The Uncarved Blog

Do you remember The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill that John Lennon wrote and sang on the Beatles White Album? It was based on a real person who was on the same Transcendental Meditation Course the Beatles had attended in Rishikesh, India with Maharishi.

Richard Cooke III was there with his mother, Nancy Cooke de Herrera, who was a publicist for Maharishi at the time. Maharishi had assigned Nancy to look after the Beatles during the course.

I don’t know if Richard stayed for the whole TM training course, but he took time off to go on an elephant-riding tiger-hunting trip while he was in India. He killed a tiger and was proud of his accomplishment, as was his mother, who related the story to Maharishi. John happened to be in that meeting. Richard and his mother are referenced in the song’s lyrics.

A friend sent me this new article, which brings us up to date. Here is the continuing story of Richard “Rikki” Cooke III in his own words: My Last Hunt, published in Chasing the Light.

It’s interesting how Maharishi’s response and John’s song profoundly altered the trajectory of Richard’s life. He decided to trade in his gun for a camera and did a different kind of shooting from then on. Learn more about Richard A. Cooke III at rikkicooke.com and National Geographic.

This photo shows Nancy with the Beatles and other celebrities attending the course at the ashram in Rishikesh. She’s the tall blond woman behind John Lennon and next to Paul McCartney. Others in this photo are: Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, George Harrison, Mia Farrow, John Farrow, (Mia and Prudence Farrow‘s brother) and Donovan Leitch. A larger photo shows Pattie Boyd in front of Nancy, and Jane Asher and Cynthia Lennon next to Donovan.

Meeting the Beatles in India film by Paul Saltzman

Update: Sept 9, 2020: Speaking of that time, a new film, Meeting The Beatles In India, about Paul Saltzman’s brief stay there, premieres tonight, 7pm, online at Gathr.com. Here’s an announcement about the film from the national TM Office of Communications with a message from the director. Here are a few film reviews: Cryptic Rock, NYS Music, and Variety. Paul’s website: https://thebeatlesinindia.com, and trailer.

I saw the film tonight. It was well done, personable, and revealing, as was the post‑screening discussion and Q&A with Emmy Award-winning director Paul Saltzman, and surprise guest Rikki Cooke III, aka “Bungalow Bill.” In the Q&A that followed, Rikki explained why he thought the remaining Beatles left the ashram abruptly. It made a lot more sense than the usual rumor mentioned in the article. I posted a comment (below) on the Variety article of what he said including related material.

There are several interviews posted on YouTube. Beatle Brunch host Joe Johnson spoke with Paul Saltzman on a zoom call about the film. This is another good interview published in the Cleveland.com. And this one from the BBC: When a ‘heartbroken’ backpacker met The Beatles in India.

International music journalist Jeff Slate wrote an article for The Daily Beast about the film: My Transformative Time With the Beatles in India. He contributed the usual rock history and interviewed Paul Saltzman, Jenny Boyd, Pattie’s sister, and Deepak Chopra, a close friend of George Harrison. In the Q&A that followed the premiere, Jeff heard Rikki Cooke’s explanation of why he thought the Beatles had left the ashram. Jeff appreciated this different perspective saying it was “one for the record.”

The documentary film, plus exclusively filmed Q&As moderated by Jeff Slate with Paul Saltzman, Jenny Boyd Levitt, Rikki Cooke, and Stephen Maycock from events in India, Germany and London are available on Gathr starting Friday, Sept 11, 2020. Total run time is 2hrs 20mins: movie, 1hr 20mins; Q&A Highlights, 1 hour.

I later found this excellent movie review by Beatles fan and Michigan State Theatre Programming and Media Coordinator Nick Alderink: This Week: Turn Off Your Mind, Relax and Meet the Beatles in India.

CTV News anchor Angie Seth interviewed Paul Saltzman at his home in Oakville, Ontario about his film and what it was like Meeting the Beatles in India. You can see it here.

Dec 21, 2020, Bob Roth announced on Instagram that a free rental of the film will be available between December 24th 2020 and January 1st 2021 thanks to @LynchFoundation and @TM_Program.

June 8, 2021, The Irish Times: Saltzman has been left with more than some priceless holiday photos. What memory does he still hold on to from that week? He replies, instantly: “Doing my first 30-minute meditation. It was fun meeting The Beatles, but that was secondary to the transformation of my inner life.” – Guardian

June 12, 2021, Paul Saltzman spoke to Mayank Chhaya about his story of meeting The Beatles in India. You can see this wonderful interview on Mayank Chhaya Reports YouTube channel.

In one incident, when Paul was in London, he describes how he was invited by a filmmaker friend to join him in a private first screening of a film they were working on. It turned out to be Yellow Submarine!

A surprised Mayank comments on this as another example of serendipity, things as if magically happening in Paul’s life. Paul then talks about the importance of listening to his soul, his intuition. That’s when unexpected things occurred.

Paul tells Mayank: “I do know that when we truly listen to our hearts, that’s the best guidance system on the planet. When we truly open ourselves to hear our own soul’s guidance, it never leads us wrong. It’s when we don’t listen to our inner guidance that we get …. (Mayank interrupts saying: “That’s when things go wrong.”) Maybe Paul was going to say that we get into trouble, i.e., we suffer.

