Anand Mahindra gets nostalgic over Rishikesh, as holy city gears up for makeover: 'Hope it holds on to its soul...'; what is the city's Beatles connection?

Rishikesh is one of the major pilgrimage sites for Hindus in India. Business tycoon Anand Mahindra recently got sentimental over this holy city. Taking to X, the Mahindra Group Chairman reminisced about how he once used to visit the city frequently when he was a budding filmmaker. He revealed he used to head up to the serene hills behind Swargashram to film the sadhu, Bankhandi Baba. He also ate often at the iconic Chotiwala restaurant when he was making his thesis movie. He said he hasn’t been to the city for many years, but news of it undergoing a renovation had triggered his interest in the city once more. He said he got to know the city will now have riverfront walkways and more elaborate public places. He said that he hoped all the makeover would not take away the soul from the holy city.

“Haven’t been back for a while. But Rishikesh seems to be getting quite a makeover! New riverfront walkways, spruced-up public spaces. A welcome facelift for a town where nature has always done most of the decorating.

But I just hope that, amid all the changes, Rishikesh holds on to its soul.


Time to go back and see for myself…” he wrote.


Located on the right bank of the Ganges River, Rishikesh is a popular pilgrimage spot for Hindus and a place filled with innumerable temples and ashrams. It is a vegetarian-only city, and alcohol is forbidden there as well. Rishikesh serves as a major gateway to the four revered Char Dham pilgrimage sites: Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri. The city is also a convenient starting point for exploring Himalayan destinations such as Harsil, Chopta and Auli. Adventure enthusiasts can use it as a base for reaching popular summer and winter trekking trails, including Dodital, Dayara Bugyal, Kedarkantha and Har Ki Dun.

The city gained global prominence after the Beatles visited it in 1968 – spending some time at Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s ashram and also composing several songs during their stay, which were published on the band’s album ‘White Album'. This led to Rishikesh being labelled as the ‘Yoga Capital’ of the world.