Rishikesh and the Kumbah Mellah

Another post! Hurrah for me! Hurrah for all you people who read this site! I’m sorry for letting you all down and not posting as much as I used too. My dad left me a message displaying his disappointment at me for not posting more, something along the lines of “you let us all down again by promising some pictures and words but not delivering”. Well, I do have many pictures, and my head is always full of words, so they will come, it just takes the motivation to do it, and if i don’t feel like doing it then even if I did I wouldn’t be satisfied with what I put down.

Truth is I really haven’t felt like writing, or editing photographs for ages, as I mentioned in my last post. I’m now in Bagsu in the Himalayas, where I have been two times before, it feels like home for me here. I am staying with the same family I did the other two times, and they were all very happy to see me. I have a wonderful room with two windows, one of them with a great view and a table next to it, which is where I am sat now on my computer. The view is of the town Daram Sala, which is about 1000m below me, and then beyond that stretches the rest of India. I feel like a sentinel up here, awaiting…..well, im not sure, just waiting and observing is enough, no expectations.

So, it was in March when me and Sasha were in Rishikesh. After Varanasi we were looking forward to cooler temperatures and a river we could swim in without fear of disease. We did find a clean river, but the temperature was no different to Varanasi it seemed, which im sure was into the 40′s at times (Celsius that is). Since we lived right next to the Ganges river though, the temperature was bearable and whilst bathing in the ice cold river the heat was lovely, in-get cold, out-get hot, in-get cold, out-get hot, perfect!

To get to Rishikesh we took a train to the nearest town, Haridwar. We thought we would arrive in the town, hop off the train and into a rickshaw right to our destination. So, we did arrive, at about 4am, and the street just outside the train station was full, full of people! We knew there was a festival on, a festival called Kumbah Mellah, which is rather quite important if your a Hindu. This festival happens once every 4 years (I think, correct me if you know different) and it cycles between different towns. The fact that it was in Haridwar this time was very important because of the River Ganges and how clean the river is in this town. So that explained all the people. There were thousands, in all directions. They were all heading to the river to bath, bathing is the focal point of the festival. Because of the vast number of people the roads had been closed to most vehicles, so that meant no rickshaws for us tourists. What to do! The town we wanted to be in was some double figure kilometers from where we were. We set off on foot to find the end of the crowds, in the hope that we could find a rickshaw, we were in India after all and most of the time you get the impression that there are too many rickshaws. We walked and walked, following the flow of people, we found a taxi that would take us to our destination for 10 times what it should cost, but since we had met with some other travelers on the train who were going to the same place, it wouldn’t bust our budgets too much to take this over priced taxi. So reluctantly and happily (since we had been walking with all our bags, confused for some time) we got in the taxi, he set off only to quickly find out that the road blocks stopped him from going anywhere, so we all got out and started walking around again. As always in India when asking for directions or advice we were pointed in all directions by many different people. Some people said take a bus, some said take a train, some said walk. Eventually after walking for almost 2 hours with all our bags we were back at the train station, to find out that there was a train going to where we wanted to go! And it was leaving in 30 mins! As it arrived at the station there was an insane rush to get on it, more people that would ever fit on it tried to get on it. Since we were tourists and stupid (at least thats what we played at being in the following decision), we opened the door to the conductors private little room, the Indian crowd saw us and joined us, after a while the room was full, but at least we were on the train. However the train conductor of course noticed this, and told everyone to get off, we told him that “someone” said we could get on here, and he let us stay, and only us! We had lots of space, we could dangle out of the train with the door open, we could lounge around in peace. It was perfect. After all the hours carrying our bags not knowing how we were going to get to our destination, willing to pay a silly price for a taxi, in the end we traveled in luxury for free! Hurrah!

This is Sasha smiling at the craziness of the whole situation that morning, and our new friend Alenka who wasn’t amused by what was going on. I think that me and Sasha finding it all rather amusing didn’t help her. Can’t blame her though, after a night sleeping on a train, getting woke at 4am, and walking for hours with many kilograms of stuff, not many would be willing to give a smile. I’m not saying im always cheery, but for some reason all of that didn’t seem to bother me that morning. The second picture is just of some building in Haridwar taken at a later date. Nice building I thought.

