Gate way of Hell? Haridwar

Haridwar is an ancient city and important Hindu pilgrimage site in North India's Uttarakhand state, where the River Ganges exits the Himalayan foothills.

Sacred Poisoning Ganga

A seed of memories holding me back to the solo trip of mine to North. It was a warm and sunny eve in the month of April. I was sipping the flavor of hot ‘masala chai’ by the roadside tea-shop in the city of ‘Gateway to Gods’ also termed as Haridwar.

City people were quite busy as a bee but I was sighting the evening view of Har ki Pauri temple, where the sweet Ganges floats. People were on cloud nine to celebrate the

Kumbh Mela festival that took place in every 12 years.

At that moment my mind was wavering the pages of Mahabharata about the beautiful love bond of King Shantanu and Ganga. The story of Goddesses Ganga and her seven sons whom she drowned in the river and offered them to heaven, pictured. Instead people, showered flowers, floated candles, took bath and offered their sins to wash away.

Next, Fine Morning I noticed something that hooked my eyes; I pictured the scenario in my heart. Two little homeless kids in their dusty and loose trousers drenched in the Ganges. With their little palm hands, they were searching for something in a purely poisoned river filled with yucky wastages contained plastics, slippery mud pots, a bad smelly bunch of flowers, and mixed drainage water.

Their face flashed with a smile by grabbing two muddy pots. In scorching sun, in barefooted, they ran. I followed them without their knowledge. Kids happily gifted the pot to the poor lady, who was waiting for them. Minutes paused. She prepared rice in muddy pot.

My eyes pooled, tears rolled on my cheeks, throat choked. My heart screwed on seeing them. Inner voice of mine raised a question! Is this a way for the people to wash away their sins? Or else are they turning the city into ‘Gateway of Hell’? I don’t know whether people were poisoning Ganga, or in turn Ganga poisoning the people. But the bitter truth was, people were unknowingly themselves poisoned to death.

Is this a way for the people to wash away their sins? Or Are they turning the city into ‘Gateway of Hell’?

#Haridwar #Harythasblog