Beatle's ashes scattered in India

NEW DELHI, India -- George Harrison's intimate relationship with Indian mysticism, music and Hinduism sent his wife and son on a pilgrimage to the holy Ganges River, where authorities said the former Beatles' ashes would be scattered before dawn today.

Harrison's widow, Olivia, and his 23-year-old son, Dhani, were to be accompanied by two Hare Krishna devotees who performed Hindu rites on Harrison's ashes with the family in London, said Maha Mantra Das, a New Delhi spokesman for the International Society of Krishna Consciousness.

The society said its representatives in London had been in contact with Harrison's family. The family would not discuss any details or confirm any aspect of the reports, spokes-man Gavin de Becker said in Los Angeles.

Harrison, 58, died of cancer in Los Angeles on Thursday.

He was cremated hours after his death at Hollywood Forever Memorial Park, a cemetery worker said. Britain's Press Association news agency reported that his widow and son left for India with his ashes.

In a tradition dating back more than 3,500 years, Hindus are cremated on riversides and their ashes immersed in holy waters. Hindus believe this ritual releases the soul from the body for its heavenward journey, and frees it from the cycle of reincarnation.