Let It Be

Rishikesh. I’ve heard a lot about this holy town on the banks of the Ganga, and I’m happy to report that it wasn’t all hype. There’s an easy, laid back vibe here, except for when people are running around throwing handfuls of paint at each other. But that was yesterday,  and today is another day.

The first thing I noticed as I walked off the plane at Jolly Grant Airport (isn’t that just the happiest name for an airport?) was the cool mountain air, such a relief from the scorching heat and stifling humidity of Kerala. My second observation was that pretty much everyone on the plane was also heading to Rishikesh, about 20 kms away, for the International Yoga Festival.

An Indian woman waiting at the luggage carousel offered to share her pre-arranged taxi with me. Not only did she haggle with the driver to reduce the price (we were going to different parts of town), but she had him stop along the way to take pictures of the two of us posing under giant billboards featuring the Dalal Lama. It turns out he is one of the guest speakers at the festival. Talk about auspicious timing on my part!

When we arrived in town, she had him stop at a fruit stand where she berated the owner for giving me more grapes than I asked for, forcing him to cut off the excess so that my total was 100 rupees ($2) for a bagful of fruit. Honestly, if this woman had been with me from the beginning of my journey through India I’d be at least $200 richer.

As she left the taxi at the ashram where she was staying, she reminded me not to give him one rupee more than the agreed-upon price, invited me to visit her in Mumbai and blew me a kiss. Every taxi ride should be this eventful!

As mentioned, yesterday was Holi, the festival of colour. I had planned to walk to the Beatles Ashram on the other side of town but changed my mind after venturing outside. Every single person who walked by me was covered in pink, green, orange, etc dye. Hair, clothing, shoes…head to toe. Not having any clothing I wanted to sacrifice, and having already participated in the celebration in Nepal a few years ago, I retreated to the safety of my room. The Beatles would have to wait.