Allahabad

Situated in U.P. on the banks of Ganga and Yamuna, is the city of Allahabad, one of the oldest cities of India. Earlier known as Prayaag, it was named Ilahabad and later Allahabad. The influence of the Muslim culture could be felt in and around the city. The buildings were all old fashioned and had been built in the Muslim style. Not a trace of modernity was found in the main part of the city. Old fashioned carriages drawn by horses called ‘tangas’ and three wheeled diesel run vehicles larger than auto rickshaws called ‘tempos’ were a familiar sight.

We started for ‘Triveni Sangam’, the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical and mysterious Saraswati, at about 9.30 AM. The atmosphere was cool and we hired a tanga. The Sangam was at a distance of about 7-8 Km from the main city. Watching the buildings which stand as symbols for the once dominantly prevalent Muslim rule and culture from the tanga was nice. But one of the spokes of the wheel broke interrupting our thoughts.  So we had to do the remaining journey in a tempo. I was very enthusiastic expecting to see a vast ocean like Ganga, like the one Nehru had described in his will and testament.

“Smiling and dancing in the morning sunlight, and dark and gloomy and full of mystery as the evening shadows fall, a narrow, slow and graceful stream in winter, and a vast roaring thing during the monsoon, broad-bosomed almost as the sea, and with something of the sea's power to destroy, the Ganga has been to me a symbol and a memory of the past of India, running into the present and flowing on to the great ocean of the future.”  (excerpt from Jawaharlal Nehru’s will and testament)                                                                                        

I wanted to see the great river which had inspired Nehru so much. But my enthusiasm was put off the moment I saw the river. There was scarcely any water in it. I was disappointed to see only soft silt in place of water. Grass grew all over the area and cattle were grazing about. The Yamuna was better with more water. It started drizzling and so we could not go down to the middle of the Sangam. The Sangam is famous for the Kumbhmela conducted once in every twelve years.

Overlooking the Sangam, on the banks of Yamuna, was the fort, a large massive structure, which was said to have been constructed by Akbar in 1583A.D. The architecture did not resemble much of the Mughal type, yet, the fort was attractive. Rows of parrots perched on the balcony tops of windows and the walls of the fort, presented a very spectacular sight. Within the fort was an Ashokan pillar dated 232 B.C. There was also an old underground temple called the temple of Akshay vat. The other parts of the fort were closed for visitors. After seeing another temple near the Sangam, we moved to the ‘Anand Bhavan’, the ancestral home of the Nehrus. But the day being Vijayadasami, it was closed for visitors. From what I could see from the gates, it was an old fashioned beautiful double storeyed structure surrounded by a beautiful garden. Within the compound had been constructed a Birla Planetarium. Disappointed, we started for ‘chowk’, a busy shopping centre, did some shopping and returned to our lodge for a little rest before we started for Varanasi.