Flowing with the Ganga

Meander with the river Ganga in this visual delight of a book, writes Yojana Sharma.

Ganga

Sanjeev Saith

Pratham Books

Price: Rs 25

Pages: 20

ISBN 81-8263-202-1



Ganga, as truly described by the sages, is India’s lifeline. It rises from the mountains of north India, irrigates the plains of central India and ultimately meets the ocean in east India.Numerous stories revolve around the river and many poems have been written about it. Sanjeev Saith’s Ganga, published by Pratham Books, is yet another ode to the sacred river.The book can be safely called a travelogue along the coast of Ganga. It features majestic photos of Ganga in its various stages. The author has complemented these beautiful photos with stanzas describing the life along the river’s coast.



The stanzas, or poetry to be precise, are inspired by the works of legendary lyricists such as Gulzar, Shailendra, Anand Bakshi and others. But independently these verses could not have sounded better than this. Saith’s poetry may be inspired from the legends but is distinct in itself. Take a sampler:

The hills are silent.

Like a sage…but do the hills know who?Whose dream could light the earth each day,

with moods of ever hue?Saith traces the life of Ganga from Gangotri, follows it through the ghats of Varanasi and ends this tale when the river merges with the Bay of Bengal. Saith has done an excellent job with the photographs. Each photo carriers relevant captions as well. The last page of the book carries a map of the area covered by the river, thus making the presentation useful.I’m sure everybody from the age of 9 to 99 will like the book. Though there is nothing new that Saith tells his readers, the compilation makes it worth a look. It is a visual treat for the readers.



About Pratham books

Pratham Books is a not-for-profit trust that seeks to publish high-quality books for children at an affordable cost in multiple Indian languages. The low cost model proves that children’s literature can be attractive and affordable and therefore more accessible. Read India Books is an imprint of Pratham Books. It is Pratham's hope that some day soon, through the Read India Movement, we will achieve the dream of "A Book in Every Child’s Hand and a Library in Every Child’s Neighbourhood". Under the Read India brand no book costs more than Rs. 25.Pratham is supported in this effort by the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, publishing house Tulika, a non-profit publishing house, Young Zubaan and

Wheitstone Productions [P] Limited, a subsidiary of Educomp Datamatics Limited, a leading e-learning company, partly owned by the Carlyle group.

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