John Lennon and George Harrison arrive in Rishikesh

John and Cynthia Lennon, and George and Pattie Harrison arrived in Delhi at 8.15am, having flown overnight from London Airport.

They were met in Delhi by The Beatles’ assistant Mal Evans, who had arrived there on 14 February, and Mia Farrow.

Evans had organised three taxis to take the group from Delhi to Rishikesh, where they were to study meditation with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. It was a journey of some 150 miles.

Our arrival at Delhi went very much unheralded. We were bundled unmolested and travel-weary into three battered, ancient Indian taxis without all the usual fuss and frantic rush. It was wonderfully refreshing and stress free. After alighting from the taxis, we were shown to our living quarters. They consisted of a number of stone-built bungalows, set in groups along a rough road. Flowers and shrubs surrounded them and were carefully tended by an Indian gardener whose work speed was dead slow, and stop.