Haridwar, India - May 1878

Oil painting on paper by Marianne North of Haridwar, dated May 1878. Marianne North visited India in 1877-79 and completed over 200 paintings whilst there.

Haridwar is a holy city of Hinduism built on the west bank of the Ganga river at the point where the river flows out of the hills into the plains. At this point the Ganges Canal begins. Every twelve years in occasion of the great Kumbha Mela thousands of pilgrims come to bathe in the purifying waters of the river.

In her autobiography, 'Recollections of a happy life' of 1892, Marianne North wrote, "Hardwar is like Benares, all on one side of the river, and from the opposite bank one gets the finest view of its strange old buildings, built at different times and by different races of Hindus, in all kind of architecture, backed by wooded cliffs and hills. Hardwar is a most enjoyable place for an artist, full of picturesque bits of street views. I went one morning into a room overhanging the river, with three fantastic windows and many coloured hangings...The people at Hardwar seemed a fine race, and were most friendly."

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