 "Finding lost Beatles Ashram in Rishikesh woods")
The building where the world-famous musical band, the Beatles, stayed during their 1968 Rishikesh tour remained in complete neglect and unidentified for many decades. It was in 2018; the bungalow was traced, and now it has turned into a major attraction for tourists and Beatles fans.
George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and Ringo Starr travelled to Rishikesh to learn meditation from their guru, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, in 1968. They stayed in the spiritual camp of Maharishi, and there was little information about the bungalow where the music stars dwelled and composed many of their iconic songs. Mahesh Yogi took 15 acres of land on lease for setting up his camp from the forest department in 1961, but he had to abandon the campus and hand it over to the government after a court order in 1999. Now the former ashram of Maharishi is managed by the Rajaji Tiger Reserve of the Uttarakhand forest department.
The incident took place some six years back when a forest ranger was walking with an American author inside the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Ashram in Rishikesh. The American was meditation teacher and film producer Prudence Anne Villiers Farrow, who had stayed with the Beatles in the Ashram in 1968. The forest staff casually asked, “Do you remember the house where you had stayed with the Beatles?”
The reply of the guest made forest ranger Rajendra Nautiyal jump with joy. Prudence Farrow plainly said, “The building was located near the back gate, and it was U-shaped.” These two clues were good enough to identify the building. Prudence and Nautiyal hurriedly walked toward the back gate. Carefully walking through the wild bushes as they reached the spot, Prudence Farrow verified, “Yes, this is the building!” Had Prudence not toured India in 2018, the landmark building would have remained unidentified forever.
The scene must have shocked Prudence. The seven-room bungalow with a veranda was covered with wild bushes. The building, which was a hub of vibrant activities with the Fab Four’s arrival, was vandalised, like the other 200-odd structures at the Chaurasi Kutiya Ashram. With broken doors and windows narrating a sad story! Miscreants had taken away all the valuables and bathroom fittings. The building was in a dilapidated condition.Ringo stayed in the Maharishi Ashram for 10 days, Paul McCartney for five weeks, and John Lennon and George Harrison each for eight weeks. They stayed in the bungalow and composed 48 songs. The stay was one of the most creative periods of their career! Many of their compositions featured in their famous ‘The White Album’ and ‘Let it be.’
Impact Shorts
More ShortsA happy Rajendra Nautiya says, “With the tour of Prudence Farrow, the mystery over the place where the Fab Four had stayed during their 1968 tour got solved. Now this building is known as the Beatles Bungalow.”
After the identification, the bushes were cleared and garbage/waste removed. Now, everyday tourists in large numbers go there to have a look at the building that was named as ‘Rishikesh Hilton’ in 1968 by the western media. A building that remained forgotten for a long time. Two rooms are linked to two famous Beatles songs. To tease Prudence Farrow, who used to meditate for long hours, John Lennon composed the song ‘Dear Prudence’ song. Lennon suffered from insomnia in the Ashram, and this inspired him to write, ‘I’m So Tired.’
The Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Ashram takes the visitors on an epic journey highlighting the legacy of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and the famous trip of the Beatles. As the forest department took control in 1999, they put a ban on public movement in the campus. Miscreants found a golden opportunity and looted all the valuables from the campus. They vandalised all the buildings, and presently Chaurasi Kutiya is a hub of about 200 damaged buildings.
From 1999, the bad days of the Chaurasi Kutiya started. It continued till 2015, when the Uttarakhand government decided to reopen the former spiritual camp of Maharishi for the tourists. The move evoked a warm response from the tourists, and last year 1.19 lakh Indians and over eleven thousand foreign tourists visited the place now famous as the Beatles Ashram. Local guide Alok Upreti says, “The foreign tourists are thrilled by seeing the Beatles bungalow. They are surprised to find that the famous band member stayed in ordinary rooms.”
Now the Uttarakhand government is planning a major redevelopment plan at the Ashram. In a cabinet decision, held last year in August, the Uttarakhand government announced hiring a Gujarat-based firm to draft a master plan to develop Chaurasi Kutiya as an international destination.
After the Beatles tour, major infrastructure development activities took place on the front side of the Chaurasi Kutiya. The construction of 121 igloo-type structures was one of them. Least development work took place on the back side of the Ashram. The bungalow where the Beatles stayed was first used as staff rooms and later as a school. Blackboards still exist in the rooms where George, John, Paul, and Ringo had stayed.
The Uttarakhand forest department should be thankful to Prudence Farrow for adding a major attraction to Chaurasi Kutiya.
Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views.
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