A community newspaper from Tapovan, Rishikesh — stories, satire, cafés, kirtans and the slow life of the hills.https://tapovantimes.blog/en-inhttps://tapovantimes.blog/articles/dear-didi-professionally-lazy/https://tapovantimes.blog/articles/dear-didi-professionally-lazy/Winter didn't make you lazy. It just removed distractions.Wed, 11 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMTDidihttps://tapovantimes.blog/articles/four-years-later-the-same-four-cafes/https://tapovantimes.blog/articles/four-years-later-the-same-four-cafes/The garden changed, the openness didn't.Wed, 11 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMTAshish Khandelwalhttps://tapovantimes.blog/articles/in-other-news-shalini/https://tapovantimes.blog/articles/in-other-news-shalini/I may have left. But I didn't escape.Wed, 11 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMTShalini, Sub-Editorhttps://tapovantimes.blog/articles/on-change-flexibility-and-the-human-body/https://tapovantimes.blog/articles/on-change-flexibility-and-the-human-body/The more flexible we are, the more adaptable we become.Wed, 11 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMTDr Rucha Shindehttps://tapovantimes.blog/articles/osho-vs-krishnamurti-instagram/https://tapovantimes.blog/articles/osho-vs-krishnamurti-instagram/"Earlier gurus wanted followers too. They just didn't have Insta followers."Wed, 11 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMTTapovan Timeshttps://tapovantimes.blog/articles/rajaji-national-park-what-to-expect/https://tapovantimes.blog/articles/rajaji-national-park-what-to-expect/Rajaji is not a zoo. If you go expecting guarantees, you'll be disappointed.Wed, 11 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMTTapovan Timeshttps://tapovantimes.blog/articles/the-return-issue-editorial-note/https://tapovantimes.blog/articles/the-return-issue-editorial-note/October!! November… December?? Early January. Mid January. "Shortened timeline."Wed, 11 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMTAshish Khandelwalhttps://tapovantimes.blog/articles/what-is-it-about-rishikesh/https://tapovantimes.blog/articles/what-is-it-about-rishikesh/Five elements you cannot avoid, a town that doesn't correct you, and an honest attempt at the question everyone asks.Wed, 11 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMTAshish Khandelwalhttps://tapovantimes.blog/articles/an-earthen-dome-is-rising/https://tapovantimes.blog/articles/an-earthen-dome-is-rising/No deadlines. No ownership. Just art in its rawest form — collaborative, wild, and alive.Sat, 18 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMTTapovan Timeshttps://tapovantimes.blog/articles/didi-says-art-or-money/https://tapovantimes.blog/articles/didi-says-art-or-money/"The heart has multiple tabs open. You're just switching browsers."Sat, 18 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMTDidihttps://tapovantimes.blog/articles/diwali-in-tapovan-ten-little-lights/https://tapovantimes.blog/articles/diwali-in-tapovan-ten-little-lights/The chai stall flame, steady, no matter who's debating truth.Sat, 18 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMTTapovan Timeshttps://tapovantimes.blog/articles/saraswati-vs-kali/https://tapovantimes.blog/articles/saraswati-vs-kali/"The wheel must be centred, Kali." "I prefer when the clay cracks."Sat, 18 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMTTapovan Timeshttps://tapovantimes.blog/articles/time-of-art/https://tapovantimes.blog/articles/time-of-art/Art isn't made, it's found. And somewhere along the way we wrongly decided there are two kinds of people.Sat, 18 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMTAshish Khandelwalhttps://tapovantimes.blog/articles/adventure-trails-part-1/https://tapovantimes.blog/articles/adventure-trails-part-1/Kuari Pass, Chandrashila, Dodital, the Valley of Flowers, and the summit of silence.Fri, 10 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMTTapovan Timeshttps://tapovantimes.blog/articles/buddha-oh-my-osho-osho/https://tapovantimes.blog/articles/buddha-oh-my-osho-osho/A quiet café where people whisper "namaste" louder than they mean it.Fri, 10 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMTTapovan Timeshttps://tapovantimes.blog/articles/dear-didi-five-senses-and-some-nonsense/https://tapovantimes.blog/articles/dear-didi-five-senses-and-some-nonsense/Cosmic Chaos FM, aromatherapy with base notes of divinity, and consent as the new mantra.Fri, 10 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMTDidihttps://tapovantimes.blog/articles/the-ganga-ji-is-back/https://tapovantimes.blog/articles/the-ganga-ji-is-back/After months of mood swings and muddy tantrums, she's flowing wide, gentle, and full of quiet