По битловским местам в Индии

Санъясины - это последователи Ошо. Ошо - это человек, который сплотил все религии и философию. "Нет богов, бог - это ты! Бог в тебе, верь в себя. Иисус - это Иисус, Будда - это Будда, а Ты - это Ты..." Osho...
А ситар я заказывал из Бомбея, в кейсе, настоящий, а не тот фуфел, который они продают на рынке... Обошелся он мне в 350$.

Long and winding road to Rishikesh

THE BEATLES WENT TO MAHARISHI MAHESH YOGI’S ASHRAM TO FIND PEACE. PAUL SALTZMAN WENT TO PIECE TOGETHER A BROKEN HEART. THE RESULTS OF THEIR CHANCE ENCOUNTER FOR A MAGICAL WEEK IN 1968 WILL COME TOGETHER IN A NEW BOOK BY THE NOW-ESTABLISHED FILMMAKER. AMIT ROY REPORTS FROM LONDON

There is now a pretty solid body of evidence that for The Beatles, India was their most creative period. When they were in Rishikesh for several weeks in February, March and April of 1968, they wrote between 23 and 48 songs, 17 of which were included in their White Album, one of their best known.

We know this from the account given by Paul Saltzman, now a distinguished Canadian filmmaker, who went up to Rishikesh in February, 1968, and was included for a week by The Beatles as part of their inner circle. Perhaps The Beatles felt sorry for him, for Saltzman, then 24, had received a letter from his girlfriend who had dumped him. Seeking solace for his painful heartbreak, he wandered up to the mountains and found the ashram in Rishikesh. What he didn’t know was that The Beatles were also holed up with there with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, a ridiculous figure who initially fooled the impressionable youngsters with his talk of Indian philosophy, vegetarian food with no spice, transcendental meditation and the like. But The Beatles, who by 1968, were just about the most recognisable people on the planet, probably felt trapped by their fame and fortune. In Rishikesh, when Saltzman caught up with them, they certainly were looking for some kind of escape.

Paul McCartney was there with his girlfriend at the time, Jane Asher; John Lennon with Cynthia Powell, his first wife, whom he had married when she had become pregnant; Ringo Starr with Maureen Starkey, his first wife whom he, too, had married when she had seen to it she had fallen pregnant as a way of getting him away from competition; and George Harrison was there with his first wife, Patti(e) Boyd. Another member of the group was Mia Farrow, the American actress who, like Saltzman, was also nursing a broken heart because her marriage to Frank Sinatra had ended.

It has been said that 1968 was the year that rocked the world. That can be claimed for most years but this was the period when anti-American riots protesting against the United States’ Vietnam war erupted in capitals across the world, including especially in front of the US embassy in Grosvenor Square.

It was a year scarred by the assassination of Martin Luther King and the late President John F. Kennedy’s younger brother, Robert. Richard Nixon was elected president that year. In Hollywood, Bullitt, starring Steve McQueen, was a hit film, and Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey won an Oscar for Best Special Visual Effects. President Kennedy’s widow, Jacqueline, married the Greek shipping millionaire, Aristotle Onassis. That was the year when Simon and Garfunkel sang Mrs Robinson and Sound of Silence in The Graduate, starring Dustin Hoffman. In India, Chowringhee was released.

For Saltzman, it proved a week that changed his life. For eight days, he had slept in a tent outside the ashram which was out of bounds to most people because The Beatles were inside. Then he was allowed in, given a 10-minute crash course in meditation, and generally allowed to fend for himself. He spotted The Beatles and introduced himself.

As a boy in Canada, he was familiar with their music and had danced to She Loves You in the early 1960s, admired their album, Rubber Soul, and attended their concert in Toronto in 1964. But he was not a groupie. “I walked over and said, ‘Do you mind if I join you?’ And John looked over and said, ‘Sure, mate, pull up a chair.’ And Paul pulled a chair in next to him and said, ‘Come and sit here.’”

