The Beatles and India

The Beatles’ first Indian visit

The Beatles had a very brief stop in Calcutta while on tour on the morning of 8 June 1964. However, their first proper visit was in 1966, the day after their troubled trip to the Philippines came to an end.

The 1966 Indian visit following a brief refuelling stop in Bangkok, early in the morning of 6 July 1966. Although they had hoped to spend time in India resting and discovering the country’s music, their stay was anything but relaxing. Six hundred fans greeted their arrival at Delhi Airport in New Delhi, and the Oberoi Hotel, where they stayed, was soon surrounded.

Before the tour was planned, I had an arrangement made that on the return journey from the Philippines to London I would stop off in India, because I wanted to go and check it out and buy a good sitar. I had asked Neil if he would come with me, because I didn’t want to be in India on my own. He agreed, and we had booked for the two of us to get off in Delhi.

Somewhere between leaving London and going through Germany and Japan to the Philippines, one by one the others had all said, ‘I think I’ll come, too.’ But we got to Delhi and, after the experience in the Philippines, the others didn’t want to know. They didn’t want another foreign country – they wanted to go home.

I was feeling a little bit like that myself; I could have gone home. But I was in Delhi, and as I had made the decision to get off there I thought, ‘Well, it will be OK. At least in India they don’t know The Beatles. We’ll slip in to this nice ancient country, and have a bit of peace and quiet.’

The others were saying, ‘See you around , then – we’re going straight home.’ Then the stewardess came down the plane and said, ‘Sorry, you’ve got to get off. We’ve sold your seats on to London,’ and she made them all leave the plane.

So we got off. It was night-time, and we were standing there waiting for our baggage, and then the biggest disappointment I had was a realisation of the extent of the fame of The Beatles – because there were so many dark faces in the night behind a wire mesh fence, all shouting, ‘Beatles! Beatles!’ and following us.

We got in the car and drove off, and they were all on little scooters, with the Sikhs in turbans all going, ‘Hi, Beatles, Beatles!’ I thought, ‘Oh, no! Foxes have holes and birds have nests, but Beatles have nowhere to lay their heads.’

The Beatles managed to sneak out using the hotel’s rear exit, and did some sightseeing and shopping.

Delhi was a really funny feeling. I’m sure a lot of people have had this experience when they go there. In the parts of New Delhi that were built by the British, it isn’t the little streets you might expect: we were on big wide roads, dual carriageways with roundabouts.

The amazing thing was that there were so many people out there. All the roundabouts had hundreds and hundreds of people sitting in the dark, a lot of them squatting in groups, including old guys with pipes. There were crowds of people everywhere. I was thinking, ‘God! What’s happened?’ It was as if the Superbowl was on, or there’d been a big disaster, with all the people milling around. Then you get to realise that’s how it is – there are a lot of people there.

Meeting Maharishi Mahesh Yogi

The Beatles’ association with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi began on 24 August 1967, when they attended one of his lectures in London.

Maharishi came to a hall in London and we all got tickets and sat down near the front row. There were a lot of flowers on the stage and he came on and sat cross-legged. And he looked great and he talked very well and started to explain, and I still think his idea is fine.

Encouraged by Pattie Harrison, The Beatles and their partners – minus Ringo and Maureen Starkey, whose second child Jason had been born five days previously – attended the lecture at the Hilton Hotel on Park Lane. Tickets cost seven shillings and sixpence.

The Harrisons had become interested in Eastern philosophy during a six-week holiday in Bombay towards the end of 1966. The following year Pattie attended a lecture on Transcendental Meditation at Caxton Hall, London, where she had been given her mantra. Inspired by her new discovery, she encouraged George to accompany her to Maharishi’s lecture at the Hilton.

Then, joy of joys, I discovered that Maharishi was coming to London in August to give a lecture at the Hilton Hotel. I was desperate to go, and George said he would come too. Paul had already heard of him and was interested, and in the end we all went – George, John, Paul, Ringo, Jane and I. Maharishi was every bit as impressive as I thought he would be, and we were spellbound.

At the end we went to speak to him and he said we must go to Wales where he was running a ten-day summer conference of the Spiritual Regeneration Movement. It started in two days’ time. We leapt at it.

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On August 24, all of us except Ringo attended the lecture, given by Maharishi at the Hilton Hotel. I got the tickets. I was actually after a mantra. I had got to the point where I thought I would like to meditate. I’d read about it and I knew I needed a mantra – a password to get through into the other world. And, as we always seemed to do everything together, John and Paul came with me.

At the end of the lecture they had a private audience with the Indian master of Transcendental Meditation. Suitably inspired, they agreed to travel the following day to Bangor, Wales, to attend a 10-day series of seminars.

Their stay in north Wales was cut short following the death of Brian Epstein. A planned trip to Rishikesh, India, was also postponed while The Beatles agreed to press on with the Magical Mystery Tour film and soundtrack.

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