Life… and death along the ghats of Ganga

“You will love Varanasi too, especially being on the ghats of the Ganga,” suggested a local student during my recent Lucknow trip. Heeding his suggestion, I took the Varanasi-bound train the very next evening. At mid-night, I reached the spiritual town and straight went to the Ganga’s ever-lively ghats, my main attraction like countless visitors.

The tuk-tuk dropped me at the Assi Ghat. The view was surreal — the riverfront lined with countless colourful wooden boats. Even at this late hour the ghat was full. People were sleeping or chatting on the stairs along the bank. The children were selling balloons while tea vendors were doing brisk business. Nearby, youngsters sang Bollywood songs by the river, their music echoing over the water.

Wandering ahead, I saw some persons meditating, chants of their mantras mingling with the sounds of the river. Ambling further, I encountered the reality of life: three cremations were on, also being witnessed by some foreign tourists. It was 4 am. Every few minutes more bodies were arriving. Few men were sleeping on cots right next to these cremations. One of them soon woke up and started preparing a pyre for the next body. Life’s routine and death’s rituals were going on simultaneously.

At dawn, a rush of devotees arrived. Some people were meditating or practicing yoga every few steps. Boating trips had commenced. A large number of men and women were taking dips in the Ganga or worshipping the sun standing in its waters. But sadly the river that absolved every one of their sins was not clean. It was littered with plastic bags and other waste, leaving me to ponder — do we really respect it? But the irony was obvious — we may proclaim that cleanliness is next to godliness but we certainly don’t practice it.

Rameshinder Singh Sandhu, Amritsar

Uttar Pradesh