'Rishikesh' inside out

Recalling the last week's visit to Rishikesh, and apart from the usually discussed natural beauty & the beautiful sight of the Ganga river what struck me hard is the people’s memory of the Uttarakhand floods in 2013. It had caused enormous loss of lives & properties. More than 6,000 people lost their lives and thousands of them lost their livelihood.

October 2021 – my visit

It has so happened that there were heavy rains in the upper parts of the Himalayas during my visit last week and in just three days of downpour, there was already a tumultuous flood in the Ganga. The crystal clear water of the silently flowing river marred with the fresh alluvial soil and it must be flowing by at least 2 meters above its usual October level. We could see many uprooted trees were flowing with the river. All the Ghats were flooded. There were reports of several landslides and this caused the Chardham yatra to be stopped.

It was at this pretext that I have encountered several people belittling this flood and talking about the 2013 floods and the fear in their faces while they talk about it. One lady who was selling fruits by the street told me that she has never seen anything of such scale. The foreigners were stranded. Humans and animals could be seen flowing with the river along with the houses, vehicles, and trees. People have to be fed with airlifted food.

Rishikesh

It’s a beautiful place surrounded by the lower ranges of the Shivalik Himalayas. The beauty is further aggravated by the sight of the Ganga river which until here was majorly flowing beneath the rocks and boulders in the upper Himalayan ranges. It is further down in the city of Haridwar that Ganga could be seen flowing at its fullest might. The river water is usually cold even during the peak of the Summer season. Moving down further in the lower plains that it is polluted with industrial dumps and untreated sewage waste that the quality of the water would severely deteriorate. There are more than 900 dams in the Ganga river. The river and several of its tributaries are the lifelines of more than half of the population of the India.

It is since ancient times that with the setting up of civilizations, kings and Monarchs would capitalize religion and they would build big temples and beautiful architecture to mark their positions as benevolent caretaker of their subjects. These religious centers would be populated by markets and administrative centers and within no time become the economic centers of the region. Large number of people would come to visit the established shrines, or to get their work done, or to procure material for their businesses, and so on. Indian temples have been famous for their enormous wealth even today. This is so, many big businessmen and even simple common men would donate something while they would visit here.

The visit to these Himalayan towns and further up into the colder zones were made more accessible during recent times. With the commercialization of the tourism sector and also due to the increasing population, it is today that we see huge crowds in these tectonically unstable places. It is a matter of huge debate and dilemma, do every one of them who come to visit these places really understand the ecological importance of it? Comparing to the peninsular part of India which is hard rock & these mountains are moving towards north.

Religion & Sages

India has been a land of devoted sages and learned men who would leave behind the luxuries of life and their families and other relationships and live a free man’s life. No, it is not that simple as it seems. They perform austerities & live in great isolation, away from friends, family, sex, delicious food & trade. They live with meager lifestyle, eat what has been bestowed to them by good people and mostly wear a simple cotton cloth to cover their bodies. Comparing them with the pompous ones popular in the media would be a mistake. There are many who do not wear anything at all in their bodies. They mostly live away from the ‘civilized’ societies. In Rishikesh, they are found in quantum numbers. It’s a place of sages to be, and thus we will discuss why is it so and also how we understand the Indian form of liberty?

Rishikesh is heavily populated with Ashrams, trusts and various spiritual centers. Here, common people could discuss several Indian scriptures, learn Yoga and meditation and so on. It’s an attractive site to many foreign tourists who come here for seeking peace and also un-braiding several life-related questions. We may need to ponder into this contrast and its importance in the current Indian milieu. We may also need to think doubly about its long-term sustenance and continuous higher creative output.

It is 5 O clock in the morning. The cold wind was flowing with uncommon sweetness. Not many people are awake. We could hear the sound of Ganga flowing silently at its pace. It's flooded. Several sages are up and sitting beside the Ganga river, performing their daily rituals, many meditating in deep silence. The valley from which the Ganga flows is surrounded by the Himalayas. It is a sight to behold. It is peace-giving. This must be the most important period of the day, as with time people will flock to the Ghats in large numbers. Many would crowd the place for clicking selfies etc. 300 kilometers away from this place towards the south, is the capital city of Delhi, the most polluted and most populated city of the world. In 2019, it broke all the records of air pollution and several people were reported with respiratory ailments. Will an ascetic be able to live here?

