Intro

Waking up to the misty wetness of a river bank gently rocked by the water it is so easy to imagine oneself caught in a gentler era.  As distant strains of the fisherman’s song float across time stops suspended, even the certainty of existence ceases to encroach. At the Bishweswarlal Hurgobind Shraddha Ghat a visitor may be forgiven if he comes to believe, if even for a short while, in the music of the spheres and in the immortality of the human soul.

Route

Tucked away in a corner a little away from the Ganga riverside, Bishweswarlal Hurgobind Shraddha Ghat is  the first ghat to the south of Howrah Bridge just before the Mullick Ghat. It is connected by Strand Road right beside the Brabourne Road Flyover close to the Howrah Bridge base pillars. As you enter the Strand Bank Road through the Strand Road near the Howrah Bridge cantilevers right next to its base, you’ll find a very narrow walkway past some of the florists leading to the Shraddha ghat, a little off the banks of the Ganges.

The Ghat

Designed in the typical Hindu Temple architecture style, Bishweswarlal Hurgobind Shraddha Ghat is more of a monument than a ghat. Spread over about 2000 sq ft area, the sprawling pavilion of the ghat has three prominent arched entrances of which only one can be accessed through a side lane. The other two have been blocked by the locals for their personal use. There are a number of big arched windows that keep the pavilion well-lit and ventilated round the year.

The interiors of the ghat are designed tastefully with green and white glazed tiles covering nearly half of the wall-height. The tiles have floral motifs in lavender and white. The still unblemished floor with its black and white chequered marbles is a rare find. Decorative work can be seen on the high ceiling but is now peeling or falling off.  

Though meant for performing Shraddhs, a Hindu ritual, the ghat is no longer open for such observances. A couple of pandas (priests) from UP stay there with their belongings and perform pujas on demand by the devotees. The rest of the floor space is occupied by the florists to sort and stock flowers. Therefore, making your way to the riverside, crossing the gates of the ghat can be quite challenging.

Whether it is the ravage of time or a deliberate attempt by the creator of the monument to keep the ghat away from the river is not really known. However, this is probably the only ghat that is guarded from the river and does not have stairs emerging from its pavilion leading to the water.

There is a courtyard surrounded by trees on its premises. It is used as a Kusti Akhada or wrestling ground for the local wrestlers, who come to this ghat to practice wrestling and body building regularly. Crossing over the courtyard one would reach a modest resting place with the look and feel of an ashram. The tin-roof, mud walls and floor and several raised platforms make it a unique riverside ashram.

The ashram is replete with a number of temples, such as those of Shankarji, Vishnu, Parvati, Hanumanji and Durga. It is from here that the stairs descend down to merge with the river.

Two huge kadais of about 1 m radius, are mounted permanently on earthen ovens, meant for cooking 30 kilos of khichudi on a daily basis. Everyday, breakfast is served at this ashram between 8 and 9 am and lunch between 12 and 1 pm. Khichudi and tarkari or dal, bhat and sabzi are served on alternate days. The funds for the same supposedly come from the Daridranarayan Trust and feeds 100 to 150 people every day, we were told. Anyone can come to this ashram at the aforesaid timing and have the food.

 

History

Not much can be said about the history of this ghat. As the name suggests, Hurgobind Shraddha Ghat was constructed to carry out the Hindu rituals of shraddha of a rich Marwari businessman, Bishweswarlal Hurgobind. Supposed to have been built in 1916, this ghat has a pavilion designed in the Hindu Temple style of architecture.

 

Life at Ghat

Successfully circumnavigate the tortuous and dingy surroundings of the flower market and you will reach the pavilion of Hurgobind Shraddha Ghat. You are likely to be greeted by Sushil Kumar Sharma, a third generation priest from UP in his sixties. While his forefathers made a decent living performing the rituals at the Shraddha Ghat, Sushil is struggling to make ends meet. He cleverly displays a large number of tiny idols of the popular Hindu Gods in such a way that he can customise the choice of deity to be worshipped as per the likes of the customer.

Take an early morning or evening walk along the banks near the Kusti Akhada and you can enjoy a rare sight. Watch the body builders flaunt their pumped-up muscles and the wrestlers chop drop and corkscrew, first hand.

Further inside the ashram, a Panditji also from UP can be seen performing his daily rituals offering flowers and incense sticks to the deities of the surrounding temples while chanting mantras. The vast kadais sitting baking on the hot earthen ovens will feed the hungry visiting souls sumptuous portions of a kind of extended prasad.

Wandering vagabonds rest in the cool comfort of the ashram. Ravinder Singh, a wrestler,  follows up a rigorous wrestling session with his daily bath followed by a healthy bowlful of the free food. The ashram is a kind of haven for Chamakdari Baba, a semi clad monk who spends most of his time sleeping on a blanket and practicing unique cults on the river banks.

Conclusion:

So how is the Bishweswarlal Hurgobind Shraddha Ghat different from the other ghats that dot the landscape of the city? The architecture may be more breathtaking in some. Others may be busier, bustling with lively activity. A perceptive explorer would perhaps find the answer in the innate charm of a Jeffrey McDaniel poem ‘The Quiet World’. Here the government has allotted to each person exactly one hundred and sixty-seven words per day. When calling his beloved the speaker proudly tells her he used only fifty nine words that day and kept the rest for her. She doesn’t respond, having used up all her words. So he whispers ‘I love you’ and then they just sit on the line and ‘listen to each other breathe’. At the Hurgobind Shraddha Ghat you can just sit and listen to each other breathe. Where else in the city of Kolkata can you do that?