Ghat

on the Ganges river, in Varanasi.|alt=Dashashwamedh Ghat|250x250px Ghat ( ), a term used in the Indian subcontinent, to refer to the series of steps leading down to a body of water or wharf, such as a bathing or cremation place along the banks of a river or pond, the Ghats in Varanasi, Dhobi Ghat or the Aapravasi Ghat.

]] on the Ganges river, in Varanasi.|alt=Dashashwamedh Ghat|250x250px]] Ghat ( ), a term used in the Indian subcontinent, to refer to the series of steps leading down to a body of water or wharf, such as a bathing or cremation place along the banks of a river or pond, the Ghats in Varanasi, Dhobi Ghat or the Aapravasi Ghat.

Etymology

The origin of the English 'ghat' is , and is normally translated as ghaṭ, quay, landing or bathing place, as well as steps by a river-side. The word 'ghat' has also been derived from Dravidian etymons such as Telugu kaṭṭa and gaṭṭu (dam and embankment) derived from kaṭṭu meaning "to tie".

Types

Shmashana, the cremation ghats

with the Shmashana ghat at the confluence of Mula and Mutha rivers in the foreground]] Ghats such as these are useful for both mundane purposes (such as cleaning) and religious rites (i.e. ritual bathing or ablutions); there are also specific "shmashana" or "cremation" ghats where bodies are cremated waterside, allowing ashes to be washed away by rivers. Notable examples include Nigambodh Ghat and Raj Ghat in Delhi, situated on the Yamuna River. Raj Ghat, in particular, was the cremation site for Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi and numerous political leaders after him, and the Manikarnika Ghat at Varanasi on the Ganges.

As place name suffix

"Ghat" and "Ghata" is also a suffix used in several place names across the subcontinent. This is an incomplete list: Balaghat, Madhya Pradesh, India Balurghat, West Bengal, India Batiaghata, Khulna, Bangladesh Charghat, Rajshahi, Bangladesh Chunarughat, Habiganj, Bangladesh Devghat, Nepal Gaighat, Nepal Ghatail, Tangail, Bangladesh Ghoraghat, Dinajpur, Bangladesh Goalandaghat, Rajbari, Bangladesh Golaghat, Assam, India Gowainghat, Sylhet, Bangladesh Haluaghat, Mymensingh, Bangladesh Kanaighat, Sylhet, Bangladesh Pasighat, Arunachal Pradesh, India Patharghata, Barguna, Bangladesh Saghata, Gaibandha, Bangladesh

Outside Indian subcontinent

The word is also used in some places outside the Indian subcontinent. For example, in George Town, Penang, Malaysia, the label "Ghaut" is used to identify the extensions of those streets which formerly ended in ghats before the reclamation of the quayside (e.g., Church St Ghaut, in Malay Gat Lebuh Gereja, is the name of the extension of Church St beyond where the street used to descend to the water via a ghat). Both in Penang and Singapore, there are areas named Dhoby Ghaut (dhobi meaning "launderer" or "laundry", depending on whether it refers to a person or a business). Aapravasi Ghat or The Immigration Depot is a building complex located in Port Louis on the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius, the first British colony to receive indentured, or contracted, labour workforce from India. From 1849 to 1923, half a million Indian indentured labourers passed through the Immigration Depot, to be transported to plantations throughout the British Empire. The large-scale migration of the laborers left an indelible mark on the societies of many former British colonies, with Indians constituting a substantial proportion of their national populations. In Mauritius alone, 68 percent¹ of the current total population is of Indian ancestry. The Immigration Depot has thus become an important reference point in the history and cultural identity of Mauritius.

See also

Ghats in Varanasi Ghat Roads Surinaam Ghat Temple tank Stepwell

External links

Ghats of Varanasi, webpage at Varanasi official website.

Text derived from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1363323918 under CC BY-SA 4.0; modifications have been made.