Rare memorabilia at an exhibition to mark 50 years of The Beatles' visit to India
A throwback to Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da... as an exhibition in the United Kingdom to celebrate 50 years of the Beatles' visit to India and the seven-week stay at Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's ashram in 1968, is all set to open in London next month. A sitar used by the Pandit Ravi Shankar who introduced Indian classical music to the Fab Four will be the center of attraction at the exhibition. The sitar is being loaned to the Beatles Story museum in Liverpool by the Ravi Shankar Foundation.
Diane Glover, manager at the Beatles Story museum said the exhibition will feature never-before-seen memorabilia, photographs and personal accounts from the people who spent time with John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and George Harrison in Mahesh Yogi's ashram on the banks of the Ganges.
The two-year-long exhibition will be part of a permanent museum called The Beatles Story in Liverpool, the hometown of the Fab Four. They wrote around 48 songs during their stay in Rishikesh -among them are the all-time hits "Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da", "Back In The USSR" and "While My Guitar Gently Weeps".
"The 1968 visit to India was an important one, a time of reflection for the Beatles as their manager, Brian Epstein, had died in the summer of 1967, and they escaped, away from their fans and the media in search of spirituality," Diane Glover who visited Mahesh Yogi's erstwhile ashram in Rishikesh last year said.
This year is also George Harrison's 75th birth anniversary. The guitarist had celebrated his 25th birthday with his bandmates at the ashram during their India tour. There will be India-inspired programmes throughout 2018 including workshops and Q & A sessions at the UK exhibition.
With inputs from PTI