City in India on the Ganges River. Holy river ganges
India is one of the oldest countries in the world and is inhabited by a great many people professing different religions. Its culture could, to some extent, be influenced by nearby Buddhist and Islamic countries, as well as by the British Empire with its Western culture, including the legacy of the English language as one of the state languages.
In our historical period - the period of world globalization, India nevertheless remains a fairly distinctive country with its preserved unique culture.
There is still a caste society here, and religion, unlike Western countries, occupies an important place in everyday life.
The Ganges River is considered one of the most important shrines in India. Hindus believe that the source of the Ganges is where the Earth touches the heavens. According to legends, the Ganges is a river originating from the Universal Sea of Reason, from where it flows through the entire cosmos to the Earth.
Statistics
The areas surrounding the river are home to half a billion people. Every 12 inhabitants of the Earth lives on the banks of the Ganges.
By the Ganges widest delta And the highest source on the planet. The length of the river is 2700 km.
Holy places
The main source of the Ganges is the Bhagirathi River, which originates from the Gangotri Glacier.
Downstream, the Bhagirathi merges with the Alakanda River in the city of Devaprayag, and from this place the river is called Ganga.
Along the banks of the sacred river and the rivers from which the Ganges is formed there are centers of pilgrimage - various cities and villages. Devaprayag is one of the many pilgrimage centers for Hindus.
One of the sacred places in India. Every day people gather on the banks of the river to take part in the festival of lights in honor of the Ganga.
Translated from Hindi, the name of the city means “Gateway to God.”
One of the oldest cities in the world, the main city in Hinduism. According to Indian legends, the city is 5000 years old, and scientists estimate its age at 3000 years. The city is considered the center of the Earth.
The city hosts a special Hindu ritual that will shock many tourists.
One of the ghats on the river:
A ghat, according to Wikipedia, is a stepped stone structure used for ritual bathing of Hindus or as a cremation site.
One of the most famous ghats is Manikarnika - this is where believers are cremated, and then the remains are sent adrift, and those who did not have enough money for cremation, their bodies are dumped after death directly into the river. Also, unmarried girls, pregnant women, children cannot be cremated. Their bodies are also simply thrown into the river.
It is believed that the river cleanses the soul from sins, and those who are buried in the waters of the river will definitely go to heaven.
Kumbh Mela festival
The Kumbh Mela festival is held once every 12 years on the banks of the Ganges. Tens of millions of pilgrims participate in the world's largest religious festival.
There is also the Great Kumbh Mela, which is held once every 144 years, after twelve regular holidays. The last time this happened was in 2013. This celebration is held in the city of Allahabad at the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers.
A record 80 million people took part in the Kumbh Mela in 2013, the largest number of people gathered in one place in history.
The essence of the holiday is that believers believe that they wash away their sins in this way. Legend has it that during the battle between the gods and the asuras for the jug of Amrita, a few drops fell on the ground in Allahabad, Haridwar. Ujjain and Nashik, and it is in these four cities that pilgrims gather. Amrita is the nectar of immortality and wisdom; whoever drinks it receives divinity.
- In terms of length, the Ganges ranks 39th in the world with a length of 2700 km;
- The Ganges has the largest delta in the world;
- Every 12 inhabitants of the Earth live on the banks of the river;
- The Ganges is not India's longest river;
- The highest source in the world;
- The Ganges is one of the dirtiest rivers in the world, with fecal bacteria levels in some places up to 120 times higher than normal.
A monkey was run over on the way to the airport. The plane was delayed for 4 hours due to fog. A cyclist was hit on the way from the Airport. In the evening I watched the dead being burned at the stake. But for the rest, beautiful marquise, everything is fine, everything is fine...
This article is about the Holy River Ganges and what happens on its banks.
Due to a delayed flight to Varanasi, I arrived four hours late. I checked into a hotel and in the evening went to the Ganges River to watch the evening prayer of the Brahmins. I rode a rickshaw across the city:
More than 2 million people live in Varanasi. Even on a pedicab it is very difficult to squeeze through the narrow streets:
There is a cacophony of horns, bicycle bells and shouts all around. My cab driver was constantly bumping into someone, cutting someone off and talking to someone. It was here that the realization hit me: “There are so many people here!” I had absolutely no space of my own - I was hopelessly floundering in a huge human ocean. At the same time, everyone smiled at me and waved their hands welcomingly:
Varansi is located on the banks of the Ganges River and stretches for about 8 kilometers. Along the entire embankment, steps descend to the water - Ghats:
We arrived at the place where they were preparing for the most famous evening prayer of the Brahmins in India:
Before it started, we rented a boat and sailed to the place where the dead are burned on bonfires and their ashes are scattered over the Ganges. The guide said that the Ganges River used to flow in Paradise, but the great King Bagirat asked God Shiva to let it flow in our world. Shiva went to the meeting and now we have the Ganges River. If a deceased person is burned on the banks of the Ganges River and his ashes are thrown into the water, he will go straight to heaven. It must be burned with real wood from trees. Rich people use sandalwood. The human body burns out in about 2 hours. After this, a new one immediately appears in place of this fire. People are burned around the clock due to the large number of people willing and lack of space:
The next morning I saw the sunrise on the Ganges. Read these photos and the story below:
Filming is not allowed near this place. We swam close to the fires and moored to the boats with other tourists. Everyone watched as the dead were burned at the stake. There were several corpses lying on the stairs, ready for cremation and waiting their turn.
