<p>There are many stories behind the river Ganga, which is one of the crucial water body of North India. Folklores tell us that it was, like ages ago, a saint, did penance to call Ganga from where she lived in heaven, so that his ancestor’s souls can be liberated, who died of some curse of sage Kapila. Ganga flowed through the hair locks of Lord Shiva, as it is said, the force of the water body was too strong to be endured by people on Earth, so the hair locks of Lord Shiva became a moderator. </p>
<p>River Ganga thus has a history of coming down from Heaven, the abode of God. Thus she is given the pedestal of a Goddess by Hindus. She is the most sacred water body in North India, till the point it meets Alaknananda, her name is Bhagirathi, which she got from the saint who did penance to call her. Later on, she is called Ganga. This river is almost like a divine strength embodying lord, in water form.</p>
<p>Hindus have various beliefs attached to it, like your sins are purified once you take a holy dip in Ganga. People bring the ashes of their dead loved ones to be given away to river Ganga, and she will take care of the liberation of the soul. During Navratras especially, the dip in holy river is found to be the most important one. It is believed during the Ardh Kumbh, Kumbh and Saawan month (the month of Kaawr Yatra), the water turns more pious, it gets transformed into almost nectar. Thus, one may get the relevance of praying a water body with such staunch rigorous rituals.</p>
<p>Ganga Aarti is done on the famous Har Ki Pauri Ghat, with huge ignited lamps, held by the priests, there are many priests standing on the last step of the Ghat nearest of river, the rest of the people crowd around them. The bells of the temples starts making beautiful rhythmic sounds complementing the priests chants hymns in Sanskrit. You can hear it from a distance, as loud speakers are put to make the voice reach a larger audience. As an offering colours, honey, milk, sugar, curd and ghee is given to the holy water body in small quantities. And for around an hour or so, this beautiful homage is given to the pious river Ganga. After the offering and some prayers, the group of priests starts singing the famous “Ganga Lahari” which is a Sanskrit poem (written by Pt. Jagannath). Then people donate according to their will and capability. At last, the priests sing the final hymn, which is in chorus sang by all the priests of the various temples surrounding the Ghat. This is the most beautiful part as one can see prayer going on in all directions, giving a feeling of credonism and optimism everywhere.</p>
<p>Ganga Sabha is the core committee handling all the arrangements of especially this Ghat and the Aarti.</p>
<p>Twice in a day the aarti takes place, one is while the sun rises and the other is during the sunset. The Aarti or the prayer of the evening is more famous and attracts more crowd around them. The density of a crowd depends on the season, if it is off season, it is expected to get less crowd in there. But if there is a festival going on, any fair, Yatra or it is like May-June (holiday season), the crowd is too much and one can hardly see the Aarti just the sound of hymns mixed with the chattering of so many people is heard.</p>
