Date: 2nd May 2019
Venue: Har-Ki-Pauri, Haridwar

Everybody who heard that we were visiting Haridwar, said in unison – “Don’t miss Ganga Aarti”. We were visiting Amatra By the Ganges in Haridwar and requested the Manager,  Dheeraj to make arrangements for Ganga Aarti. He obliged and even arranged a priest to help us at the Har Ki Pauri ghat, the Ganga Aarti site.

It was 15 minutes drive from Amatra to the Har Ki Pauri parking. There were many lanes from where we dropped as cars were not allowed after that point. It was some walk from here. Apparently all the lanes led to Har Ki Paudi. We chose one which looked colourful and started walking.

The narrow lanes lined with shops on both sides were extremely interesting. There were shops selling clothes with Namavali prints, kurtas for adults and kids, saris and other women’s wear, blankets and shawls, artificial ornaments, umbrellas. The shops selling portraits of Gods and Goddesses, Puja items and specially embroidered bags for ascetics, were very popular.

Picture credit: Nikita Butalia

When reached the ghat after the leisurely walk, the water was calm. It was early evening, yet people were still taking the holy dip. The sky was overcast given the cyclone Fani that was building up on Odisha coast. We called the priest recommended by Amatra and he led us to a secluded balcony of a temple overlooking the ghat. Within a short time a band of priests clad in white dhoti and stoles stood in line at the bank of the river and started chants in reverence to the Hindu pantheon and Goddess Ganga.

In fact, the River Ganges is referred as “Ma Ganga” or “Mother Ganges” by the devout. To give a brief background, India is an agrarian economy. The banks of Ganga have provided extremely fertile soil for farming. The river water is also essential for agriculture. No wonder, Ganges has been regarded so highly in Indian culture.

It was heartening that the last part of the chant included a pledge, by the priests as well as the people assembled for Ganga Aarti, to keep River Ganga pure and clean.

There was a break after the chants. The priests then pread themselves across the ghat and were handed huge traditional Indian lamp stands or diyas. Each lampstand had small lamps at various levels forming a tower. Once the many small lamps were lit, each lampstand looked like a blazing torch. The already heavy lampstands, with all that fire, looked beautiful and precarious. Moreover, a strong breeze, more like wind, started blowing from the riverside and flames on the lamp blazed even more and started flying in all directions.

Against the evening sky on one side and the flowing waters of the dark Ganges, the dancing flames looked like they were animations. We marvelled as to how the priests managed to lift those lamps and move them in ritualistic circles facing the river. Recorded chants being played around the ghat made the experience even more surreal for everyone sitting on the packed steps of the river bank. There was awe and magic everywhere. The Aarti lasted for about half an hour and we could not believe that it was over. We waited for a while thereafter for the crowd to clear and then we walked towards the water. We also did some small ritual and made some symbolic offering in ode to River Ganges.

It was time for us to go back but the smell of samosas, chai and lassi lingered in the air. And we also wanted to try the famous lassi from Haridwar. We walked into the café and had the most divine lassi and jalebis here. We tasted and packed some Pedas, for home.

The parking was about 20 minutes walk from here. On our walk back, the overcast sky had started pouring and we got drenched. But the Ganga Aarti experience was so divine and magical that we did not care. It was divinity at play that we could not ignore. Even after getting drenched for more than 20 minutes, none of us fell ill.

Many people talk about the Ganga Aarti in Varanasi and that is spectacular. But that is more of a performance. Ganga Aarti in Haridwar is a much older practise. In Haridwar, the Aarti is simple and spontaneous. The ritual touched our heart. No wonder the ghats were full of viewers and yet we were told it was a lean evening in Haridwar.

We are totally convinced as to why everybody wanted us to view the Ganga Aarti. It is summer vacation time and we in turn recommend the Aarti for old and the young. The Ganga Aarti is divine as well as spectacular yet easy way to connect with the heritage of India.