Payanam Webseries #2 - Koovam

For many people in Chennai, the word Koovam immediately brings an unpleasant image to mind.

The river is usually noticed for its polluted water, accumulated waste and smell. Its name has even become a casual expression for something dirty.

But the Koovam is still a river.

It flows through villages, old settlements and some of the busiest parts of Chennai before reaching the Bay of Bengal. Along its course are temples, bridges, neighbourhoods and places connected with the growth of Madras.

The second episode of Payanam takes a brief look at this much-misunderstood river.

A River Hidden by the City

Koovam, commonly written in English as Cooum, does not begin as the dark urban waterway familiar to most Chennai residents.

Beyond the city, parts of its course pass through a quieter landscape of villages, agricultural fields and historic temples. The river gradually enters the expanding urban area and continues through localities such as Arumbakkam, Choolaimedu, Chetpet, Egmore and Chintadripet before reaching the sea near Napier Bridge.

Chennai has grown around the river, crossed it repeatedly and built close to its banks. Yet the river itself has slowly disappeared from public attention.

People pass over it every day. Few stop to look at it.

More Than a Polluted Waterway

The present condition of the Koovam often hides its older cultural landscape.

Several temples are found along or near its course. Settlements around the river have histories extending far beyond the modern expansion of Chennai. Temple inscriptions and local traditions reveal that the river once supported agriculture, worship and everyday life.

The Koovam was not always regarded with disgust. It was once a functioning waterway and an important part of the landscape through which it flowed.

The river did not become polluted on its own.

Reduced freshwater flow, unplanned urban growth, sewage discharge, waste dumping and encroachment gradually transformed it into what much of Chennai sees today. Government restoration plans have attempted to intercept sewage, remove solid waste, improve the river channel and restore vegetation along its banks.

A River with Temples and Stories

The wider Koovam region has an unexpectedly rich religious and historical landscape.

Temples associated with different periods stand near the river and in the villages through which it passes. Heritage studies have identified numerous shrines along its course, including old Shiva temples and sacred sites around Thiruvirkolam, traditionally associated with the origin of the river.

This is a side of the Koovam that most people in Chennai rarely encounter.

The river seen from a city bridge is only one part of its story.

Why This Episode?

This episode of Payanam is not intended to be a detailed environmental study or a complete historical account of the Koovam.

It is a short visual journey.

The film asks us to look beyond the river’s present condition and recognise that this neglected waterway remains part of Chennai’s geography, history and memory.

A polluted river does not cease to be a river.

And perhaps restoration must begin not only with machines, plans and money, but also with the way a city looks at its own waterways.

Watch Payanam – Episode 2: Koovam

The second episode of Payanam presents a brief journey along the Koovam and offers a few observations about the river that runs through Chennai.

The river may have lost much of its old character. Its story, however, has not ended.

More episodes of Payanam will continue to explore lesser-known places, landscapes and traditions with cultural, historical or heritage value.