The sun comes out - the holy Meditation centre on the Ganges

The Ganges through Rishikesh
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In the not too distant past Rishikesh was a quiet spiritual centre renowned for its ashrams and sadhus. Now, its a circus - an enjoyable circus but a circus nonetheless. Its charm is still there but now it is shared by thousands of others doing the yatra trail. But there is still a feeling of Hindu enlightenment about this lovely town on the Ganges.

I met with Suresh in the restaurant of Hotel Rishilok for breakfast. This being a strict vegetarian town breakfast consisted of pickles and parathas but it filled a hole. Then we walked to the Rhamjhula Bridge in what was the first sunshine for days. All was right with the world. The streets narrow here and get very crowded but the difference between here and say, Agra or Jaipur, is the lack of 'in your face' hawkers. Something I was very pleased about when we reached the Ganges banks....wow...what a view..

Mango orchards roll down to the river and on one brick wall was a monkey of advanced age. He was absolutely colossal and was a favourite of a number of wiry bearded pungent sadhus

The Ashrams at Raxmanjula
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Himalayan foothills towered over the town and river, cloaked up to their summits in green sal forests. The carpet of vegetation rolled down to the holy river dotted with ashrams, temples and grey ghats. This isnt just any river - this is the holy Ganges - one of the great rivers of the world. It was about fifty feet across here and muddy brown - swollen by the monsoon rains. Spanning the Ganges is the suspension bridge. Crossing this is an extraordinary experience as it is used by everyone including motorbikes, holy men, women in purdah and ubiquitous cows. It always sways and Suresh found it very funny to jump up and down - good luck Suresh, it takes alot more then that to unnerve me.

The bridge from the Ashram
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This side of the river is absolutely enchanting. Mango orchards roll down to the river and on one brick wall was a monkey of advanced age. He was absolutely colossal and was a favourite of a number of wiry bearded pungent sadhus who made a fuss of him. He seemed to glow with all the attention.

Our objective was the Sri Nabootha temple. Its up a slope on the outskirts of town and is a metal ziggurat and the sound of tinging bells could be heard as pilgrims work their way up. Barefoot, Suresh and myself climbed the temple, tinging the bells as went, and the views across the Ganges were sensational. There were shrines to Hanuman and Shiva and I found myself caught up in the feeling of devotion,bobbing my head, clasping my hands in prayer and saying "nameste".

Then back down to the river, a light vegetarian lunch (I'm dying for meat, any meat) and then upriver to the Laxmanjhula Bridge. There are even more ashrams and temples in this part of Rishikesh and more stunning then downstream as the Ganges has to squeeze past cliffs. The temple here is the towering Kailesenanda Ashram - a towering monstrosity of 13 levels which looks a little out of place in such natural beauty.

Barefoot we ascended the 13 levels often having to squeeze past the hordes of pilgrims who were saying nameste to numerous wax tableaus of hindu gods. But as we ascended the big attraction was really the view and the sun sparkling on the Ganges. Afterwards we went down to the Ganges beaches and messed around on the boulders watching the driftwood collectors.

Yes, I can see why people come to Rishikesh. it relaxes the soul....brings peace to your world.