Weekend Getaway to the Holy City of Haridwar

When seen from top of the bridge above the ganga ghat, the mob of semi clothed devotees looks like a mural made in various pastel shades of brown, dotted with black and other colours. To a realist, they are merely bathing in the river water but to a devout, they are purging their sins. The chilling winter water of the Ganges can inflict an inconvenience comparable to Christian genuflections. Yet, the undaunted Hindudes are relentlessly devout while dipping in the Ganges at pukka-ghat which they colloquially call ‘Har-ki-Pauri’. Such is the incredibility of Haridwar, a small town in Uttrakhand and one of the most important pilgrimage cities in India. Let's see how Haridwar earned this distinction…

 

The Past

The incredible legend has it that when an urn of nectar (amrit) was extracted out of Manthan of Sheer Sagar, devas and asuras started battling for it (read immortality). Lord Vishnu then guised himself as a female seductress and used his (now her) charm to obtain the urn only for devas. When asuras grasped this treachery, they ran after Vishnu who flew through air. In the chase, a drop of the nectar fell out at of the urn at what is now called Brahma Kund at Har-ki-Pauri (literally footsteps of the Supreme). Geographically, Haridwar is the place where river Ganges descends from the Gangotri glacier to the Indo-Gangetic plains of north India.

The Present

The cemented banks of Harki Pauri are flooded with temples, makeshift tables, pundits and a row of stairs with visitors either waiting for their turn to bathe or drying themselves after it. The nectar mixed with water of the Ganges is said to have a cathartic affect on the body and soul of ‘sinners’. People also visit Haridwar to immerse the mortal remains of their kin in the river, but nowhere near the bathing area. Some even come to offer to the Ganges, the first hair of their newborns.

The evening aarti at Harki Pauri is most spectacular. The sight of priests with large bowls of fire, devotees on both sides and sound of gongs and loudspeakers makes for a unique spectacle of river worship. Devotees float flickering earthen pots (diyas) in the river and no one is supposed to bathe during aarti.

There are a lot of eateries and restaurants around Hark Pauri area. The food is vegetarian and prepared without onions or garlic, but yet, is amazingly delicious. Some more attractions in Haridwar are the Mansa Devi Temple, Chandi Devi Temple, Bhimgoda Tank and Daksheswara Mahadev Temple. These and other temples have origins dating to days of Ramayana and Mahabharata.

There’s another unique feature of Holy Haridwar that not many are aware of. It is also home to records of lineage of almost every Hindu family. The genealogies of various families are maintained by professional genealogists or pundits. There is a strong probability that you can track your ancestry to over 10 generations.