It carved through the canyon with a steady murmur of power. Here and there, buddies of rocks were stacked on it’s verge as if the river had simply flung them out…..view of white water. It churned and slapped at the fist and knuckles of rock, spewed up against towers of them, then spilled down on itself in a short, foaming waterfall. The roar of it filled the canyon, and rolled over her own laugh of delight.

Excerpt from Angels Fall by Nora Roberts (one of my favourite books)

Who knew this would be the book of the choice on my kindle on the day I started my morning in Jabalpur with this view! Fate? Coincidence? Or just me being weird, repeating favourite books because there has been too many dark thrillers on my Kindle lately?

Where there’s a will, there’s a way. That’s what has been preached so many times. Not that I can vouch for too many examples for this, but somehow the scenario fits for one of the five holiest river doesn’t it? The Narmada River, also called the Reva and previously known as Narbada or anglicised as Nerbudda, is the 5th longest river and overall longest west-flowing river in India, and the largest flowing river of the state of Madhya Pradesh.

Legend goes on to say that when Ganga feels polluted thanks to her worshippers who take countless dips to wash away their sins, she comes in the form of a black cow to have a purifying bath in the Narmada! In mythological times, Lord Shiva, during the course of one of his intense meditations, concentrated so intensely that a sweat rolled down his body, and got collected in a tank. Eventually, this tank overflowed as the Narmada or Shankari, Shankar’s daughter. It is said that every pebble on the riverbed is supposed to take the shape of a Shivalinga.

While Jabalpur may not be the birthplace of Narmada, it sure has emerged as a popular tourist spot – all thanks to the Niagra of India. The Dhuadhar Falls is located short distance away from the Marble rocks on Narmada River, at a height of 30 m, and can simply be described as magnificent! The force of the water is so powerful and glorious that it creates a misty ambience, hence the name which literally translates to the Smokey Cascade.

Myths and mysticism aside, Dhuadhar falls is the second major focal point of Jabalpur, after Marble rocks. But, the most notable part of my visit was the man we just happened to meet on our way. Notable because while the fall is simply majestic, the crowd and their antics near water bodies just grosses me out completely! People have no respect for a natural spot…. just because it’s a water body, doesn’t mean you should strip down to your “holey” underwear and start splashing and screaming around!!! Anyways, coming back to most “hyped” man we met. He, incidentally, had a personality that was equally loud and humbling, like the tourist spot that he primarily bragged about – smooth as Narmada, purity of thoughts, and his outspoken nature. Apparently, according to him, we girls made him sparkle! So he decided to ditch the throngs of tourist and decideded to show us the better side of Jabalpur including a ghost tree that glows in the night! Clearly, smokescreen is just not the right name for the waterfall, but applies to the many hidden nuances of Jabalpur!

---

Related (and not-so related) Posts:

---

Madhya Pradesh