Sacred Frames

Rooms at Roseate Ganges come with ringside views of a forested valley carved by the gurgling Ganga and the Himalayan outdoors always at eye level

- Gustasp and Jeroo Irani

She writhed and swayed as the notes of the bhajan wafted off the Ganga like a divine benediction. Like the woman, others in the audience, too, had been transported to a divine plane. On our first evening in Rishikesh, we attended the Parmarth Ashram’s Ganga aarti, gazing at the jade-green river chortle along its periphery. The deep timbre chanting was heady, as were the flashes of colour… marigold offerings, flaming lamps, priests garbed in red and gold.

After the stirring aarti, we drove to our own haven for the mind, body and soul, the Roseate Ganges located near the quiet neighbourhood of Shivpuri, the launch site for river rafting, and a half-hour drive north of the thrum of downtown Rishikesh. A luxury boutique resort that offers instant relaxation, the Roseate Ganges is in a sense the newest ashram of wellness in a town that has for many years been a magnet for alternative visitors seeking enlightenment and inner peace. The Beatles famously stayed here in the sixties. Rishikesh hasn’t looked back since