conversation.Fri, 10 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMTTapovan Timeshttps://tapovantimes.blog/articles/time-of-sensing/https://tapovantimes.blog/articles/time-of-sensing/Five old friends argue in a café, mindfulness turns out to be a reunion, and Ashish learns that a hug is a conversation.Fri, 10 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMTAshish Khandelwalhttps://tapovantimes.blog/articles/dear-didi-one-drishti-or-many/https://tapovantimes.blog/articles/dear-didi-one-drishti-or-many/With love and lemon ginger tea.Fri, 03 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMTDidihttps://tapovantimes.blog/articles/devprayag-where-two-rivers-meet/https://tapovantimes.blog/articles/devprayag-where-two-rivers-meet/Two rivers, two stories, and two sciences merging into one sacred stream.Fri, 03 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMTTapovan Timeshttps://tapovantimes.blog/articles/practical-ways-to-see-differently/https://tapovantimes.blog/articles/practical-ways-to-see-differently/When the eyes keep moving, the mind keeps moving. Turning the wandering eye into the eye of love.Fri, 03 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMTAshish Khandelwalhttps://tapovantimes.blog/articles/quirky-shops-in-upper-tapovan/https://tapovantimes.blog/articles/quirky-shops-in-upper-tapovan/Boho clothing, a bookshop that refuses to disappear, and a girl painting mandalas all day.Fri, 03 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMTTapovan Timeshttps://tapovantimes.blog/articles/ram-vs-krishna/https://tapovantimes.blog/articles/ram-vs-krishna/"You taught the world to walk straight. I taught them to dance."Fri, 03 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMTTapovan Timeshttps://tapovantimes.blog/articles/the-eyes-that-lead-the-soul/https://tapovantimes.blog/articles/the-eyes-that-lead-the-soul/"Your practice begins with the eyes." Arjun laughed. Then he found his balance.Fri, 03 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMTTapovan Timeshttps://tapovantimes.blog/articles/cafe-crawl-part-3/https://tapovantimes.blog/articles/cafe-crawl-part-3/Tapri by the puliya, a bakery run on smiles, and a hole-in-the-wall packed tighter than the big places.Fri, 26 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMTAshish Khandelwalhttps://tapovantimes.blog/articles/dear-didi-surviving-rishikesh-broke/https://tapovantimes.blog/articles/dear-didi-surviving-rishikesh-broke/Being broke in Rishikesh is easier than being rich in most cities.Fri, 26 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMTDidihttps://tapovantimes.blog/articles/did-you-know-kunjapuri-and-vashisht-caves/https://tapovantimes.blog/articles/did-you-know-kunjapuri-and-vashisht-caves/Three hundred steps for a free workout with your darshan, and Tapovan's original air-conditioner.Fri, 26 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMTTapovan Timeshttps://tapovantimes.blog/articles/music-times/https://tapovantimes.blog/articles/music-times/The centre pages given over to sound — the body as voice, the confessions of an irritating singer, and why nada is Brahman.Fri, 26 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMTAshish Khandelwalhttps://tapovantimes.blog/articles/shiva-and-parvati-domestic-dialogues/https://tapovantimes.blog/articles/shiva-and-parvati-domestic-dialogues/Part cosmic truth, part chai-shop comedy.Fri, 26 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMTTapovan Timeshttps://tapovantimes.blog/articles/aum-the-sound-youve-been-chanting-all-along/https://tapovantimes.blog/articles/aum-the-sound-youve-been-chanting-all-along/Not the starter pistol of a yoga class. A map of consciousness.Sat, 20 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMTTapovan Timeshttps://tapovantimes.blog/articles/cafe-crawl-part-2/https://tapovantimes.blog/articles/cafe-crawl-part-2/Because even yogis need snacks between asanas.Sat, 20 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMTAshish Khandelwalhttps://tapovantimes.blog/articles/did-you-know-tapovan-lakshman-jhula-beatles/https://tapovantimes.blog/articles/did-you-know-tapovan-lakshman-jhula-beatles/The forest where one performs austerities — plus the bridge, the Beatles, and thirty years of rice fields.Sat, 20 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMTTapovan Timeshttps://tapovantimes.blog/articles/karma-isnt-a-scorecard/https://tapovantimes.blog/articles/karma-isnt-a-scorecard/No God with a clipboard, no celestial HR. Just you versus the accumulation of your own habits.Sat, 20 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMTTapovan Timeshttps://tapovantimes.blog/articles/krishna-vs-buddha/https://tapovantimes.blog/articles/krishna-vs-buddha/A banyan tree at