So we arrived in Rishikesh, our new friends had been there before and took us straight to a wonderful guesthouse. Not without incident though, because of the festival and the vast number of people and because the police were corrupt and the rickshaw drivers also were corrupt we couldn’t get a rickshaw to where we wanted to go. The driver did say he would take us where we wanted to go, but stopped a couple of kilometers from this place, saying that the police won’t let him, so we gave him 50rs less, he flipped a bit but he knew he couldn’t take us to where we wanted to go and he didn’t tell us to start with. Dishonesty doesn’t pay he needs to learn. So we walked and walked, up a hill, down a hill, across a bridge, and we all checked into one room, 4 of us, since there was only one room at the guesthouse, festival and all that! We didn’t care though, we were happy to be where we wanted to be, and we were promised another room as soon as one came free.

Sooooooooo…onto the festival! Its all about washing in the river, it lasted for a couple of months, and over these months there were a few set dates for washes, although people washed at all times. There were a few big washes and I think one main wash called the king wash. First of all, all the baba’s wash and then the normal people wash, believing that they are absorbing some of the holiness from the babas. We hung around in Rishikesh until there was a wash day, and then we headed out into Haridwar, the town we had only seen in the haze of the morning when we arrived. We got a local bus to the town, it was all quite easy when you knew how, none of the drama we had when we first arrived.

On the bus there these two guys gorped at us for a while and eventually introduced themselves, the one on the right told me he was a TV star, and he gave me a rather old and battered business card to prove it, it said his name and underneath, sure enough, it said TV star. And out of the window on the way I saw that impressive hill, out of context to the story im telling, but look at it! Looks like the ground has bust open recently but I doubt that it is a recent movement.

The festival changed the town for the duration that it was on. Whole extra neighborhoods of tents were erected, I saw temporary tent hospitals all over the place. Babas, gurus, and other such holy men from all over India came to become more holy and to teach you how to become holy as well. Check out all these billboards, they all tell of their respective gurus and I guess a short message from them with the hope that you will go “well im convinced, sign me up, here’s some dollar, my soul is yours” To me its mostly bullshit. Lets take a little look at each billboard individually.

First one, ok, nice big beards for both of them guys, nice smile from the second guy, and a rather lavish paint job on his forehead not too whorish in comparison to others I saw. Second one, well, he’s spiced up his holyness by adding some light spilling out from behind him, he’s got a nice paint job on his bonce as well, lots of orange and yellow, good Hindu colours, he’s got a baby Krishna and some other god on the other side. He does have a nice smile though, good and honest.

Billboards 2
First pic, well there’s a few pictures there, nothing too notable though, apart from the guy in the middle waving a fist with his chest out, appealing to the macho out there, of which India has many! Second one, mixed in with an advert for what looks like tea, that guy on the left seems to be appealing to the learned out there, he looks very scholary, not much room for me to make jokes though.

First pic, devoid of Hindu colours, i think this guy though isn’t really competing for your devotion like the other, he’s just offering you a welcome, there’s something about the upliftment of the disabled though, maybe he claims to be able to cure them, he wouldn’t be alone in his claims to be able to do miracles though, many of these gurus exist purely because of their ability to do tricks, believe me, not one of them can actually do a miracle. Second pic, hmm, nothing too note worthy either, nice hindu colours, fat chins, weak beard from the guy on the left.

First pic, come on man, terrible photograph, not even smiling, the photo of the guy on the right is distorted, the colours are all washed out, no hindu colours and whats with all the dots over the picture?? If I were to pick a guru he wouldn’t be the one, no sireee! Second pic, nice, nice hindu colour, nice bonce paintjob, lines of enlightenment emanating from behind him, nice smile, good age also, easier to accept his wisdom, lots of jewelry as well, and the beard is just super.

Billboards 5
First pic, nice contemplative stare he’s got going on there, it does look a little forced though. Good beard, discreet paint job on his bonce, at least compared to some of the others, lacking good hindu colours though. , nice bit of English though “know yourself” very wise. Second pic, wow, now were talking, this guy reeks of the divine, super smooth skin, loving gaze, hindu colours, no hair at all! Very eye catching, and nice photo in the back ground, sunset, nice nice. The second billboard looks a little like a bank advert.