After a bit of banter, he was mysteriously absorbed into their group. Later, he asked the four, individually, whether he could take some pictures. “Paul said, ‘Go right ahead, no problem.’”

Saltzman, who was on his first trip to India because he was doing a little sound recording for a documentary being made by the Canadian Film Board, had an inexpensive Pentax plus 50mm and 135mm lenses. Over the next seven days, he took about 50 intimate photographs on Ektachrome 64 transparency of The Beatles, most of which are now going into his book, The Beatles in India. This is an updated version, with more text and pictures, of his first book, The Beatles in Rishikesh, which he brought out four years go. He was lucky that The Beatles, who clearly did not feel their privacy was being invaded by his presence, allowed Saltzman unfettered access. Most probably, they sympathised with the agony of a young man suffering the pain of a break-up.

In the ashram on the edge of a cliff overlooking the Ganges, The Beatles were busy making music, in between periods of meditation. “They were there for different reasons,” remembers Saltzman.

Harrison, who had by this time met Ravi Shankar and had spent months in Bombay learning the sitar from the maestro, “was there to go deeper into his spirituality and his understanding of the divine. John was there to get the secret of the meaning of life, which, of course, does not exist in that form. Paul was there because he was interested in meditation. It was helpful and fun to be all together. Ringo was there out of group togetherness, a bit of curiosity but he was not particularly interested in meditation.”

One moment remains etched in Saltzman’s memory. “George was practising the sitar and it was just the two of us sitting together. George said — he said this without any ego, (he was) a very calm, very wonderful man — ‘Like we are The Beatles, after all, aren’t we? We have all the money we could ever dream of, we have all the fame you could ever wish for, but it isn’t love, it isn’t health, it isn’t peace inside, is it?” For four working-class lads from Liverpool, this was probably the revelation at Rishikesh.

The four moved on to new women in their lives. And this year, Cynthia is publishing her revised biography of Lennon, while his second wife, Yoko Ono, is helping with the production of a musical on his life. Saltzman is providing his own account of The Beatles in India (the German publishing firm, Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf, is bringing out one edition, while the author is releasing a special box set, done up in Indian raw silk, through his own website).

“The sentence George said to me impacted on me hugely so I have never forgotten that,” says Saltzman.

In 1968, he returned to Canada, became a distinguished television producer and director, won distinction for his documentaries and such TV comedy or action series as Danger Bay and My Secret Identity. His 26-part documentary series, Spread Your Wings, showing how creative talent and skills are passed on from one generation to the next in different cultures, took him to 22 countries. He has now been to India “may-be 50 times”.

On his fifth trip, he met Deepa Mehta, who moved to Canada with him after they were married in Delhi in 1973. The marriage has now ended but their daughter, Devyani, who read human sciences at Hertford College, Oxford, is now 25 and obviously close to her father.

Despite the divorce from Saltzman, Deepa did once tell me, when she was in London to promote Earth, starring Aamir Khan, that she owed a great deal to her former husband.

“We are not friends,” Saltzman warns me. “I met her while I was shooting a documentary in India. She also asked me (to show her) how to make films which I did. That does not mean I made her, she made herself.”

I reassure Saltzman that when Deepa had touched briefly on her marriage, she had indeed spoken warmly about her husband. “That’s nice,” acknowledges Saltzman.

It seems the whole Beatles experience has now become mixed up in Saltzman’s mind with the ups and downs in his own life. As for the photographs he took, he returned home to Toronto and tossed them to one side. “I put the pictures away and I actually forgot about them completely,” he explains.

When Devyani was eight, he did tell her bedtime Beatles’ tales, which she suddenly remembered at 18, when she, along with three of her friends, had discovered The Fab Four, as successive generations have done. She was the one who persuaded her father to find the photographs which were located after an exhaustive hunt.

