Nighttime in Haridwar

The city of Haridwar ("Gateway to God") is one of the holiest sites to Hindus in India. After emerging from the mountains, Hardiwar is where the Ganges river meets the plains of India. The water is swift moving and yet Hindu pilgrims in religious ecstasy still bathe in it (albeit holding onto railing) to purify their souls.

The main bathing ghat is Har-ki-Pauri (meaning "footsteps of the Lord"). Here are some scenes from the nighttime.



On the way to the bathing ghat, Haridwar had all sorts of stands selling things to tourists. You could find stalls with everything from religious items for the pooja (Hindu religious ritual), to toys and trinkets, to souvenirs commemorating the experience. Imagine shopping at the Indian version of a religious Disneyland.


It was a fascinating sacred place, but for some reason, I just didn’t feel right taking photos in Haridwar (photographer block?). It might have been because Haridwar was jammed with Hindu tourists, with myself being the only foreigner- definitely an uber tourist-among-the-tourists feeling. Or I could have just been annoyed about my crappy accommodations with a non-AC room on the 4th floor (like sleeping in a sauna) and getting awoken at 3am by ants biting me in my bed (how the hell do you get ants on the 4th floor???). Or it could have been all the rain at the start of the monsoon season and wading around in calf-deep sewer/garbage strewn water. Good times, good times, and I wonder why I get sick in India…