Rishikesh
Nirvana on the Bank of the Ganges
Up here at the mouth of the holy Ganges river it's easy to see why the ancient Rishi's saw this place as the doorway to nirvana. The clean tourquoise water pours from the mountainside with a thundering roar, and passes by many beautiful white marble ghats, where pilgrims and saddhus perform their daily rites of purification and prayer. At dawn it's wonderful to watch the saddhus doing their puja at the river's edge. Chanting and meditating and offering flowers - just watching them (from a polite distance) is enough to set one's heart free from worldly troubles.
An early morning peaceful tea overlooking the quiet Ganges
The Beatles came here in the 1960's and since then Rishikesh has been a hot spot for hippy tourists. There are quite a few still to be seen, even this late in the year. It is cold now, almost freezing at night, although the sunshine is warm, and it's nice to sit on the banks of the river and bask in the sun, enjoying the rare peace. At sunset the peace retreats as the temples lining the Ganga ring out in cacophony of bells, drums and conches!
Below the peaceful end of town with the famous Ram Jhula suspension bridge, many ashrams and yoga centers is a bustling little city. Bustling because it is a major thouroughfare for traffic going up to the hills - creating a daily traffic jam of busses, trucks, rickhshaws, bullock carts, scooters and bikes.
A Remarkable Woman
Chetan Jyoti Ma has been living in India for 30 years! In fact she's an Indian citizen, and is not hesitant to praise this country over her homeland of Canada and the United States! She went back to the west for the first time after many years here in India and got sick from the food! She speaks fluent colloquial Hindi with scarcely an accent and is living the life of a swami with her own small center called Sri Sri Krishna Kripa Ashram. For 14 years she served her guru and as required went off on her own to put what she learned into practice. She's one of only three who were allowed to take "sannyas" or complete renunciation from her guru.
Ma in her favorite rocking chair on her spartan but comfy veranda overlooking the Ganga
A wonderful singer and composer, she's frequently doing Kirtan around the area, and has recorded two beautiful and inspiring CDs. She was visited by Krishna Das last year, who set up a tour for her in the west. She gave kirtan workshops and concerts all over the US. But she would really rather be in her chosen home country - she says the US is "plastic".
 I was sitting on the ghats watching the river roll by and a whole class of 6th graders came walking up. As is the usual pattern in India, in no time I had a bunch of new friends to talk to. The girls are so sweet, and so much more well mannered than the boys. (Is this a surprise!?) As usual they were all surprised to learn that I came all this way by myself and that at my age, I'm not married!
After a couple days of needed rest and fresh air, it's time to go back to Delhi and then, Bombay!
 Continue tour
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