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On this page the expedition comes together. Click the links to scroll to the relevant section:

Blog posts Paddling log sheet Water test results Background Supporters
You can click here to see some photographs from the expedition.

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A Slow Boat Down the Ganges

The Blog

Here is a grid of the blogs featuring articles on each day's status and progress.

Arati at Dashashwamedh Ghat

Nov 15, 2018, Varanasi, the world’s oldest living city

Slow Boat Down the Ganges Update 48 Varanasi. Arguably the world’s oldest living city. It is believed that it has...
The main attraction of Sitamarhi

Nov 12, 2018, From Swami to crass consumer

Slow Boat Down the Ganges Update 47 I had slept in a temple in the night, with Lord Shiva as...
Was offered this cottage to sleep in

Nov 11, 2018, Salaam Maharaj

Slow Boat Down the Ganges Update 46 Morning today happened at night, much like every other morning on this expedition...
The felicitation was humbling

Nov 10, 2018, Adieu Sangam

Slow Boat Down the Ganges Update 45 After spending three wonderful days at Allahabad visiting the some of the sights...

Nov 09, 2018, Questions and doubts

Slow Boat Down the Ganges Update 44 While updating the log sheet this morning, I came to an epiphany moment...
Gokuna Ghat my destination for the day

Nov 07, 2018, Happy Diwali

Slow Boat Down the Ganges Update 43 Today was Diwali, the festival of lights. This was the day of the...
The naga sadhu I stayed with

Nov 06, 2018, Fighting the elements

Slow Boat Down the Ganges Update 42 Apparently I had taken up the sleeping space of one of the calfs...
I was lucky to film these gorgeous animals

Nov 05, 2018, Onward and forward

Slow Boat Down the Ganges Update 41 Ever since I started designing this expedition, I had wanted to sleep in...
Memorial Church Kanpur

Nov 04, 2018, Camping out

Slow Boat Down the Ganges Update 40 The day started from Satichaura Ghat otherwise known as Massacre Ghat. This was...

Nov 03, 2018, Driving around Cawnpore

Slow Boat Down the Ganges Update 39 I have never been to Kanpur and it was nice to be here...
Lugging the boat, thankfully without quicksand underfoot

Nov 02, 2018, On to Kanpur, the first major city

Slow Boat Down the Ganges Update 38 Sleep was intermittent. Not because of where I was, or because of the...
Another sadhu at Mehandipur

Nov 01, 2018, Almost into the sludge

Slow Boat Down the Ganges Update 37 Today started almost at 6 o'clock and like yesterday, I had pretty much...
Met up locals and got invited to the village

Oct 31, 2018, Visiting historic Kannauj

Slow Boat Down the Ganges Update 36 There was no way I could refuse the offer of being guided around...

Oct 30, 2018, Remembering Willie Nelson

Slow Boat Down the Ganges Update 35 Willie Nelson sang “Back on the road again”. And I want to sing...

Testing the Ganges waters

Slow Boat Down the Ganges Update 34 A SLOW BOAT DOWN THE GANGES is about raising awareness about pollution in...

Log Sheet

See the progress of the expedition, how much I paddle in the day, where I reach, where I rest, etc. This gets populated as I go down the river every day, depending on internet connectivity, level of fatigue, etc.

Water Quality Test Results

The results of the water quality tests conducted through the day, and throughout the journey can be viewed in the table below. Scroll down to see more results. The data will start getting populated once I am back on the water on Oct 29.

 

A Brief Background

This is an awesome and exciting journey. A first for a canoe, and a first for me. This almost 2,500km will be the longest canoe journey by an Indian ... ever, with more than a few milestones that might be crossed along the way. It will be the first, and therefore the fastest descent of the Ganges in a canoe, the longest canoe journey by an Indian

Take a look at the video below to get an idea of the why behind this expedition, the gear that I will be carrying, and the route.

A look at the gear and equipment that will be carried during the journey...

The proposed route...

Let us collectively do our bit to save the Planet ... one river at a time...

A look at India's holiest, and one of the most polluted rivers in the world

People bathe in its waters, pay homage to their ancestors and to their Gods. On the journey home they carry back some water. When a loved one dies, Hindus bring the ashes of the deceased to the Ganges ... or cremate them on her banks. It provides water to about 40% of India's population across 5 states, serving an estimated population of 500 million people or more, which is larger than any other river in the world. The river flows through 29 cities with population over 100,000, 23 cities with population between 50,000 and 100,000, and about 48 other towns.

A large number of cities, tanneries, chemical plants, textile mills, distilleries, slaughterhouses and hospitals along the river contribute to the pollution by dumping untreated waste into it. Industrial effluents are about 12% of the total volume of effluent reaching the Ganges.

A study conducted by the National Cancer Registry Program under the Indian Council of Medical Research in 2012, suggested that "those living along its banks in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Bengal are more prone to cancer than anywhere else in the country". Water in the Ganges has been correlated to contracting dysentery, cholera, hepatitis, as well as severe diarrhea which continues to be one of the leading causes of death of children in India.

