DIORAMA OF HINDOSTĀN.
The subject of the Diorama which we shall have the honour to explain, is the course of the Ganges from its source to Fort William, Bengal:—its picturesque scenery, the towns and temples on its banks, the religious ceremonies, and the customs of the inhabitants, both Hindū and Musalmān, will be pourtrayed. This noble river, considered the most sacred in Hindostān, takes its rise at Gangoutrī, in the Himalaya, and issues from the mountains upon the plains near Hurdwar. It passes within a few miles of Meerut, flowing on to Furrackabad, Cawnpore, and Allahabad; at the latter, it joins the Jumna, the first river of importance with which it unites. Hence its course becomes more winding, its bed wider, and the united streams flow past Mirzapūr, Chunar, Benares, and Ghazipūr. A little above Chupra, the River Ghogra falls into the Ganges on the left bank; and below Arrah, on the opposite bank, is its junction with the Soane. At Hājīpūr, the Gunduk increases the powerful stream, which flows on and passes Patna, Monghir, Bhagulpūr, Colgong, and Rajmahal, until it reaches Gopalgunj, at which place a branch of the Ganges quits the main stream, and flowing by Sooty and Moorshedabad is called the Bhāgīrathī, until it reaches Nuddea. The main stream of the Ganges running to the eastward, joins the Berhampootra, and after its union with that river, falls into the Bay of Bengal. This, the main stream of the Ganges, is not looked upon with equal veneration by the Hindūs as the branch before-mentioned, which, flowing by Sooty and Moorshedabad, is called the Bhāgīrathī, until it reaches Nuddea, at which place it is joined by the Jellinghy, and the united currents flow on, passing Calcutta, to the island of Sāgar, under the name of the Hoogly. Prior to the commencement of the nineteenth century, the Ganges had been traced by Hindū pilgrims from Hindostān into the snowy mountains that run in a direction north-west to south-east on the frontiers of India. We will now ascend the stream, stopping, as is the custom with pilgrims, at the junction of rivers, and other sacred places, considered peculiarly holy by the Hindūs, until we reach the last shrine, Gangoutrī, the source of the Holy River.