twilight. One leans on his flute. The other sits steady in meditation.Sat, 20 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMTTapovan Timeshttps://tapovantimes.blog/articles/tapovan-construction-chronicles/https://tapovantimes.blog/articles/tapovan-construction-chronicles/"So we agree it's madness?" "Yes, we all know it's true."Sat, 20 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMTTapovan Timeshttps://tapovantimes.blog/articles/the-great-spiritual-dilemma/https://tapovantimes.blog/articles/the-great-spiritual-dilemma/Some nights, we're all just holding a mala in one hand and a calculator in the other.Sat, 20 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMTAshish Khandelwalhttps://tapovantimes.blog/articles/balaknath-road-my-four-year-walk/https://tapovantimes.blog/articles/balaknath-road-my-four-year-walk/From three cafés to forty. A twenty-minute walk that reliably takes two hours.Fri, 12 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMTAshish Khandelwalhttps://tapovantimes.blog/articles/cafe-crawl-part-1/https://tapovantimes.blog/articles/cafe-crawl-part-1/In Tapovan you measure time not by the clock, but by the café you're sitting in.Fri, 12 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMTAshish Khandelwalhttps://tapovantimes.blog/articles/from-the-editors-desk-second-edition/https://tapovantimes.blog/articles/from-the-editors-desk-second-edition/Copies flipped through at chai stalls, and two friends who forgot to talk to each other.Fri, 12 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMTTeam Tapovan Timeshttps://tapovantimes.blog/articles/gangajis-flow/https://tapovantimes.blog/articles/gangajis-flow/Sometimes gentle, sometimes fierce, sometimes muddy — but always the flow remains.Fri, 12 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMTTapovan Timeshttps://tapovantimes.blog/articles/how-aavya-got-its-name/https://tapovantimes.blog/articles/how-aavya-got-its-name/A cold February morning, a patch of sunlight, and a landlord with a phone.Fri, 12 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMTAshish Khandelwalhttps://tapovantimes.blog/articles/osho-vs-krishnamurti/https://tapovantimes.blog/articles/osho-vs-krishnamurti/One wanted gardens, overflowing. The other kept polishing the diamond of silence.Fri, 12 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMTTapovan Timeshttps://tapovantimes.blog/articles/sunrise-in-rishikesh/https://tapovantimes.blog/articles/sunrise-in-rishikesh/Brahma Muhurta is two hours earlier than I would normally rise. Give it a try anyway.Fri, 12 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMTMarta Reishttps://tapovantimes.blog/articles/tadasana-the-pose-everyone-thinks-theyve-mastered/https://tapovantimes.blog/articles/tadasana-the-pose-everyone-thinks-theyve-mastered/Nobody Instagrams Mountain Pose. That's the cosmic joke.Fri, 12 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMTTapovan Timeshttps://tapovantimes.blog/articles/cows-vs-dogs-and-tapovan/https://tapovantimes.blog/articles/cows-vs-dogs-and-tapovan/Every street has its furry citizens, every corner its quiet — or not-so-quiet — guardians.Sat, 06 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMTTapovan Timeshttps://tapovantimes.blog/articles/dear-didi-jealousy-and-going-deeper/https://tapovantimes.blog/articles/dear-didi-jealousy-and-going-deeper/Answering seekers with chai, sass, and a sprinkle of Om.Sat, 06 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMTDidihttps://tapovantimes.blog/articles/ramana-on-the-sound-healing-teacher-training/https://tapovantimes.blog/articles/ramana-on-the-sound-healing-teacher-training/"Anyone can learn to strike a bowl. But to hold a circle where people feel safe — that's what makes you stand out."Sat, 06 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMTTapovan Timeshttps://tapovantimes.blog/articles/what-yoga-is-the-best/https://tapovantimes.blog/articles/what-yoga-is-the-best/Hatha, Ashtanga, Vinyasa, Iyengar — four doors into the same inner room.Sat, 06 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMTTapovan Timeshttps://tapovantimes.blog/articles/why-rishikesh-and-the-gangaji-hold-the-magic-they-do/https://tapovantimes.blog/articles/why-rishikesh-and-the-gangaji-hold-the-magic-they-do/Two swamis, a question by the riverbank, and a logic-driven man who stopped needing to understand.Sat, 06 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMTAshish Khandelwalhttps://tapovantimes.blog/articles/why-we-started-tapovan-times/https://tapovantimes.blog/articles/why-we-started-tapovan-times/One poster here, a timetable there, a WhatsApp message somewhere else. There had to be a better way.Sat, 06 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMTAshish Khandelwal