The story of a river

Viewing something from the perspective of science and religion simultaneously– I remember the 3D glass they gave at movie theatres in the 90s, with a red and a green filter, totally contrasting sides only to give a greater depth.

Few days back, I watched a detailed video description of the Ganges from its origin till confluence along with sites of religious importance by Velukkudi swamy. I got goosebumps when he said “gangaya paathale punyam”, I felt so accomplished. Sooner my attention was grabbed by this study by IIT Delhi and Newcastle university which has revealed the prolific spread of the blaNDM-1 gene in the Ganges river bed especially during months of mass religious gathering.

This New Delhi Metallo-betalactamase resistance gene is what made the shocking headlines sometime back when it was first detected in the capital city. The gene has now been found to be more common among residents of such holy cities by the side of the Ganges and transmitted to other pilgrims via fecal contamination of the river. You take a dip in the holiest river in India only to get a dose of diluted shit with a potential superbug - Irony at its best! Not to mention the sugar-coating in the discussion of the article that they do not suggest avoiding religious gatherings in such places and this contamination is probably due to overloading of sanitation facilities.

The last time I stood by the Ganges was three years back at Varanasi. The pungent smell and the sight of people openly defecating literally made me puke that day. And it was the common sense in me that won over religion and I left the place without the ceremonial dip and just wished I never went again. I can’t help mentioning the collection of some 300 odd photos I came across in a blog showing the not-so-picture-perfect side of Varanasi – dead and putrefied bodies (human indeed) some floating on the river and some just by the side of pilgrims – I could not stand 50! The blog looked like in Chinese but if I were to choose a topic - “Do you call this the most sacred place in India?”

Continuing viewing through the science lens, only the exponential transmission of this gene has been documented. Whether it translates into an increase in the causalities due to a multidrug resistant infection has not yet been substantiated. Its only a matter of few years as the gene can easily tunnel into a clinically significant bacteria and make it super-resitant.

My religion relentlessly tries to convince me about the holiness and the sacredness of the Ganges. Used by Brahma to wash the feet of Vishnu, the waters gathered up and flew into a ferocious river that was controlled in Shiva’s hair lock and was later released into land following the penance of Bhagiratha. Touched by all three of the trinity, it gains its utmost importance in Hindu literature. Majestic aarthi is conducted in the riverbanks everyday where thousands gather with songs and praises for Ganga ma. She is the one who washes the sins of everyone but still remains pure for eternity.

The Ganges - my sketch

I would not debate about her glory. I salute her and bow to her but for the dip part - I would think twice!