The Ganges still has magical and mythical properties. But does that give us the right to keep abusing her, to continue to pollute her? What if she turns around one day and says, "That's enough, I've had it." It's time to go down the Ganges to save the river.

Watch a video to understand the scourge of plastic pollution.

We are raising awareness about pollution.

Zero SUP Expedition

If we stop throwing garbage indiscriminately, we will soon become the cleanest country in the world. Let each of us take the first step to make India clean. And then let each of us encourage others to take this pledge. Will we see a cleaner India and a purer Ganges immediately at the end of this expedition? Probably not. But a start has to be made and the first step has to come from us. Cynicism is easy, action a bit more difficult.

Take the pledge and encourage others as well. We will do so through this journey.

Homage to a martyr and a friend

Sqn Ldr Ajay Ahuja, VrC (P)This expedition gives us the opportunity to pay homage to Sqn Leader Ajay Ahuja, VrC (P). He is not only a braveheart who laid down his life for the country, but we from St Paul's School Kota, Rajasthan are proud to have been his classmates. This expedition is way to remember the sacrifice of Ajay and other men in uniform who have made the supreme sacrifice.

On 27 May 1999, as part of the Kargil operations, a photo reconnaissance mission was launched. A member of the mission, Flt Lt Nachiketa ejected from his MiG-27L after an engine flame-out. Sqn Ldr Ahuja stayed over enemy positions to help rescue attempts knowing about the existence of enemy surface-to-air missiles in the area. However, his MiG-21MF fighter was hit by a shoulder-fired FIM-92 Stinger. Ahuja gave a radio call, "Hercules, something has hit my plane, possibility of missile hit cannot be ruled out, I am ejecting over...(location)." Indian Air Force authorities lost track of his aircraft and all communications shortly afterward. A post-mortem examination conducted at the Srinagar Base Hospital claimed that Ahuja had landed safely after ejecting from his plane, but had been killed later by Pakistani soldiers.

We, the St Paul's School Old Boys Kota 1980, are proud of you Ajay. Rest in peace brother.

This effort is powered by

Dorf Ketal

ygeiax

Sea Eagle boats

in association with

Namami Gange

and graciously supported by

Good Living Organic

TruBlu water purifier

Plastic Free Coalition

Adventure18

A&S Creations

My sincere and heartfelt thanks and acknowledgements to some people who have helped put this expedition together:

Abhey Thareja, Aditya Pratap Singh, Amit Goenka, Anjan Lahiri, Anubhav Mittal, Banibrata Bhattacharya, Bhaskar DK, Chandrasekar S, Col Ashok Ghoshal, Col DM Ray, Col SPS Sandhu, Col Sudeep Bhattacharjee, Deepak Saha, Dhruv Dudeja, Dipesh Narayan Ray, E Theophilus, Hem Kolachina, Julian Crandall Hollick, Kamal Gupta, Maj Gen HK Singh, Maj Gen Somnath Jha, Manu Srivastava, Mark Palmer, Mohit Oberoi, Mohit Tiwari, Nitin Goel, Nungshi Malik, Partha Roy, Prabhu Roy, Pranab Chakraborty, Pranay Kumar, Priyadarshi Mitra, Ragu Thakur, Rajeev Das, Raj Silvano, Ram Jalan, Rana Rajesh, Sam, Sam Sidana, Sandeep Kohli, Sandra Palmer, Sanjay Bali, Sanjay Dhar, Sanjay Tiwari, Shilpika Gautam, Sidhartha Guha, Sudev Barar, Sumit Sabherwal, T Anil Kumar, Tara Bagaria, Tashi Malik.

I can never ever remember and document the hundreds of people I have met along the route who have made this journey so much more enjoyable. I will try and put down some of the names, but I regret that I will miss out on so many of them. My deepest apologies to anyone (and there will be many) whose names are missed.

Uttarakhand Police who escorted us to Balawali, the sadhu who lent his home at Balawali, the Village Pradhan at Mamipur and his family, Ashok Sharma (Garhmukteswar), Mahesh Kewat (Pooth), Gulfan the boatman who helped lug my boat across a sand bar, Munnu Singh (Chiyasar), the Village pradhan and her family at Chiyasar, Arvind Rajput (Chiyasar), the sadhu at Mehandipur ghat, Shubham Shukla (Gidaso), the sadhu and his wife (and the cows) at Gidaso, Maharaj Dev Giri (Gokuna Ghat), Arjun Mishra (Gokuna Ghat), Col SPS Sandhu, SM and the entire team of the Ganga Task Force, members of the Ganga Vichar Manch Allahabad, the wonderful villagers of Kanigada, Maya Sewak Nisar (Sitamarhi), Babu Khan the autorickshaw driver at Varanasi, Rahul who gave me permission to film at Manikarnika Ghat, Rajesh Nishad (Sarnath), Golu (Kaithi), and many many more people who I cannot even remember the names of.

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