The Mother Ganges The River that is Dying

I first saw this river as it ends in Kolkata, but here in Varanasi she comes to the people. It is here that millions of Hindus find a tangible form of their spirituality as they come to bathe, worship, die and even die. Dying here means an end to the cycle of birth and death and the river plays a part in the same way the Nile played its part during the reign of the Pharaohs.
The river begins in the Himalayas and eventually ends in the Bay of Bengal at Calcutta or Kolkata.
Varanasi - the city of Shiva
The main attraction here is the string of ghats from where you can get access to the river. Long before sunrise people come to greet the sun. The people come here to perform religious ceremonies. This never stop and continuo until late at night. Even when most of the ghats become quiet, at least two of them remain active. Where most ghats are occupied by those wanting to have a better life, two are used as 'burning ghats' where bodies are cremated. One is the Manikarnika Ghat
A Dying River. It is estimated that 60000 people come down to the Ganges everyday. I myself went there to find a guru. Instead of a Guru I found almost everything else. It is quickly apparent that the washing in the Ganges is not always spiritual. With so many people Staying in Varanasi, the 7km stretch of holy water serves many purposes. For one, it is simply used to wash and that includes clothing. Along the stretch of water, 30 sewers are discharging their waste into the river, to the extent that no dissolved oxygen exists and faecal coliform bacteria per 100ml of water is around 1,5 million instead of the maximum of 500 for someone to bath in safely.
Taking into account that a further 400 million people live next to the Ganges as it flows from the mountains to the ocean, the problem of water born diseases can’t even be imagined.
Boat Trip
The safest way to see the Ganges river is to take a boat trip at sunrise or sunset. That way you have a chance to get out of the rush of the city. At night time a huge Puja or sacred ritual is performed at the Dasaswamedh Ghat and from a boat the candles put in the water is something to see. Many come here and hope to experience the spiritual connection of setting their dreams and hopes free on the holy river. Though I did find it a bit of a show and not really a sacred ceremony, others obviously find it spiritual. Do not be mistaken but seeing the river is an experience you will not forget. You can see the river in different places but you will never find the river so part of life as it is in Varanasi.

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