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In the month of Shravan which is the monsoon arrival months of July-August, the north of India resonates with the chant of “Har Har Mahadev” and “Bam Bam Bhole”. Millions of Kanwariya’s - ardent worshippers of Lord Shiva dressed in saffron robes can be seen running/walking on the roads of North India carrying poles across [...]

Witnessed this incredible tantric ceremony on the one of the ghats on the river Ganges in Varanasi. The “sadhu” or holy man in the video had smeared himself with ashes(presumably of the dead!) and was performing some tantric ceremony to appease his gods. It is widely known and believed that there are sects of these [...]

As we continued down the road to Sarnath after having seen the Shechen stupa, we stopped at the Chaukhandi Stupa. This stupa is a huge structure made of red bricks and is called Chaukhandi because of its four armed plan. Chau means four and khand means parts or arms in the local language and hence [...]

It was saturday and the weather had suddenly changed from scorchingly hot to  cloudy with a pleasant cool breeze.  I decided to take a trip to Sarnath, my favorite place. By the way for those of you who don’t know, Sarnath is the place where Lord Buddha delivered his first sermon after he attained enlightenment. It [...]

To stall the construction of dams on the Ganga river, the Ganga Mahasabha, an organisation dedicated to saving the Ganga river, will create an army of 10,000 volunteers in Uttarakhand. These volunteers will prevent the construction of dams on the Ganga if that happens without consulting the groups active in the preservation of river Ganga. [...]

On the 2nd of June,  Ganga Dussehra is celebrated in Varanasi. According to ancient Hindu religious text the Brahma Purana, this day commemorates the arrival of the Ganga on the earth from the heavens.

This day holds special significance for Hindus as it is believed that a bath in the holy Ganges in Varanasi on this [...]