Haridwar has achieved the title of religious city. Haridwar means “gateway to God”. Being a Hindu, I have come here many times and this time I have come here to participate in the Aarti of river Ganga. Aarti literally means “worship of any God or Goddess consisting of beautiful words sung to please the God or Goddess”.
Of course, I did not come to please God, but coming here gives me great relief. And this is because since I became an adult, I have read a lot of religious books which contain lectures from Haridwar. Haridwar has been described as a very important place in all the books. Many sages and saints start their journeys to reach salvation from here.
I have not come to start any journey, rather I have just come to sit in the lap of river Ganga. There is a peace that I get just by looking at the water of this river, a simplicity that comes only from this. I have spent hours sitting on its banks and every wave of Ganga must have told me something or the other which I could not understand. Perhaps I am drawn here again and again to understand the same message.
People's reverence, people's faith and love for Ganga is always available. Devotees take bath here, perform puja, immerse ashes, go rafting, kayaking and absolve themselves of their sins. Whoever comes to this river at any time, this river never disappoints anyone. Ganga has so much compassion that she constantly stands for her children every moment. Always available to all.
Disclaimer: This post is originally written in Hindi and I have used Google Translator to tranlate the Hindi text in English. All the photos have been clicked by me from Sony A7iii & Canon 77D and edited in Lightroom/photoshop.