Mountainous landscape near the source of the Ganges - 1817

Water-colour painting of a mountainous landscape near the source of the Ganga River in Himachal Pradesh by James Broff Byers (1785-1870). This may be the original of a water-colour attributed by Sir William Foster to Francis Nicholson.

Himachal Pradesh is a small mountain state in northern India. The Ganga, or Ganges is the most important river of the Indian subcontinent, representing life and purity to the people of India. The river flows for 1550 miles passing by some of the largest cities in the country such as Kanpur, Allahabad, Varanasi, Patna, and Calcutta before it enters the Bay of Bengal. The river was said to have descended from heaven to earth, it is regarded by Hindus as amrita, the elixir of life; those who touch the water are said to be absolved of sin.

Source : British Library