Rishikesh: Quirky Place, Chaotic Crowds and Calm Vibes

Rishikesh is well... a surprise. A good one indeed! I was trying to surprise Rishikesh with an unplanned trip but guess who got surprised

Good trips are always unplanned. But I still plan. Last minute. Bookings? Packing? Done. Unexpected travel partners? Welcome! Sleep? Lost, excitement. And began our 8 hour long road trip to Rishikesh. Usually it takes 4 hours to reach Rishikesh from Delhi. But the escapist me found the whole Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, UP travelling with us, on the road. On the trail, you are welcome aboard! On the road, leave me alone. Our early morning travel plan didn't work out and we had lunch at 4PM but that's not important. We had lunch in the town area of Rishikesh. A friend and her uncle and aunt welcomed us at their home. It felt like a trip to nanighar in holidays honestly. But the mountains, the valley and even the (hint of the) river had a question for me already. I felt nice being surrounded by them and I knew I will like what they are asking. They wanted me to introspect and tell them "What is Rishikesh for you?" And thus began my journey to answer, to myself what brings smile to my face.

If I were to answer this question 3 years ago, I would have gone on and on about how it is just about sitting at a ghat, on a rock with feet dipped in the mighty yet calm river. I would have mentioned that it is about finding yourself and understanding others, peacefully. To answer the same question now, I would go back to him and say that the guy who travelled during covid didn't see much of Rishikesh. But here's the catch. He did understand the essence of this place of tapasvis. The trip 3 years ago was a resort trip to attend a family function but this time I roamed around Rishikesh, as much as I could. And so now it is time to go on and on and on about the introspection... and the peace... and the ghats... and the... you; but with a surprise.

One of the things that was surprising to me is very dumb. Though not the main agenda here, I didn't expect the Ganga Aarti to be as grand as what I witnessed. The famous Ganga Aarti, anyone from the North must have heard about it. I have seen it myself in my early teens in Benaras. Surprised by the sangam of technology and spirituality and the grandeur of Shiva murti at Parmarth, I stood there, with a 30° view of the aarti, stunned. My amazement might be due to the bhajans, and the devotion coming out from me itself but the aura there was calm. But in two minutes the same was shattered by the usual quarrel of the crowd. But it was grand, both the aarti and the quarrel. Drones, huge monitors, crowds of saadhus and sants, of people, everything felt... grand. And did I forget Ganga? It was as grand as ever. Taking aarti of a river, of their mother, just the idea of this love, devotion, sounds very pure and the rhythm of numerous bhajans and aarti, makes you feel that love. You forget all about the pollution, the floods, the shamelessness, the carelessness and the wrath of the two, us two. I can go on and on about this but it was after sunset and it was possible to witness the aarti only if you weren't already blinded by the sounds itself. And the Ganga Aarti was beatiful. But let's go back a little to the lane leading to Parmarth. Not from Ram Jhula to Parmarth. Here you will be lost in the ornaments, the chais, the books, the gifts, the crowds. And maybe cows too, but that's Rishikesh. But from Jaanki Setu to Parmarth temple. Here I had found again, the smile. Maybe it was a hint of the crowd in busy parts of Lucknow, my hometown. Maybe something else. I want you to focus on the something else. I want to make you believe that the road, the bhagva, the humbleness of the saadhus, their carefreeness, their surrender to the higher power, and the rush, the crowd, the narrowness said something to me. This was a... juxtaposition. Not just a lane, but entire Rishikesh is a juxtaposition. The realisation didn't occur to me until the last day of the trip. But the journey began, here.

