Such surangams are built through the numerous laterite hillocks in the
area and their distribution in Kerala is mostly confined to less than
600 m. altitude. The low undulating hillocks found in Kasaragod,
comprised of this peculiar soil or rock formation is intersected with
rivers. The fascinating midland terrain of Northern Kerala is extended
between Malappuram district in the south and South Karnataka in the
north. Of the nineteen rivers between Manjeswaram and Mahe, five
originate from the highlands of the Western Ghats.
The hilly terrain of Kasaragod experienced high discharge in rivers
during the monsoon and low discharge in the dry months. Laterite hillock
allows rainwater to recharge the earth and the scanty vegetation on the
surface of the hill stops the water from flowing out through its slope.
Rainwater that is stored in the spongy laterite soil oozes out in the
form of springs to the tunnels’ wall and flows. The perennial nature of
water flow from Surangam, made on the slopes of laterite hillocks, is
proof enough to show the water holding capacity of the laterite and
these streams turned the vast stretches of valleys into agricultural
fields.
On the matter of surface water, Kasaragod with laterite forms as a
residual deposit all along the midlands poses a peculiar problem.
Failure of the hard laterite soil of the hillocks to retain enough water
during monsoon closed the chances of harvesting water by means of well.
In addition, the peculiarities of the geography of Kasaragod left the
villagers in an embarrassing position. These peculiarities of the earth
compelled the men in the distant past to exploit the hydro-riches in the
laterite formations using traditional wisdom, resulting in the
construction of eco-friendly, flowing wells, called surangam, the
special kind of water harvesting structure, similar to Qanat. Tribals of
Kerala preferred running water to the stagnant water of the wells. But
in Kasaragod the vertical wells are not found feasible. Ground water is
generally encountered under water table condition in the laterite
aquifers of about 10- 20 m thickness. Dug wells of relatively large
diameter of about 4-6 m are found in this region. The laterite is often
under laid by weathered rock and a lithomarge clay zone separates these,
which is prone to caving. In the highland, groundwater occurs under
water table condition and it can be extracted through dug wells. Though
the past generation of people of Kerala did not have much knowledge in
hydrology, their practical skill and experience helped them in selecting
the best possible source for meeting the fresh water requirements.”
The vegetation helps the rainwater to recharge the soil of the hillocks
and make the spring perennial. With the deforestation and depletion of
ground water, days of Surangam have begun to be numbered.
Origins of Surangam
Like Qanat, the origin of Surangam is also unknown. Even though the
irrigational and domestic needs of Kasaragod are met for centuries, no
one in Kasaragod is able to say about the origin of Surangam. In the
absence of any written documents they may appear to some as if they are
natural or Devakhaatam. Others stretch their mind’s eye to the historic
times to the Middle East. They say that the trade contacts with the
Middle East facilitated the technology transfer to Kerala by the Arabic
Muslim experts who had come to India and settled down in the Malabar
coast at the end of the 7th century. Since history speaks about Quanat
as a concept strongly rooted in several Middle Eastern countries like
Iran and Iraq from 700 B. C onwards, Arab traders might have introduced
the concept to Indian shores. Kasaragod was under the Madras Presidency
during the British rule. The British records speak about agriculture as
the chief industry whose cultivation depended mainly upon rains. Later,
crops were raised partly by supplies of water “drawn from streams,
natural pools, private tanks and wells”. The British seem to have
noticed no traces of any Surangam. The question whether the technology
is indigenous or imported remains to be answered.
In Kasaragod, there are 510 Surangams and by another estimate 338
surangams have been located. We find a large number of turankam in
Kasaragod where it is known as surangam and turappu in some other part
of the district. Each and every homestead in Kasaragod, has only a type
of flowing well surangam.
A tunnel is turankam in Malayalam and surangam in Sanskrit. A conduit,
underground passage is turappu. A large well, for irrigation purpose as
well as a mine is turavu. A structure resembling a tunnel, as well as
tunneling, is turavu. A shaft made for mining a mine is turankam. Soil
dug out in a heap by rats is turu. To bore/ to make holes is turavuka.
turakkuka. One who is engaged to drill is turavan. A drill for boring
holes is tamaru, tamaruli, turappanam. One can find in Kasaragod several
surangam and the vertical wells are not found at all. Surangam is a loan
word from Dravidian turankam.
