I STAND IN THE 'GANGA' AND PRAY

I stand in the Ganga and pray
join hands close my eyes
and bow my head in reverence

The current so fast the water so chill
has flowed for ages across the valleys
and down the mountains and hills

For some its a Goddess for others a Mother
No other water body in the world
evokes this kind of faith and fervour

I who drank Bisleri all through the journey
Now stand in the Ganges and drink
For I have faith that it is pure like honey

Yes, I have turned blind to the fact
that the man upstream is washing
and animals are purifying themselves too

I close my eyes to pray for my ancestors
my family and friends brothers and sisters
amazed at my blind faith for a holy river

I turn to the newly weds with bowed heads
will they live happily ever after?
shall their lives be full of laughter?

Sons carry ashes of their departed parents
to be submerged for their final journey
to free them from the cycle of birth-rebirth

Suddenly a child comes to my mind and heart
Who sleeps in her lap divine - so far apart
Yes, they say he was taken away by the Ganga

His mother's eyes have shed tears
that have long mingled with the Ganga
The father still stares emptily at the flow.

I submerge myself in the holiest of rivers
and feel each sin being washed away
I feel unburdened forever and ever

At night the twinkling prayer boats
make a pretty sight its as though the
stars have come down to the river to float

Yes its nothing but faith and devotion
that draws me to the banks of the Ganges
and touches me with divinity and emotion

So I stand in the Ganga and pray
Join hands close my eyes
and bow my head in reverence.

~Vinita Sinha Ganesh~

The river "Ganga" or "Ganges" is considered sacred by the Hindus. - ed.