About My Project...


As a kid every time I would cross a river in India, be it the Ganga or the Yamuna or any of their tributaries, I would have a feeling that the water levels of these rivers were receding... my heart would sink seeing the industrial pollutants making their way into these rivers...

On the contrary the feeling I would get seeing these rivers close to their origins… especially the Ganga in Rishikesh is indescribable… no pollution, no signs of water level depletion … so calm and so serene… the scent of freshness in the air…

I am documenting the life around river Ganga… the life as Ganga sees and feels it... the culture the river has supported for thousands of years, the people it has sustained over the centuries, and also the human interference it has suffered over the last one century or so...

Towards that I am following the river from its origins high up in the Himalayas all the way to where it merges with the Indian Ocean. All the while I am meeting with people who have been close to the river to narrate their feelings about the river, what they feel about the part Ganga has played in the Indian civilization and culture, what we human beings have done or could do or have not done to save this mighty river…

My final aim is to narrate the whole documentary as a multimedia and a book. I invite anyone and everyone to please help me with suggestions... critique... and hospitality. I would love to hear your suggestions and incorporate them into my project.


Note: The contents of this blog including the pictures are copyrighted and may not be copied or downloaded without prior permission of Rahul Rathi.
Disclaimer: This is a personal project of Rahul Rathi. He is not responsible for the accuracy of the contents here in and may not be sited as a reference without confirming the accuracy.

Monday, December 6, 2010

Bhagirathi almost vanishes in Uttarkashi...

On our way back from Gangotri we stopped again in Uttarkashi... another holy town on the banks of river Bhagirathi. As the name suggests it is Kashi of the North (Uttar). The other Kashi is of course the Kashi of the East or of Plains which is Varanasi. Both these towns are situated on river Ganga (Bhaigirathi), and also on two other rivers which are called Varuna and Asi in both the towns, although they are not connected to each other. Both the towns have temples dedicated to Lord Shiva (Vishwanath). The Vishwanath temple in Uttarkashi has a huge trishool (trident) which is said to have been used by Lord Shiva to kill demon Vakasur. The priest there told us the meaning of "Kashi" as a place where ones sins get absolved.

All that aside, what really bothered me was a dam in Maneri on river Bhagirathi, one kilometer from Uttarkashi (going towards Gangotri). The dam literally brings Bhagirathi to a standstill, with water just trickling through one of the openings in the dam. The stretch following the dam and before water, post power production, is thrown back into the river through pipes, Bhagirathi is transformed into a tiny almost dry stream. For a moment I felt very disheartened seeing a breakage in the flow of Bhagirathi. Again the same debate crops up. Those who work and earn from the dam do not care a bit, but the religious people and the environmentalists feel these dams are meddling with faith and environment, respectively.

Friday, November 5, 2010

Gangotri ... the first village that Bhagirathi touches ...


Gangotri is the first human settlement that Ganga (or Bhagirathi - the main tributary of Ganga) sees after originating at Gaumukh. Gangotri is nothing more than a stretch of some shops, mainly restaurants on top of which are hotels catering to the devotees and tourists (especially the tracking enthusiasts). It is famous also for the Ganga temple that was built in the 18th century by Amar Singh Thapa, a Gorkha general. Gangotri shuts down during winter months, and by shuts down I mean completely shuts down. Even electricity and water supply to the village are shut. People move down to nearby towns during these months and come back up again during summers, when the Ganga Temple and the Gangotri National Park reopen. 

The Ganga Temple closes on Diwali day every year and reopens in summers usually in April or May. When the temple is closed the idol of Goddess Ganga is said to be brought down to another Ganga temple in the village of Mukhba. This is what is written all over the internet and is perceived by most. However, the priest at the Ganga temple in Mukhba told me that it is not the whole idol that is brought down, but it is only the "mask" of Goddess Ganga. The mask then is placed inside a tiny chamber in the chest of the idol of Goddess Ganga in the temple in Mukhba. When the temple in Gangotri reopens, the mask is then taken back in big procession with all pomp and show.   



We (I and my brother Lt Rajul Rathi and our driver Naeem) headed towards Gangotri on May 10th. It is required that one gets a pass to enter the Gangotri National Park where Gaumukh glacier is situated. Towards that I had a meeting with District Forest Officer of the area - Dr IP Singh - in Uttarkashi, who would issue us a pass. Now a days it is only 150 visitors per day that are allowed into the national park to go to the Gaumukh glacier. This is to protect receding Himalayan glaciers from human activities, according to Dr Singh. And the passes can only be gotten at office of the forest officer in Uttarkashi- the district head quarters of the area. It was at the Forest Department guest house that we stayed overnight before heading to Gangotri the next morning.

Dr. Singh also briefed us about the actual situation on the glacier. It sure is melting, but on top of that it is getting dirty too, mainly due to plastic bags and other non-biodegradables left behind by trackers, especially westerners. An idea was implemented few years back to take a refundable deposit of Rs 100 ($2) per person before s/he enters the Gangotri National Park. This deposit would be refunded if the person brings back all the plastic bags s/he carries into the Park. Rs100 is a lot for many, but for a westerner it is not a substantial amount to worry about bringing back all the plastic bags... and many, if not most, don't.