I’ve saved the best two till last. First pic, he heheh, do I even need to say anything?? All them flowers! Totally whoring himself out there, and look at that dreamy far away look on his face! Sheesh. Second pic, this one totally blew me away, right so its obvious he’s riding on the whole environment to push his wares, he’s showing a few pictures of the damaged environment, top left its all dry and cracked, (which does happen naturally and quite without concern in someplaces, but i’ll let him off) top right, yep, cutting down tree’s is no good, (does happen in sustainable forests, but i’ll let that go again). bottom right, well, thin people sleeping on a dry river bed, thats no good all round, and that fish all dry, that aint good at all. And now we come to the bottom left panel, it shows an elephant at a safari park, a picture from Jaws, a polar bear begging, and an elephant picking someone up whilst being ridden by a guy. So I guess what these are trying to say is that nature is fighting back, the animals are coming to get us, but come on! Two of the pics are fabrications! The polar bear and the shark eating the lady. And elephant and the car probably happens all the time at safari parks, as for the elephant picking someone up, its not attacking him is it, its just picking him up, plus there’s a guy riding it. That gurus whole argument goes to pot with that last section of pictures, he’s just using the environment as an excuse to sucker people in, and you know what, im totally certain that there are many Indians who will see that and be totally sold, signing up to that guys lessons in fear of having a polar bear asking for spare change on the streets of Delhi. What a chump!

There were literally hundreds of these billboards all over the town, erected just because of this festival. Whilst walking around we came across these temporary tent towns that housed the Guru’s and Baba’s

Here’s what they looked like.

We went in for a small walk around, but didn’t stay long, it was all very hot. Many travelers I have met since say they stayed in these places with all the holymen, some of the more naive travelers told me of powers of these holy men, and stories of miracles often filter down to me, i’ve never actually met someone who has witnessed a miracle though, let alone someone who can perform them!. To me its all very interesting, some of them even amazing in their devotion, but as for them being somehow divine and living a higher existence to me, its just not true, they are people like you and me, they don’t posses any extra abilities or anything, other than being extremely limber and content, maybe they have renounced worldly goods and im sure many of them (none of the ones on the billboards mind you) have reached a level of contentment in life thats to be envied, but they are not divine or magic in anyway, they are humans like you and me. One guy here told me he was there and he saw this baba who as soon as he made eye contact with the western guy he took out a knife and plunged it right through his arm, I hear things like this a lot, extreme acts to prove their devotion, its nice that these fringe people have direction and a place in this country. In England any extreme mindsets are often demonized and outcast from society, and they often end up being homeless and ignored, here in India they are revered. None of it really matters in the long run of things though, life just us, we live and die, same as all other things alive, what we actually do makes no difference, with this in mind live a peaceful life and be nice to people, eat healthy, take regular walks, and brush your teeth twice a day.

We popped our heads into a couple of tents, in one we saw a guru giving spewing forth words of wisdom, and a respectable crowd listening. And in another we saw these painted girls, there was music and some teachings as well, also with a respectable crowd. I think because of the vast number of people in India whatever your teaching, you will find someone to listen. Who knows maybe i’ll give it a go one day.

So we walked around all the tents, grew very hot, and eventually we made our way to the river, where we found a nice quiet area, stripped to our pants and had a wash. Despite the hot day the cold river still made me shiver and eventually get too cold and want to get out. When we had done we were invited into a temple, where they fed us a wonderful meal. We felt so honored to receive this meal, at first we didn’t want to as I know there are many people far more hungry than me with no money, but they insisted and it seemed rude to turn them down. We ate with many poor local people, and after the meal the braman of the temple (the equivalent of a priest of vicar) gave me and Sasha 10rs each! (about 8 pence), whilst he did this someone took photo’s of the handing over of the money, I guess to show how amazingly godly and generous the guy is what with giving money to people who don’t even need it, we gave our money to poor children when he wasn’t looking.

This is the main crowd of devotees having a wash, we didn’t wash with them, finding a quiet area more peaceful.

So after our wash and our meal we had had enough of the crowds and the heat, we decided to leave Haridwar and head back to Rishikesh. We did this quiet uneventfully.

Still, in Rishikesh there was also an immense crowd, all flooding over from the festival, deciding to do some sightseeing, visit some famous temple there and generally clog up the streets.

See! So many people! This was on one of the wash days, the most busiest of days. We were staying in an area called Laxman Jula, which was on the other side of the river ganges, to get there we had to cross a foot bridge. And on busy days they designated this footbridge one way! The bridge going the other was was a couple of kilometers along the river, a massive inconvenience if you needed to get to the other side.

