Rishikesh is mostly, like any other Hindu religious town. Motly crowd of families from all over - Gujrat, Karnataka, Bengal. Noisy: family elders and group leaders yelling to keep the flock from wandering. Shopkeepers cajoling the unwary into thier shops. Kirtans, bhajans from scratchy loud-speakers. And offcourse the cows and sadhus weaving among the crowds, timelessness personified!
In all the cacophony, it is hard to miss the serenety - a peace that envelops you, cares and worries a distant memory. The artmosphere is decidedly electric.
Gangaji, is offcourse the defining element: exuberant, youthful, she wold later become large and languid in Banaras. But here in Rishikesh, Gangaji is full of vsisble energy, swirling currents, the life force barely concealed. The water is sparkling and pure. She has just emerged form the womb of the great himalayas, and full of enthusiasm to explore the world before her.
The thing about Rishikesh is the relative cleanliness: no mounds of petrifying garbage; the open sewers are absent. The sudh Ganga, pavitra Ganga canmpaign is obviously working.
On the road up North from the main town are the two bridges spanning the river - the larger Ram Jhoola and the smaller and more popular Lakshman Jhoola, around a 1 km apart. They are the only means of getting to the western part of Rishikesh. The western side of the river is home to the Gita Bhawan - headquartered in Gorakhpur, they publish a large number of Hindu spritual literature, and many different compilations of the Gita. Next to the Gita Bhawan is the Parmarth Ashram
In all the cacophony, it is hard to miss the serenety - a peace that envelops you, cares and worries a distant memory. The artmosphere is decidedly electric.
Gangaji, is offcourse the defining element: exuberant, youthful, she wold later become large and languid in Banaras. But here in Rishikesh, Gangaji is full of vsisble energy, swirling currents, the life force barely concealed. The water is sparkling and pure. She has just emerged form the womb of the great himalayas, and full of enthusiasm to explore the world before her.
The thing about Rishikesh is the relative cleanliness: no mounds of petrifying garbage; the open sewers are absent. The sudh Ganga, pavitra Ganga canmpaign is obviously working.
On the road up North from the main town are the two bridges spanning the river - the larger Ram Jhoola and the smaller and more popular Lakshman Jhoola, around a 1 km apart. They are the only means of getting to the western part of Rishikesh. The western side of the river is home to the Gita Bhawan - headquartered in Gorakhpur, they publish a large number of Hindu spritual literature, and many different compilations of the Gita. Next to the Gita Bhawan is the Parmarth Ashram
