Rishikesh
20 to 23 January 2003
|
A day or two before our departure from Delhi we went to the New Delhi railway station and
bought our "Coach Class (CC)" tickets aboard our all-coach express train scheduled to leave
from New Delhi at 7:00am but whose departure was delayed until 10:30am. During the trip
north to the foothills of the Himalayas we could not see much because of fog and very dirty
windows. However, we enjoyed chatting with some of our fellow passengers and were
periodically served with complimentary amenities: snacks, tea, coke, drinking water,
newspapers. Our train arrived in Haridwar about 3:00pm. From the train station we walked
to the nearby bus terminal and immediately got on a very crowded bus to Rishikesh, about an
hour away.
The village of Rishikesh is a major Hindu pilgrimage center located where the Ganges flows
out of the Himalayan Mountains and onto the plains of North India. It is a very scenic
mountainous wooded area with many Hindu temples and ashrams (monasteries) and several
footbridges crossing the Ganges. In and around Rishikesh we saw at least twenty ashrams,
most of them a short way outside of Rishikesh, mostly in areas called Swarg Ashram (where
we stayed) and Lakshman Jhula.
Getting off our bus in central Rishikesh we met a Brazilian who recently stayed for eight
months in Ashrams in the Rishikesh area and was coming back to rejoin his Guru, who had
been away. With our new Brazilian friend we took a 10-minute motorickshaw ride to the
beginning of the pedestrian suspension bridge leading to the Swarg Ashram area. With the
young Brazilian showing us the way we walked on the bridge over the Ganges and through the
narrow streets of Swarg Ashram (no cars allowed) to our hotel, the Brijasi Palace Hotel.
Swarg Ashram, where we stayed, is about 5KM upstream from the center of Rishikesh and
on the other side of the Ganges. There are about a dozen large ashrams in Swarg Ashram,
each ashram typically occupying about a city block and is in the form of a hollow two or
three story rectangle containing more than a hundred cells which serve as very basic living
quarters for priests, pilgrims, students, visitors, etc. Within the hollow rectangle is a
courtyard containing numerous shrines and statues depicting Hindu deities. Every ashram is
headed by a revered Guru assisted by a crew of Hindu priests and pilgrims. Chanting,
processions, and other religious ceremonies take place daily, usually amplified. In Swarg
Ashram there are no motorized vehicles except for a few two-wheeled scooters, thus making
it very pleasant to walk the narrow streets, having to keep an eye out only for the wandering
cows and their droppings. In addition to the many Indian priests and pilgrims we came
across a couple dozen westerners (nearly all in Indian attire), attracted to Swarg Ashram
to improve their yoga and seeking to find the meaning of existence. We found the Rishikesh
area very interesting in many ways.
Our hotel, the Brijwasi Palace, was very far from being a palace. We got a very basic room
with a bad attached bathroom (bucket hot water available upon request). This probably was
the least expensive room in which we have ever stayed, 200 rupees (US$4.40) per day.
During our stay there northern India was experiencing a record cold wave with temperatures
between 40F to 60F instead of the more normal January temperatures of 65F to 70F or so.
Buildings in India generally are not heated. After the first night we rented an electric
heater from the hotel for an additional 100 rupees (US$2.20) per day.
We visited several ashrams in Swarg Ashram and were glad to have the opportunity to
converse with some of the pilgrims. A wonderful experience!
In the evening we spent some time at a Ganges riverside Krishna ceremony with much
chanting, waving of torches, bowing, etc., in front of a spotlighted statue of Lord Krishna
standing on a rock in the Ganges.
The Rishikesh area is great for pleasant walks on trails and unpaved unvehicled roads.
On our favorite walk from Swarg Ashram we went about 3KM upstream on our side of the
Ganges to Lakshman Jhjula, an community similar to Swarg Ashram. We then crossed a
pedestrians bridge to the far side of the Ganges and stopped for tea at the "German
Bakery", where we ran into a few German tourists seeking a touch of home. After that we
walked downstream on the far side of the Ganges to "our" bridge and had a good lunch at
the "Madras Restaurant" before crossing the bridge back to our hotel. Restaurants in
the Rishikesh and Haridwar areas serve only vegetarian meals, for religious reasons.
We very much enjoyed our visit to Rishikesh, exotic yet relaxing.