Amol Rajan’s Soulful Pilgrimage to the Ganges Brings Grief and Healing Together
So, I just finished watching Amol Rajan Goes to the Ganges and I have to say—it hit me hard, in ways I didn’t expect. On the surface, it’s a BBC documentary about a well-known journalist attending the Kumbh Mela, one of the largest religious gatherings in the world. But underneath, it’s something so deeply personal, raw, and universally human. It’s not just a travelogue; it’s a grief diary, a spiritual probe, and an emotional unpacking of loss.
Three years ago, Amol Rajan lost his father to pneumonia. It’s something he admits he hasn’t really faced fully until now. He’s been, in his own words, “in a bit of a funk.” So what does he do? He heads to India—to the sacred Ganges river, during Kumbh Mela, where millions seek spiritual cleansing. But he’s an atheist. So the central question becomes: Can a non-believer find any kind of healing on a religious pilgrimage?
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It’s an emotional rollercoaster. You see Rajan wrestle with his identity—British, Indian, secular, spiritual, grieving son. The moments with his mother are especially touching. They go back to his childhood home in Tooting, drive past his old cricket pitch, share dosa jokes. You can feel the love there, and the pain she feels watching her son carry the weight of this unresolved grief.
At the Kumbh Mela, Rajan is visibly moved and, at times, shaken. He meets sadhus, joins rituals, and even dons the orange robes. Yet the spiritual beauty is underscored by tragedy—at one point, he has to stop his journey due to a deadly stampede. He describes old women trampled, children lying on the ground, calling it human debris. That contrast between devotion and danger, joy and grief, really hits home.
And then, the climax. Rajan doesn’t make it to the central confluence of the rivers—the Sangam—because of the crowd risk. But he does something arguably more powerful: he performs a pind daan ritual, a symbolic release of his father’s soul. When he steps into the Ganges and lets go, it’s impossible not to feel the weight of that moment. “I miss his love. Oh god, I loved him so much,” he says, breaking down. It’s a grief many of us know, and hearing it said so openly is both devastating and cathartic.
What I found so compelling is that the documentary doesn’t try to sell religion. In fact, it carefully avoids preaching. It simply shows how ritual, tradition, and shared human experiences—like mourning, longing, and connection—can bring healing. Even for someone who doesn’t believe in an afterlife.
Amol Rajan Goes to the Ganges isn’t just about India or Hinduism or a big festival. It’s about being human in the face of loss. About finding solace in a river that has held the tears of billions. Whether you believe in souls or not, this is television that touches yours.
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