The pilgrimage to Gangasagar is an annual event whose origins are lost in time. Hindu pilgrims from across the Indian subcontinent, but mostly from remote villages, arrive at Sagar Island during Makarsankranti (13-15 January). They pray, promise offerings, expiate, perform an endless series of curious rituals, and take the holy dip at the confluence of the Ganges and the Bay of Bengal. However, it's over all too soon.Leaning against her reflection on the window pane of the bus, this woman knows that will be back in her mundane reality in a few days, but “If we have once seen, the day is ours, and what the day has shown." She will surely remember these glorious for the rest of her days, and she will have a grand story to tell to her rustic neighbours.
