Nabanita Saha

“Ganga – The Lifeline of India”: A Project by Artist Nabanita Saha

Rivers are the arteries of human civilization which feeds selflessly with love and care, and hence all the civilization is built alongside the rivers. In the northern to south-eastern part of India, the majority of the civilization was developed around the river Ganges and its tributaries, and thus Ganga or Ganges, as it is internationally called, is the most important lifeline of India. The Ganges River basin is inhabited by humans since 2nd million BC, and humans have migrated from Harappan and Indus civilization.

Ganges, with its origin in the Gangotri glacier in the northern Himalayan mountains, remains as one of the leading rivers in the world with the largest tributaries joining its 2,510 km journey to sea and it is inhabited by 400 million in its bank and creates the world’s largest delta in its river basin in India and Bangladesh. Along its most fertile regions in the world, it remains a primary source of water. Although its length is smaller than other rivers in the world, its significance comes from rich culture, religion, economy, and livelihood it provides to a large population and remarkably no other river has such a fan following.

Ganges remains as the most holy river in Hinduism and right from the birth of a child to the ultimate death, life’s association with this mystic river remains as quintessential part of Hindu way of life, as Hinduism is not only a religion but a way to reach the almighty. And it is a belief that after death and post cremation, if the ashes of a Hindu are immersed in Ganges, the soul will travel undoubtedly to the heaven.

With large responsibility comes the burden. Ganges has its enormous burden of being one of the largest polluted rivers in the world. Since its banks are populated by large cities it was forced to embarrass the human waste, industrial waste.

Another concern today are the alarming rates at which the Gangotri glacier is melting and its size is reducing at a much faster rate due to global warming. If the current rate of melting of the Gangotri glacier continues, the probability of Ganges River drying up in near future is definitely sure. This is my main concern, as the majority of Indians and most of the world are unaware of this catastrophe. Till date Hindus in India treat Ganges as a Goddess, and nobody can imagine where we are heading if corrective actions are not taken immediately.

I, being a visual artist, am looking for an opportunity to learn from this greatest river of Indian civilization and wish to share my experience and learnings through my artwork documenting it in a visual form so that present and future generations are able to appreciate the legacy of this great lifeline of India. I intend to start my journey across the flow of the river in India and visit the landmark destinations from its origin to the end. I have captured in this project the daily life and how it is affected by the changes happening to river Ganges and create my project in the form of paintings, photography, video, mix media, etc. My works contain the experience of looking at everyday life of native Indians and I wish to express this to the world.

I was raised in a Hindu family in Kolkata, on the bank of the river Hooghly (a tributary of Ganges) and have witnessed my family’s involvement with Ganges during daily religious activities, then I was not aware of the concerns of pollution, climate change etc. and to me Ganges and its pious water was a Godly substance. As I grew up and became aware of the actual situation, I felt the responsibility to act on my part. I believe through my project; I will create a sensitivity and will be able to repay my devotion to the greatest legacy of India.

I am greatly inspired by ancient classical Indian poet Kalidasa (c.a. 4th ~ 5th Century CE) who had written an epic ‘Meghaduta’ in ancient Indian language Sanskrit. Kalidasa was a one of the greatest Indian Sanskrit poets and in this epic, he described aesthetically the landscapes of India, the ancient cities, rivers, flora and fauna of his time and his inner feelings penned in verse. Indian poets inspired from his work like Rabindranath Tagore, Michael Madhusudan Dutta, Jibonanda Das and many others. Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore was the most inspired in literary world from Kalidasa and his poems. He missed the era and the landscapes which was beautifully described by Kalidas’s in his poem. Tagore disliked the changed landscape in his times and wished to be present in Kalidas’s time. These feelings he described in his poems more than 100 years before. I am inspired from Tagore’s poem and feels the similar pain development had brought in India. I felt my inner voice urging me to work on the changes happening in river Ganges and lives associated around it.

My painting technique is influenced by Indian miniature painting and Western Painting & Culture influence in Indian culture. Indian miniature painting is based on story telling concept with great deals of detailing in the characters present in the painting. I intend to visualize the same spirit in my artwork to weave a story around the concept or issue which I try to bring as a main subject. I am using techniques of oil paints; brush strokes and I haven’t followed any academic perspective neither light. I am and trying to create a synergy of merging Indian Miniature with Western Art.