Rishikesh

Although Rishikesh is a big tourist destination for both Indians and Westerners at it's core it is a seeker's place and has been for countless years. That is why I like it here so much; I've been fortunate to have spent five weeks in Rishikesh on two separate occasions.

Many ashrams and gurus reside here. The air is replete with the sounds of chanting, bajans and bells. Each night as the sun sets arati (light) ceremonies can be seen and heard all along the water's edge.

It is so very India here and yet, as I said in an earlier blog post, there are enough Westerners around to afford me a level of comfort with regard to accommodations and food.

I've grown accustomed to the myriad sights, sounds, smells and tastes not to be found where I live  but while they're fresh in mind I want to try to describe some of them.

The sadhus here are numerous and of different types. Many who wander the streets in orange robes are visiting from somewhere else, there are turbaned men living in makeshift shelters or literally on the road or on the ground, there are those whose entire bodies are covered with holy ash and there are those who appear mad.

There are also those that sit and smoke lots of hash in little cylindrical clay pipes. A number of them have offered to sell me some, to which I reply "no thank you, I don't need it" and walk on with a smile because I truly don't.

Many animals also wander the streets here. The brown furred monkeys who steal food right out of people's hands as they walk by, the beautiful black faced grey furred monkeys who are bigger and mellower, dogs who lay on the ground sleeping so stock-still that you truly think they could be dead.

And of course there are the cows. So many cows on the streets, amongst the traffic, along the ghats. They are the objects of a great deal of affection. Some are decorated with painted horns, occasionally you'll see one wearing a beaded necklace. People pet them, feed them and turn on the public water faucets for them so they can quench their thirst. Many of them seem quite healthy and of course some do not. Overall I would say more cows appear healthy proportionally then dogs.

And of course there is no describing Rishikesh without mentioning her most salient future, Ma Ganga.

I have said in previous posts the Ganges is a beautiful river here and she is both an object of veneration and used as a source for everyday life tasks like laundry.

Flowered offerings drift by as one sits on her banks. Leaf baskets containing flower petals, burning camphor and incense serve as little boats ferrying prayers to the Divine ear.

Every day, all day, people come to bathe in her sacred water. I never get tired of witnessing this. There is something endlessly fascinating about this spectacle of color, skin and devotion.

Traditional Indian style chai stalls via for attention with the new fancy glass fronted coffee stores. The traditional stalls, whose chai is a fraction of the price, are primarily frequented by Indian people. The chai is made in well worn pots over an open flame and is laced with enough sugar to fulfill any dentist's dreams of avarice. Fortunately the serving size is minuscule by bloated American standards.

Rishikesh is paradoxical in that one can be experiencing a vista which appears placid to the eyes  while at the same moment is an all out assault on the auditory sense.

It's the honking that really gets me. It is the one thing that genuinely challenges my equanimity. A little toot to indicate one's presence would suffice to get attention but most drivers lack the Japanese aesthetic. When it comes to using the horn more is not less here.

And so I bid farewell to this place, to India and Sri Lanka. It's been a spectacular trip...