It is thoughtful to realize that people could be eccentrically religious in their outlook and also in their ways and it will be tolerated by the society! No judgements. One is free to experiment our ways. Ascetics have been considered the assets of the country. They are considered above the rigid caste system that prevails in the country. They have been the soul of the cultural enigma that people from all strata follow. Many of these sages discussed, debated and wrote several works of literature that now form a sacred part of Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism. It has been made possible because of the resonating effect of the liberal traditions that must have been allowed by the people and the authority simultaneously. Yet, we know that the country has seen peaks of the prevalence of different sects and their forms over time. These mountains belong to no one religion, no one belief & no one sect.

Liberty

It must be 6:30 AM that I have strolled enough near the Ghats and pondered over the views that it offers. Many of the tea stalls are now in action. Over the streets, we see plastic litters, cow dung, bidi leftovers, reddish pan stains and so on. As I sat across a stall, I hear an orange-clad sadhu talking to another, “they say that, see! That sadhu has a mobile phone! Cannot we have mobile phones? What is wrong with it? We also have to talk to some people and don’t you remember that during the floods how it helped all of us!”. Another replied, “Yeah, you see that the food that is meant for us sadhus is diverted to somewhere else…”. He had a polythene in which was kept some fruits, chapatis and some curry.

It is true that several of the sadhus are not committed to ascetism. They may just be escaping the labor of living a life in the capitalist-feudalistic structured mainstream society. Nowadays, many Indian ascetics have toiled their name in scandals that have given them a bad name. How should modern polity respond to this? What is the limit? Is there a limit? What's considered dogmatic & how to segregate? If any, will it effect the liberty overall?

It’s 7 ‘O'clock and after having a dip in the holy river, I was now walking in the streets of Rishikesh. There are several ashrams and temples along the way. Well, as I was walking down, I could hear the mesmerizing sound of ‘hare Rama, hare Krishna' bhajans played over harmonium and tongs. I peeked through one of them and through eye contact asked for permission if I could be a part of it? It was swiftly accepted and soon I found a corner to sit silently. It was a powerful moment as I experienced easy acceptance and accessibility. Over the part of the day, I must have sat in 4-5 such ashrams and became part the environment. I was not denied admission anywhere! There were no entry fees. Your caste and religious background will not be asked! Like this, we could freely enter many ashrams and experience a peaceful environment. I felt equal, unexposed and common merit. Several of these ashrams are funded by good people. There are several cheap ashrams for accommodations too. It is obviously in sharp contrast to the commercial phenomenon taking place side by side. There are fancy restaurants, sporty adventures, resorts, shops and so on. The place will soon be bustling with a mixed crowd.

Governance

It was 10:30 PM. The Ghats were empty. I was safely sitting by one of the Ghats and looking over the flooded Ganga. There was a sudden loud announcement that there was a release of excess water from the dam upstream and it may increase the water level of the river. It was to warn the people sitting nearby to be alert.

Across the Ghats, over several sheds, the sages were freely accommodating the space. It gives a sense of safety and stability, although I could not have a chance of encountering a women sage and it was deeply moving. I could see several tourists and also ‘sages’ having shots of marijuana. Now, this is a troubling debate because of the interrelation of drug channels and organized crimes in the country. There is also a danger of alienation and drug addiction. Should it be considered part of liberty? Many countries are now legalizing this plant. In India, it is allowed for medical research purposes, however, it is secretly prevalent all over the country.

While the city was fast asleep at this time of the hour, up over the mountains I could see jiggling lights of fossil-based vehicles making their way into the upper reaches… 

At last, we know that India is a lower-middle-class developing country. We went through several foreign invasions and a strong 200 years of colonialism that made us poor & hungry. Before the 1700s, the Indian subcontinent was one of the affluent economic centers of the world. Now we are at a dispatch of severe developmental parameters, dwindling polity, over-buzzing crimes, conflicts and a huge population with meager resources. Many of the developed countries are living their 21^st century and they are the path developer too. Post-Independence we chose an equidistant form of the secular republic. We had huge dreams and continue to do so. While we are the youngest country in the world, it is Himalayan time to ponder deeply and bring sustainability to our people. Not to forget that cultural diversity has continued to be our most strong organ… Lovely times... I remain grateful.