Tuesday, 13 November

Life is incomplete without bathing in the Ganga at least once in a lifetime. The benefits of bathing in the holy waters of this great river are extreme. Such is the conviction of Hindus that they will congregate on its banks in millions for the Sangam, Sagar Mela or Kumbha Mela festivals, which are held on auspicious dates every few years.

All along its route as the mighty river flows eastwards from the Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal, the Ganges River forms an integral part of daily life for the extremely populated regions through which it flows, including the major cities of Haridwar, Kanpur, Allahabad, Varanasi, Patna, and Calcutta. It is essential for bathing of humans and animals, for providing irrigation for the fertile plains through which it flows and for its role as cremation grounds.

Here in Varanasi, U.P., it is bewildering that people are able to bathe and wash their teeth at the main Ghats, just metres from the cremation fires of Omanikarnika Ghat. It has also been known of bathers to push away remains of half-decomposed bodies which have emerged from the depths of the river and drifted near the banks. Yet the activities do not stop, not even do they pause. The purity of the Ganga is unquestionable. It is all just part of life and death on the banks of the holy river.

It is undeniable that the Ganges collects large amounts of human pollutants as it flows through highly populous areas. Unfortunately it is also a very handy waste disposal facility especially for the leather industries which use large amounts of chemicals. However, raw sewage and inadequate cremation procedures and some human and animal corpses contribute significantly to the pollution problem.

Studies have shown that there is zero liquid oxygen in the water in Varanasi which means that the water is septic, yet its waters are considered to be the purest on a subtle level, beyond the superficial, illusory cover. This belief is so profound that people continue their daily rituals immune to this fact. Meanwhile some marine life, including the mythical white Ganges dolphin, survives. The Ganges remains a mystery that baffles scientists to this very day.

The Ganga Action Plan under Dutch and British support has been set up under the Indian government and is attempting to build a number of waste treatment facilities. However Ganges water does appear to have a self-purification characteristic, revealed in the discovery of bacteriophages and many other microbes present. Indeed, despite its many impurities, it has been noted that Ganges water does not rot or stink if stored for several days.

Most Hindu families will keep a vial of water in their house because it is auspicious. It is given to a dying person as a cleanser from sin while it has also been known to heal. Interestingly, it is said that any water mixed with a minute quantity of Ganges water becomes Ganges water, inheriting its healing and holy properties.

Thursday, 15 November

Pilgrims swarm to the banks of the Ganges in the thousands daily, while babas and sadhus (holy men) of all sorts hang around the Ghats – the varied gradation of steps leading into the river present in most developed areas along its banks, which enable easy access during changing water levels.

Sadhus wear various tilaks painted on their body indicating their spiritual inclination: three stripes across the forehead for Shivaites or V- or U-shaped markings for Vaishnavas. Most are clad in orange cloth although some extreme renunciates are completely naked and covered in ash. Many have long dreadlocks. Some live in make-shift shacks on the Ghats or in nearby forests while others simply carry one small bag of meagre belongings and a water-pot, and sleep anywhere. Few women take up this life of renunciation.

The holy men spend their days meditating, chanting Sanskrit verses or performing extreme yogic postures. Some observe special austerities such as observing silence or not begging any alms, relying on Divine Providence. Each one is individual in mood and practice. They all revere the Ganga.

Unfortunately, there are always those who want to exploit the environment, in this case the generous pilgrims and tourists. Many bogus babas pose as sadhus, begging money under this pretext. They spend their days sitting with tourists on the river banks, drinking chai (spiced tea) and bumming hash for their chillums, which are traditionally used as an aid to meditation by the Shivaites.

But what gives the Ganges River such spiritual significance to thousands of pilgrims and monks? The Ganga is mentioned repeatedly in the Vedic scriptures and in the two great epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. In Hindu mythology everything possesses personal qualities. The Ganges River is so revered because she is actually a goddess known as Ganga Devi and her quality is such that anything that comes in contact with her is purified.

Ganga Devi is the daughter of the Himalayas personified, raised in the heavens under the care of Lord Brahma, the creator of the Universe. Lord Brahma had reverently washed the feet of Lord Vishnu, the supporter of the Universe, and collected her waters in his water-vessel. There are various versions on how and why the Ganges descended on earth.

The story more or less unfolds that in ancient times, Bhagiratha prayed to Lord Brahma that Ganga come down to Earth to release the souls of Sagara's sixty thousand sons who where all burnt to death by the sage Kapila's glance when they accidentally disturbed him from his deep meditation. Lord Brahma agreed, and he ordered Ganga to descend to the Earth and then go on to the nether regions so that their lost souls could be liberated.