We reached Gangotri around noon, it was raining... and cold...really cold it was. Headed directly to the forest departments guest house where we would be putting up for the night. And ... no electricity! no running water ... was told that we would not be able to get a guide to the glacier as the park was not officially open yet. The caretakers of the guest house were really nice...they offered us hot tea.

My plan to visit the Gaumukh glacier during this trip was cut short due to inclement weather (rain and sub zero temperature), and lack of electricity and running water in Gangotri. We were two days early before the Ganga temple, and thus the village of Gangotri, would open and supply of electricity and water to the area would resume. I decided that I would come back to Gaumukh later, and maybe also cover Tapovan then.

After staying in Gangotri for a few hours, visiting the Ganga Temple and collecting some holy water, we returned. What really interested me was that the color of Bhagirathi here at the origin were the same as that of river Ganga anywhere else - greenish. No wonder Bhaigirathi is the source river of Ganga.

After leaving Gangotri we made a night halt at Harsil. The weather was still terrible. It was very very cold and it was raining. Thanks to the Indian Army base at Harsil, we had a nice overnight stay ...

Monday, August 23, 2010

Banaras... city of Temples,

city of Ghats, city of narrow alleys, city of Saarees ...

I was in Varanasi (or Banaras) from 28th of April till the 1st of May. As I got off the train, the city did not look any different from any other city in India. Same rickshaws and auto-rickshaws (by Bajaj), same compact cars, bicycles, trucks, tthelas, and a crowd of people on foot. All trying to make their way ahead of everyone else.

There was something very different still... and that was the site of temple tops in almost every direction one could see... indeed - I said to myself - Varanasi is a city of Temples! It is the holiest city for the Hindus and also referred to as Kashi, meaning - a place where your sins get cleansed. Varanasi is also the seat of the holiest of twelve Jyotirlings (Jyoti: Light; Ling: Mark, thus Mark of Light) in India. It is believed that Lord Shiva first manifested himself as a Jyotirling before appearing in a physical form, thus the importance of a Jyotirling. The Kashi Vishwanath Temple is the Jyotirling in Varanasi. Vishwanath means the "ruler of the universe".     

The city and its dwellers are blessed, they say, and so are its visitors. Varanasi is to Hinduism as Mecca is to Islam, Jerusalem to Judaism and Bethlehem to Christianity. Religious Hindus from all over the world try to visit Varanasi at least once in their lifetime ... to be blessed...  or want their body to be brought for cremation here ... to attain moksha.  



The Ghats: Varanasi is situated on the western banks of the holy river Ganga, and all along the length of the city by the Ganga are the Ghats. There are in total 84 ghats and they are all lined adjacent to each other, and each of them has its own significance. Dasaashwamedh Ghat (Das: Ten; Ashwa: Horses; Medh: Sacrifice) is the main ghat in Varanasi. Every evening a prayer to Goddess Ganga (Ganga Aarti) is offered at many ghats, but the main aarti is at the Dasaashwamedh Ghat. Hundreds of devotees and tourists frequent the ghat  to witness the aarti. Adjacent to Dasaashwamedh Ghat is Dr Rajendra Prasad Ghat (named after the first President of India) and is equally popular for the evening aarti (pics 3 & 4).

Assi Ghat and the Westerners: I started my Varanasi tour on the banks of river Ganga at the Assi Ghat - one of the 84 ghats along the Ganga river in the city. What surprised me was the presence of several westerners relishing their morning tea on the ghat and chatting ... and many of them were speaking in Hindi. It was as if they were at home...

I hired a boat for the city tour on the Ganga. The boatman told me that these westerners actually live in Varanasi and many of them have been here for several years now. They have a locality of their own and they run their own schools for kids too... and many of them end up marrying local men and women to get Indian citizenship, and thus remain in India.

Swimming lessons in the Ganga: At two of the ghats I witnessed swimming lessons being given to young kids, under the watchful eyes of the coach and mothers of the kids. On being asked about swimming being taught in the polluted waters of the river... I got two different answers from two teachers. One said "Actually, we clean the area where we teach swimming and that the flowing waters make students tough and gives them more stamina"... and the second one asked me back "Where else?" Lack of any functional swimming pool in the city makes people look towards the Ganga. And why not... it's free to operate, there's is no infrastructure to maintain, and it's free running water. 

Narrow alley ways and the Banarasi Saree: If it was not for my boatman who also was my guide during my stay in Banaras, I would have been lost in the intricate cobweb of narrow alleys of Banaras along the Ganga. The alleys were really narrow, yet they were lined not only by shops on both sides, but also by doors that lead into big houses (pics 16, 19, 20), and even hotels (mine was situated in one of these alleys, and I was provided with a map of the alley ways, just in case I lost myself). Most people walked in and out of these alleys, but many used their two-wheelers too... What was amazing was the efficiency these narrow alley-ways were used without anyone hitting anyone else.

