RELIVING THE PAST, REJOICING IN THE PRESENT

Long long ago, when I was a small child, I have faint memories of walking a street holding my grand father's index finger, trying to jump over the puddles left by holy cows and the Rain God in a place called Allahabad.

For me, Allahabad in western Uttar Pradesh was synonymous with kulfi (a iced milk candy) from a stall in one of the Ghats, and delicious Aloo poori (potatoes in gravy with indian deep fried bread). The latter was my favourite breakfast, lunch, dinner and food while travelling, cooked with love and care by a woman who was like my elder mother as we call a grand mother in this part of the country. i did not care about the history or geography of the place then, busy licking my fingers... I guess I was a foodie even back then.

Coming back to Allahabad, now I know that it was called Prayag in the olden days; where Brahma the creator (known as Phra Phrom in Thai) is thought to have performed the first sacrifice; where the three rivers meet (Ganges, Yamuna and Saraswati) to form the Holy Sangam; where Kumbh mela takes place; where the mughals built a fort and named the city Allahabad or the land settled by Allah; where the British built a garrison; from where seven prime ministers of India have some association; where the freedom fighter Chandrashekhar Azad preferred to fire his last bullet at himself rather than surrender to the British in 1931; now I know...

I am writing all this because I had the pleasure of travelling to Allahabad to attend a family function and made the most of it while I was there. Of course, food was the main driving force; it was a wedding reception and what better place to savour the mughlai cuisine than somewhere in U.P. The kebabs were juicier and better than in Lucknow, and I could understand why most of the invitees looked like victorian era ladies... After the event, my dear uncle, the host, gave us a car and asked us to get lost... I mean get lost in Allahabad, seeing the most of it as we liked. No words can express fully the warmth we felt in the two and half days we stayed there, meeting relatives nearly after two decades (makes me sound very old) and the hospitality of a family whose house we captured. Thank you... even though we would like to say so much more. 

I clicked a few pictures when I was not stuffing myself with food, and here they are...

All Saints Cathedral, Civil Lines, Allahabad, also known as Patthar Girjaghar or Church of Stone

Built in 1887, it took another 40 years to complete

Built by William Emerson who also designed Victoria Memorial, Calcutta

The altar, pulpit and the pipe organ at the Church

Old Yamuna Bridge, very similar in construction as the Iron Bridge in Delhi

Bank of the river near Sangam. Click on the image to enlarge and see the gentleman

A boat ride for the pilgrims and the tourists showing the place where the rivers meet

Allahabad fort at the bank of the river

A hindu religious ceremony held at Sangam

Anand Bhawan - Ancestral residence of the Nehru family, now a museum

New Yamuna Bridge - India's first cable stayed four lane road bridge in India

A muslim shrine on the main railway platform in Allahabad

A colorful train at the end of a colorful journey

A horse cart ride - an adventure for city kids. Image courtesy - Sujata Washington.

An overloaded three wheeler, a regular mode of transport

And finally, the man on his knees in front of the Church, 

clicked while clicking courtesy Aunt.

Dont miss the wrong date.