I expected the smell of burning human flesh to be stronger, but near this place it was not much different from the smells in the rest of the city.
About 200 meters upstream, evening prayer has already begun:
The spectators sat on the steps behind the Brahmins and in boats on the water:
The ritual lasted about 40 minutes:
At this time, nimble boys jumped from boat to boat and sold floating wreaths with candles to tourists. We need to let them sail along the Ganges and make a wish:
Life is in full swing on the stairs:
Pilgrims in yellow robes enjoying dinner:
At 6 am the next day we again arrived at the ghats to watch the sunrise on the water. Despite such an early hour the place was crowded:
We bought wreaths that had to be launched into the Ganges at dawn:
Boats with tourists and onlookers floated along the shore:
And on the shore people swam, laughed, prayed, washed, brushed their teeth and burned the dead:
Group of pilgrims from the south:
Religious ritual. Brahmin smeared with human ashes:
People enjoy life. The guide said that laughter cures many diseases, such as stomach illness:
Some just sit and pray or talk:
Many people do their laundry on the Ganges. For this purpose, special bridges have been built along the entire river, along which the Indians hit the laundry:
Pay attention to this photo. On the right is a man washing clothes. To the left is a funeral pyre. A person is burned on it:
I did not post the next photo here. This is the close-up of the funeral pyre from the previous photo. I I STRICTLY DO NOT RECOMMEND Children, pregnant women and impressionable people should watch this photo. If you still want to see it, then click here.
After that, we swam to the stairs where people are being burned. This is the main place in the city intended for this:
They say that whoever has not been to Agra and has not seen the Taj Mahal has not been to India, my opinion differs from this. I would say that anyone who has not been to Varanasi has not seen the real India. It is difficult to see Varanasi from pictures, you need to feel this dirt and chaos, smell this stench of ammonia, which eats your eyes mixed with incense, and the hot, very humid air, see the rituals, colors and paints, the crowds of pilgrims of that real India.
Ganaga is a Hindu goddess, the embodiment of the sacred river Ganges, in Hindu mythology - a heavenly river that descended to earth and became the Ganges River.
Pilgrims flock here not only from all over India, they travel from all over the world, especially to its origins and the cities of Haridwar, Allahabad and Varanasi (the most colorful place for us curious ones).
Along the city embankment, rows of stone steps (Ghats) open to the eye. Ghats are stone steps used for ritual bathing of Hindus and as cremation sites, stretching along the coast for several kilometers. Pilgrims descend along them to the water. This is where they rest.
Holy Varanasi attracts Hindus like a magnet.
Going down to the river, the sharp smell of ammonia ate away at my eyes and nose; the humidity was so high that after about 30 minutes I could wring out my clothes.
There are a lot of barbers on the shore doing their job, but you don’t even have to think about a model haircut; they shave it off with a straight razor, leaving only a small forelock on the back of the head.
Life and death in Varansi are inseparable from each other. The place where the dead are burned is located downstream from the sacred embankments.
Many small children
It was amazing how little children were sitting with their bare bottoms in this mud.
This baby is sleeping, right on the stone embankment, covered in flies.
People are swarming, you need to walk along the embankment along the river very carefully, looking carefully at your feet so as not to step into
anything.
At the end of the day, a special person starts the pump and, with a high pressure of water, washes away the dirt collected during the day from the steps of the embankment into the river.
Wild monkeys run along the ledges of buildings (at the top of the photo)
Local market which is located along the street.
The toilet, it is unclear why the heights of the stalls are different, fits perfectly and harmoniously into the general appearance of the sales counters.
The baked goods look beautiful and appetizing, but I didn’t dare eat street fast food.
Street Cafe.
Shoe repair
Bracelets counter
Compared to other shops and counters, this one catches your eye.
A plate made from the leaves of some plant.
