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.

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]
Posted by Rahul Rathi 4 comments
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