The Summer of Love was a social phenomenon that occurred in the United States in 1967, when thousands of young people converged in San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury district to celebrate peace, love and freedom. The movement was inspired by the ideals of the hippie subculture, which rejected materialism, consumerism and conformity, and embraced alternative lifestyles, communal living, psychedelic music and drugs.
India was also influenced by the Summer of Love, as many Indian musicians, artists and writers experimented with new forms of expression and creativity. Some of the most prominent figures of this era were Ravi Shankar, who introduced Indian classical music to the West; Ananda Shankar, who fused rock and roll with sitar; Bhupen Hazarika, who sang about social issues and human rights; and M.F. Husain, who painted colorful and controversial scenes of Indian life. The Summer of Love also sparked a wave of spiritual seekers, who traveled to India to learn from gurus, yogis and mystics. Some of them stayed and founded ashrams, communes and alternative communities, such as Auroville, Goa and Osho Rajneesh’s Pune.