Along the Ganges

£12.99

“Along the Ganges” is a wonderful portrait of a river and its people written with great humanity and understanding by a prize-winning author.

Ilija Trojanow travelled hundreds of miles along the Ganges from its source in the Himalayas to the busy cities of the delta to offer a breathtaking and beautifully written account of his two-year journey along the holy river, on foot, by boat, by bus and train.

On the mythical level, the Ganga is a divine force, an eternally pure deity and Hindu priests regard it as a sin to call her a river at all; she is a goddess the source of the world and her waters are holy and healing. But life along the Ganges also reflects busy modern-day India, where purity has turned into waste. As one man puts it: ‘like every believer, I must take my morning bath in Ganga. As a scientist I know that I shouldn’t even dip my little toe in the river.’
During his travels he visited the great Hindu festivals, met local people and talked to those who warn of ecological disasters resulting from gigantic dams.
Ilia Trojanov was born in Bulgaria in 1965. After fleeting his homeland via Yugoslavia and Italy, he was granted political asylum in Germany. He is a writer, who sees himself as traveller between the worlds, journeying on a quest that leads him through different cultures and religions.