The Ganga ..From Heavens and back…..

It’s not just a River but a Goddess and aptly so. Falling down upon the Earth to save humanity, it emerges from the mighty Himalayas making its journey through the high hills and cutting through them. The turbulence and the exuberance slowly mellows down by the time it reaches the vast plains.



For hundreds and hundreds of years “Ganga” has not just given precious water and has provided people with immensely fertile land, but also been a chief source of inspiration for all. It has nurtured and given shape to the life in Indo-gangetic plains. On the banks of Ganges is where all of Science and Philosophy originated. The “Ganga” has been a symbol of life and in some ways it shows the fragilities of life in itself. But that’s not it; even the mere water of Ganga seems to contain anti-bacterial properties and surprisingly higher proportions of dissolved oxygen which in turn supports a myriad of different species within it; Water so pure and holy that can wash away all impurities and sins of mankind. In all of ancient texts, we find enough testimony to the importance of Ganga, as without it the balance of life would be disturbed and probably there might not be any life at all on the plains of this country. Hence Ganga definitely and truly deserves a place as a Mother Goddess, which is being worshipped and revered by all.



I have always been enchanted by Ganga, its beauty, its stories and its myths since long. Lucky to be born in a city where the mother “Ganga” sets foot on, I still remember my childhood days when I used to threaten my auto driver that I would jump off the auto if he would not stop it near the bank of Ganga and there I would gaze at the mighty river for hours. As a child I was always told by my parents that Ganga is not a river but a Goddess of worship, something I could never quite understand. How could a river be a God or Goddess is what I wondered in my childhood, but I always loved being near it and gazing at it enjoying the cool breeze, the distant boats and never ending horizon, the clouds and the setting sun, all looked so mesmerizing. It took me years to truly realize and understand why this river is “Ma Gange”, the Mother Goddess, worthy of being worshipped.

But in a decade or so Ganga has lost all its grandeur and beauty in the plains, so much so that it is on brink of getting eradicated. Last week when I was back on the banks of Ganges in my home town to experience the beauty and calm of Ganga, I was hell shocked and felt terrible at what I looked. The myriad of fish variety were now replaced with tons of plastic and human wastes, the cool breeze was now replaced with a foul and unbearable smell, the calm holy water of the Ganga was now replaced with microbes and bacteria infested gutter water. Is this the same Ganga I wondered …??



Uncontrolled development, incessant pollution, industrialization and population burst have all reined havoc. The river has receded miles and leaving acres of farming land, most of the fishes and aquatic life forms thriving in the river have also being wiped out. The water is so polluted that it can make anyone sick by the mere sight of it; forget about washing away sins..!! All that remains today is the legacy of a majestic river falling from the heavens on its banks.



Looking at the apathy of Ganga I wondered of the good old days when it was brimming with water and spanned over the plain as far as one could see. In the monsoons the calm water of the river would turn into a furious and turbulent river with water level rising so much so that sand bags were needed on the banks to prevent water from entering on to the roads. I still remember praying to the Mother Ganga for help during my exams by creating a flood, not a large one to harm people but big enough to close down my school so that I could escape the fury of the exams...!!
It’s ironical that a river so mighty, pure and holy, worshipped by a billion even today, is in state of shambles. The very people that glorify and worship the river have turned it into a dumping ground and a toxic soup…again ironical. It seemed to me that the Mother Ganga was weeping..Weeping not at its own state but at the very people she nurtured and cared for; probably feeling betrayed and snitched as well. Like a cancer, the human race has multiplied uncontrollably wiping out almost all resources and life forms around it.



I do not intend to scream or howl for saving the river Ganga. I know for certain that our heavenly mother does not need any help…after all she is “Ma Gange”. On the contrary we are the ones who need all the help since It’s not the river which truly is getting eradicated instead its humanity being wiped out from the face of this planet and nature. The state of Ganga is the reflection of the plight of humanity. Nature is a self correcting system and it will soon exterminate the most potent cancerous cell to have ever inhabited this planet…… the “Humans”.



I lay somber on the banks, somehow managing to bear the foul smell, wondering that my children might never get to see the beauty of this holy river. For them “Ma Gange” might just be reduced to a handful of stories and a myth they never got to see.…

"Ganga Cha Yamuna Chaiva Godavari Saraswati,
Narmada Sindhu Kaveri Jalesmin Sannidhim Kuru"