It reminds me of what Maharishi said about being self-referral and enjoying the support of nature as a result of regular practice of Transcendental Meditation.

My comment to the Variety article:

Ken Chawkin                                                              September 9, 2020 at 10:39 pm

I saw the film tonight and enjoyed it. I stayed online for the Q&A that followed with director Paul Saltzman and surprise guest Richard “Rikki” Cooke III, aka, Bungalow Bill. One of the questions asked was why the Beatles had left the ashram, and did it have something to do with Maharishi supposedly making a pass at one of the female course participants. That story was a fabrication created by a jealous Magic Alex to draw John Lennon out of there. But Cooke had another explanation, and it had nothing to do with Alex, although he said he stirred up a lot of trouble while he was there. I had also read about this explanation in a book years ago. The Beatles had told Maharishi of their desire to make a documentary film about him and his message of TM to help create world peace. Maharishi was amenable and they were excited to do it. Unfortunately, Charlie Lutes, the leader of the TM movement at that time, had already signed a deal with Four Star Productions, and they had dispatched a film crew to Rishikesh, India. Cooke said when the Beatles found out, they were disappointed, upset, and decided to leave. Rikki said he saw them walk out the north gate at the same time the film crew were coming in through the south gate. He said it was an unfortunate misunderstanding. I had also heard that when John and George had gone to speak with Maharishi beforehand, most thought it was to ask about his making a pass at a girl. But the real reason may have been to verify the rumor of a Four Star film crew coming to make a documentary. If so, they would not want to be involved with it in any way, and would be leaving. With both John and George gone we may never know for sure, although it seems more plausible. Of course, John would write Sexy Sadie in retaliation. He had originally used Maharishi’s name, but George convinced him to change it to Sexy Sadie. Years later, George would visit Maharishi, with the help of Deepak Chopra, to apologize for John’s behavior at that time. Maharishi said he was not upset with John, regardless of what he had said, that he loved them. Deepak had told Maharishi that when The Beatles had played on the Ed Sullivan Show, there were no crimes committed in America. When Maharishi heard that, he called them angels, and said he could never be mad at them. Chopra said that George broke down, and was emotionally relieved with that karmic burden now off his heart. In separate interviews, both Paul and George said there was no truth to those accusations about Maharishi, which they felt were unfortunate.

(PS: I later noticed that all comments were removed in the archive of the Variety article. Thinking that might happen I saved and included it here.)

September 4, 2020, The Daily Beatle published this excellent review: Watch Meeting The Beatles in India.

Paul Saltzman is a two-time Emmy Award winning Toronto-based film and television producer-director known for over 300 productions. In March 26, 2010, he spoke at TEDxWaterloo on My life in Art. His talk opens with his story of how he went to India to work on a film and received a letter from his girlfriend that she had left him for another. Brokenhearted he traveled to Rishikesh to find Maharishi’s ashram to learn Transcendental Meditation. He describes meeting the Beatles and them welcoming him into their fold. The latter part of his talk is about a film he made with Morgan Freeman, Prom Night in Mississippi, and his work with Moving Beyond Prejudice.

Paul concludes his talk sharing wise advice from his own life’s journey up to that point, to be open to receive what the universe is waiting to give us, and to be willing to look at ourselves, our prejudices, to talk about them openly, and to change. This reminds me of a poem by Kukai, Singing Image of Fire, “all things change when we do,” and this poem by Vaclav Havel, It Is I Who Must Begin. Change begins within, and it starts with me.

On New Year’s Day, 2023, a friend sent me this wonderful interview on the You Can’t Unhear This podcast from December 27, 2022: My Unforgettable Week With The Beatles | Paul Saltzman | YCUT Interviews.

June 13, 2023: Meeting the Beatles in India was included in this article by Andy Meek, Trending News Editor at BGR: 5 must-watch documentaries that aren’t available on Netflix. It starts with: “To a lifelong Beatles fan like me, Paul Saltzman is one of the luckiest Beatles fans who’s ever lived.” Read the rest of this 4th documentary review. It’s delightful!

I emailed Paul about the documentary and he said that he’s still working on the DVD/BluRay and hopes to have it out for Christmas if lucky. Let’s hope he can. There may be extras. It would make for a great holiday gift!

January 25, 2024: Much to my surprise I discovered that YouTube Movies & TV had posted Meeting The Beatles in India. It’s Free with ads, and was apparently released by Shout Factory in 2022.

From December 14, 2018: Best Classic Bands posted Beatles in India: Photos From Pattie Boyd. A rare group of photographs documenting the Beatles’ historic visit to Rishikesh, India, in 1968 surfaced in a 2018 portfolio compiled by Pattie Boyd, the former wife of George Harrison and the celebrated model of “Swinging Sixties” London. 12 of the 16 black-and-white photographs in Pattie Boyd and The Beatles in Rishikesh have never been exhibited. The photos were revealed 50 years later in December 2018.

Tags: a tiger hunt, Beatles White Album, Bungalow Bill, Chasing the Light, Donovan Leitch, George Harrison, India, John Lennon, Maharishi, Meeting the Beatles in India, Mia Farrow, Nancy Cooke de Herrera, national geographic photographer, Paul McCartney, Paul Saltzman, photography, Prudence Farrow, Richard A. Cooke III, Rishikesh, The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill, TM, Transcendental Meditation

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