“You know, Dad, they are great,” remarked Devyani. “You should really do something with them.”

Photo: NOW AND THEN: Paul Saltzman (top left); cover of his previous book (above); the 24-year-old Saltzman with Ringo Starr (left)FAB FOUR: (Clockwise from above:) George Harrison; Ringo Starr, John Lennon and Paul McCartney; McCartney; Lennon with wife Cynthia; Harrison at the ashram in Rishikesh

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050327/asp/look/story_4535123.asp

Beatles' 1968 pilgrimage to India coming to Chicago
August 10, 2005

BY RUMMANA HUSSAIN Staff Reporter

The only thing a young, heartbroken Paul Saltzman wanted when he arrived at the doorsteps of the Maharishi's ashram in Rishikesh, India, in 1968 was to banish the pain that enveloped his soul ever since his girlfriend announced she was leaving him.

The 24-year-old never expected to meditate away the memories of his love sitting next to world-famous musicians who were also seeking spiritual answers.

For a week, Saltzman pondered life's eternal questions with the "kurta" clad Beatles as monkeys and parakeets hovered above. When they weren't deep in thought, the group -- which included entertainers Donovan, Mike Love and Mia Farrow -- playfully took pictures of each other in their private Hindu hideaway.

Saltzman will bring 29 of his pictures from the "magical and life-changing" trip to Chicago during the 29th annual Fest For Beatles Fans at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare, being held Aug. 19-21.

"I just get a lovely feeling from them because they are very intimate. There isn't any posing," said the Toronto-based Emmy winning filmmaker, now 61. "The shots are very natural, so you get to see them [the Beatles] in a different light."

Saltzman had not intended to share the personal collection of photos he shot with an inexpensive Pentax camera. But Saltzman's daughter, Devyani, told him the photos of the Liverpool natives wearing yellow and orange marigold garlands showed the importance of looking beyond material possessions, wealth and status.

Many of the 70 pictures Saltzman took were published in his 2000 book The Beatles in Rishikesh. Another limited edition coffee table book, The Beatles in India, will be published in the fall.

"They were unbelievably down to earth. None of that star stuff," Saltzman said of the Fab Four's demeanor in South Asia. "They were all different, but each was funny, welcoming, warm and playful."

Saltzman is honored to have met the Beatles as they worked on songs that ended up on the critically acclaimed White Album. All four men treated Saltzman like a friend and he still heeds the advice they gave him almost 40 years ago.

After Saltzman told John Lennon about his rough break-up, the late ex-Beatle sympathetically exclaimed, "Ah yes, love can be very tough on us sometimes, can't it? But the great thing with love is that you'll always get another chance."

Harrison sought purpose

Unbeknownst to Saltzman, Lennon had already fallen in love with Yoko Ono and was secretly writing letters to her from India even though he had brought his wife, Cynthia, to the ashram.

Saltzman also fondly recalled watching George Harrison practice the sitar and question his purpose in life. Harrison had told Saltzman, "Like, we're the Beatles after all, aren't we? We have all the money you could dream of. We have all the fame you could ever wish for. But it isn't love. It isn't health. It isn't peace inside, is it?"

Saltzman met with Paul McCartney's then actress girlfriend Jane Asher in London shortly after the trip. But he never made an effort to contact any of the Beatles until recently: Saltzman met Ringo Starr six weeks ago to hand him a copy of a picture of the drummer wearing a gold Nehru jacket.

He also met Cynthia Lennon in Berlin last month. Cynthia Lennon told Saltzman the picture he took of John Lennon with a guitar across his chest and a hand to an ear was "the best picture I've ever seen of him."

Saltzman said he never thought to take any pictures with the Beatles or ask them for their autographs while in India. "I just saw them as people," he said.

http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-beatles10.html

Ringo Starr (left), watches as John Lennon and Paul McCartney sing during a retreat in India in 1968. Pictures of them were taken by Paul Saltzman, a photographer who was seeking to heal a broken heart.

