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This week, The Musafir Stories speaks with Udbhav Agarwal, a PHD candidate and author of the travel memoir - “A for Prayagraj: A short biography of Allahabad”

Today's destination: Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh

Nearest Airport: Allahabad Airport, IXD

Nearest Railway Station: Prayagraj Junction, PRYJ

Prerequisites - NA

Packing - As needed

Time of the year - October - February

Length of the itinerary: 2-5 days

Itinerary Highlights:

Udbhav takes us on a journey back in time as we talk about the city of Allahabad, now known as Prayagraj that has been the cradle of livelihood and is believed to be one of the longest inhabited cities along with Varanasi.

Udbhav talks about his connection to Allahabad and how he rediscovers his city over many journeys back to the place where he grew up.

We talk about the history of the city, erstwhile Prayag, that was set up on the bed of the river confluence of Ganga and Yamuna and inhabited by rishis and munis; how the big empires of the Mauryas and Guptas overlooked the city while setting up capitals in nearby regions and finally how the city comes back to prominence during the time of the Mughals, when it gets renamed to Ilahabas or Ilahabad.

Udbhav gives the listener a sense of the ganga-jamuni tehzeeb , a unique confluence of religion and people, and how festivals and events are shared by the community.

We also discuss the importance of the Kumbh Mela, its origins and some of the changes that Udbhav has experienced over time.

We touch upon the important personalities of Allahabad, right from the freedom movement to the erstwhile Prime Ministers, to the wide range of authors, diving into the literary landscape of the region and how it has changed over time.

Finally, we chatted about some of the popular food joints of Allahabad, right from the Chowk, to Khaogali to the Allahabadi paan. Enjoy!

Links:

Link to Udbhav’s book: https://www.amazon.in/PRAYAGRAJ-SHORT-BIOGRAPHY-ALLAHABAD/dp/9390652723

Link to Aleph’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/AlephBookCo

Link to Aleph’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alephbookco/

Photo by at infinity on Unsplash

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