symbol of human triumph over nature. The construction of the dam also resulted in the formation of the world's third largest manmade lake. Jawahar Canal, named after the first Prime Minister of India, is the right canal and is the most extensive irrigation canal. Left canal, named after another Indian Prime Minister, Lal Bahadur Sastri, has a single bore irrigation tunnel, which, at 2,286 metres, is considered one of the longest anywhere.

Natural splendour

Eleven km from Nagarjunasagar is an impressive picnic spot — the Ethipothala waterfalls, adding a third dimension of natural beauty to the unique blend of antiquity and modernity of the place. A picturesque lagoon is formed as Chandravanka, a mountain stream, cascades down the hills from a height of 22 meters. It also has a crocodile-breeding centre. The ideal time to visit the place is after the monsoons as then the falls are in full flow.

Nagarjunasagar, therefore, is a place where nature's breathtaking beauty is matched by the fascinating creation of man. Well connected to the capital city by road, with a host of daily conducted tours and a number of good guesthouses, it is also a very convenient tourist destination.

Pictures by A. Roy Chowdhury

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