George Harrison pondered the meaning of life during the retreat, saying that all the fame and money could not buy him love.

Unique Pictures of Beatles Shown After Being Forgotten for 30 Years
Nov 14, 2005
http://www.theepochtimes.com/news/5-11-14/34568.html

John said, "If the Beatles or the sixties had a message, it was to learn to swim. Period. And once you learn to swim, swim. You make your own dream. That's the Beatles story, isn't it?"

"Yeah, and love can be pretty tough on us, can't it?" John said. We sat quietly, a moment suspended in time, and then he smiled, almost mischievously, "But then, eventually, you get another chance, don't you?"
"For sure," I said. We were silent again, and after a while John said, "Off to write me music, then."

SALTZMAN REMEMBERS:
I first saw John, Paul, George and Ringo sitting outside at a long table by the edge of the cliff that overlooked the Ganges and Rishikesh. Somewhat nervously, I walked over. "May I join you?"
I asked. "Sure, mate." answered John. And Paul said, "Pull up
a chair." (Seeing Paul play with his baby finger brought the title
to mind.)

SALTZMAN REMEMBERS:
George spoke softly, as he looked at me, "You can have everything in life. Like, we're the Beatles, aren't we? We can have anything that money can buy. And all the fame we could dream of. And then what? It isn't love. It isn't health. It isn't peace inside, is it?"

SALTZMAN REMEMBERS:
Ringo was calm, quiet, almost motionless. Of the four Beatles, he appeared the most serene to me, the most grounded, the most at ease with who he was. (I find Ringo's gentle shyness endearingly revealed in this picture.)

SALTZMAN REMEMBERS:
Looking at this picture, John and Paul pausing between songs, John's word's on ego come back to me: "Good one, mate! How to do good for others and for yourself at the same time. And where's the line between? I still have that in me head, too." The key, he said, was whether our ego results in good or in hurt for others. "That's where you draw the line, mate!"

SALTZMAN REMEMBERS:
I'll always love the Beatles. Not just for their music, and the joy and love they transmitted, encouraged and heralded, but also,
as individuals I had the good fortune to meet and like and enjoy. Thank you—John, Paul, George and Ringo.

SALTZMAN REMEMBERS:
As I spent time with the Beatles, Paul was the most overtly warm and friendly.
He was singing a few bars of 'Michelle' when I took this picture from a few feet away. Jane Asher was with Paul in Rishikesh, and he said that she inspired some of his most beautiful love songs.

SALTZMAN REMEMBERS:
Ringo asked me to shoot some film for him and when I finished he handed me back his 16mm camera and a roll of film. "Here Paul, shoot this for yourself and keep it, for the fun of it." Then he playfully added, in his wonderful Liverpudlian accent, "And who knows, it might be worth some money one day."

SALTZMAN REMEMBERS:
John and Paul were strumming their Martin acoustic guitars, singing fragments of songs, musically meandering through some of my favorites: "Michelle", "All You Need is Love", "Eleanor Rigby", and others. I got my camera and after taking a few pictures through the chainlink fence, I opened the gate and
joined them.

SALTZMAN REMEMBERS:
This is my all-time favourite shot of Paul. The gentle sensitivity in his eyes, the joyful smile on his lips, even mid-serenade, are part of the enormous, playful creativity he embodies.

SALTZMAN REMEMBERS:
The Beatles opened a door in my psyche. It was a key moment in my life. John was singing "Tomorrow Never Knows" and as the lyrics sank in I knew they were telling me of a journey I had not yet made—of an internal place that held great love and knowing. (I love this picture for John's intensity—a hallmark of his immense talent.)

SALTZMAN REMEMBERS:
I love this picture: John straightening his hair, striped socks and all, Cynthia and Mike Love chatting and Mal looking at the camera. It was taken during a break in the Maharishi's 'official photo' taking.