Tryst with the Ganges!

It was a rainy evening in Rishikesh .Water overflew the roadside drains . The mighty Ganges must have been swelled up, she thought. 

She couldn't wait to see the view of the river . But it wouldn't be before morning that she would be able to have a view of the serene river , that surely wouldn't be very calm as of now. 

 

The locals were selling cheap raincoats , that were nothing but sheet of polythene. But on that rainy evening , thats what the tourists were in dire need of.

The auto driver asked her where her hotel was. She faintly remembered the surroundings of the hotel that she had booked , from a previous visit. Laxman jhula was nearby , she thought. After number of twists through the roads of the holy town , she finally reached the hotel . Ishaan it was . 

Yes this is the one she had entered on one of her previous visits, but she had read the 'German bakery' , instead of ' Ishaan '. 

While walking up the steps , on one of the turns through the floors, she caught the sight of the mighty Ganges. What a view ! 

The 'jhula' shimmered with all the faint lights around and the reflection of the mighty river , that was all swollen up  this evening . The drizzle made the view even more baffling . This is it. My purpose has been solved. This site is what she wanted after all the travel through the rough roads, to reach the town . 

The room was cozy and warm. What made it even better was the book  on the bedside table . The book she had always considered to be more than just a book . It was a companion , a friend , a guide ! 

The Gita! 

Life is kind , she thought . She would sleep peacefully !

She had one day to experience the calm of the town. The reason for early alarm !

Soon she stepped down to the restaurant. The German bakery , it read. 

Yes ! This was where she had been the last time . Life comes full circle, she thought. 

But it wouldnt be before half an hour that she could expect being served anything , confided the attendant. Being an off season , the restaurant didn't expect many visitors and so started late in the morning. She quickly ordered two parathas and went down the sloppy road to find some tea on the street vendor shops. 

The one in front of the huge Shivalinga temple was serving tea. She ordered one and meanwhile went in the temple by the time the man prepared ginger tea . 

Somehow , the temples always comforted the soul. What was it about them , she couldn't say . But the peaceful vibes seemed to pierce right to the soul and give a trance-like moment to her when she would ,for a minute , stop thiking and just be. The scent of the incense seemed to cleanse her soul and the frangrance of flowers kept on shivalinga cleared her mind of all the thoughts. The drizzle outside seemed to add to the process of cleansing ! 

As she sipped her tea , she felt thankful for being here. It was a right decision to visit the town , despite the busy schedule , for the peace would have a lasting impact on her soul. 

Without any plans as to what she was to visit next , she went back to the hotel to have her breakfast . It was better to wonder aimlessly through this beautiful town  rather than having a checklist , she thought. 

Left or right ? Left of the hotel looked like a busy street and the right looked relatively less busy with fewer people around . Right it is , she thought. 

The drizzle had stopped by now. Walking down the slope she could see the river rushing down the mountains . The waters entered the plains of the holy city  twirling through the turns in mountainous . She would be calmer in the plains , the river. 

Walking down one of the ghats on the right , she found a place to sit on . It was the edge of the wall that made the ghat . 

She had a good view of the river from the edge ! 

The water looked worn out,  after miles of flow. Yet it didn't have any intention of stopping , or slowing down . The mountains through which the river had travelled must have been huge . The vastness of Himalayas is known acrooss the globe. She sustained those mountains . She never asked for the mountains to move . She made her way through them . She was never the same at any two points of time , and yet she was one , the Ganges. She was called the mother by everyone. Ma Ganga ! 

Why could she not be like her, the Ganges. There was a reason why she was revered across the country, the mother. The everflowimg Ganges, originating from the cold mountains she moved down to the plains . The plains , where she fed generations . Her waters sustained lives , and yet those lives never cared about keeping her clean . Filth and dirt was dumped onto her , which she carried gracefully to the end .Never ever stopping. 

What if she stopped flowing one day ? The men never fathomed this possibility , for she was the mother . She would never abandon her children .  She was the giver. The strong, yet gentle ! 

To Keep flowing , no matter what

She had her lesson . The visit was more than rewarding .

She stood up. More than an hour and it seemed like a minute . She had found the calm she was looking for. She turned around to take one final look at the everflowing waters. 

To keep flowing ...