Why Ganga artis in Banaras today are an eyesore

The Ganga arti ceremonies that are taking place each evening on Banaras' most important ghats are objectionable in several ways. I am filled with anger and dismay because these artis are in fact antithetical to the city's culture and contributing to its deterioration.

Artis have of course taken place along the Ganga at Banaras for a very long time. But the older ceremonies, whatever their faults, were done in an aesthetically appropriate way that allowed for a sense of personal and communal connection with the river on the part of the participants. They were small, quiet, personalised ceremonies with little distance between the Ganga, the priest, and the worshippers. In harsh contrast, the artis that happen now focus on simulating the effect of a spectacle or show rather than bringing the worshipper spiritually closer to the Ganga. In the new arti, young priests-in-training dressed in matching saffron dhotis stand facing the river in a row, on an elevated stage that is crowned high above by flags. The priests perform synchronised movements with brass lamps, flywhisks and other puja paraphernalia, all exaggerated in size in order to heighten the dramatic effect and impress the audience. Conches are blown and Vedic hymns and bhajans amplified. Watching the production as they sit on the ghat steps at a distance from the stage, the worshippers become passive spectators rather than participants. Their senses overwhelmed and minds numbed, they take away with them more awe at the spectacle witnessed than any meaningful feeling for the Ganga or their city.

The point is not, of course, that "tradition" should not be tampered with. The older arti was also at some point invented or constructed. The point is that the label "traditional", problematic to begin with, is being used misleadingly, and the new activity that is being called "traditional" is being done in an insensitive way.

Although the Ganga and the ghats are crucial in their religious functioning and to Banaras' significance as a Hindu capital, they are also integral to the city's culture in that they are secular spaces. They have always been welcoming and generous regardless of spiritual preferences. But now no longer can you spend an hour by the river at dusk in the way that you want. Now you will find intruding on your mental and physical space, overwhelming the beauty of the river and the ghats, the new Ganga arti, with its overly loud music and melodrama of movement and light. The ghats have been very important in promoting peace and freedom in all senses - that has been their very nature, and the spirit of the city. They have a great potential to continue promoting those values and enriching the city's culture. But the Ganga arti today is disrespecting and destroying that living heritage. If the organisers truly wish to patronise and showcase the city's culture, they should do their research more thoroughly and use their imaginations with more subtlety. Perhaps a large reason for their apparent failure to do so is that their motivation stems more from a sense of competition and desire for power than a real concern for the city's culture. The first such arti to start in the city was at Dashashwamedh ghat, organised by a group called Ganga Seva Nidhi. It is still the city's largest and most elaborate arti, and is now included by default in tourist itineraries as a great and ancient tradition of the city. During the peak tourist season, for instance, dozens of boats pull up on the river around the stage so that the passengers can watch; boat rides are designed especially to arrive at Dashashwamedh ghat in time for the arti. The artis that began on other ghats after the initiation of the one at the Dashashwamedh are in total imitation of it, down to the enormous puja instruments and the flags fluttering above the stage.

As one Banarasi told me with an ironic smile, "We are paying a lot of attention to the Ganga arti. But we are not paying any attention to Ganga ji herself!" I have nothing against the idea of an arti or doing an arti for the Ganga. I think, in fact, that such a ceremony could be harnessed to produce real commitment to the Ganga among Banarasis and visitors, and even encourage or initiate action. But in order to do that, we in Banaras would have to re-think the way the arti is being done now.