Here’s them bridges, one of them being guarded by a monkey.

We stayed right near a famous temple, which drew massive crowds, on one of the days I saw a enormous pile of shoes, sandals and flip flops outside, at first I thought someone was selling the, but then I realized that they were from the people inside the temple. It was crazy, since there was so many people on the streets the pile was rapidly being spread all over, yet still more shoes were being added from people going in the temple. Its like they didn’t notice or care that they could very well loose their shoes. Another example of the confusing mind set of the average Indian.

There’s Rishikesh from above, we stayed a little further along the river. And in that very river were many many giant fish! Since its illegal to fish in the holy river Ganges, the fish grow to wopping sizes, fed on little balls of crunchy matter sold by kids along the bridges. Sasha was all set on heading out one night and catching himself one of these fish for a tasty meal, he never did however, I would have loved to eat one of these holy beasts.

And thats it really, we did go and visit an Ashram that was designed and lived in by the beatles, but I didn’t take my camera since it was so hot and a chore to carry it around. Sasha got some pictures with my little camera, and I sang a beautiful rendition of “Hey Jude” inside this echoey meditation room. Its on video so maybe ill put it online at some point. The ashram was amazing, such a great design, but for some reason its abandoned now, one man lives there and you pay him 50rs to look around, its interesting since its over such a large area and the guy that lives there is very strict about not letting the average Indian in there, so its completely empty and overgrown. It was nice to think of the Beatles there, they stayed there for over a year I was told, meditating and learning.

So the rest of our stay in Rishikesh was spent wandering around, eating nice food and taking daily dips in the icy river.

This painted baba guy pestered me for ages as I was taking pictures of monkeys, eventually I very reluctantly gave him 10rs, he then looked disappointed and asked for 100rs! I took the 10 back and left him with nothing, he lives and learns like us.
I saw this beggar everyday, along a stretch of road that had many other beggars, all with odd disabilities, the guy has a wing! A small slice with a razor would sort that out wouldn’t it.

Monkeys! I love it when there are monkeys where im staying, they are so entertaining. That second one was great, giving us threatening looks from above, then taking a pee out of the tree, luckily I was out of the way by then.

More monkeys! If you look close you can see that monkey grooming the little monkey only has one hand, seems to be getting on alright without it, very lucky it survived the wound loosing a hand would cause. That second monkey is a different species, its refered to as the black faced monkey by other travelers, and is loved for its peaceful demeanor, unlike the other monkey which is quiet frankly, nuts.

Some nice looking (yet bland tasting, as is most of the fruit and veg in India) vegetables.

That painted man sat in front of a restaurant called Chotiwall, which means Small man, he sat there all day everyday, I never saw him leave his post, he would chat to the other workers in the restaurant and smile in an odd way at potential customers. And there’s a man selling wallnuts, lots and lots of wallnuts.

So in the end, sooner than we planned we left Rishikesh, mainly because of the heat, just too hot during the day to do anything. So we caught a bus to Shimla, stayed one night there, and then got a bus in the morning to Manali, both buses took about 12 hours, some of the hours went slow, some went fast. Im super used to long bus jouneys as you would expect so I have no real complaints about doing them, i just pop my headphones on and gawp out of the window.

Whilst the driver had a rest in a bus station I saw this bus, an Aryan bus, Hitler did take a lot of influence from India, its the same with the swastika, he stole it from India, filthying its use forever in the west. And there’s a load of Muslims I saw from the bus window, all men, women at home, not worthy to get involved with whatever they get up to inside the mosque.

As we went further and further into the mountains the view became more and more beautiful. This is a wonderful temple stuck on the side of a mountain. And on one of the many bus stops and rests was this beautiful town.

And here’s some shots of Sasha my sputnik (which is russian for traveling companion) for the last 2 months or so.

And there you go! Another post from me! Sorry I don’t put more up, I do feel guilty about not posting as much as I used too. But lately I also get a similar feeling I used to get when I didn’t do my homework when it comes to posting, it shouldn’t be like that though, I should enjoy writing and editing photographs. Anyways, I did enjoy writing this, and maybe i’ll get more into the frame of mind to write more. Fingers crossed for that hey. Maybe y’all can spur me on with witty heartfelt replies to this post.

Look forward to hearing from anyone!