Indians replicate 'Ganga Aarti' on Canadian Riverbank, prompt calls to clean the real Ganga back home

A group of Indians in Canada recently recreated the Ganga Aarti on the banks of the Credit River in Erindale Park, Mississauga. The event, held on July 4 and hosted by Radio Dhishum, featured traditional devotional rituals, including bhajans, shloka chanting, aarti thalis, and diyas lit under the open Canadian sky.

The ceremony was designed to replicate the revered Ganga Aarti performed daily on the ghats of India’s most sacred river. It included all major components of the ritual, adapted for the local setting. Participants carried out the chanting and lighting of lamps with traditional precision, while families and children took part in the devotional music and prayers.

The event is part of a broader trend where Indian communities abroad are recreating familiar religious and cultural ceremonies in new environments. While the Credit River is geographically and culturally distinct from the Ganga, the ceremony served as a symbolic gesture of devotion and remembrance of home.

Consul Sanjeev Saklani represented the Consulate at the Ganga Aarti, a soulful evening of divine chants and pious mantras at the banks of the Credit River at Erindale Park, Mississauga organized by Team @RadioDhishum.@HCI_Ottawa @MEAIndia @diaspora_india pic.twitter.com/DO2ceopVVw

— IndiainToronto (@IndiainToronto) July 8, 2025

Online reactions: Devotion, doubts, and debate

The ceremony's photos and videos were widely shared by several users across social media, drawing numerous reactions online.

Many users praised the effort to preserve Indian culture abroad.
“Har Har Gange — what a feel through this reel,” one commenter wrote.

Others, however, questioned the practice of performing a ritual specific to the Ganga River on a waterbody thousands of miles away.

“Hope they don’t start polluting Canadian rivers like the Ganga,” one user remarked, while another added,
“Doing aarti in front of any river doesn’t make it Ganga Aarti. Return to your own country if you crave for it so much.”

A few struck a different tone, reflecting on the conditions back home.
“Come back home, let’s clean the Ganga river,” one user posted, alluding to the ongoing environmental challenges facing the river in India.

While the ceremony was intended as a cultural and spiritual expression, it has reignited conversations about the meaning of religious practice in the diaspora and how traditions adapt, or clash, when taken beyond their geographic origins.