Photos

The Ganges, which is the largest river in India originates in the Western Himalayas in the State of Uttarakhand, flows through the Great Indian Plain and finally drains into the Sunderbans Delta in the Bay of Bengal. The river is 2,510 km long and on its way, passes through a number of important cities and towns including Rishikesh, Haridwar, Kanpur, Allahabad, Varanasi and Patna. Before the river reaches its final destination it splits the twin cities of Howrah and Kolkata. These two cities are connected by two bridges, the Rabindra Setu (more popularly known as Howrah Bridge) and the Vidyasagar Setu (commonly known as the 2nd Hooghly Bridge).

Seen in this photograph is the Vidyasagar Setu, silhouetted against the setting Sun. This stretch of the river is extremely buisy with fishing boats, trawlers, steamers and other vessels ferrying passengers to various ghats on either bank of the river. Some of these old fishing boats are a real contrast to the modern bridge in the background.