The Ganga strangely represents the physical manifestation of an accepted mythological duality — to be divine and vulnerable at any given time. Revered as a goddess, the river is endowed with two contrasting characters: one as an eternal deity of flowing waters, the other as a carrier of accumulated human misdeeds. This beguiling duality has allowed the river to be worshipped and neglected at the same time, regardless of its worth as a finite and tangible resource. Flowing through the heart of an ancient civilisation, the unholy alliance between purity and pollution has kept this enigmatic cultural icon on the. . .