The policeman asked me to wait, not to take photos, took a vertical position and allowed me to take a photo.
At dawn, hundreds, no thousands of Hindus gather on the river bank to take a ritual bath in the sacred cleansing waters.
There are many temples along the embankment.
People with or without clothes enter the river and perform ablution. Some mutter mantras, scoop water into their palms and pour it over their heads. Others hold their noses and plunge into the water. Still others, squatting, drink sacred water from the river. Everyone thinks only about their ritual, not noticing anyone around.
They replace the toothbrush with special sticks for cleaning teeth.
You can also buy a toothpick right on the shore.
An Indian woman sells ritual candles that are lit and floated down the sacred river while reciting prayers.
Some go all the way in, some go waist deep, and some go ankle deep.
They pray, bathe, wash, cut their hair, burn the dead, brush their teeth, wash the dishes, and some just after the next procedure - the “back toilet” is washed - what they don’t do on the shore and in the Ganges River! And this is all in one place and at the same time, and everyone is sure that they will not catch any infection, but on the contrary, the sacred Ganga will heal from all illnesses.
Some pilgrims rely on the alms of tourists, those who are the most colorful, in most cases, if they see them, turn away from the cameras, showing that they need to give money first. Some, when they see the camera, on the contrary, stop, pose, asking with their eyes for at least something, they are happy even for pennies.
Descending further along the river, I came across a laundry.
Washing proceeds as follows: soaked and soap-rubbed laundry, swung with all its might, hits a stone slab several times. After this, the clean, washed linen is rinsed in the sacred waters of the Ganges River and hung out to dry.
There, a little higher up, they bathed the cows.
Here there were fewer people, but the likelihood of joining a kaku increased.
We got ready to eat.
Boatmen offer boat tours along the river for a small fee, ranging from 100 rupees (approximately 2 US dollars).
People in India are friendly and welcoming, but that doesn't stop them from being very, very lazy.
I have been to India twice with an interval of two months and would gladly travel once more. Only positive emotions remained.
GANGES, Ganges (in Sanskrit “ganga” is a river), one of the largest rivers in the world, flows in India and Bangladesh. The length from the source to the top of the delta is 2200 km, the basin area is 980 thousand km 2. It is formed by the confluence of the Bhagirathi and Alaknanda rivers, flowing from the slopes of the Himalayas (Zaskar Range). In the upper reaches of the Ganges, it cuts through the spurs of the Himalayas in narrow gorges, and after leaving the mountains it flows in a wide valley along the Indo-Gangetic plain. In the lower reaches it has a meandering channel, surrounded by a wide floodplain. Together with the Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers, the Ganga, when it flows into the Bay of Bengal of the Indian Ocean, forms a complexly branched delta (area, according to various sources, 80-100 thousand km 2), second in size only to the Amazon River delta. The main tributaries: Jumna, Son (right), Ramganga, Gomati, Ghaghra, Gandak (left).
The modern delta of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna is divided into three parts. The first (western) has its peak in the area of the village of Farakka (India) and consists of a main branch, which is a continuation of the Ganges within the delta and has the same name, and numerous, intricately intertwined small watercourses extending from it towards the ocean. The second (northeastern) part of the delta begins in the area of the city of Bahadurabad Ghat (Bangladesh), where the Brahmaputra is divided into the large main branch of the Jamuna and the left dying branch of the Old Brahmaputra. The same deltaic channel system includes the Middle Meghna - a continuation of the Meghna River within the delta. The third (southeastern) part is a common channel system, formed as a result of first the confluence of the main branches of the Ganges and Jamun near the village of Goalundo, giving rise to the high-water Padma branch about 100 km long, and then the confluence on the left near the city of Chandpur of the Middle Meghna. As a result, one of the largest channel watercourses in the world arises - the Lower Meghna, expanding towards the bay, about 150 km long and up to 60 km wide. When it flows into the Bay of Bengal, this branch has the world's largest mouth bar, about 100 km long and 10 m deep at the crest. The length of the waterway from the top of the delta (the locality of Farakka), including the Ganges, Padma and Lower Meghna branches, is about 460 km. The length of the delta coastline is about 500 km.
The main sources of nutrition for the Ganges are monsoon rains, melt and glacial waters of the highlands. The average annual water flow at the top of the Ganges delta system (Farakka) is 12.3 thousand m 3 /s, the flow volume is 388 km 3 /year. The total volume of water flow of the Ganges, Brahmaputra, Meghna into the Bay of Bengal is over 1200 km 3 /year (second only to the flow of the Amazon and Congo rivers). The suspended sediment flow of the Ganges is about 500 million tons/year. The total flow of suspended and transported sediments of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna is at least 1200 million tons/year.
