Beatles ashram in Rishikesh to reopen for tourists this month
If you happen to be a music fan, wouldn't you want to visit the place where The Beatles wrote almost their entire self-titled White Album? The place where Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da, While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Mother Nature's Son, Sexy Sadie, and Abbey Road's Maxwell's Silver Hammer and Mean Mr Mustard were conceptualised?
"Sit beside a mountain stream, see her waters rise Listen to the pretty sound of music as she flies Doo doo doo.... Find me in my field of grass, Mother Nature's son Swaying daisies, sing a lazy song beneath the sun."
The mountain stream in question is the mighty Ganga, and the songs were all written during the band members' retreat to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's ashram in Rishikesh.
The ashram, abandoned in 1997, is slowly being reclaimed by the forest and overrun by wild animals. But the Uttarakhand forest department, which owns the land, has come up with a way to utilise its fame and the Beatles connection.
The forest department wants to promote eco-tourism - by introducing bird watching and a nature walk. The ashram is being spruced up and will be thrown open for tourists this month.
By: Raju Gusain
Source: Catch News
