Tells how the Hindu goddess Ganga came to Earth as the Ganges River • Introduces children to one of the most beloved characters of Hindu mythology • Illustrated throughout with full-color paintings in traditional Indian style The Ganges River, which flows from the high reaches of the Himalayas all the way down to the Bay of Bengal, is sacred to the Hindu people, who consider it to be the earthly form of the goddess Ganga. The story of how Ganga was born, and how she became a river, tells of a journey from a place even higher than the Himalayan mountaintops--a journey from Heaven itself. Born in a pot of sacred water, the baby Ganga grows into a beautiful and lighthearted girl, the darling of Heaven. But one day her sense of humor gets her in trouble. When grumpy Sage Durvasa is caught in a whirlwind that blows his clothes right off him, Ganga makes the mistake of laughing at him. In a rage, the sage puts a curse on her: “You must go to Earth as a river!” Ganga is heartbroken and begs the sage to forgive her. He can’t take back the curse, but seeing that she is truly sorry, he gives her a blessing as well: her water will purify the souls of men, releasing them from sin. When Sage Baghirath prays to the gods to help him release the souls of his ancestors, Ganga comes tumbling from the sky and follows the sage across India, the river unfurling behind her. To this day millions of people take comfort in her healing waters, and Ganga, too, takes comfort in relieving their suffering.

A ten-year photographic journey along the river Ganges documenting the effects of pollution, industrialisation and climate change.

"River Dialogues is an ethnographic engagement with social movements contesting hydroelectric development on River Ganges"--Provided by publisher.

From time immemorial the Bengal Delta had been an important maritime des- nation for traders from all parts of the world. The actual location of the port of call varied from time to time in line with the natural hydrographic changes. From the early decades of the second millennium AD, traders from the European con- nent also joined the traders from the Arab countries, who had been the Forerunners in maritime trading with India. Daring traders and fortune seekers from Denmark, Holland, Belgium and England arrived at different ports of call along the Hooghly river. The river had been, in the meantime, losing its pre-eminence as the main outlet channel of the sacred Ganga into the Bay of Bengal, owing to a shift of ?ow towards east near Rajmahal into the Padma, which had been so long, carried very small part of the large volume of ?ow. On a cloudy afternoon on August 24, 1690 the British seafarer Job Charnock rested his oars at Kolkata and started a new chapter in the life of a sleepy village, bordering the Sunderbans which was ‘a tangled region of estuaries, rivers and water courses, enclosing a vast number of islands of various shapes and sizes. ’ and infested with a large variety of wild animals. In the language of the British Nobel Laureate (1907) Rudyard Kipling (1865–1936). ???? ???? Thus the midday halt of Charnock grew a city.

The Ganges is one of the most complex yet fascinating river systems in the world. The basin is characterized by a high degree of heterogeneity from climatic, hydrological, geomorphological, cultural, environmental and socio-economic perspectives. More than 500 million people are directly or indirectly dependent upon the Ganges River Basin, which spans China, Nepal, India and Bangladesh. While there are many books covering one aspect of the Ganges, ranging from hydrology to cultural significance, this book is unique in presenting a comprehensive inter-disciplinary overview of the key issues and challenges facing the region. Contributors from the three main riparian nations assess the status and trends of water resources, including the Himalayas, groundwater, pollution, floods, drought and climate change. They describe livelihood systems in the basin, and the social, economic, geopolitical and institutional constraints, including transboundary disputes, to achieving productive, sustainable and equitable water access. Management of the main water-use sectors and their inter-linkages are reviewed, as well as the sustainability and trade-offs in conservation of natural systems and resource development such as for hydropower or agriculture.

There is a plethora of information available on the river Ganga in the form of books, blogs, articles, websites, videos. Unfortunately, most of the information about this famous river is in a scattered form and reproduced from unverified sources. This contributed volume is the first multi-author volume publication on this subject. The River Ganga includes a vast array of topics written by several authors of distinction. Topics include; hydrology, tributaries, water uses, and environmental features such as river water quality, aquatic and terrestrial flora/fauna, natural resources, ecological characteristics, sensitive environmental components and more. Part I gives a basic introduction of the Ganga river. The existing data and available information from various sources has been compiled in a pictorial fashion in the form of cmaps. Its cultural importance with changing times is also discussed. Part II looks at the rich biodiversity of the Ganga Basin. It gives a detailed description of the major floral and faunal biodiversity with special emphasis on the national aquatic animal dolphin and Sunderbans, the largest mangrove wetland in the world. Part III examines ‘The Ganga Water as it flows’. It focuses on the water quality as well as its associated challenges. Part IV looks at the complexities of issues confronting the river ‘Ganga in changing times’ be it snowmelt runoff, river bank erosion hazards and hydropower assessments; how the factors of population, poverty and pollution contribute to the fate of the river. Part IV touches on economic aspects derived from the river such as business opportunities and tourism.