The Ganges is the most significant and holy river in India. In its course, it feeds numerous small rivers and channels that work as the lifeblood of India. One such stream of the main river is "Adi Ganga" or the original Ganges flowing through the metropolis of Kolkata. In the 17th and 18th centuries, This was the main channel of the Ganges in West Bengal, and it supported most of the trade and communication. As recently as 1980, the channel was used for significant local commerce. But in the last 40 years, This waterway lost itself due to various reasons like water scarcity, shifting course of the Ganges, siltation, pollution, illegal land encroaching and Metro rail development project on its riverbed. It is now reduced to a foul-smelling, dark water-bearing 6ft canal often used for drainage. This tragic transformation tells us the terrible consequence of rapid, unplanned urbanization on the inland waterways in modern cities.
Several ancient stories use this river as a protagonist. The texts used in the project are taken from 'ManasaMangal Kavya' written by Ketakadas Kshemananda, a poet from the 17th Century who composed the most popular version of the story. The legend describes how snake-goddess Manasa' converted a well-off merchant 'ChandSadagar' into her worshipper by creating several obstacles for him. My project revolves around this story and uses the river as the central character of the narrative.By juxtaposing the ancient text and contemporary images, I intend to examine its historical and cultural significance, the reasons for its downfall, and the lessons in the process. In the context of dying rivers, increasing water scarcity, changing climate, this project aims to explore the role of human activity in the murder of a river.
Stills
