Rivers of India & West Bengal — Map in Your Mind
✨ IN SHORT — THE WHOLE LESSON IN 20 SECONDS
ভারতের নদী দুই দল: হিমালয় থেকে আসা বারোমাসি নদী (গঙ্গা, ব্রহ্মপুত্র, সিন্ধু) আর উপদ্বীপের বর্ষানির্ভর নদী (গোদাবরী, কৃষ্ণা, কাবেরী)। পশ্চিমবঙ্গে গঙ্গাই রাজা — ভাগীরথী-হুগলি আর পদ্মা তার দুই রূপ।
1. Himalayan Rivers (perennial)
Ganga: from Gangotri (Bhagirathi) + Alaknanda meet at Devprayag; longest river flowing through India (~2,525 km). Brahmaputra: from Tibet (Tsangpo), enters via Arunachal, joins Ganga system in Bangladesh. Indus: flows to Pakistan, Arabian Sea. These are snow+rain fed — water all year.
📌 Kolkata stands on the Hooghly, the westernmost distributary channel of the Ganga delta system.
2. Peninsular Rivers
Godavari = longest peninsular river ('Dakshin Ganga'), from Nashik (Maharashtra) to Bay of Bengal. Krishna from Mahabaleshwar, Kaveri from Karnataka (Talakaveri) — Karnataka-Tamil Nadu water dispute fame. Narmada & Tapi are special: they flow WEST into the Arabian Sea through rift valleys (most Indian rivers flow east). Mahanadi builds a big delta in Odisha (Hirakud Dam).
💡 Trick: 'Narmada-Tapi go west for a TAP of Arabian tea' — only major west-flowing pair. All others among the big ones flow east to the Bay of Bengal.
3. West Bengal's Own Rivers
Ganga splits near Farakka: Bhagirathi-Hooghly southward, Padma into Bangladesh. Damodar ('Sorrow of Bengal', DVC dams), Teesta & Torsa & Jaldhaka in the north (from Himalaya/Sikkim), Subarnarekha in the west, and the Sundari-mangrove tidal channels of Sundarbans in the south.
📌 Farakka Barrage (on Ganga, Murshidabad side) diverts water into Bhagirathi-Hooghly to flush Kolkata port silt.
⚡ Now Practise — 8 Questions
Tap an answer. Right or wrong, we explain why instantly. Learn from every tap!
Q1. Longest river flowing through India is:
Q2. Godavari is called:
Q3. Which river flows WEST into the Arabian Sea?
Q4. Hirakud Dam is built on:
Q5. Bhagirathi and Alaknanda meet at:
Q6. Farakka Barrage is on which river?
Q7. Kaveri river rises in:
Q8. Which is a north Bengal river?
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