Letter to Editor, Kanara Saraswat

(This letter was published in the December 2007 issue of Kanara Saraswat)
To,
The Editor,
Kanara Saraswat
Mumbai
Dear Editor,
The article, ‘River Saraswati – a Myth or Reality’ by Ms. Yamini Bellare in the October 2007 issue was very interesting and threw light on our origin.
While studying this subject for an event planned in Ahmedabad in connection with the Tercentenary Celebrations, I came across some very interesting information on internet, which I reproduce below:
1. “Saraswati is believed to have originated from the Har-ki-Dun glacier in West Garhwal, flowed parallel to the river Yamuna and later joined it, proceeding south as the Vedic Saraswati. The perennial rivers Sutlej and Yamuna were once the tributaries of the Saraswati. It is believed that subsequently some tectonic movements may have forced the Sutlej and Yamuna to change course and hence Saraswati dried up in a period spread over a few hundred years possibly between 2000 and 1500 BC.” (1)
2. “The Indus-Saraswati Valley civilization is now found to be a collection of nearly 2,500 settlements of various periods along the Saraswati and other rivers, some of which date earlier than 6000 B.C.” – Rithvik S. Vinekar (2)
3. “Education was of great importance to the Saraswats and so they taught their young the Sanskrit and enlightened themselves from the Rig Veda. Although they spoke Sanskrit in public, they innovated a simplified version of Sanskrit called Brahmani which they spoke only at home. This language was the grass-root for the present day Konkani language”.(3)
4. “V.N. Misra, director of the Department of Archaeology in the Deccan College, Pune, recently concluded that the Ghaggar-Hakra River was the Vedic Sarasvati and existed when the Indus civilization flourished. Misra is now among the growing band of archaeologists demanding that the Indus Valley Civilization be renamed the Saraswati Valley Civilization”. (4)
It is also believed there was once a “Saraswat Desh” - the land between the rivers Saraswati and Drishadwati (near the present day Kurukshetra).

Thanks a lot Ms. Yamini for this enlightening article.
Vivek Hattangadi
Ahmedabad
10th October 2007
References:
1. (http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/fr/2002/04/05/stories/2002040501110600.htm)
2. (http://images.google.co.in/imgres?imgurl=http://www.theosociety.org)
3. http://www.gsbkonkani.net/OurHistory.htm
4. (http://www.india-today.com/itoday/26011998/indus.html)