Each area has a distinct culture. We Gunturians pride ourselves of being from the `chilli capital of the world' [Cite: Wall street journal]. And Krishna people are justifiably proud of mmm..., whatever they are proud of. No, seriously, they are agriculturally richer, and Vijayawada is a famous cultural center, and Bandar is famous for its sweets.
As an outsider I can't comment on whether there is a difference between East and West Godavari cultures. I mean, I can tell the difference in pickles, but beyond that I have to make a superficial, non-technical analysis. East Godavari people seemed more polite and gentle. They certainly have stronger accents as you go north of the district. And, the villages are a bit more quaint, may be because of the agency area.
We spent the night in Rampa chodavaram that night. [As an aside, my father-in-law was posted to that town after 6 years, and I wrote him about the wonderful place he was going to! He didn't seem too pleased!!] And, we caught an early morning bus to Devipatnam.
We traveled through forests, amidst the green bamboo groves and at places some slash-and-burn farms. It was quite sad to see that kind of destruction, but my friend pointed out that making it illegal is not the easiest way to abolish that practice. Sad but true.
At some point in the day, we reached Devi Patnam. And, we weren't prepared for it. Like, we thought that reaching Devipatnam is an end in itself. But, after that we didn't know what to do. Of course, I was next to Godavari, not really overflowing, and in all probability no different from say Krishna.
Aha, that's where I was wrong. It is not the water that maketh a river, but the banks. More precisely, the villages, the people, the fields, the attitudes. The water goes on, but the banks remain forever. Even if we put this water in some other river, it cannot be Godavari.
While loitering around in Devipatnam, my friend remembered that an old friend of his living on the other bank. I hesitated thinking that our unannounced visit may inconvenience them, but Giri assured me that can never be the case in that place. We took the boat and crossed over to the other side.
Somehow, our movie industry is fascinated by the boats on Godavari. There are umpteen number of songs on that and there is a magic and there is a music associated with it. Let me tell you, the real thing is better. Oh, it has nothing to do with the boat, but with the people. Giri stuck a conversation with few people and we soon were having a discussion on something, in a free for all. Such comraderie is possible may be only in the railway compartments, but this certainly is better.
After sometime, we reached the other bank. Now I crossed Godavari on the boat once. And, I felt happy.
-- rama