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The Mother Goddess who purifies the faithful is far from enjoying good health herself. The Ganges is on the verge of death. Paradoxically, while she gives new spiritual energy to those who immerse themselves in her water to cleanse their sins, she risks spreading death instead.
Ganges means “Mother Goddess.” She is a liquid mother whose waters purify all sins and facilitate the cycle of reincarnation.
This is why the faithful immerse themselves in the Ganges at sunset every day, surrounded by the songs of priests and incense. They seek immediate purification. But this sacred river is no longer a clean river. Sadly, we could now consider it an open sewer, in which more than 5 billion of sewage water mix from 450 million residents in its basin area every day. Even though the river is sacred, people also dump other waste in it, including plastic. And the ashes of corpses. The Ganges was once truly purifying in all senses. Its water (still) has a concentration of chemicals that fight human bacteria. This has always been it’s secret. But today the waste water treatment plan is still incomplete. And the Ganges that brought new life now, unwillingly, brings death.
Travel journal
09.03.2019
Children are the future
LOGBOOK 11 #GANGES
today I met Ashoka, ten years old, his face and hands hardened by who knows what kind of challenges.
07.03.2019
The Patna boys
LOGBOOK 10 #GANGES
We finally reached Patna, the capital of Bihar. It is a place that, when you arrive, you cannot wait to leave.
06.03.2019
Anshul and the sacrality of the Ganges
LOGBOOK 9 #GANGES
‘The Ganges has been considered holy for thousands of years.’ These were the first words of a man I happened to meet this afternoon.
05.03.2019
Arrival in Ghazipur
LOGBOOK 8 #GANGES
Tonight I’m in Ghazipur and, after Varanasi, it’s the biggest city I’ve encountered on my journey.
04.03.2019
The Shivratri festival
LOGBOOK 7 #GANGES
Today was the Shivratri festival, an annual event in which people visit the temple dedicated to Shiva - one of the most important, ancient and complex deities that exists in the Indian pantheon.
03.03.2019
Uttar Pradesh: first impressions about local pollution
LOGBOOK 6 #GANGES
Between Varanasi and Ghazipur, the complexity of the pollution issue are clear to see and, as always, a symptom of something else.
02.03.2019
THE ARRIVAL I COULD NEVER IMAGINE
LOGBOOK 5 #GANGES
My arrival in a small village was more incredible than I could have imagined because, just as I was coming in, there was a cremation ceremony going on with dozens of people attending.
01.03.2019
7:30AM FINALLY MY NAVIGATION ON THE GANGE BEGINS
LOGBOOK 4 #GANGES
I finally weighed anchor this morning at 7.30 and started my navigation of the Ganges – the fifth-most polluted river in the world.
28.02.2019
MEETING TEMSUTULA IMSONG
LOGBOOK 3 #GANGES
And finally, after more than 14 hours of work in two days, this afternoon we dragged the raft down the steep, sandy descent to the river.
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