solace found at the banks of Ganga

by Ritwika ritwika (India)

A leap into the unknown India

Har ki Pauri in Haridwar is the precise spot where the Ganges leaves the mountains and enters the plains, was one of the most beautiful ghats I have been to. I reached there just in time for Ganga aarti after visiting the Mansa Devi temple at Bilwa parvat. The sun had already set. People were gathered together at both sides of the bank to witness the world-famous aarti. With the ghat filling up with chants of ‘har-har gange’, the image of fire reflecting from the water and the devotees floating diyas and flowers, it was a spectacular sight to behold. It was a dynamic show of light and sound with perfect hand movements, and texture. I bought a diya and flowers too and released it in the river to float. The aarti ended in a while but the crowd remained. People of all ages, men, and women, were bathing in Ganga. I stepped closer to the back and sat at the stairs drowning my legs in the river. The water cold, really cold for the month of June, and the flow of the river was very fast. Sitting there, I realized that the beauty of a destination is not always in its sights, attractions or monuments. It is in the slices of life that travel presents before us – a kaleidoscope of the stories, myths, and traditions – that lend a unique character to a place and its people. My surrounding was all chaotic yet it was ‘quite’ and peaceful somehow. Finally, it was time to go back. I went to my cab and left. As I was passing by the ghat it was looking even more beautiful from the distance with all the lights it was decorated with, and the moon and twinkling stars in the background. I kept looking in its direction until the holy place was out of my sight.