Faith unshaken, an emotion called Yamuna

In Hindu mythology, the Yamuna is not just a river.

- SHEKHAR SINGH @New Delhi

She is a goddess, sister to Yama, the god of death, and daughter of Surya, the sun god. Flowing from the icy womb of the Himalayas, her sacred waters once glistened with purity, winding through the plains with a divine grace believed to cleanse the soul and wash away lifetimes of sin. She was Krishna's companion in Vrindavan, the witness to his leelas, the soothing balm of devotion for sages, saints and sinners alike.

But today, the Yamuna cries.

Once revered, the river now bubbles with toxic foam. Her darkened waters, choked with industrial effluents and untreated sewage, reflect not the purity of the heavens but the apathy of a city that has long turned its back. In Delhi, the capital of a modern republic but also the keeper of ancient faiths, thousands of devotees still descend upon her banks during festivals like Chhath Puja, risking health and life to touch what was once holy.

At Kalindi Kunj, in southeast Delhi, 38-year-old Rameshwari (name changed) stands ankledeep in the murky waters, holding her son's hand. "The water is extremely dirty but we don't have many options. It is a ritual to take a bath in a water body so we have come here," she says.

She's lived in the city for seven years and, in all that time, the white froth, now as familiar as the rituals themselves, has never disappeared.