What drives people to Haridwar, Kumbh, Mecca, Jerusalem, Harmandir Sahib, Jagannath Puri, Dwarka or Rameswaram?
Faith.
What drives faith?
Faith is primarily driven by a belief in something unseen or beyond one's immediate experience, often rooted in revelation, personal experiences, or the testimony of others.
Ghumakkad was in Haridwar on Chaitra Poornima last Saturday. Seeing lakhs of people converge on the banks of Ganges, the holy river, the above question crossed my mind. The experience of being there among lakhs of devotees waiting patiently for Ganga Aarti to take place, left a permanent impression. Whether you believe in God or not, is immaterial. The energy, the chimes, the agni and the chants over power you.
Sharing below few pictures of Haridwar taken during the Aarti and the next day. The crowds never thinned down. Faith keeps them coming.
Large screen displays have been erected for the crowd to view the
aarti from a distance.
See the short video clips of the Aarti below:
The next clip captures the flow of the Ganges and the scene after the Aarti
View from the Bhagirathi Bridge with surging crowds on the banks:
Got a feel of climbing a foot overbridge with hundreds of other devotees.
After the aarti, the pujari or their assistant take the jyoti or the flame, to the devotees. They bow to the jyoti and leave their offerings in the pooja-ki-thali. See the picture below.
After the mammoth experience of
Ganga Aarti, we now take you to the Ganges at dawn.
The flowing Ganges with a strong current and the sun rising steadfastly over the hills, cast an impactful scene. A scene with a life lesson. Keep doing your duty without any distraction. The Sun continues to rise being the giver of life on earth. Same way, the river continues to flow to reach the canals, farms and the fields to be cultivated. Life goes on. See a short video clip below:
Later in the morning, we went to perform the 'asthi visarjan' or immersion of the ashes, of my younger brother who had passed away recently. Such rituals are not recorded on camera. However, we are sharing below few pictures showing the day time scenes of Haridwar.
The narrow lanes of Haridwar are lined with thousands of shops (and eateries too) selling everything from bags, dresses, jewllery, toys, containers for
ganga-jal (holy water of the Ganges) and souvenirs!
How to Reach Haridwar
One can take a flight to Jolly Grant airport near Dehradun and take a cab with approximately 80-minutes driving time.
Alternately, take a bus or car from Delhi about 240 kms away. The roads are good but beware of weekend crowds travelling to Mussoorie who jam the highway. A four-and-a-half hour drive can stretch to seven hours. Roorkee comes on the way. Sharing few pictures of our drive.
India is best seen and experienced by road. Ghumakkad prefers self-drive which gives the freedom and flexibility to explore places and monuments enroute. Special thanks for this road trip go to my Naval buddy Aditya Jain and Seema who offered their car and accompanied me all the way.
Some of our stories of other road trips are linked below:
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- Harsh-the-Ghumakkad/ Secunderabad/ 19th April 2025
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