In Hindu myth, Ganga is the daughter of the Himalayas and she was persuaded to come down to earth by King Bhagirath. His sixty thousand ancestors had been burnt to ashes at the curse of Vishnu who they had slighted; and the grieving kind begged Ganga to rescue their souls from eternal damnation through her sacred waters. However, Ganga was not pleased and descended to earth in such a torrential force that the gods feared she would destroy everything that came in her way. So Lord Shiva broke her fall by letting her flow through the tangled locks of his hair.

As it travels through the 2400 kilometers of its journey to the sea, the Ganga has many names. At Gangotri, it is Bhagirathi as it begins to make a tumultous way down the hills. Along the way other hill rivers flow in to Bhagirathi to swell its waters. At the site of these unions are small places of pilgrimages called Prayags. At Devprayag, the Bhagirathi coming from the west Garhwal Hills meets the Alaknanda flowing down from the east. Earlier along the route to the pilgrimage of Badrinath, the Mandakini river merges into the Alaknanda. From Devprayag the combined waters of these three rivers become the mighty Ganga.

A huge tumultous torrent of water flowing down a deep gorge, crashing against boulders, frothing against the hills on the sides and flowing down in a roaring stream. Looking down at its mercurial swiftness, you understand why Shiva had offered his unprotected head in her path, for this primal force of nature could only destroy.

The Ganga emerges from the Shivalik hills to enter the plains of Northern India. Here it becomes calmer. First Rishikesh welcomes the seekers of spiritual peace, the swamis and rishis who come looking for answers to numerous religious retreats. Further downstream is Haridwar and by now the Ganga is earth bound and no longer a young rebellious river. At Haridwar the river is worshipped with flaming oil lamps every morning and evening. Then it flows through Allahabad to Varanasi. At Varanasi the Ganga is a wise old river that has seen an endless panoram of life and death. Like a goddess, it is beautiful and kind but also a bit detached, watching all our small victories and defeats with serenity.

The river flows on, through the plains of Bihar, past cities like Patna. Once Bihar was the home of great religious thinkers like the Buddha and Mahavira and the heart of great dynasties. Entering Bengal, the journey is coming to an end. It's tired pace moves through the marshes of the Sunderban jungles. It is called the Hooghly as it flows through Calcutta, where ships dock. On it goes past the island of Sagardwip and it is now welcomed into the Bay of Bengal.

The daughter of the Himalayas now merges into the sea.