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It was in 1968 that a young Canadian filmmaker, seeking solace in TM for a broken heart, was befriended by The Beatles in Rishikesh during their immersive study with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. In 2000, Paul Saltzman published his wonderfully immediate photos in a book (The Beatles in Rishikesh), later augmented and re-published as The Beatles in India in 2018. 2020 saw the release of his documentary, Meeting The Beatles in India – a film that brings together others who were there (Pattie and Jenny Boyd) as well as the real “Bungalow Bill,” Beatles historian Mark Lewisohn and filmmaker David Lynch, a major booster of TM.
You can check out Paul’s website here, and see the film as well as participate in a Q&A with Paul at the first Fab4ConJam on February 21, 2021.
Details: fab4conjam.com
I, as I am sure many other listeners were, was struck by Paul’s humility in his recounting of his time at Rishikesh. It is something that I have noticed about many other guests on SATB in just how pleasantly scrupulous they are in the telling of exactly what interactions they did, or did not, have with the Beatles during their years as a group or afterward whilst solo.
A cynic might contend that this is because fact checking is perhaps easier today and that interaction with the four, either directly or tangentially, is often well-documented, but I would prefer to view it that there were/are simply a good number of individuals with high character traits who don’t exaggerate their experiences. This is indeed a welcome aspect of these interviews as all too often people are tempted to embellish their proximity to the famous. Good interviewing techniques of course also help with this so kudos to Robert for asking the right questions.
This hewing to the straight history of such interactions well serves the quest of SATB and fans to properly archive what did and did not happen.
Very strong episode on many levels, but particularly on this one.
rare moment(s) nice recollection. Ob-La-Di-Ob-La-Da was co0opted from Nigerian percussionist, Jimmy Scott. McCartney made a deal with Scott and got him out of a legal issue in exchange for Scott not legally pursuing intellectual rights to the phrase often used in his performances.
Maybe it’s just me, but Paul sounds just like actor Frank Langella.