She must have been five when her grandfather first took her to the Darbhanga House. That visit had two reasons – to pay obeisance to goddess Kali, and to enjoy the fresh breeze that used to brush the steps of the temple leading to the ghats below, where Ganga washed clean anybody who cared to come close to her waters.

Since then, Devaki developed a strange fascination for Ganga, the holy river that flows from the Himalayas and cleans away all the dirt from the heartland of India before merging with the Bay of Bengal. Devaki and her rendezvous with River Ganga continued. She used to tag along with her mother and Nani to Gulzarbagh, on trips to her nani’s sister’s house, just to catch a glimpse of River Ganga or a chance to touch the soft, cool and soothing water of the river. The vast expanse of the area that the river covered was a pleasant sight. She liked the feelings of tranquility and serenity the river stirred within her, as much as she liked the life it bred and the joy it brought to its surroundings. The wind would create waves in the river and the children sitting on the bank of the river would throw stones in the water to enjoy the ripples that were formed in the water. Devaki spent hours watching all this quietly by the river side.

“Maa, please stay for some more time. I just love the sound the river water makes …kal-kal-kal, chhap-chhap-chhap. It is so lovely and calming. Maa, come and sit with me,” she pleaded. “No, Devaki, it’s time to go home,” her mother was adamant in her refusal, and not without reason. ”It’s getting dark and we might take a long time to find a rickshaw to go back home. Your brothers are alone. Your papa must be on his way back home from office. Come on, get up.” Her mother had to literally force her to leave the ghat to return home.

There had been many moments when Devaki managed to snatch some time to gaze at the quiet flow of the waters of River Ganga, although, for all its quietude, there was often a hubbub of activity around it. There were washermen washing clothes, buffaloes and cows bathing lazily, people taking dips in the holy water and some washing themselves after defecation, along the banks of the river. At a distance from the normal routine of the mortals, Devaki would find the dead being cremated on a pyre and a crowd of mourners standing nearby waiting for it be consumed by the fire. A member of the “chamaar community”, who was in charge of these rituals, would take away any expensive items from the dead person’s body and also money from the deceased person’s family for aiding in the last rites. This dichotomy of life where life showed various phases in just one place, would throw Devaki in a quandary where she could not find answers to many questions that seemed relevant at the time.

Years passed by, and Devaki slowly got sucked into the vagaries of life, not finding free time anymore to visit her beloved river as she used to, but she still never failed to catch a glimpse of Ganga while going to or returning from her nani’s place. The river could be seen from the road. There were gaps in the walls built around the banks to safeguard the land near the river from the builders’ lobby, who were ever too willing to usurp the land for construction, however unsafe it may be for the humans or the ecosystem.

During a visit to Patna, just after her marriage, Devaki darted a glance while returning from Nani’s house and was horrified to find a dry expanse of land where once Ganga flowed. The sight was depressing and Devaki felt compelled to research into it but not before talking her heart out to her Nana. He was an elderly, erudite man who loved talking about any topical issue that his grandchildren sought his views on.

Devaki was going through a tough phase in her life. She felt unhappy and neglected. Nana understood her state of mind as well as the dilemma she was facing in her life. She had lost her spark and her face no longer shone with charm. Her family was concerned about her state and wanted to bring that infectious smile back on her face.

Devaki forgot her woes upon finding the holy river she so cherished in such a sad state. She was distraught and baffled about Ganga’s retreating waters, her mind wracked with the trauma of seeing River Ganga’s dilapidated state in her home town. She wanted to find out the reasons behind this startling shift in the course of the Ganga and the action plan that the government of the day had envisaged for the rejuvenation.

She surfed the internet, read articles on the issue, had a serious discussion on the topic with her Nana and then she reached the root causes that have forced the River Ganga to shrink its base from its banks in Patna. Devaki was aghast to find that the river that used to be the cause of concern every rainy season for Patna till the end of 1970s for flooding Patna, had shifted away from its banks in the city as much as 5 to 8 kilometres. The experts opined in various magazines that the River Ganga was shifting 0.14 km away every year in the Bihar capital. The researchers blamed the lack of dredging of the river bed for the last 30 years and the large-scale discharge of untreated sewage in the river. The deposition of untreated sewage in the river lead to heavy siltation.

It was the National Ganga River Basin Authority that came out with the harsh reality. The organization maintained that the reduced flow of water in the river, continuous siltation, dumping of solid wastes and the encroachment on the river bed by the builders for construction purposes were indeed proving to be harmful for the river’s health. Patna Municipal Corporation allowed the construction of multi-storied apartments in what used to be the river bed, flouting the environmental norms and standards openly.

Armed with the knowledge of the causes and the ways to restore the original course of the river, Devaki approached the local NGOs who believed in restoring the course of the River Ganga. She was pleasantly surprised to find hundreds of passionate activists working tirelessly for revitalizing the river in Patna. Many meetings with the State Pollution Control Board and the Chief Minister to discuss the ways to dredge the river bed before rainy season, to involve the dredgers from Denmark for the task like before and to understand the implications of the ambitious Ganga Pathway Project, bore no satisfactory result.

Devaki actively got involved in the movement to clean Ganga and bring it back to its banks in Patna. She was perturbed that the State Government had spent crores of rupees to develop the banks, organize Ganga Aarti and steamer services to attract the tourists to Bihar but had done nothing to clean the river or to stop the unnecessary construction of pathways into the river. She yearned to hear the soothing sound of the flowing river. All she could absorb from the dry ghats was the strong stench of rotting wastes and the sludge thrown on the dried land that was once claimed by the waters of Ganga.

It was shocking that despite such ambitious plans like the Ganga Action Plan and the generous fund flows, with the World Bank taking active note of the situation, the National Green Tribunal in 2017 observed that not a single drop of River Ganga had been cleaned so far. Devaki sought help from her alma mater, the famed catholic convent in Patna, Notre Dame Academy. The Principal of Notre Dame sent processions of students with placards from Kurji Ghat to the Bankipore Girls’ School, to create awareness about the “Clean Ganga” campaign. Devaki also sought help from other institutions. The State Government too, agreed to assist the NGOs in accomplishing the goals set to revitalize the river within a stipulated time frame.

Devaki knew that this was an uphill task. She was, however sure that with the support of the citizens of Patna, she would be able to create awareness and the pressure would be built on the government to expedite the cleaning of River Ganga and the shelving of all the unnecessary construction in and around the river.

Pataliputra, once the seat of power from where Emperor Ashoka ruled over nearly the entire Indian Sub-Continent, and where the great philosophies of Buddhism and Jainism were faithfully followed, should not be remembered for neglecting the river that was once its lifeline.