Mystic River Cruise On The Ganga

From sprawling cities that have enthralled foreign rulers to unending farmlands ripe with the crop of the season. From the excavated sites of ancient universities to old temple towns. The river of life flows through it all—nurturing, nourishing, providing. Come aboard to savour the magic of the Ganga.

- Satarupa Paul

The Ganga was especially moody tonight. Her usually tranquil waters had acquired a darker shade of calm. Not a ripple was in sight. The sky too seemed to reflect the mood of the river; covered by clouds, it was dark, broody and heavy. Just like our hearts, at the thought of the final goodbye.

A wise man, British novelist Hammond Innes, to be precise, once remarked: “He who lets the sea lull him into a sense of security is in very grave danger.” The same, I realised, can be said of a river. Eight days earlier, we had embarked on the cruise ship RV Bengal Ganga from a jetty in Kolkata. The City of Joy was in a festive mood, the scent of autumn was in the air. For a long time that night, we stood on the deck of the ship, the soft wind blowing our hair, the cityscape dazzling in the distance. The iconic Howrah Bridge rose towering on one side, the majestic Vidyasagar Setu on the other, both lighted up and shining against the black of the night sky, their reflections twinkling in the river as her gentle waves caressed the sides of the vessel. It was at that moment, looking far ahead at the Ganga disappearing into the darkness somewhere way beyond, where the lights of Kolkata couldn’t reach her anymore, that we realised we had to put our guard up if we were to resist the charms of the river and go home the same person.