However the impact of her fall would be so severe, that it could be borne by none less than Lord Shiva, the destroyer and creator himself. Therefore Bhagiratha went into meditation again and obtained Shiva's consent after many more austerities. Finally, Ganga fell into Shiva's matted hair and to earth thereafter. This is the presumed site of the present-day temple at Gangotri in the Himalayas at Uttaranchal and why Lord Shiva is always depicted with the Ganga flowing through his locks.

The touch of Lord Shiva further sanctified Ganga and as she travelled to the nether-world, she created a stream on Earth to help purify unfortunate souls here. She is the only river to flow in all the three worlds – Swarga (heaven), Prithvi (earth) and Patala (netherworld or hell). Thus she is called Tripathaga (one who travels the three worlds) in the Sanskrit language.

What we see is that melting snow and ice from glaciers in the Himalayas, particularly the stream originating at the Gangotri Glacier at an elevation of over 7,750 metres, is the source of the Ganges. The river finally emerges at Haridwar where it changes its course from south-west to south-east through the planes of northern India. At Allahabad, 1,000 km downstream at a point known as the Sangam, the Ganga and the Yamuna, another most sacred river, join together.

More rivers pour into the Ganges to form a formidable current until West Bengal. Here, part of the Ganges branches down through Kolkata towards the Bay of Bengal. The other segment flows into Bangladesh, joins the Brahmaputra River and eventually also drains into the Bay of Bengal. Interestingly, the Brahmaputra, the Yamuna and the Ganges' actual sources are very near each other. The Ganges' total discharge is surpassed only by the Amazon and Congo rivers.

Sunday, 18 November

Haridwar and Allahabad are both prominent pilgrimage places connected with the river Ganges but here, not far from Allahabad, about mid-way as the Ganges flows along its route, a particularly ancient settlement developed into a magnificent, timeless city built along one of its banks. Varanasi remains one of the holiest cities in Hindu thought and is physically a representation of life and death due to its famous cremation grounds granting liberation.

All along the banks of the Ganges, particularly so in Varanasi, the river has a significant role in assisting believers live a pure life and move through the passage of death. Yet the apparent destruction of undesirable energies and matter is balanced out by the creative streak apparent in the arts, culture and music so prominent here. Varanasi is indeed the home, permanent or temporary, of many masters and students of music and venue to many a classical concert.

Tuesday, 20 November

As it flows like time, like life itself, the Ganges River has, since time immemorial, inspired intellectuals and philosophers to seek the answers to the existential questions: where do we come from and where do we go? It flows with no restraint reminding of the impermanence of all things, which indeed enter and leave our life without a moment's notice. Past and future do not exist – only the present moment does, and that too comes to pass.

While Haridwar developed into a Himalayan retreat for yogis and students of Raja yoga based on moral conduct, meditation, physical postures and breathing techniques, Varanasi is historically a meeting place for pundits debating on the nature of the Truth – Jnana (pronounced 'gyana') yoga, the path of knowledge.

Friday, 23 November

Varanasi is always alight. Apart from the orange hue given by the floodlights lighting the Ghats, it is common practice to put candles and flowers floating on a tiny leaf-plate into the river, particularly after the Ganga Puja ceremony held every evening on the main Dashashwamedh Ghat.

The huge Ganga Puja is a recent addition to Varanasi's attractions, introduced in such a flamboyant manner only since the late 90's. It is organised privately, using donations given by families who wish to make a service offering "for good luck". It has turned into a massive tourist attraction, attracting hundreds of people who spend their time refusing offers such as, "Boat ma'am?" or, "Ganga flower?"

Despite having earned a reputation as the "Tourist Puja", the daily ceremony is really rather magnificent. Up to twenty or so pujaris stand over the Ganga offering incense, flowers, enormous ghee-lamps, peacock feather fans and the rest of the apparel to the bellowing sound of devotional song through loud-speakers.

The fire from the ghee lamps reflects on the water in a mystical way, but especially I like to observe the individual personal offerings of tiny ghee lamps – a single wick inside a flat clay container with clarified butter – and candles to Mother Ganga.

Wednesday, 28 November

It appears that a UN Climate Report issued in 2007 indicates that the Himalayan glaciers that feed the Ganges may disappear by 2030 so that only the Monsoon rains might revive its flow seasonally. Interestingly it is believed that the river should disappear at the end of the present era of darkness known as Kali Yuga, just as the mythological Saraswati River did previously, but this is not due for a while yet!

Indeed an India without the Ganga would certainly be the end of an era since the holy river holds so much importance culturally, spiritually and practically. It symbolises the life and death not of a nation, but of the whole of mankind.

Episode 23 of Melanie Drury's diary is due on 17 December.

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