{"product_id":"tripping-down-the-ganga-a-sons-exploration-of-faith-9789354478536","title":"Tripping Down The Ganga: A Son's Exploration of Faith","description":"\u003cp\u003e'...mummy and I were always fighting about her obsession with faith and ritual...On\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eour yaatras, she would show such deep faith and perform such fevered rituals that the\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ewhole exercise would leave me exhausted. Every time I told myself I'd never go with her\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eagain. And every time I went. Again and again.'\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor as long as the author can remember, he's been a willing companion to\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ehis intrepid and devout mother on their countless journeys to sacred sites\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ealong the Ganga. As a young man, he travels to these on his own-seven\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ekey destinations from the snow-capped Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal-\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eexploring the faith of not only millions of fellow pilgrims but also his own.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn Gangotri, he meets renunciant babas who are glad to share with him their\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003estories, along with their meagre food. In Kedarnath, a sadhu tells him how\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ethe Shiva temple miraculously survived the devastating floods of 2013. At\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBadrinath, he attends the wedding ceremony of a family friend to Vishnu, to\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eundo a defect in her horoscope. In Rishikesh, he walks with the kanwariyas, \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eand at the Kumbh Mela at Prayagraj, immerses himself in the shadowy world\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eof the Naga sadhus. Varanasi, the city of light, offers diverse experiences, \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003efrom a bhang-induced revelry on Mahashivratri to conversations with\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAghoris, who tell him why they sometimes drink blood. He also reflects on\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ethe ever changing cityscape of Varanasi-from ancient times to Aurangzeb to\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ethe present-and the politics behind it. He ends his journey with a loop back\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eto Ganga Sagar, where the Ganga finally meets the sea.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAn introspective memoir by a questioning Hindu, Tripping Down the Ganga is\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003esimultaneously a captivating account of a sacred river and her devotees. It is\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ean ode to the mighty Ganga-sometimes turbulent and at others serene-\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ewhich has nestled in her life-giving embrace for millennia believer and nonbeliever\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ealike.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Speaking Tiger Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 08\/20\/2024\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9789354478536\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 440\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.41lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.98d","brand":"Siddharth Kapila","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52302275248309,"sku":"9789354478536","price":34.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/img_83093268-e497-4f43-bd6c-f1eed495f142.jpg?v=1772552712","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/tripping-down-the-ganga-a-sons-exploration-of-faith-9789354478536","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}