Here comes the fun... George’s selfie that lured band to India
SIX faded photographs, including a selfie, from George Harrison’s first trip to India are to be sold at auction, more than 50 years after they were taken.
The late Beatle found the 1966 pilgrimage so liberating, he persuaded the rest of the band to go back with him 18 months later.
Their famous visit – and stay at the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s spiritual retreat – went on to have a significant influence on the Fab Four’s music.
The photos include a selfie of guitarist George on a beach, as well as a picture of him with wife Pattie Boyd and sitar player Ravi Shankar sitting among some ancient ruins.
A quilted orange jacket that George wore in India will also be sold by Omega Auctions next week.
The mid-length coat was placed in a trunk for safe-keeping by Jai Guru Dev – an assistant of the Maharishi – after The Beatle forgot to take it home.
It is expected to fetch around £3,000, while the previously unpublished photos will be worth £1,500.
A spokesman for Omega Auctions, in Newton-le-Willows, Merseyside, said: The Beatles relationship to India and the Maharishi was significant, not just for the group personally but for their musical output, which clearly benefited
‘It was the first time he felt liberated from being a Beatle’
from it. These photos show George’s first visit to India and clearly depict how relaxed and happy he was.
“George said later that it was the first feeling he had ever had of being liberated from being a Beatle.
“I certainly think that feeling of liberation comes across in these photos.
“The jacket, along with many other belongings, was left behind by George when he and the other Beatles departed the retreat in 1968.
“A signed and detailed letter of provenance is provided with the coat written in both Hindi and English.”
In the letter, Jai Guru Dev – an assistant of the Maharishi – wrote: “When Mr John [Lennon] and Mr George and their wives left the ashram, they did not collect several of their personal items which were forgotten in their bungalows. I carefully put away their property with great care.
“In the 1990s I met Mr Giuliano [Beatles author Geoffrey Giuliano] who purchased the trunks and asked me to continue looking after them.
“To my surprise, he came to India in April 2019 to retrieve the contents.
“Included were articles of clothing belonging to Mr Lennon and Mr Harrison as well as undergarments, socks, even some old cans of beans either purchased in Delhi or brought from England.” The items will be sold on Tuesday.