That Eternal Feeling, Ganga ki God Mein
The last time I visited my hometown, Allahabad, over a year ago, it was to rush my ailing father over to Delhi for treatment. Since his passing away, the city has begun to fade in my memory I've snapped my ties with it but my brothers haven't. When they went back to immerse my father's ashes at the Sangam, I stayed back in Delhi to grapple with the mundane business of life. Memories might fade, but life has to go on, isn't it? Yet, from time to time, Allahabad flashes through my mind in black and white motion-picture starkness. Dominant are images of the eternal Ganga flowing slo-mo, taking the entire city in her gentle stride. I grew up with the Ganga. She is a part of me. While our joys and sorrows, hopes and desperation, longings and loneliness, and everything else about us are transitory, somehow, the Ganga seems eternal. cannot talk about the Ganga without re-visiting Allahabad. Both the Ganga and the Yamuna emerge, at а short distance from each other, from the innards of the snow-clad Himalayas. Running towards the plains at breakneck speed, they meet, mid-life, at the Sangam. At this spot, the Yamuna loses its separate identity, and gets subsumed into the mighty Ganga. At the Sangam, the muddy waters of the Ganga embrace the deep blue ripples of the Yamuna. A third mythical river running its mysterious course blends into the Ganga here, unseen, unverified, but yet, as strongly evocative as are the other two rivers. It's a faith so strong that the Triveni Sangam represents the ying and yang of life meeting the third, yet unknown force, lending a spiritual depth to the emergent tripartite Ganga. Is this holy union of three what makes the Ganga the powerful giver and taker of life? Is this why as a newborn, your initiation into life begins with the ritual drop of Gangajal you are made to drink? It is also the last thing that enters your lifeless mouth, and later, your ashes get swirled and consumed by the Ganga's waters. To me, personally, the Ganga is really none of these. I am mesmerised by her many moods and colours, her broad, inclusive sweep, her undulating ups and downs... Now she's freezing, now she's warm, but whatever the temperature or terrain, she remains focused on her long but purposeful journey. Men may come and men may go, some exploiting her, some venerating, but the Ganga goes on forever. Those who haven't experienced the Ganga, want to, but as they say, you have to wait for her divine call. But when you are destined to meet, don't forget to take that plunge -the dip of life. I have let the Ganga caress me umpteen times over. I have taken friends and strangers to her banks. Have you ever wondered what it must feel like? To the non-believer, the Ganga is just another silty river that carries with it garbage and human waste across the heart of India, one big public drainage system that carries in its flow the rejects of billions to its final destination, the sea, so that they may carry on with the freshness of everyday life. But look deeper into the muck, and you'll find that the Ganga is pure-so pure that you want to take her home and offer her to the gods. You feel secure when she's there with you through life's journey, and at the end to purify your soul when your body deconstructs. You tuck the Ganga away in a corner of your room, all bottled up, because nothing else remains as fresh as long as the Ganga does.
DISCLAIMER:
The views expressed in the Article above are Shubhrangshu Roy kashmiribhatta.in is not in any way responsible for the opinions expressed in the above article. The article belongs to its respective owner or owners and this site does not claim any right over it.
Courtesy: Shubhrangshu Roy Speaking Tree,Times of India
That Eternal Feeling, Ganga ki God Mein
The last time I visited my hometown, Allahabad, over a year ago, it was to rush my ailing father over to Delhi for treatment. Since his passing away, the city has begun to fade in my memory I've snapped my ties with it but my brothers haven't. When they went back to immerse my father's ashes at the Sangam, I stayed back in Delhi to grapple with the mundane business of life. Memories might fade, but life has to go on, isn't it? Yet, from time to time, Allahabad flashes through my mind in black and white motion-picture starkness. Dominant are images of the eternal Ganga flowing slo-mo, taking the entire city in her gentle stride. I grew up with the Ganga. She is a part of me. While our joys and sorrows, hopes and desperation, longings and loneliness, and everything else about us are transitory, somehow, the Ganga seems eternal. cannot talk about the Ganga without re-visiting Allahabad. Both the Ganga and the Yamuna emerge, at а short distance from each other, from the innards of the snow-clad Himalayas. Running towards the plains at breakneck speed, they meet, mid-life, at the Sangam. At this spot, the Yamuna loses its separate identity, and gets subsumed into the mighty Ganga. At the Sangam, the muddy waters of the Ganga embrace the deep blue ripples of the Yamuna. A third mythical river running its mysterious course blends into the Ganga here, unseen, unverified, but yet, as strongly evocative as are the other two rivers. It's a faith so strong that the Triveni Sangam represents the ying and yang of life meeting the third, yet unknown force, lending a spiritual depth to the emergent tripartite Ganga. Is this holy union of three what makes the Ganga the powerful giver and taker of life? Is this why as a newborn, your initiation into life begins with the ritual drop of Gangajal you are made to drink? It is also the last thing that enters your lifeless mouth, and later, your ashes get swirled and consumed by the Ganga's waters. To me, personally, the Ganga is really none of these. I am mesmerised by her many moods and colours, her broad, inclusive sweep, her undulating ups and downs... Now she's freezing, now she's warm, but whatever the temperature or terrain, she remains focused on her long but purposeful journey. Men may come and men may go, some exploiting her, some venerating, but the Ganga goes on forever. Those who haven't experienced the Ganga, want to, but as they say, you have to wait for her divine call. But when you are destined to meet, don't forget to take that plunge -the dip of life. I have let the Ganga caress me umpteen times over. I have taken friends and strangers to her banks. Have you ever wondered what it must feel like? To the non-believer, the Ganga is just another silty river that carries with it garbage and human waste across the heart of India, one big public drainage system that carries in its flow the rejects of billions to its final destination, the sea, so that they may carry on with the freshness of everyday life. But look deeper into the muck, and you'll find that the Ganga is pure-so pure that you want to take her home and offer her to the gods. You feel secure when she's there with you through life's journey, and at the end to purify your soul when your body deconstructs. You tuck the Ganga away in a corner of your room, all bottled up, because nothing else remains as fresh as long as the Ganga does.
DISCLAIMER:
The views expressed in the Article above are Shubhrangshu Roy kashmiribhatta.in is not in any way responsible for the opinions expressed in the above article. The article belongs to its respective owner or owners and this site does not claim any right over it.
Courtesy: Shubhrangshu Roy Speaking Tree,Times of India