SOME OTHER GHATS

SOME OTHER GHATS

Chausatthi Ghat is named after sixty-four goddesses, and the goddesses Durga, Shitala, Sankatha, Tripura Bhairavi all have ghats named after them. While some ghats have legends associated with them, others are simply used by the people who live above them for their daily communion with their beloved Ganga. Still others have a more plebeian reputation. The milkmen and their milk cans are to be found at Chowki Ghat. The washermen bring their bundles of clothes to the clay bank of the Prabhu Ghat. You do penance for killing a cow at Gai Ghat and wrestling and boxing festivals are held at Durga Ghat. Different ghats are patronised by people of different communities.

The Baccharaj Ghat is popular with Jains and the Bengalis crowd Kedar, Chowki and Chausatthi. Devotees from south India prefer Hanuman, Kedar, Karnataka, Harishchandra and Vijayanagram. Biharis come to Assi and Janaki. Tripurabhairavi and Manmandir see the pilgrims from Rajasthan. Gujaratis prefer to bathe at Sankata Ghat and the centre of the Sikh religious order of the Nanak Panthis stands above Mir Ghat. In 2011, the New York-based non-profit organisation, World Heritage Fund, declared the 18th century Balaji Ghat, built in the Maratha architectural style, as one of the 100-most endangered heritage sites in the world.