The quintessential symbol of India, the epitome of all sacred waters, a mother goddess, and an essential lifeline sustaining the livelihoods of millions – the Ganga is India’s most revered river. This anthology presents a selection of writings that reflects the ways the Ganga has been encountered through the centuries – as a liberating force, source of wonder and inspiration, a means of transport and centre of trade, a geographical curiosity, and a habitat for a wide variety of animals and plants.
The collection explores the length of the river, from its source to its delta, bringing together various perspectives from the mythical, material, and spiritual dimensions. It includes founding myths from the epics Ramayana and Mahabharata, excerpts from translations of the classic Padma Nadir Majhi and the screenplay of Ram Teri Ganga Maili, accounts of travellers from Tavernier to Newby, Nehru’s ‘Will and Testament’, and selections from Amitav Ghosh, Vikram Seth, and Raja Rao. The anthology will serve as essential reading for those seeking to understand the significance of the river in Indian civilization and wanting to engage with exciting debates about the ‘modern’ and ‘traditional’ the ‘epic’ and ‘the everyday’.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Barbara Nelson
Barbara J. Nelson is Professor of Public Affairs at the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota and Director of the Center on Women and Public Policy.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Richard Barz
Richard Barz is currently in-charge of the Hindi and Urdu course in the Faculty of Asian Studies at the Australian National University in Canberra. Dr. Barz began his study of Hindi in the United States, first at the universities of Arizona and Wisconsin and later at the University of Chicago. He has spent several years in India, mainly doing research in Hindi linguistics, literature and folklore in and around the cities of Mathura, Lucknow and Gorakhpur. He has also visited Fiji and Mauritius and is interested in the role of Hindi in these countires. In addition to many articles, Dr. Barz is the author of The Bhakti Sect of Vallabhacarya (New Delhi, 1992), and the co-author with J. Siegel of Language Transplanted: the Development of Overseas Hindi (Wiesbaden, 1988) and with M. Thiel-Horstmann of Living Texts from India (Wiesbaden, 1989). Before taking up his present position, he taught Hindi at California State University at Long Beach and the University of California at Berkeley. He has also been associated with the Hindi courses at the University of Melbourne and La Trobe University.
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