postcard from India (4)

Hi everyone!!

I'm in Rishikesh at the moment, which is in the northern part of India, right at the bottom of the Himalaya's. It's a very scenic place and the yoga capital of the world. 

The Beatles made it famous in the 60's! 

Right now, Rishikesh is hosting the International Yoga festival and this also coincides with the arrival of some very important Baba's and Guru's from all over the world. Of course, I'm not here for any of that, just to relax really, but its brought a lot of foreigners from far flung countries and it's been great meeting some of them and having fun!

There are loads of temples and holy people in Rishikesh which I've enjoyed visiting, especially the temples up on the mountains near here. At some of these temples, if you go at the right time of the day, you can sit and experience the ceremonies and get a feel for the religion and culture, which goes back thousands of years. It's fascinating to see. 

India has a very long history - Varanasi to the south of here is the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world.  

Can't really tell you the history of this place, but it's a very famous temple and ashram right next to the Luxman Jhula Bridge. It attracts thousands of tourists every year, and I think it's also a yoga centre. 

This is a small temple up in the mountains that my friend and I came across quite by accident. We went hiking to find a temple called Kunjapuri, which we were told was about a 3 hour hike, but after hiking for 6 hours and covering around 15 km's we were getting really tired and dehydrated. When we saw this place we stopped here to pray for our health and buy some water and coconuts from the local street seller. 

Small temples like this are everywhere in India. You wouldn't walk more than 1km without seeing one. 

 Another temple right next to Ram Jhula bridge. I don't know anything about this one but it's very popular with the locals. It's very attractive and is certainly a land mark in this part of the city. 

This is part of the temple complex at the Ganga (Ganges). It's a very large, beautiful place tended by the monks at the ashram across the street. In fact, it's spotless and is home to the Ganga Aarati. 

This is the Ganga Aarati. It starts every evening at about 6pm. It's attended everyday by lots of locals and tourists and is just the most incredible thing to see. 

It's all about giving thanks to Mother Ganga for being there and giving India it's life. This river is just so important to the Indian people. It has supported them for thousands of years now. 

The ceremony involves beautiful live music played with traditional instruments, lots of chanting and singing, and the fire ritual, which is hard to describe but very moving. I really loved going to see this. 

One of the Sadhu's I met whilst walking. Most of these guys are fun to talk to but they also like it if you give them a few rupee's. Some seem very holy, while some just don't - they seem to like smoking chillums more!! 

This guy was an interesting character. He spoke a bit in very broken English, about his life, family and so on. I was told that he had left his family many years before, to pursue a spiritual life, and that he felt at peace with all things even though he was very poor. 

Bit hard to tell how devoted this guy is, but he was fun to talk to! None of them speak much English. Who knows what he is, he's certainly not a Sadhu, but it makes for some fun whilst out walking! The pot next to his right arm is for those much sought after rupee's. He plays a bit of music with a drum and a flute, and as I found out he likes to smoke a little Ganga weed, which I was offered but had to decline!

All in all, I've really enjoyed this place, Rishikesh, and India in general. It's been amazing!

Thanks for taking the time to read my post.......... love Stuy