Allahabad - Travelogue

I got down at Allahabad from the Ganga – Cauvery Express @ 4:20 A.M. My Brother and I were accompanying my parents on a pilgrimage. We were taken to ‘Siva Madam’, a Madam constructed by Singeri ppl. Madam’s have common Rest rooms and bathroom and the Siva Madam looked very unclean. When you are in Allahabad you have a feeling that the city is 20-30 years behind times.. With monkeys roaming everywhere and narrow and unhygienic roads. The tea stall opens only @ 6:30. The place near Siva Madam looked like a village …… it’s indeed village.

There was this small shop a kind of canteen. My Brother and I went to this shop initially for tea. Tea was just 3 Rs!!! Later we went there for having our breakfast. We asked for Poori. There was this old lady, who wears a spectacle and her hairs were still black in color. When we asked for Poori, she gave us this, ‘varum ana varathu’ look. She slowly mixed some powders and made a dough. She was taking her own time. There seems to be no sense of urgency in this village. It took some 20 minutes to make the Poori. We ordered for 2 plates of Poori. We soon realized that a plate of Poori here means 10 Pooris. We asked her to stop Poori making when she was making Poori number 17. She asked with a puzzled look, “Kya yeh kafi hai?”, We said , “Yes”. But she insisted to have one more Poori. The Poori costed 18 Rs. 18 Rs for 18 Pooris!!

When we were taking some pictures around the Siva Madam, there were few children playing near by. They ran to us and said, “Photo Kicho”, and we did. They struck very stylish poses and after each photo they would come near and see our camera and break into a dance. Such an innocence ..such a bubbling of energy .. I’ve never seen in my life.

Triveni Sangam.. What a sight to watch Ganga coming and embracing Yamuna (these ppl call Jamuna). This boatman knows that we dono Hindi but still talks to us non-stop in Hindi. He is trying to be a guide and was telling us how privileged we were to come to Triveni Sangam. He says that all the boatmen don’t talk about the significance of this place but he had taken upon himself the duty to speak about it.

In all Share Autos you see advt of IIT JEE Coaching. This place looked so backward and not many Engg Colleges but is still bustling with IIT Coaching classes. No wonder North Indians always have upper hand in securing into IIT.