OCTOBER 30, 2011 By Girish Kumar Dubey
Devotees thronged to the banks of the sacred Ganga river, in the temple town of Varanasi in north India's Uttar Pradesh on Sunday, (October 30), for a religious festival 'Nag Nathaiya', where a ritual enactment was performed depicting the Hindu deity Lord Krishna vanquishing the 'Kalia Nag' (black serpent).
The legend at the root of the festival cites the Yamuna, the Ganga's most famous tributary, as the site of the battle. Devotees, therefore, treat the Ganga as the Yamuna on this occasion.
The legend is an episode from the 'Krishna Leela', or the Tale of Krishna. It speaks of the god diving into the river to rid it of the serpent who had poisoned the river with its venom, killing many creatures.
The ritual, therefore, involved a traditional performer dressed as the popular deity, diving into the river in an enactment watched with reverence by huge crowds of the faithful, seated on Varanasi's legendary 'ghats', bathing-steps built adjacent to the river.
The ritual has been re-interpreted in the modern age as a metaphor of the need to protect rivers against pollution. The Yamuna, infamous for being heavily polluted, is remembered during Nag Nathaiya festival, to inspire in people the same reverence that is traditionally reserved for the Ganga.
Chanchal Thakur, a devotee, said that drains dumping industrial waste and sewage into rivers needed to be done away with.
"These unplanned, zig-zag drains are like snakes. They cause pollution due to chemicals and sewage. There is only one solution, they should be done away with," he said.
Rivers hold pride of place in the hearts of the people of India, who acknowledge their role in the shaping of the country's civilization. Paradoxically, however, the same rivers often find themselves at the receiving end of drains that carry sewage and industrial waste, and are today in a state of rapid ecological deterioration.
Devotees throng to the banks of the Ganga in India's Uttar Pradesh state to worship it as its famous tributary, the Yamuna.
PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS CONVERTED 4:3 MATERIAL
VARANASI, UTTAR PRADESH, INDIA (OCTOBER 30, 2011) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (ANI-NO ACCESS BBC)
1. A CROWD OF DEVOTEES AT A GHAT (SREPS ADJACENT TO A RIVER BANK)
2. DEVOTEES IN FRONT OF A SIGN READING 'TULSI GHAT'
3. DEVOTEES PLAYING MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
4. TRADITIONAL ARTISTES IN COSTUMES
5. CROWD OF DEVOTEES AT A GHAT
6. ARTISTES PERFORMING A JUGGLING ACT
7. TOURIST TAKING A PICTURE
8. ARTISTE CLIMBING A SLANTING POLE OVER HANGING RIVER
9. CROWD OF DEVOTEES AT A GHAT
10. ARTISTE PLAYING THE FLUTE
11. PRIEST PERFORMING A FIRE RITUAL
12. ARTISTE DIVING INTO RIVER
13. DEVOTEES PUSHING A RAFT WITH AN ARTISTE STANDING ON IT
14. (SOUNDBITE) (Hindi) CHANCHAL THAKUR, DEVOTEE, SAYING:
"These unplanned, zig-zag drains are like snakes. They cause pollution due to chemicals and sewage. There is only one solution, they should be done away with."
15. CROWD OF DEVOTEES AT A GHAT
16. DEVOTEES CARRYING A TRADITIONAL PERFORMER ON THEIR SHOULDERS
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