Unlike the Qanat, the surangam is a horizontal flowing well. Qanat is a
vertical well with tunnel at its bottom designed on the basis of simple
law of gravity. While the distance of Qanat is counted in miles, the
surangams are 3 to 300 mts only. Where the access shafts are made for
digging of the tunnel the vertical shafts are made for facilitating air
circulation inside the surangam. While Qanat diggers are a class by
themselves surangam is only a handicraft of some thrifty intelligent
farmers to find water for their family as well as their field. Qanats
are excavated in desert environment unlike surangam. An experienced
digger of wells can easily dig a horizantal well. In Indian forests the
tribals are seen extracting water from the aquifiers with the help of
short bamboos. Hollow bamboo is inserted on the tube- like structure
made out by piercing a strong stick. Only these fundamental principles
are applied in Surangam.
Koopasastram
The science of divination for the construction of wells, tanks etc is
Koopasastram. Vasudevan’s Koopasastram is a well known treatise. In
Sanskrit udakam is water. Argalam means a bar, obstacle, check or
impediment. Varahamihira defined udaka(ar)ggalam as an obstruction or
impediment to water. As such, it is a method to divine the presence of
water. Dakshamta is dexerity. It needs dexerity to remove the rocks,
which obstruct the water by drilling a hole horizontally with the basic
equipment like pickaxe and wedges. The art of drilling ‘Suranga’ is a
handicraft. The villagers in some coastal areas of Kasaragod and the
southern Karnataka practiced it for generation and made it almost a
tradition.
Most farmers of the villages like Bayar, Manila in Karnataka know the
art of drilling Suranga and find the supplies from their Suranga
adequate. The native girls of Karhad Brahmin community go to Goa after
marriage. Goa is said to have known about Suranga technology from these
girls. The belief that this community in Karnataka is a migrant one from
Karhad, points Maharashtra as the place of origin of Surangas. It should
be noted that a set of people known as kutayaariyar are probably
considered as the Aryan race in Coorg.
A glance of the mountain will suffice to induce the diggers to fix where
exactly to drill the hillock to reach the storage of pure drinking
water. This has made the diviners touch almost a magic. Their
observation to fix the water table includes the study of factors like
the hill’s slope and geo-system. Apart from that the presence of termite
hills and some trees like Pala (Alsteria Scholaris) too indicated water
availability. The presence of rubber trees these days is an indication
of limitation of water. Their precise knowledge on the water flows,
directs them to dig the tunnel with a slight rise. Palaghat in
Neeleswaram Panchayat Palayi, Palayavayal in east Eleri are the place
names connected with Pala tree.
Qasr
We began our discussion by examining the Qanat attached to the qasr of
Nalut. Qasr is a castle or palace. Its ‘q’ is unvocalised. Located 80 km
east of Palmyra and 80 km south of Dayr al-Zor on the Euphrates. The
Qasr al-Hayr East represents a large complex, which may be divided into
four main groups: the small enclosure, the large enclosure, the
bathhouse and the outer enclosure. The small enclosure is a square
building, approximately 70 m per side, with two solid semi-circular
buttress towers on each side and four round towers at the corners. Two
half-round towers on the western side through a monumental gateway flank
the entrance. The lintel of the gateway is made of joggled voussoirs
above which there is a relieving arch outlined by a continuous moulding
which also runs along the front of the towers. On either side of the
relieving arch there are shallow recessed niches with engaged side
columns. At the top of the gateway is a panelled frieze, in the centre
of which there is a projecting machicolation. Inside there is a
courtyard with a central pool around which there is a columned arcade or
portico. On the north, east and south sides the rooms are arranged in
groups of three with a central room and two rooms on either side. At the
north- and south-east corners there are small rooms with latrines set
into the wall. On the west side there are two long vaulted rooms on
either side of the gateway, which includes a mihrab in its south wall.
The pattern of the upper floor is similar to the ground floor. The
building probably functioned as a khan. The large enclosure has a
similar plan to the small enclosure but is much larger, measuring 167 m
per side. This building also differs in having four axial entrances
leading into a large central courtyard lined with an arcade. The
internal plan comprises twelve structural units, eight of which (two per
side) are courtyard buildings. Three of the four corner units seem to
have been open areas, whilst the southeast corner contains a small
mosque with a raised central aisle. One of the courtyard buildings on
the east side appears to have been an industrial building for the
production of olive oil (i.e. presses and vats). The function of the
building is not clear although it may have been a governor’s residence.
The bathhouse comprises a triple-aisled hall with cold plunge pools, a
series of three hot rooms and a warm room with a heated pool. The
complex included a furnace, latrines and two service rooms. There were
two separate sets of latrines and two entrances, which imply that there
may have been some sexual segregation.
The outer enclosure from which the complex derives its name (Hayr) is a
vast wall of irregular shape, which stretches for more than 15 km. The
wide wall is buttressed internally and externally with solid
semi-circular buttresses. Four gates were discovered, each contained
within pairs of circular buttress towers. The purpose of the enclosure
is debated, although it may have been partially for water conservation,
for agriculture and animals (domestic or wild?).
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