Fifth Grade
Worksheets
Don't Bathe in the Holy River, Bapu!
Caption: People drinking water from the river Ganges during a ceremony in 2005.
Ramu and his grandfather picked their way down the hard wet steps. The swirling river water awaited them. Ramu usually looked forward to visiting the river. But today Ramu was worried. His grandfather, who was growing more forgetful as his hair turned whiter, may have forgotten his mother's message.
"Remember, no more bathing in the river, Bapu!" she called after them as they left their tiny house. Bapu was her loving nickname for her father. Ramu also called the old man Bapu.
Ramu knew that his mother had heard that their dazzling holy river, the Ganges, was more polluted than ever. The river that Indians thought could purify sin was very dirty now. Ramu's grandfather, like many Hindus, loved to bathe in its waters. He stepped down the concrete steps each day to visit the Ganges. He thought of the river as a goddess.
"Why do you think that the Ganges River is a goddess, Bapu?" Ramu had asked one day as they dangled their brown legs into the brown water.
Even though their legs were both brown, they looked very different. One pair was spindly, wiry, and wrinkled. The other pair was chubby, smooth, and dimpled. Can you guess which legs belonged to 10-year-old Ramu?
"In an ancient Indian myth, the Ganges River used to be in heaven," said the old man. "A king here on Earth needed help. His relatives had perished in a fire. He wanted the river to purify their ashes. Then his loved ones could get to heaven. The river came down and helped the king's relatives."
"So that is why people scatter ashes on the water?" asked Ramu. He had seen this custom done many times.
