How the Indian Army Protected The Beatles From the Press
In India, The Beatles were not regular tourists. They stayed at an ashram (monastery) in the holy city of Rishikesh to learn about spirituality from the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the founder of Transcendental Meditation. One of The Beatles’ companions said the Fab Four had issues with the press. The Indian Army intervened, but even they couldn’t get rid of all of the reporters.
A guru got a local army in India to help The Beatles
Several other celebrities were present during The Beatles’ trip. They included actor Mia Farrow, Mike Love of The Beach Boys, and folk singer Donovan. Donovan had a string of hits between 1965 and 1969. They included “Hurdy Gurdy Man,” “Sunshine Superman,” “Catch the Wind,” “Mellow Yellow,” and “There Is a Mountain.”
During a 2016 interview with Vulture, Donovan shared some anecdotes from Rishikesh. “No press managed to break into the ashram when we were all there,” he said. “An amazing army of media were parked nearby for three days, until the Maharishi asked the local army to escort them out, but a few of them managed to stick around.”
The Beatles were so overwhelmed that they got a taste of a bleak future. During a 2018 interview with NBC News, George Harrison’s son, Dhani Harrison, said his father lived in a world of constant celebrity gossip before the rest of the world did. In addition, the panopticon the Fab Four lived with could be seen as a predecessor to the all-consuming monstrosity that is modern social media. It’s no wonder they wanted some privacy!
The army didn’t fix The Beatles’ privacy problem
Despite the army’s efforts, Donovan told Vulture that John Lennon still had to work to maintain his privacy. “So one morning, John was washing his hair in the jungle after breakfast — I was sitting on the patio of his little bungalow — and John turned around and saw a paparazzo trying to catch a photograph,” Donovan recalled. “Yes, a photograph of the famous John Lennon in the jungle. John, people forget this, but John had that Liverpool’s sailor swagger side to him. He wasn’t just the icon people think of now.
“So John saw this paparazzo and immediately started chasing him through the jungle, cursing and yelling at him,” he said. “I’d never seen someone so scared in my life as that photographer. John caught him and threw him over the fence of the ashram.” The “Season of the Witch” singer said that anecdote showed off a side of John he didn’t discuss. Donovan discussed how much he missed the “Imagine” singer.
Donovan said India was more meaningful than drugs
While the time at the ashram wasn’t always easy for The Beatles and company, Donovan felt it helped him immeasurably. During a 2013 interview with Performing Songwriter, Donovan recalled that he and The Beatles stepped away from their commitments in Rishikesh. While there, they abstained from meat, alcohol, and hash.
Furthermore, Donovan was able to get into a deeper state of meditation than he ever had before. He felt the experience was far more profound than doing drugs. That’s quite a compliment from a hippy!
The Beatles’ time in Rishikesh was far from perfect but it gave them some great stories.
