नमस्ते- Namaste- Hello

Just as the sun started to set, we stopped along the banks of the River Ganges to attend an Aarti in Rishikesh.  The ceremony had just started and a group of people were sitting around a fire, throwing in offerings such as flowers and food to their Gods while chanting.

The setting sun

The people siting around the fire

Two ladies began singing beautifully while others played instruments.

As the two ladies finished, a man and a woman started singing a new song and many people joined in.  They started out with slow and repetitive music, and by the end of the ceremony, we were all on our feet and clapping along to an energetic beat.  I even recognized one of the songs from our visit to the Krishna temple with Anju and Ravi.  Once the music was over, and the sun went down, everyone became quiet again.  Several people carefully placed their diyas into the river, and watched them float along with the current while others moved lamps slowly in a circular motion.

Placing the diyas into the water

People moving the lampa

The lamps

We are moving the lamps

As you may have read in Mikhaila’s post, we went to the Ganga Aarti in Haridwar the night before.  They were both similar and different in many ways. Here are a few of the similarities and differences:

I really enjoyed the Aarti in Rishikesh because of all of the singing and music. It was a really interesting and spiritual experience.

अलविदा- Alavidā- Goodbye