—Categories: culture, uttarakhand

Rishikesh and Laxman Jhula

Auli -> Rishikesh -> Corbett National Park -> Varanasi -> Agra

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I headed towards Laxman Jhula next morning. Laxman Jhula is a quite and serene place that is separated from the noise and hurry of the town of Rishikesh just a few kilometers away. The Jhula itself is a cable stayed bridge across the Ganges. Laxman Jhula has a few temples located around it, including the tall Trayambakeshwar temple. Temples apart, Ganges and the surrounding scenery look beautiful, with the river flowing out from the mountains into the plains of North India.

River Ganges in Rishikesh
Ganga flowing out of foothills into Rishikesh

Lakshman Jhula, Rishikesh
Laxman Jhula with temples in the backdrop

As I walk towards the bridge, I notice a man with an interesting make-up and ask him for a few photographs. He obliges gladly, and then makes a justified request for a token donation for his service. He mumbles a few words later in Hindi which I don’t understand well. I think he invited me to his Ashram and asked me to have lunch before I proceed, but I am not sure.

Rishikesh
The man with the interesting makeup

You see three kinds of people around the Jhula. The tourists, hawkers and the babas. Some tourists are here to see the place, and some are here to experience the peace that Rishikesh offers. A few more stay on to learn Yoga or music. Rishikesh, with so many Ashrams and Yoga teaching centers justifiably dons the name of ‘Yoga Capital of the World’.

And there is variety in the things that hawkers sell. It may be a small place but there is everything that the tourist would look for. There are hotels, guest houses, restaurants, shops selling souvenirs like gems and jewelleries and shawls, money changers and everything else. Some one is baking fresh cookies across the bridge and I buy a few. An old man is baking fresh papads and they are tempting on this cold morning.

Rishikesh
Fresh Cookies! The banner in front says fresh, hot and tasty!

As I cross the bridge and walk further, the shops give way to mango orchards and Ashrams in the middle of forest. A few noisy jungle babblers are hopping from tree to tree. I reach to Ram Jhula, another footbridge across the river akilometer downstream. The footbridges are meant for pedestrians, but two wheelers squeeze their way along, and sometimes cows feel like crossing the river too.

Swargashram is the area beyond Ram Jhoola, a quite and serene place filled with Ashrams. The small path in Swargashram area runs right next to the river, and is crowded with shops, restaurants, and internet centers on one side and ashrams on the other side. I walk past some bigger ashrams of Rishikesh like the Geeta Bhavan and Parmarth Niketan. A hoarding in front of Parmarth Niketan announced the annual Yoga festival which was about to happen on the next month(first week of March). I loved the Swargashram, its quiteness and vibes, and the Ganga flowing right next to it, and immediately checked into a neat and tidy hotel behind Parmarth Niketan.

More on Rishikesh at paintedstork.com
* Rishikesh photo gallery
* Arriving at Rishikesh.
* Walking around Laxman Jhula
* Ganga Aarthi at Rishikesh
* Photo Essay: Babas of Rishikesh
* Rishikesh to Kaudiyala
* About Rishikesh

—Categories: culture, uttarakhand

Rishikesh

It must have been raining in the past few days. When we arrived in Dehradun on the early morning train, it was cold but pleasant. Air was fresh and crisp and the sight of trees of the mountains filled my eyes and my heart. It was still drizzling when we came in. A few hours later, we set forward to a short trip to Rishikesh.

See more about Rishikesh on paintedstork.com
1. Arriving at Rishikesh.
2. Walking around Laxman Jhula
3. Ganga Aarthi at Rishikesh
4. Photo Essay: Babas of Rishikesh
5. Rishikesh to Kaudiyala
6. About Rishikesh

Also see: Rishikesh photo gallery

I had made my picture of Rishikesh. I had dreamt about views of ice-tipped Himalayan mountains, Hermits seen walking around the Ganges, tonnes of pilgrims pouring into the temples, people bathing in Ganges, cold or chill weather that can’t be countered without layered clothing unless you are a Sadhu, and beautiful and scenic locales when you move out of town and so on. This had formed in me after seeing pictures of Kedar, Badri, Amarnath and such Himalayan pilgrimage places. We drove through the planes of Dehradun and reached Rishikesh in an hour. It was nothing of the sort that I imagined.

Rishikesh

Rishikesh is a small town that separated the planes from the hills. Fiery Ganges flows in here from far and high in the Himalayas, and mellows down into a gentle and steadily flowing river. In the month of February, the waters were brownish and muddy. She flows undisturbed but for a few rafters seen flowing down with the river. We did not see any meditating Yogis on rocks abound on the banks. It is a calm place, except for the small market area in the center of the town. You don’t see large crowds of noisy pilgrims disturbing the peace of the town.

The Ganga at Rishikesh/></p> <p><i>Ganges flowing...</i></div> <p>The town is dotted with 'ashrams' that teach meditation and Yoga techniques. As we drove around the town, we saw many of them near the banks of the river. Some of them appeared to be up to luring tourists to teach meditating, Yoga or offering Ayurvedic massages. A good number of visitors are from the west, who I presume come looking for knowledge in eastern philosophy. I fascinated on coming here someday and spending my time quietly and peacefully in the serene banks of the river with no chaos or confusions bothering my mind.</p> <div> <p><img src=

Loading rafts into a truck. Rafting is a popular activity in Rishikesh. You can see an ashram just behind the truck.

The hanging bridges – Ram Jhoola and Laxman Jhoola are the places normally visited by the casual tourist. There are a few temples near these bridges, which we did not explore. Flea markets selling clothes and woolen material, and a few restaurants crowd the streets lining around the bridges. I bought a few polished elliptical stones called ‘saligrama’. The big attraction to me was the river itself and the green hills around it forming a valley. While I found the town very beautiful and charming, there is not much that a ‘sight seeing’ tourist can expect in the town.

Shops in Rishikesh

Colorful clothes for sale near Laxman Jhula

Temple near Laxman Jhula

A temple at the backdrop of Laxman Jhula

My camera found many subjects of interest in the town. The bright and colorful clothes in the flea market were catchy. The people and the Sadhus were interesting. The market was vivid, and then there was Ganges. Our stay in Rishikesh was short before we proceeded to Joshimath. But I look forward to return here sometime.