The Might of Nature

Before yesterday the most awe inspiring river I had ever encountered was the Waikato, and in fact the Ganges and the Waikato do share some similarities - the percentage of stock effluent contained in its waters for example. But unlike the Waikato, the Ganges holds some sort of mystical allure that goes beyond just thousands of litres of water flowing past.

The Hindu religion reveres the river as Ganga, a goddess closely related to Shiva, the main god of the religion. People have been coming here to Varanasi to pray to Ganga since approximately 2000 B.C. which makes us part of a huge history of travellers to this place. I have had the privilege of going down to the river three times in the last 24 hours, twice in the morning and yesterday afternoon. The sights I've seen on the ghats (steps down to the river's edge) have had a profound impact on me.

The river flows constantly past the madness of the ghats; past cremations, cricket games, armed police, insence burning, beggars and so many other things, but the river just exudes calm and majesty. The fact that it is such a famous place makes the river command respect and although the water particles in the river are always different (in other words, the river is never the same) the concept of the river made me feel very small and overpowered. It was like the time I met Richie McCaw. He commanded so much respect and although he is just a man (a very big man but still) he gave off an aura of higher power and authority. That's what it's like seeing the Ganges. Here nature is king and the people bow down and pray to its might. In my opinion, that's the way it should be all over the world where nature's beauty and majesty exist.

Gus