La Gringa y Su Esposo: Haridwar and Rishikesh

March 22 – 28, 2019

We took an early morning express train to Haridwar, one of the holiest cities in the Hindu faith. It is where the Ganges exits the Himalaya, and per the legend, is where Vishnu is said to have dropped divine nectar. Still sleep-deprived, we napped the afternoon away before heading out to the Har-ki-Pairi Ghat. A ghat is a set of steps leading down into a body of water that allows for bathing (very common on the Ganges). We had read about a nightly ceremony where pilgrims send candle lit offerings down the river and were curious to check it out. We walked through narrow bazaar streets down to the Ganges, crossing a bridge and walking along a broad sidewalk along the river. Ganges water is holy, so people selling containers (for takeaway) were common. The crowd thickened as we approached the ghat and we arrived at sunset with a ceremony in full swing. The steps along the river were packed. The current was pretty swift, so people clung to chains a few feet out as they submerged themselves in the water. Three or four barbers sat on the ground shaving heads, maybe as part of a cleansing ritual? There was some call and response chanting, and after sunset, fires were lit in large bowls and ceremonially passed around the crowd. A procession of small colorful ornate palanquins carrying statues and images of deities marched past. There weren’t many westerners and we got propositioned for a number of selfies. I have yet to get paid for any of them, though I do ask. It was a festive and enjoyable atmosphere.

The next morning we headed to Rishikesh, the “yoga capital of the world”, to stay at Anand Prakash Yoga Ashram for five days. We didn’t really know what to expect, but wanted to try out the experience. We knew we’d get three meals a day and that there was a pretty extensive daily schedule including 3 hours of yoga. There was a dress code of light colored fabrics “to preserve the Sattvik energy”, covered shoulders, and nothing too tight. There goes my whole yoga wardrobe. We arrived right before lunch, filing into the group dining hall at the ringing of the meal bell, grabbing steel plates, cups, and spoons from a rack on the way in. We sat in rows on the floor in front of small tables. Serving staff walked around with large buckets of food and quickly dished out rice, dal, vegetable curry, and chapati. Ghee, coconut oil, or olive oil could be added for some flavor and calories, as otherwise the food was very simple and light compared with most of the restaurant food we’d been eating. (Also, not spicy!) After the food was dished we all joined in a simple mantra in Hindi about the singular divinity in all things, including the food and those who eat it. Meal finished, we cleaned up after ourselves, recycling food scraps for the cows and washing our dishes before putting them back in the racks.

Now that we were properly introduced to ashram life, we walked along one of the main roads to buy what we began to call our cult uniforms: all white/light colored shirts and loose-fitting pants. We were dressed appropriately for evening yoga. Yoga here is based on Akhanda yoga, which is most notable for calling down dog mountain pose. During free time people would hang out in several small seating areas spread throughout the ashram, chatting with each other or on their phones using the free wi-fi. It’s a very western ashram, catering almost exclusively to western clientele. The rooms all have 2-3 twin sized beds and a private bathroom in them. Tim and I got one to ourselves, which is nice, but solo travelers share rooms.

A typical day: Silence until after breakfast. The wake up bell rings at 5:00 am. Guided meditation starts at 5:20 am, with a short break before yoga from 6:00–7 :30 am. Then there’s fire puja (singing/chanting around the fire) 7:50-8:20, then the bell rings for breakfast at 8:30 am. Free time until lunch at 12:30 pm, then an afternoon yoga session at 4:00 pm and dinner at 6:00 pm. On Tues/Thurs there’s a Kirtan ceremony (another drum circle) in the evening, and Mon/Weds/Fri are silent dinners. We went to most of the yoga sessions, and a few of the meditations, but otherwise ashram life didn’t really suit us. We mostly spent the days reading, napping, and eating. A nice few days, don’t get me wrong! Just no big spiritual awakenings. One thing that struck me, there’s a phrase that’s used frequently in the ashram and around Rishikesh: “hari om”. It seemed to mean thank you, or welcome, or something. On the third day I asked someone who had been here for a while what it meant, and she didn’t know. She turned to the guy next to her and asked him, and he didn’t know either. “It’s just something we say.” Hmm. Well, at least we tried it!

One day we skipped lunch for a nearby cooking class at Cooking Masala, which was great. We learned about the “mother sauce” for all red curries and made garlic naan, butter paneer masala, aloo ghobi, and chai tea. Did you know the creaminess of butter masala dishes is not cream but blended cashews and raisins?? After class we walked down to the famous suspension bridges of Rishikesh in the afternoon and finally submerged ourselves in the divine water of the Ganges, fresh from the Himalayas. A few locals in the water laughed with us as we recovered from the icy shock.

Tim dunking in the Ganges

Our time in India is coming to a close. We spent about 6 weeks here in total, and saw a good bit of the country. However, India truly is massive and has such rich cultural diversity, I think it’s true when people say you could spend a lifetime and still not see it all. Also, this may be a premature celebration since we still have 36 hours in the country, but neither Tim nor I sh*t our pants. Hari om!

Next up: Uzbekistan.