Taking a dip in the holy Ganga river on auspicious occasion of Holika Dehan.

Namaste Ji 🙏

Hope you all are doing great.

I was having the time of my life here in Kashi and after start of my exploration of the cards on foot, I was about to reach the place I was intended to go to take bath in the holy river Ganga. I was intended to go to Munshi Ghat to take bath, but instead, I was stunned by a different kind of ceremony that was being held in the middle.

Aarti / Holika Dehan preparation at Darbhanga Ghat—

So there were preparations going on for two different ceremonies in Darbhanga Ghat that day. It was almost evening time, and I could see a lot of things happening. The first thing I noticed was these woodsticks that was made to be burnt for the Holika Dehan ceremony that was to be held later that evening.

But before that another big ceremony was in line, that was the mega Ganga Aarti of Kashi. The crowd that you seen the photograph below are the people who are sitting there in advance that is before three hours of the starting of the Aarti. During Aarti, it gets so crowded here that even standing there is a task.

You can imagine the situation just by seeing the crowd right now and right now it was about three hours until the Aarti would start. The crowd was a little bit more today because of the Holi ceremony that was also being held later after the Aarti.

I didn’t stop there because I wanted to take the ceremonial bath in the Ganga river, so I kept on moving till I reached the Munshi G Ghat.

Taking dip in Munshi Ghat—

I knew that when I reached Munshi Ghat, as soon as I saw a group of people, taking dip in the Ganga river alongside the Ghat. I knew I was in right place as I was instructed by the stranger I met on the Kashi Vishwanath Avenue.

I found his advice to be logical to take bath in Ganga. A lot of people are already doing it because that way I will be safer. He want me about the depth of the river and also told me about the past incidences that happened there.

So I took off my clothes and kept my phone in recording mode inside my shoe as I went inside the Ghat, the below two photographs are the photographs. You can see of me taking the ceremonial dip inside of the river Ganga.

I was really happy to do that, and I could feel the water of Ganga cleansing my soul. It was experience that I will remember for my life. That’s why I recorded it on my phone. I made these two photographs out of the video clip that I have on my phone so that you guys can see me taking dip.

The first two steps that were of the Ghatt were quite shallow, but suddenly after that the depth exponentially increased, it was around four step that I was almost submerged in the water, so I decided to be till the third step only.

After staying there for about 10 to 15 minutes, it was time for me to get back to my grandparents as they were waiting for me back in the Kashi Vishwanath corridor so that we could board our boat to see the Aarti that was to be held in about a couple of hours.

Now I had to get back through the Ganga Aarti Ghat, and I am also revisited the preparation ground of the ceremony. I couldn’t wait to see the ceremony from the river itself as the ceremony would be held facing the river, so it was logically better to be in the river as compared to be on the Ghat.

I kept on walking until I reached the ceremonial Ghat now the crowd was even more and the crowd increase just in the matter of minutes. 15 minutes to be precise. I took a selfie there after my cleansing bath in Ganga river and headed towards my grandparents as soon as I could.

That’s all for today.

Peace ☮️