As Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi looks to win a third term, NPR visited some of his voter base in the north. Up and down the Ganges, India's Modi enjoys support after 10 years of rule VARANASI, ...

The loudspeaker blares and more than 50 kayakers launch into the jade green River Ganges at once. This is the grand finale of the Ganga Kayak Festival. Known as the “mass boater cross,” the spectacle ...

India's sacred Ganges River, revered for millennia, originates in the Himalayas and flows 2,525 km across the Gangetic plain.

Though officially abolished decades ago, the caste system still profoundly influences life in India. Those born into high castes enjoy greater privileges, while low-caste individuals, like the Doms, ...

Michelle Baran is on the Bengal Ganga, cruising the Ganges River in India. Her third dispatch follows. Click to read Michelle's first and second dispatches. VARINASI, India — Almost every country has ...

ALONG THE GANGES, IndiaALONG THE GANGES, India — More than 2,000 years ago, a powerful king built a fort on the banks of India’s holiest river, on the fringes of what is now a vast industrial city.

VARANASI, India — Hindu priests stand on the banks of the Ganges, performing an evening prayer to the river. They wave fire as the sun sets, ring bells and tap on drums. Thousands watch, clap and ...

Worshippers and tourists sit on boats facing the bank of the Ganges River in the holy Hindu city of Varanasi to watch the Ganga Aarti, a ritual of devotion to the venerated river. Hindu priests wave ...