The Idu Mishmi people of northeastern Arunachal Pradesh, tell a singular tale about the birth of the Brahmaputra river.
That the river was not a river, but first a lake named Tallao; a sister of the sun. That the two sisters were given differing privileges.
That the sun was free to move across the infinite skies, but the lake was constricted by finite land; shadowed by mountains.
Tallao grew placid by her circumstance; choosing to lie still in contemplation.
She waited. For what, she didn’t fully know, but she wanted to move; to escape, to stretch her compressed self.
It was the wind that whispered to Tallao that animals and humans lived far below these mountains without access to water. She felt a great sadness at this.
Her sister couldn’t help her and disappeared every night.
One day, a large worm bore its way through the earth from another lake very far away; emerging beside Tallao’s glistening eyes.
Excited, Tallao watched the worm quench his thirst.
The hole he had made, Tallao thought, could be a route of possible escape from these high hills. Tallao began to move through this hole.
Another day, a cat saw Tallao flowing; with a thin trickle, and began to drink. The cat pawed at the small streamlet so as to widen its passage.
Soon, more water from Tallao started to gush forward, quenching the cat’s thirst. Tallao felt happier. She had quenched the thirst of both the worm and the cat. She followed the cat.
As the cat meandered and roamed, so did Tallao.
She began to wander.
As the cat descended; Tallao too, descended the mountains.
She twisted and turned, journeying lower and lower.
The mountains soon rose high above, behind her, into the clouds.
Tallao saw small villages, and farm animals, and the land was dry.
It was thirsty.
She wandered into arid fields; and dampened the cracked, dry mud baked by the sun.
Tallao quenched the thirst of the land, and then she noticed the surprised smiles of men and women and children.
They came to her, each morning, to fill their buckets and to widen Tallao’s path a little more. She saw dogs and cats, and boys and girls come to bathe.
Sometimes, she saw elephants, and leopards, and tigers.
Sometimes, she saw snakes, and young amphibians, and birds, and monkeys. They all came to Tallao to drink.
Tallao was quenching the thirst of so many beings.
She felt happy, and free.
Her sister would smile on the brightest of days and then sink with sudden fear. From the mountains to the plains, Tallao had travelled far.
But she couldn’t anymore lie still, or within herself.
There was more to see, and more land to flow through.
Gathering a newfound strength of encouragement, she created her own path. Tallao moved forcefully, energetically; reviving lands near the threshold of death. Tallao the lake, had become a roving river.
Tallao, thus became the Brahmaputra.
Note from Author
This tale on the birth of the Brahmaputra comes from the Idu Mishmi tribe of Dibang Valley. I first came across a portion of the story in a book (cited below), and thereafter, had the opportunity to visit Lower Dibang Valley and learn more about the power and significance of the Tallao river, also known as Dibang River, which is an upstream tributary river of the Brahmaputra in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh.
Maitra, L. (2024). “How the World was Born: Wondrous Indian Myths and Legends” Aleph. Print.
About the Author
Harshad has a background in environmental education. He works in the wildlife conservation space in India, and uses writing and oral-based storytelling to advocate for a more equitable and just world; for all its diverse beings.
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