In these narrow alleys are also situated the factories of the famous Banarasi Saree. By looking at a saree, it cannot be imagined that these sarees are painstakingly hand-made usually by a single person (pic 8). No wonder the Banarasi Sarees are so expensive. A saree factory in this area is nothing more than a house with several rooms, each room being used - in one way or the other - for the production and shipping of sarees - and all very efficiently. A whole documentary can be made just on Banarasi Sarees.      

Life on the river Ganga: You come to Banaras, and you can see people living their life on the banks of river Ganga (pic 1), just like in most other towns situated along the river. They wake up, take a bath in the holy river (pics 6 & 14), they brush their teeth (pic 15), have their morning tea (pic 13), they play, they sleep, they just live their... Ganga brings some kind of peace into their lives. Ganga invigorates them... and for some reason, despite all the pollution in and around the river, I felt the same. I did not want to leave Banaras...

Death on the river Ganga: Religious Hindus want to die in the Holy city of Banaras, or at least want to be cremated here. It is believed that if one dies in this city or even if cremated here, attains moksha  or nirvana, meaning, liberation from the cycle of repeated death and rebirth (reincarnation).

That belief apart, I was told by my boatman/ guide that cremations run 24 hours in Banaras and is a multi-million dollar (or Rupees) business. And that this business of cremations is handled by one family - the family of the Doms. There is a palace on the river Ganga that actually belongs to one of the Doms.

The Raja Harishchandra Ghat and the Manikarnika Ghat are the two cremation grounds where the dead bodies are cremated. I was not allowed to take pictures at the Manikarnika ghat, probably because it holds a higher status amongst the two ghats.

The open air cremations in the area is a common site for localites, but for foreigners it's a very unfamiliar site. One can see several boats around the cremation areas full of foreigners who want to witness this uncommon or for some bizarre site. For the localites it's so common that children even swim near a body being cremated, clothes get washed on the adjacent ghat...

[I could not complete the city of Banaras during this trip and will be visiting this magnificent city again]

Monday, June 7, 2010

Published in Hindustan (National Daily in India)

My story has been published in Hindustan - a National Daily in India.

A correspondent from the daily came to know about my work. I was interviewed during my last trip to India and my story was published in the newspaper of May 26th, 2010.

The title reads "गंगा बचाने निकला एनआरआई भागीरथ" (An NRI Bhagirath* comes forward to save Ganga). *Bhagirath was the king who brought Ganga to earth from heaven, according to Hindu mythology. He was one of the forefathers of Lord Ram, of the epic Ramayana. And an NRI is a Non-Resident Indian.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

The atomic power plant and the strewn idols of deities at Narora...

When Narora comes into any conversation... if it at all does... it's not Ganga that comes to mind...it's just the atomic power plant that one can think of. Ironically though the plant is situated on the banks of the Ganga itself and uses its waters to cool the reactors and to produce steam that in turn moves the turbines which eventually generates power...

So, Ganga not only produces hydro-power (dams) but also atomic-power. This power goes to the our houses enabling us to watch TV, run our refrigerators, coolers, ACs, fans...even charge our inverters. But why don't we think a little in depth? It's all because of the river Ganga that we are able to get this luxury called electrical power... and yet we are running from our responsibility to keep it clean...

I have a suggestion. Why doesn't the Atomic Power Plant at Narora sponsor the ghats at least in Narora. Or, why don't some private companies sponsor these religious places... they are making millions of dollars... they can definitely spare some change...
 


Lord Hanuman's broken idol lay on the banks of Ganga as a tractor gets a wash. 
In the far background is the Narora Nuclear Power Plant. 

What utterly surprised me in Narora was idols of deities... hundreds of them... strewn all along the bank of the river. The idols, big and small, all just lay there abandoned. Granted these idols were broken (Hindi: Khandit खंडित ; they say there is no God in broken idols), but why throw these idols as if they meant nothing to anyone at anytime. Believe me these idols, although khandit, seemed to have a soul, they seemed to ask why they were thrown there... as if begging to be taken back to their temples... aaaah!!! :(  

A beautiful example of religion and pollution...

[Please read the comment by Dr Swatantra Pidara]

Sunday, January 3, 2010

Further Plans... Maha Kumbh and back to science!!

I will be heading back to the waters of the Ganga in April 2010. This time I plan to cover the Maha Kumbh Mela at Haridwar, travel all the way up to Gaumukh (the glacier where Bhaigirathi the main source river of the Ganga originates) and then head back down along the Ganga to cities of Narora, Farukkhabad, Allahbad (Prayag) and Banaras. By the end of this trip I will have covered a little over half of my journey along the Ganga...

Considering my science background, my father, Dr YPS Rathi, a retired virologist, suggested me to test the quality of the Ganga waters at various places. So, I will be detecting the presence of the virus - Bacteriophage in the waters of the Ganga collected at various places during my journey. Talks are on to get some more scientists along who can help us measure other parameters to determine the quality of Ganga waters which would include Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), Fecal Coliform Bacteria, pH of the water, Total Suspended Solids (TSS), Oil and Grease, Heavy Metals etc.