Rivers and lakes of the Indus basin have been at the crossroads of civilizations, trade routes, and ecosystems for centuries. They are surrounded by stories and songs from many religions, languages and tribes. One such river is Beas, celebrated as Vipash[1] or the ‘breaker of chains’ in the Rigveda, circa 1500 BC. Beas originates at 4361 meters near Rohtang Pass[2] and flows through the Himalayan state of Himachal Pradesh before meeting River Sutlej in the plains of Punjab, literally “the land of five rivers’. Beas flows for about 470 kms to water some of the most fertile valleys in the world.
Continue reading “Rewalsar Lake: Where Faiths, Ecosystems and Communities Meet”Category: Culture
When the riverbanks bloom in color
Sharad Ritu or Autumn is eulogized in almost all Indian epics. Ramayana especially talks about the crystal clear waters, emerging silver sand banks and blossoming kash grasses along the rivers in this season.
Festivals around the autumnal harvest time, like Durga Puja and Navratri bring bustle and energy across the land. In Maharashtra, days before Navratri hold a special significance. Entire homes are washed, scrubbed and laundered before the deity enters the abode. But thousands of people living in tiny homes, with miniscule bathrooms have no place to wash their bedsheets, blankets, curtains and such home linen. No space and more importantly, no water.
And so, they gather along a place where people have been coming together since time immemorial: the riverbank.
Continue reading “When the riverbanks bloom in color”
The Eternal Ganga: A Journey Through Artistic Depictions of India’s Sacred River
(Feature photo above: “… But I go on forever” The pristine Ganga flowing through the mountains (Rishabh Gagneja, June 2021))
Guest Article by Anantaa Ghosh
The Ganga, often termed as the ‘River of Heaven’ has always been deemed as the purest and most sacred of all rivers. In the west, Ganga was believed to be Phison, a river flowing in Eden. The river has found its place in the works of several famous authors, including Kalidasa who describes the river in words of unique grace.
Then in familiar Alaka find rest,
Down whom the Ganges’ silken river swirls
Whose towers cling to her mountain lover’s breasts,
While clouds adorn her face like glossy curls.[1]
The magic of 24th June: Water Worship around the World
“Sao Joao, Sao Joao, Viva Sao Joao!”
The shouts were followed by unbelievably loud splashes in a red laterite well. The well itself was decked up like a bride. All along the way to Siolim in North Goa, on the banks of river Chapora, the road blossomed with people wearing big smiles and bigger floral wreaths, ‘Kopels’.
At Siolim, flows a tiny river called Anjuna. The ivory white church of St. Anthony overlooks a small bridge across Anjuna which was festooned extravagantly with ribbons, balloons and flowers. On the grassy riverbank, hundreds of chairs were laid out and a makeshift stage creaked under the weight of musicians, dancers, announcers, and impromptu performers jumping up from the audience. Continue reading “The magic of 24th June: Water Worship around the World”
Experience of Narmada Parikrama in 2020: a 3500 km pilgrimage along the river
Guest Blog by Jubin Mehta
Narmada is a sacred river originating in the Maikal Hills of central India from a place called Amarkantak. Parikrama is a Sanskrit word derived from the root ‘pari‘ meaning around and ‘krama‘ meaning going. And hence, Narmada Parikrama means circumambulating the river. This is a spiritual/religious tradition of the Hindus existing from centuries wherein pilgrims start walking from any point along the river after collecting Narmadaji’s water in a vial and start walking with the river to their right.
If a person has started from the north bank, they’d walk upstream to the origin of the river in Amarkantak, cross over from beyond the origin point, come to the south bank and walk downstream till the point where the river meets the ocean in south Gujarat. From here, pilgrims board a large boat for an estimated four to seven hours to cross over and reach back to north bank at a place called Mithi Talai. From here, the pilgrim starts walking upstream again to arrive again at the point where they started from. At the end of the journey, pilgrims go to the super sacred Omkareshwar which is one of the 12 ‘Jyotirlingas’ and also a river island which means a person cannot go to this point during the parikrama. One of the rules of the walk is that a person cannot cross over the river and go to the other bank or in the middle. At Omkareshwar, the pilgrim pours back the water that she collected in a vial when she started the walk and completes the parikrama. Continue reading “Experience of Narmada Parikrama in 2020: a 3500 km pilgrimage along the river”
SANDRP 