RISHIKESH: I was overwhelmed when I saw the Ganga for the first time. What love! What tranquillity! What beauty! It’s amazing that so many
human qualities have been attributed to this river. It feels like a mother’s embrace when you just let your hand touch the water.
I have travelled on the ferry many times from the Muni-Ki-Reti side of the Ganga to the other bank at Rishikesh. The ferry is a common service there, like our autos in the city. But each time visitors sit and the boat takes off, they shout Jai Ganga Maiyya (glory to Mother Ganga). This kind of a passionate attachment of a whole race of people, I haven’t seen anywhere else. Never mind that the same people also pollute the river with their plastics and industrial effluents.
I would love to just gaze at the stillness of her beauty and depth as she flows with her wide and tranquil embrace in Rishikesh.
Little children from the villages sell tiny balls of wheat flour to feed the fish that abound in this river. Small leaf cups with flowers, dhoop sticks, kumkum and lighted camphor is available for the devout to offer their prayers. You can also light the dhoop and camphor in the cup and set the little boat afloat and watch it till it disappears out of sight.
For people living along the banks of the river, the day begins with the river and the evening sets with it. They stand waist deep in the river and offer their daily prayers.
As the sun sets behind the mountains, casting a shimmering glow on the Ganga, little boys emerge from their ashrams, where they learn the Vedas. The Ganga arati begins around 6 pm. It is a ritualistic worship of the river with camphor and lamps accompanied by shlokas in Sanskrit and bhajans in Hindi. After the ritual, its all quiet — the sounds fade away into the distance and there is only the lights of the town that continue to cast its reflection well into the night.
The powerful rays of the morning sun take over at dawn. The magic of the Ganga continues — ever flowing, but never the same. She exudes love and charm, embracing the millions who immerse themselves in her with a prayer to wash away their sins.