In the water regime of the Ganges, two phases are clearly distinguished. The first is high monsoon flood (wet season) from July to October (over 80% of the annual flow); the most water-rich month is August (29% of the annual flow), the average monthly water flow is 42.2 thousand m 3 /s, the maximum is 70 thousand m 3 /s. The second phase is a long low-water period (dry season) from November to June; the least water month is April (less than 1% of the annual flow), the average monthly water flow is 1700 m 3 /s, the minimum is 1200 m 3 /s. During monsoon floods, the water level can rise by 10-15 m, which often causes floods, sometimes catastrophic (for example, in Bangladesh in 1962, 1973, 1974, 1987, 1988, 1998), especially when the peak floods on the Ganges and Brahmaputra coincide at time. Tropical hurricanes (April - May and October - November) cause great damage to the population and economy of the delta; they are accompanied by strong winds and waves, causing significant surges in the water level (up to 9.1 m in 1970) and floods. The 20th century saw an increase in the frequency of severe storm surges. In the dry season, along small branches of the delta, tidal fluctuations in level spread over a distance of up to 300 km, and salty waters - over 100-150 km.
Since ancient times, the waters of the Ganges have been widely used for irrigation and water supply to the population. There are several large irrigation systems in operation in India. In 1975, a hydraulic complex, including a low-pressure dam and a canal, was built on the Ganges near the village of Farakka to irrigate the westernmost part of the delta. Since the 1970s, large-scale work has been underway within Bangladesh to protect lands and settlements from floods (protective dams, drainage structures, and shelters for people are being built). The hydropower potential of the Ganges is very large (up to 160 million kW per year), but its use is negligible. It is navigable from the foot of the Himalayas to the mouth over a distance of 1,450 km. On the Ganges there are the large cities of Kanpur, Allahabad, Varanasi, Patna (India), in the western part of the delta there are the large seaports of Calcutta (India), Khulna (Bangladesh).
The waters of the Ganges are heavily polluted by industrial and sewage effluents entering the river in numerous cities and towns located on the banks of the river (for example, the daily untreated sewage effluent of the city of Allahabad is 100 million liters). Return irrigation waters containing fertilizer residues are also a source of river water pollution. The waters of the Ganges are the main cause of hepatitis, dysentery, typhoid, and cholera among the 400 million inhabitants of the river basin. Since ancient times, the Ganges has been considered a sacred river in Hinduism, an object of religious worship. Despite the threat of disease, many residents take baths in it.
The mangrove forests in the delta, on the Sundarbans coastal lowland, are included in the World Heritage List (Sundarban Forest Reserves in India and Sundarbans Forest Reserves in Bangladesh).
Lit.: Milliman J. D., Rutkowski Ch., Meybeck M. River discharge to the sea: a global river index. , 1995; Allison M. A. Geologic framework and environmental status of the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta // Journal of Coastal Research. 1998. Vol. 14. No. 3.
The Ganges River has long been considered sacred in India. In addition, it is the largest in South Asia. The basin of this river contains a million square meters, while its length is more than 2.7 thousand kilometers. With such data, the Ganges is among the leaders in terms of length.
Geography
The river was formed in the Himalayas, at an altitude of more than 4 kilometers, where Bagirathi and Alaknanda merge. It flows through India and Bangladesh.
Upstream
The Ganges River is fed by its sources. So, the first river that gives its waters is Bagirathi Ganga. Its waters are replenished at an altitude of 4495 meters by the snows of the Himalayas, near Gangotri.
When moving to the northwest, the river receives into its waters the stormy Jahnavi, flowing at an altitude of more than 2400 meters. Not so long ago, this very place - a confluence near Baigarthi - was considered the real beginning of the Ganges.
Not far from Saki, a fast river breaks through the Himalayas, joining the calm Alaknanda, which carries its many waters near the Deoprag temple, at an altitude of 636 meters.
The united waters of these rivers, at an altitude of 403 meters, break through the last chain of the Himalayan mountains and flow steadily through the marshy Terai plain into the fertile, vast plain of Northern India.
The source of the Ganges River, as well as its upper course, mainly directed to the south, develops a fairly high speed. However, once the waters leave the mountains, they turn into a calm, navigable river moving in a south and southeast direction. The Ganges forms many meanders, next to which there are a huge number of cities with a population of millions: Kanpur, Patna, Rajahi, Allahabad, Varanasi and many others.
Thus, the food supply of the Ganges River is very varied. Its bed is rich in both rapid mountain waters and calm lowland tributaries.
