Festival Of India: Ganga Dussehra
Ganga Dussehra, also known as Gangavataran, is a Hindu festival commemorating the Ganges' avatarana (descent). Hindus believe that on this day, the holy river Ganges descended from heaven to Earth. Dashami (10th day) of the waxing moon (Shukla Paksha) of the Hindu calendar month Jyeshtha is the date of Ganga Dussehra. The ten-day festival celebration includes the nine days preceding this holy day.
Hindus celebrate Ganga Dussehra primarily in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, and West Bengal, where the river flows. The main locations of the celebrations are Haridwar, Varanasi, Garhmukteshwar, Rishikesh, Allahabad, and Patna, where devotees gather on the banks of the Ganges and perform aartis (a religious ritual in which a light lamp is moved clockwise circularly in front of a deity as part of prayer) to the river. Taking a dip in the river on this day is thought to purify the devotee and heal any physical ailments he may have.