On the long line of steps leading to Ganga in Varanasi, everything and everyone seems to become equal. Pilgrims, priests, mendicants, traders, common folk, tourists, rich, poor, birds, animals, gods, sacred, filthy and everything else that you can imagine shares the same space without any contempt towards the gathered mass. Everything commands the highest respect, be it the priest on the steps, the goddess in her sanctum, monkey on the balcony or the sewer-like waters of Ganga.
My first impression of Varanasi was a mild shock, seeing the insane chaos even by the standards of the chaotic country that we are. But as I learned to ignore the big picture and focused on the emotions of the city, it revealed another new world of devotion and piety that could only exist in Varanasi.
One of my long standing dreams has been to swim in the Ganges.
I have been along the Ganga in various stages of her flow. When she is a youthful energetic self – agile and swift when coming down from the high mountains in Garhwal, below the snow line where she is colored turquoise in the wooded country and meanders through the mountains – much softer but still quick and seemingly in search of the plains, in Rishikesh where she widens her path and looks to stray from her channel that has remained narrow so far, and in Haridwar where she still retains her energy and purity as she cleanses thousands of pilgrims in the bathing ghats.
Map: Course of Ganga
She remains charming as ever all along and each time I step close to the bank, I am driven by an irresistible urge to jump in, swim along her course for a few miles and feel like the river myself. It has been a dream for many years now, since the first time I set sight on her in Rishikesh.
Ganga at Rishikesh
The dream has remained unfulfilled, there was always something that held me back. She is a wild torrent and the water is frigid up in the mountains. She looks deep and just nice enough to float along with her in the mountains upstream of Rishikesh, but still flows fast and appears hostile. Ganga’s river bed has been reduced to a trickle in Haridwar by a dam and the swift currents in the narrow canals are not meant for swimming.
Ganga at Varanasi
I had my hopes on Varanasi. I knew she would be mild here and take her time to push through the plains to the ocean. I knew she would be deep enough that the river bed never runs dry in these parts. I had heard of its polluted waters but hoped it would be fit enough at least for a swim. I was eager to see the Ganga on my first visit to Varanasi.
But when I went there, the sight of Varanasi’s ghats was depressing. The river was not just unclean, but looked no different from a sewer. It was dark, nearly opaque and was filled with floating organic mass along the bank. At Assi ghat where the river makes a slight bend into the west bank, disposed trash made a thick layer that completely covered the surface. Forget swimming, even touching the water seemed unthinkable.
But pious pilgrims who arrive here seem to be unmindful, which surprises me. Their faith must be a really strong to be able to callously step into the murky river and be at ease during the ritual bath.
A friend who was recently in Varanasi was taken aback by the response when she asked someone if they are not troubled by the pollution in the river.
“Ganga is intrinsically pure,” she was told, “there is no way it can be polluted, no matter what gets mixed into it.”
‘Ganga Ma’ was loved as is, no matter what state her waters were in. But I had met a few people who were more concerned. A man I was speaking to who was on a pilgrimage was deeply concerned. “You must be feeling sad about all that is happening to the Ganga,” he told me, “see what we are doing to our mother.”
Despite seeing hundreds of people taking a dip or go swimming in the river, I did not have the courage to jump. When I returned from there, my wish remained unfulfilled. I shall be going back to Rishikesh some day, and when I do, I shall go rafting and drift down the river and hopefully get to swim in it’s friendly stretches.
Auli -> Rishikesh -> Corbett National Park -> Varanasi -> Agra
+Previous: Rajaji National Park
+Next: From Rishikesh to Ramnagar(Corbett)
+Go to beginning of the series
After spending a good day at Rajaji National Park, I arrived at Haridwar(also called Hardwar) to witness the Ganga Aarti before I returned to Rishikesh.
My bus left me near the railway station and I took a rickshaw to Har-ki-Pauri ghat. It was like a repetition of events that happened a year ago. Almost the same time last year, I found myself at Hardwar on an evening, unplanned and not knowing what to do. And I was here today because I did not get any bus from Chilla to Rishikesh and had to do a broken journey via Haridwar.
Also see:
* Ganga Aarti in Rishikesh
* Ganga Aarti in Varanasi
Since last year, things had changed a bit on the busy road connecting the railway station to the Ghat. Buildings then looked old enough to shoot a horror movie. Now many of them seemed to be making a vain attempt of resurrection with some fresh paint and patch-work. It was amusing to watch some of these buildings that could well be a hundred year old, recently fitted with a modern air-conditioning unit at the window!
The road became narrower as the rickshaw progressed and was closed for motorized vehicles a kilometer before the ghat. Both sides of this portion of road looked like a devotional super market! They sold every kind of thing that you could use to worship god – many colorful powders, vibhooti, rudraksha, stones of several colors and colorful neck laces, etc.. Almost every other shop sold plastic cans to fill the holy water. Some shops that looked slightly modern, sold devotional audio and video material. The road was busy with a large number of pedestrians and the cycle rickshaws desperately trying to make some way between the ocean of people.
The Ganga Aarti in Hardwar’s Har-ki-Pauri is one of the famous rituals in India. It starts at around 6.30pm after sunset, with large crowds gathered around both the banks of a canal that carries the waters of Ganges. Loud speakers blare songs in praise of Ganga Maiya and Shiva.
The time of Aarti sees a bustle of activity on the ghats. Many babas are seen sitting in corners, hoping to get some donations from the devotees. Men in blue uniform move around with a receipt book, collecting donations that will be used for conducting the Aarti. People keep walking in all direction trying to find a good place to sit or stand. Hawkers sell wick lamps or diyas to float in the Ganges. A friend sms’ed me to float a diya for her and I found myself trying to buy one.
Me, pointing at a diya: Kitne ka hai? – How much?
Hawker: bees rupaia – Twenty
Hearing the price, I walked away from him and heard him shout quickly – Dus rupaia dedo – give me a ten!
A pack of diya comes fully equipped and is self-sufficient! It has a wick lamp surrounded by flowers. There is even a matchbox to light the lamp, so you don’t need to run around looking for one! Two incense sticks also come with it and the whole thing is assembled in a bowl like pack made of stitched leaves. I lighted the diya, floated it down the river like many other pilgrims and continued witnessing the aarti.
It lasted for around 30 minutes. A few people(priests?) standing on the ghat swayed huge lamps backed by the blares of bhajans and instrumental music. Lamps of different sizes light up in the hands of people all along the banks and is a pretty sight to watch in the darkness after sunset. Hardwar’s aarti is an interesting ritual, but it feels too noisy, chaotic and commercialized. I mused of the quite and charming aarti sessions I was attending at Rishikesh for the last few days and could not help comparing it with crowded Hardwar.
It was a long day for me after a trip to Rajaji National Park and then Haridwar. I was pretty tired by the time Aarti was concluded, walked up to the bus stop and quickly headed back to Rishikesh to end my day.