Going green

Tomorrow at sundown a puja, or offering, will begin to the Ganges. Women will come and pray for the health and wealth of their family. They will offer candles and flowers and, unfortunately, plastic. The Ganges pretty much serves as a dumping ground here. If you Google it, you will find some shocking statistics on just how polluted it is, particularly in Varanasi. I will be heading to Rishikesh in a few weeks, closer to the source, and I guess it is much cleaner up there.

About a month ago the staff and children from the ashram held a rally in Varanasi to raise awareness and encourage people not to pollute the river. They made signs with messages like this:


Today we posted these signs along the riverfront, where the women will see them as they pass by on their way to do their puja. It seems like a Herculean task to clean up the Ganges, particularly when anything and everything is dumped into it, but you have to start somewhere!


Random cutie pie shot. This is Bharat. I know you're not supposed to have favorites among children, but this kid is my favorite. He's always smiling, beaming really, just a happy-go-lucky kid. :)