Middle current
The regime of the Ganges River in its middle reaches changes its character. In a straight line, this is a section of just over one and a half thousand kilometers long. However, if measured along the bank, taking into account all the bends of the river, then its length will be 2597 kilometers. At this distance, Ramaganga and Kali flow into the Ganges, together with the crystal clear Yamuna, forming Daub. Thanks to these infusions, the Ganges River in its middle reaches has a width of about 800 meters.
Below Allahabad, the river is replenished with the waters of Gumti, Tons, and Kurumnazy. Just above Patna, the Gauza, Son and Gandaki flow in.
And, ultimately, below Bhagalupur, the high-water Kuzi, descending from the Himalayas, gives its waters to the Ganges.
Thanks to such powerful streams of water entering it, the Ganges River reaches a width of one and a half kilometers. However, its depth does not exceed one meter. Having acquired such dimensions, the Ganges sharply changes direction to the southeast, entering the Bengal lowland. It is here that the lower current originates, deltas and branches of the river are formed.
At Saibganj a huge branch goes to the left - Baghirahi. Downstream, near the city of the same name, another branch is formed - Jalangi.
Having descended 160 kilometers, the branches unite again, forming the Hooghly Canal, on which lies the huge city of Calcutta.
The canal, having connected with Dammunda, becomes navigable; sea vessels move along it. A little lower it flows into the Bay of Bengal.
The river, which gave part of its water to Hooghly, continues its journey to the southeast. The flow of the Ganges River receives on the left the wide tributary Mahandra and merges with the Jamuna, but at the same time, more and more branches branch out from it: Chunda, Martabanga, Gora.
Delta
Having connected with other rivers, the Meghna flows into the Bay of Bengal. The Ganges-Brahmaputra delta, starting at Jafferganj, is the largest and most complex on the entire Earth, and it is constantly subject to change.
The areas of alluvial land are called Sundarbon.
The Delta is a real labyrinth of bays, rivers, marshes and canals along the bay. Its width is 130 kilometers with a length of 265 meters. The coast is dotted with disappearing and reappearing islands of silt and huge forests. These forests are often flooded by the surf, and some species of animals and plants still remain there, although they are covered with silt. It was in these places that cholera originated.
Further inland, the delta quickly dries out, creating fertile terrain. In populated areas, these soils are processed very quickly and efficiently, but in sparsely populated areas they are covered with impenetrable vegetation.
The Ganges River, like the Nile, floods every year, although not as regularly. In April, the water gradually rises, and by July the surrounding area is flooded. In some places the water level rises to 15-16 meters.
Water mode
At the end of September, the river returns to its banks again, leaving huge volumes of fertile silt. The length of the Ganges is less than the Brahmaputra and the Indus, but the size of its basin is much larger - 1,060,000 square kilometers. The water mass is so huge that even at a distance of more than a thousand kilometers from the mouth, the width of the river is 430-440 meters in the dry season (with a depth of 10-12 meters) and 900-950 meters in the rainy season (18-20 m deep). On average, the river carries about 7,700 cubic meters into the sea per second.
The regime of the Ganges River is characterized by the characteristics of its tributaries. 12 of them are larger than the Rhine. The slope up to Allahabad is 0.22 m per kilometer and below it is 0.05 m/km.
Ship traffic occurs as far as Kanpur, but it is difficult to move further on ships, since the river is rich in rapids and shoals, which multiply during drought.
A description of the Ganges River cannot be considered complete without mentioning the British, who, taking advantage of the fact that the river is the main artery of Bengal, turned it into a military road. It was with the help of this source of life that England was able to enslave the Indians and subsequently defend these possessions.
Economic use
To organize irrigation and replenish the two rivers with fertile lands, the government of England in 1848 built a canal with a length of 1305 km.
This canal runs from Haridwar to Aligarh, branching here into branches, one of which goes to the Ganges to Kaunpur, and the second runs to Gamerpur and flows into the Jamna.
In 1878, another channel was installed. At the mouth of the Ganges, the main movement occurs at Hooghly. A railway was built from Calcutta to Kaunpur along the Ganges.
The source of the Ganges River, like almost its entire course, is rich in fish, unique turtles and crocodiles. The Ganges is considered a sacred river by Hindus; cremations are carried out on its banks, and the ashes of the dead are scattered over the waters. Every year crowds of pilgrims flock to the river; the springs are especially popular.
Tourism
The best time to visit India is October-March. The ideal months for travel are November and December. The easiest way to get to India is by plane. This will cost about $700.
Europeans cannot help but be shocked by the fact that Hindus themselves do laundry, bathe, and conduct funerals in sacred water. However, for this religion, close communication with a shrine is a natural action that in no way offends its holiness.
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