The Goddess Ganga

Ganges - the Lifeline of Indian Faith


The river Ganga originates at Gangotri glacier on the southern slopes of the Himalayas, some 14,000 feet above sea level. River Bhagirathi and Alaknanda join each other at Devprayag to form River Ganga.

   Picture: Bhagirathi River at Gangotri, Uttrakhand.

   Picture: Devprayag where Bhagirathi joins Alaknanda.

The river Ganges is more than 2500kms. in length and along its banks are the holy cities like Haridwar, Prayag (Allahabad) where it meets its tributary the Yamuna river and this holy place is called Triveni Sangam meaning Union.

Another holy city next to Allahabad is Varanasi(Kashi), famous for the Banaras Hindu University, Banarasi Sarees (dress materials for ladies) and of course the center of Hindu cultural activities and rites.

The Ganges flows further south and east through the Gangetic Plain of North India into Bangladesh, where it empties into the Bay of Bengal. Its mouths forms a vast delta. At the delta it is joined by the southward-flowing Brahmaputra River.  Their combined delta is the largest in the world.

  The Ganges is the most sacred river to Hindus and is also a lifeline to millions of Indians who live along its course and depend on it for their daily needs. It is worshipped as the Goddess Ganga in Hinduism. The Ganga is also the mother of Hindu worship and culture, accepting all and forgiving all. In India every ceremony in many of the cultures, particularly the Hindus, needs the presence of the holy water from the Ganga.

Rishikesh - the first holy city on the course of the Ganga river.

I remember, when I was a child, about 55yrs. back, my parents used to take us to the holy city of Haridwar. Whenever we went to Haridwar, we also visited another holy place called Rishikesh, which is surrounded by mountains before the city of Haridwar on the course of the Ganges. At that time the journey was more tedius and challenging, but once we reached there, and bathed in the holy waters of the river, we had no trace of tiredness.  And of course after bathing and doing our prayers we used to rush to the nearby restaurants which were very few at that time, and used to eat the pious food, especially prepared from pure materials. In Rishikesh, we used to camp  in tents, by the side of the holy river for a few days.  It was very out of the world experience, particulary in the nights since for lights we used to have a lantern only. At that time there were no permanent dwellings there, no electricity,  so the only activities there, were during the day time due the pilgrims. I was not a brave child and was always afraid of animals coming from the nearby forests in the mountains. Once inside the tent with my parents, I could not dare go out alone. But as always happens, the sleep used to take over and when the dawn came we just were always full of freshness, hopes and excited about the adventures lying ahead in the day.  After taking the holy dip in the river we used to go to nearby temples majority of which were amidst forests.  I remember a particular place called Neel Kanth temple of Lord Shiva, which was inside a forest and the way to the temple was just a footpath made out by the people walking to the temple and walking back to the camping sites. Most of the devotees used to go there in the mornings and  used to come back by the evenings before dusk, as the whole place was surrounded by jungle inhabited by animals.  One afternoon my father decided to visit the temple and thought that by walking fast we would be able to come back before dark. It was summer time so it was possible.   But as it happened the onward journey took more than three hours as we children could not walk fast enough.  So when we reached the temple, it was dusk already.

We visited the holy temple of lord Shiva and took shelter in a building nearby made for the devotees who  wanted to stay there for the night.  Some other families also came by to take shelter for the night.

The place was isolated and no shops or houses were there, i.e., there were no activities in the night except some devotees ringing bells in the temple.  I heard someone tell that lions were there in the jungle and usually  visited the place some times in the night.  God knows, I could hardly sleep that night.  Whenever I heard some sound I clung more to my parents.  Thank God the Sun appeared in the morning and I could take a sigh of relief.  Quickly we took bath in the water coming from the mountains and after visiting the temple, we walked our way down to the camping site by the side of the river Ganga.

Another place which was very exciting to visit in Rishikesh was rope bridge called Laxman Jhoola, on the banks of the river Ganga. We children were very happy to visit the rope bridge as it used to swing while the pilgrims walked over it to cross the river.

    Picture: The Laxman Jhoola(Bridge) at Rishikesh.

  Now a days rafting has become a tourist attraction at Rishikesh. The people throng these places day and night. Since then I have visited these places with my wife and children many times. Now the place is crowded every where. Many buildings have come up every where and place is inhabited by many people. It is a city located in the foothills of Himalayas. Now the jungles have shrunk and the forests are taken care of by the Forest Department and the only animals which habitat the forests are deers, cheetals, etc. which are harmless.  The forests are famous for its rich varieties of  flora and fauna .  Many plants are cultivated there for their medicinal uses.

 Rishikesh is the gateway to the holy Himalayan Shrines of Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamnotri.  These places are just divine.   From Rishikesh the Ganga leaves the mountains and enters the vast plains of northern India.

Now the journey to these places is very easy. These places  are now connected by railways and by road. One can book the seats in advance in air conditioned coaches or luxury buses well in advance to visit the places. 

 I have very sweet memories of my childhood about  Rishikesh and Haridwar, The places are just divine.

It is mid April and the weather here in New Delhi is not so hot and not so cold. The days are warm and the nights are cool.  But I am a little sad today, as it is my mother's 23rd death anniversary.  I loved my mom very much as she was a source of inspiration to us brothers.  Her life was full of struggle, as those were very difficult times here.  Electricity was scarce so no electrical gadgets to use.  All the household chores were to be carried out manually. She used to get up before everyone and was busy all day long and slept last of us.  My father was a government servant, but still it was not easy to grow the five of us brothers up easily.
 I could see her toil with the laundry, kitchen, housecleaning, etc., yet she always found time to socialise with her peers.  She was always cool with us.  I salute you mom.  You will always be there in our hearts.
Now the times have changed a lot.  It is a machine age, all the jobs are done by machine.  The life has become so easy.  The computers have taken the lead.  Physical work has reduced so much but nevertheless, mental tensions are increasing day by day.  Most of us are always mentally somewhere else, thinking of matters in the past or worrying about the future.  Perhaps we are never grounded.  This has resulted in so many new ailments which were never heard before.  We are getting far far away from the real life.  Lack of physical work and loads of mental tensions are creating havoc.  Though the world is getting closer in this fast age, but still the human race is seeing so much distance creeping up in their relations.   Very few people are comfortable with each other.  But I am very happy to know that many many people around the world think likewise and are doing their bit to make this world a better place to live.  Let us all be more human and spread the message of love in this world.  Let love and peace prevail in this universe. Thanks for reading it.