Beatles Ashram in Rishikesh sees more footfalls of Indians rather than foreigners

The erstwhile 'Ashram' (camp) of the Beatles Guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi is located in Rishikesh and has completed one year of its reopening. During this period, it has seen more footfall of Indian tourists compared to foreign tourists.
This ashram was the spiritual camp where the Beatles of Liverpool composed over 50 songs during their stay in 1968 when members of the Beatles musical group landed in Rishikesh to create worldwide media hype.
Ringo Starr was there for 10 days, Paul McCartney for five weeks and John Lennon and George Harrison lived in the holy township, located on the banks of river Ganga, for eight weeks each - they were learning meditation.
This has been reported in thestatesman.com dated 8 December 2016.

At present, the Beatles 'Ashram' is under the control of Uttarakhand forest department's Rajaji Tiger Reserve. The Maharish Mahesh Yogi Ashram had been lying in complete neglect for over one decade. It was famous as Chaurasi Kutiya (84 huts) and had reopened for tourists on 8 December last year.
During these 12 months, a total of 8,634 Indian and 1,348 foreign tourists visited the giggling Guru's former ashram in Rishikesh and, by throwing the retreat for tourists, the forest department earned a revenue of Rs 19.80 Lakh in one year. The Rajaji Tiger Reserve now charges entry fee from each tourist for their visit to the 'Ashram'. The entry fee is Rs 600 for each foreign tourist and Rs 150 for Indians.
The huge number of Indians touring the place has taken the forest department by surprise. It was the place where the Fab Four composed songs of their iconic albums Abbey Road, Let it Be and The White Album.


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Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr rejoin to bring back the era of The Beatles

The Beatles members Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr rejoined in Las Vegas on the 10th anniversary celebration of Cirque du Soleil’s Beatles-themed show, “Love“. The show was a hit collaboration between the French- Canadian circus troupe and The Four Brothers who had changed the entire music era after their rock n roll and pop compositions hit the floors in the early 1960s.
This has been reported in thehindu.com dated 17 July 2016.

74-year-old Sir Paul McCartney was one of the surviving members of the group and he was accompanied by his wife, Nancy Shevell. Ringo Starr was the other surviving member. They had with them the band’s frontman John Lennon’s widow, Yoko Ono apart from several other family members and friends.
Both Sir McCartney and Ringo Starr joined the cast onstage at the end of the event to thank them. The music director of the show, Giles Martin, shared the stage with the legends and recalled his father, George Martin - another of the group. He passed away this year, and although he was not present, the music lives on.
Ron Howard also attended the event. He had directed the upcoming “Eight Days a Week: The Touring Years”. This is a documentary about the first half of The Beatles’ career and is scheduled for release in September.


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Sir Paul McCartney to star in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales

It is rumored that Sir Paul McCartney (73) has joined the cast of Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. US entertainment site Deadline has revealed that producer Jerry Bruckheimer and directors Joachim Ronning and Espen Sandberg have added "an extra big set-piece" scene which is "built around" Sir Paul McCartney, the former Beatle.
The role he will perform in is not disclosed and his publicist has declined to comment.
This has been reported in nzherald.co.nz dated 26 March 2016.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales is the fifth entry in the blockbusting Pirates of the Caribbean franchise and is filmed in Queensland. It stars Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow.
Incidentally, McCartney is noit new to movies. He has appeared in several movies dating from his days as a member of the Fab Four. Way back in 1964, he, alongside John Lennon, Ringo Starr and George Harrison had starred in A Hard Day's Night. The acclaimed movie, directed by Richard Lester, depicted a typical day in the life of The Beatles and featured a number of their songs.
Hard Day's Night was followed by Help! in the next year - this movie revolved around the chart-topping group facing an evil cult and, once again, it was driven by the music of The Beatles.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales will see Aussie Oscar winner Geoffrey Rush return as Barbossa and Orlando Bloom as Will Turner. In addition, Javier Bardem has been cast as villainous Captain Salazar while British actress Kaya Scodelario, of Skins fame, will play new character Carina Smyth.
The movie Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales is slated for release in 2017.


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