The story at the banks of the river Ganga
That morning, with some of my family members, I had come to Garh Ganga, which is a small town at the banks of the River Ganga. We had come there for the holy bath, an annual ritual, but due to shortage of time, instead of going to Haridwar, we had come here because it is the closest point for us, where we can dip in Ganga. Ram, who is my uncle’s son, lives there, and though we had not met in years, he remembered me and was addressing me as Didi, big sister. He was guiding us around the town, and was quite protective of us, especially around the banks of the holy river, which were teaming with priests and pandas waiting for pilgrims like us for their daily business, getting their clients to recite Om, while washing off their sins in the holy water. There was a lot of Omkara, recitation of Om everywhere. We finished our holy bath, and a short puja, a special morning religious ceremony, in which we recited Om, quite a few times. (1)...