The next day we had planned to begin early, watch sunrise, take a dip in Ganga and have breakfast at a cafe. Trust me, I would have woken up early but staying at a hostel in Tapovan stole the pleasure of watching sunrise as the point was 6 km away. So we went to Sai Ghat near Lakshman Jhula, I realised that our river was full with sediment and hurry. The flow too much, the water too brown. So taking a dip felt risky. We sat down and did the feet dipped in river meditation. Too peaceful. I thought I need to do something. Write or play something. As I looked back at my backpack, I ran to it and changed. Taking a dip in the Ganga was a good experience, it had been too long and I would have regretted not going it. The water was chilly but I felt nice. We had breakfast and went to a temple. Going to a temple was not planned. Don't blame me for not keeping temples on the top of my list in Rishikesh. I was trying to balance between a trip with college friends, the cliched spiritual trip to Rishikesh and understanding this nagari myself. I am somewhat religious, thanks to my mum. I have been tangled around Hindu mythology and it does somewhat fascinates me. I went to this temple in Tapovan, and was amazed. I saw an idol of Lakhman, just Lakshman. I had never seen him alone, standing there so I could pray to him too. A person in the temple saw the question mark on my head shouting why and came to rescue. He told me that Lakshman came to Rishikesh after defeating and killing Ravana. So he came with his brother Rama here to do tapasya, to prayashchit and repent their sins. And I realised it is the Lakshman Temple of Rishikesh. The place believed to be the actual place Lakshman sat down to meditate. The temple was not on my list of got-to places in Rishikesh but I am glad I did find it luckily. Nearby is also the Lakshman Jhula which is also believed to be the actual place where Lakshman crossed the river using jute ropes. And just a couple steps ahead, maybe 100 meters, I faced again, the juxtaposition. The wall art, the wall paintings this time. Tapovan is at the outskirts of the main city. Mostly hostels and resorts are located here. You will find people here treating this valley as a beach. I found it hard to digest. I would like to believe that ghats and beach are different. But the guys in beach attire near my hostel said no. My sand soaked jeans said no. But wall paintings were maybe too much. You could stare at the wall art and would see the same bhagva color, the same touch, the same strokes maybe as that near Janki Setu or Ram Jhula. But the vibe and the subject? Completely different. At one side of the town you will find glimpses of Ramayan, Samudramanthan, Shiva... On the other side. Mushrooms. Pink Floyd inspired art. Trippy art for stoners. It was... heavy. I didn't understand what I saw. There it was again, the juxtaposition, the surprise.

I wanted to wander in the galis of Rishikesh and took a scooty on rent hoping to go to Neer Gaddu waterfall. But the traffic didn't let me. It was on my list and I couldn't go, I was fairly disappointed. But all comes for good. We spent a lot of time enjoying the views and the calmness, doing our feet dipped in river mediation, chatting, shopping too. Then went to the best part of the place, the town. After being drowned in traffic, we were all exhausted. Our plan was to go to watch a movie for ₹60. 60! Unbelievable right? The Rama Palace: Rishikesh allows you to. But we were too tired for that and decided to roam around instead. We landed up at the Triveni Ghat. Sitting at the ghat with my feet in the water, I focused on the crazy stories about the place that my almost local friend told me (she'd spent a lot of her childhood here, thus 'almost' local). I was amazed when I was told that right accross the ghat are elephants. As happy as I was to hear that, already planning to see the other side the next day, I was let down. Disappointingly, the place was occupied by wild elephants who wouldn't welcome me. And as the stories were getting crazier, an unwelcomed guest was trying to greet us. A water snake. We decided to call it a night there.

The next day was the most surprising, I spent the entire morning back near Lakshman Jhula, in a temple. I had found my peace there. Went back to Ram Jhula because dad had asked me to find the original Chotiwala. I think I did find the place, had my breakfast and sat again, at the ghat, near Parmarth. I did not want to leave as I knew this might be the last time I sat at a ghat in Rishikesh in this little escape of mine. But I had one more place to see on my list. I passed by some wall paintings, the devotional ones, on my way to the Beatles Ashram. It is popularly called so because The Beatles came here to learn a specific type of meditation. The real name of the place currently and locally is Chaurasi Kutiya: Rajaji Tiger Reserve. Also called the Swarg Ashram, the place has been left abandoned for years and I doubt it is being restored currently. Yet, you will pay an entry fees. So keep your student ID if you have one. The place is filled with structures and gardens. You will find tableaus and plates with details about the structures in front of them. What you will not find information on is the wall arts. It has been done by graffiti artists as a tribute to The Beatles band and maybe to showcase their talent. And I was indeed looking for a board that could explain me this surprise. This juxtaposition. This change in the... the essence of the place. Just 100 meters away you will again find Jaanki Setu and a little further away temples like Parmarth. The trippy wall arts and the modern graffities looked nice, felt strangely in contrast to the domes and houses made for mediation. But I was left... surprised but with a smile!

That is Rishikesh for me now. Surprising yet beautiful enough to be peaceful... to bring a smile to my face.