4/5 Ashish K. 8 months ago on Google
Nestled
in
Delhi-6
and
situated
not
too
far
from
the
Kashmere
Gate
metro
station
is
the
famous
and
revered
Yamuna
Ghat.
With
multiple
steps
of
stairs
opening
at
the
mouth
of
the
holy
Yamuna
and
around
10-15
boats
waiting
to
ferry
visitors
and
tourists;
the
place
houses
almost
200-300
people
who
live
with
their
families.
Visited
by
people
for
bathing,
ritualistic,
and
recreational
purposes,
this
Ghat
shares
its
walls
with
the
oldest
cremation
ground
in
Delhi—Nigambodh
Ghat—which
is
visited
by
people
to
perform
the
last
rites
of
their
loved
and
known
ones.THE
OLDEST
GHAT
Ganesh
Pandit,
a
28-year-old
boatman
who
was
born
and
brought
up
on
the
Ghats,
tells,
“Nigam
Bodh
Ghat
is
famous
for
several
decades.
It
is
one
of
the
oldest
and
significant
Ghats
and
is
symbolic
of
our
age-old
cultures,
traditions,
heritage,
and
history.
People
and
visitors
limit
their
gaze
to
this
place
being
just
a
‘cremation
ground’
without
even
realizing
that
several
families
live
in
the
same
vicinity
too.”
Like
many
others,
Ganesh’s
family
has
been
living
on
the
Ghat
for
more
than
60
years
now
and
his
father
was
the
first
one
to
come
here.
He
shares,
“My
childhood
was
a
fun-filled
and
a
happy
one,
and
I
enjoyed
a
lot
as
a
child.
But
as
I
grew
up,
tensions
and
worries
of
all
sorts
came
along.
Things
like
how
to
work
and
earn
overpowered
everything
else,
and
after
my
father
passed
away,
the
responsibility
to
take
care
of
my
family
and
earn
fell
on
my
shoulders.”LIVELIHOOD
The
Ghat
is
surrounded
by
several
mini
temples,
idols
of
deities,
and
small
makeshift
shops
selling
everything
from
tea
and
biscuits
to
flowers
and
sweets.
A
majority
of
those
living
on
the
Ghat
earn
their
livelihood
by
rowing
boats
to-and-fro,
helping
tourists
take
a
dip
in
the
river,
and
facilitating
the
immersion
of
idols,
flowers,
and
ashes.
Ganesh,
who
has
a
massive
fan
following
on
Instagram
and
receives
several
calls
a
day
for
booking
of
shoots,
adds,
“My
main
source
of
employment
here
is
through
the
boats
I
own.
In
addition
to
it,
I
also
facilitate
work
related
to
worshipping
and
religious
activities
and
help
arrange
priests
whenever
people
want
to
offer
prayers
or
conduct
any
rituals.”
With
the
incoming
of
the
migratory
birds
during
every
Autumn-Winter,
more
employment
opportunities
have
been
created
for
the
tea
sellers,
bread
makers,
boat
rowers,
and
even
those
who
make
and
sell
the
special
‘namkeen’
to
feed
these
birds.
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