New Book Across The Universe
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Yes, Across the Universe is about the Beatles in India. but it seems to have a lot of information I never heard before.
It is full of first person accounts on Indian pop culture at the time (something I didn't know about) The accusation that the West was using the Maharishia to send spies to India, the KGB spyign to see if anything usefull could be used as mind control.
and I'm only a third into the book but it's nice to read something a bit different on a favorite but overread subject
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I just finished reading a new book about the Beatles time in India called Across the Universe. it didn't shed any light on the band themselves but it is worth a read to learn about Indian Pop culture at the time which I knew next to nothing about.
For example, my husband is into Bollywood movies and showed me a dance clip of one of the great female dancers from the mid 60s doing her stuff in a cabaret. at one point, mid song behind her were four men dressed as the Beatles singing I Want to Hold Your Hand in Hindi. I learned from that book that Beatle tribute bands were a big thing during that time period in India.
It didn't really shed any light on the Maharishi just explained a lot on how he operated in more detail and exactly where he came from and his experiences prior to the Beatles discovering him and his work (which was interesting)
What I didn't like was how the author hinted at all the bad times the Beatles went through once they returned to England after their sudden abandomement of the Maharishi and his ashram and movement was due to bad karma or a curse they may have recieved from their departure.
Now, I work with curses myself as a witch, but anyone who can now look at Beatles history with hindsight can see that everything was building way before they ever went to the ashram and it basically acted only like a big delay to the inevitable. (John was already in love with Yoko and legend says he even considered her going with them)
The author never mentions something I read on the net a while back that claims that George went back to see the Maharishi in the 90s to make ammends for what happened saying, "Forgive us. We were young." Don't know if that is true but it seems consistent with his character since he never gave up on what Hinduism had to offer his life. Too bad the author didn't know about it.
I remember seeing ruin porn of the ashram just a few years ago. It's abandoned and covered in Beatles related graffiti. It seems that the place is being turned into a Beatles shrine and a tourist spot and according to this book, there is a surge in interest in the Beatles in India among young people now
