Once upon a time, a hiccupping CM helped water down Cauvery row

In the 1980s, during the Cauvery row, Karnataka is believed to have refused to release water to Tamil Nadu.

MG Ramachandran, then chief minister of Tamil Nadu, sprang a surprise visit on Karnataka. He landed straight at the house of then CM Ramakrishna Hegde who, though caught unawares, welcomed him for breakfast.

Hegde offered him a glass of water and MGR, suddenly, had a fit of hiccups. All that MGR said was: "Maybe, my hiccups are representative of Chennai's state today. Will you offer it water too?" The two laughed together and Karnataka, the very next day, released water to Tamil Nadu.

Sometimes just one dialogue is enough to create that smooth flow of relationship between neighbours. Isn't that one of the biggest misses in today's scenario?

If Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah had taken the initiative to visit J Jayalalithaa, current CM of Tamil Nadu, much earlier, arguments wouldn't have reached this point literally.

Has the inaccessibility of Jayalalithaa, something that most complain of, been a major reason for Siddaramaiah failing to take that step?

Why can't the Centre take the responsibility of being mediator? Didn't PV Narasimha Rao, former prime minister, not do it in 1995? PM Narendra Modi could have taken that step. Did he fear the repercussions of the state if he took sides?

Siddaramaiah is still claiming to seek Modi's intervention. The question is if the intervention is too late. Also, whether the Centre can set foot in the territory of the judiciary. However, are we killing the chances of a long-term solution that could perhaps explode through an ice breaker?

Each time the Cauvery row came into focus, it was Jaya sitting on the CM's chair down south. And each time, it's the farmers of both states who are left parched.

Also read: Decoding Cauvery water dispute: 10 things you need to know