It all began in the 1960s, when the Beatles arrived at Muni-ki-Reti, Rishikesh, looking for answers to life’s tough questions. They had everything going for them, fame, money, drugs, sex, in ample measure. Any yet, these phenomenally successful artistes, teenage symbols of youthful angst, were missing something.

Their sojourn to the banks of the Ganga would become the stuff of legend and forever altered the image of this obscure forest patch on the banks of the Ganga.

Beatles and the menagerie of cultural icons from the West, people like Mia Farrow, Prudence Farrow (commemorated in the famous Beatles song), and before them Timothy Leary and Bob Dylan, helped bring to Rishikesh the combination of Yoga, meditation, hash and babas or self-styled spiritual gurus.

Today, Rishikesh and more specifically, the areas of Muni-ki-Reti and Lakshman Jhula, are a strange mix of all these factors. The bottom line is that every summer thousands descend to these spots in order to battle their inner demons and to experience the vibe of what global seekers, influenced by Indian spirituality, do. Rishikesh is often touted as the Yoga Capital of the World.

Rishikesh has long been a spiritual center. It is said that sage Raibhya practiced severe penance here and as a reward, god appeared to him in the form of Hrishikesh, hence the name. Rishikesh has numerous ashrams, some internationally recognised as centers of philosophical studies, yoga and meditation.

In the first week of March, Rishikesh plays host to two huge events, the Yoga festivals. While one of them is a government sponsored jamboree with an impressive cast of babas with their devotees in tow, the other one is organised by Parmarth Ashram at Muni-Ki-Reti, with an equally impressive guest list.

The effort, in both cases, is to create world records in attendance and to outdo each other with their scale and grandeur. Both events are held on the same dates with many godmen paying visits to both events, creating a strange sense of competition that contradicts the very ethos these festivals seek to promote.

Jumping into the fray is another crowd funded event that has not only chosen a new site but also different dates to make a small beginning by bringing in music, art and heritage in a more participative format for the visitors.

The spot chosen to host the festival is Lakshman Jhula, where the exquisite setting on the fast-flowing Ganga, surrounded by forested hills, is conducive to meditation and mind expansion.

In the evening, an almost supernatural breeze blows down the valley, setting temple bells ringing as sadhus, pilgrims and tourists prepare for the evening Ganga Arti, the invocation to the river. Known as the Rishikesh Festival, the event is proposed as an annual event to be held for three days on the last weekend of March, with the holy Ganga forming the backdrop.

While the mornings will be dedicated to heritage walks, talks and painting, the evenings will feature concerts by visitors and artistes representing different genres. A free-to-enter festival, it will be dependent on voluntary contributions. The purpose of the event is to spread general well-being, love and respect for the spiritual tradition. The event will be completely waste and plastic free.

The purpose of the Rishikesh Festival is to focus on Ganga as the river eternal, to shift the focus subtly from the commercial, as espoused by the mushrooming ashrams and godmen, to the spiritual, inner quest, an emotion this divine space represents.

Governments and established ashrams must take a cue from this small festival that has just stepped out to invent itself. Rather than organise large events that invite freebooting multitudes, the events on the Ganga must sharply focus on presenting the authenticity of India’s culture in itself a reflection of the spiritual. Festivals here must focus on sending out the message of keeping the river clean and saving it ecologically. They must also dispel the prevalent idea that the river is a self-renewing entity that will clean up all the filth that we dump into it.

We are all aware that the Ganga is in grave danger and all our efforts to clean it are not yielding the expected results. The only way we can bring back the lost glory of the Ganga is to educate humans about the spiritual strength offered by this mother river that is crucial for the survival of millions of Indians.

Small festivals may only be a speck in the ocean, but they will definitely leave lasting impressions on pilgrims and visitors, as compared to mega-events.