Diwali in India and visit to Sangam at Allahabad

Diwali in Delhi

Diwali at home

Last year, after many years (8 years actually!) I got to celebrate Diwali at home in India. And even though all these years, I have been celebrating Diwali abroad, being at home made me realise that what we were doing wasn't really the real thing. So many years of being away had blurred our memories and we thought it was enough to have dinner, games and fireworks on the Diwali weekend with friends. And that's all there was to Diwali 😊.

So on my trip back home this time, we went the whole way, celebrating Diwali as it is supposed to be celebrated. We decorated our home with flowers and lights all over, from top to bottom. And made a few rangoli around. I also made my first one ever with colours and realised that even the easier looking ones take so much effort to make.

We ended up going to the bazaar almost everyday and I realised how there was a flurry of activity all the time everywhere. It was all so lively everywhere we went, all lighted up, flowers everywhere, small stalls outside the markets selling sweets, rangoli colours, decorations and so on. And mehendi artists sitting everywhere. I even got mehendi done this time. There were sadly no fireworks this time though because of the court ban, which was quite sad.

Random haveli

We even went to Chandni Chowk one of the days for some shopping and I was impressed. Chandni Chowk is a world by itself, with its narrow gullys, its unlimited shops, its hidden gems and old havelis that you come across in the middle of nowhere and its feel of being from a different century altogether. I loved the feeling of being there, soaking in all the sights and experiences. I did feel like a tourist in my own country, taking photos as I walked along. But it is what it is.

Gullys of Chandni Chowk

Gullys of Chandni Chowk

Diwali wares being sold

But on top of the usual Chandni Chowk feel, the whole area was full of Diwali roadside stalls coming up everywhere, selling colourful statues and decorations for Diwali. And we also ran into one of the streets which was decorated so beautifully with flowers, apparently it is a thing to come and see. We also spotted some hijras coming and taking donations from the shop keepers, even doing a small performance for them. It was quite an interesting experience and I loved being there.

Decorations being sold

Decorated street in Chandni Chowk

Around Diwali time, everything was decorated everywhere and all lighted up. Malls and shops were full of gift offers and discounts to encourage shoppers. Houses you drove past were all twinkling with lights. Everyone was our shopping for gifts and new things for the house. Friends and family came visiting and it was nice to meet everyone. It felt like the whole of the country was lively suddenly. Its how christmas time is in the West. And something I had missed around Diwali time for so long.

Rangoli

On Diwali day, we did an elaborate pooja which is much more than what we do in London. And then burnt a few of the fireworks we had manage to source. Till a day before Diwali, there weren't many fireworks going off and it it did not even feel that Diwali was approaching. On the day though, it looked like lot of people broke the ban and celebrated the festival how they are used to celebrating. And till very late. The next morning though, the roads were all empty for a long time as everyone woke up late. The whole experience of being back and experiencing the real Diwali felt almost surreal and amazing. And I decided that I should try to get back home for it as much as possible.


Visit to Allahabad and Sangam

Last year, I also got a chance to visit Allahabad and take a dip in the holy Sangam. My parents have stayed in Allahabad before and I have been to Sangam countless times. But there is something still very calming and inviting about visiting the Jamuna and Ganga again and again. It never gets old.

We went to Allahabad by train and I was travelling in Indian trains after 5 years. I was quite surprised to see that the train station at New Delhi hasn't changed at all since then. It is the same, and nothing has improved since then. Being in a train station always had an excitement linked to it for me. As the visit to the station meant we were moving or travelling to another part of the country. And were ready for adventure. And this time too, I felt the same excitement all over again.

The city of Allahabad hasnt changed at all in the 10 years since my parents moved away from there. Even the name which had been recently changed to Prayagraj hadn't taken roots yet 😁. The air was definitely cleaner and fresher given we were coming from Delhi. But otherwise, it felt the same - the same run down buildings, the same busy bazaars, the same crowded roads the same slow pace of life and so on.

There are many pretty buildings in the city from British times - the high court, a few churches and some colleges. Some of them are maintained but a lot are not. And other than these places, the city doesn't feel pretty at all. I wonder so many times how will my country ever reach the Western standards if the cities are not constantly improving?

A church on the way

And the people felt the same to me too. Its a bit of stereotype, but the image is that people in UP always talked too much and argued too much. And were quite lazy overall. And we saw the same on this trip too. The auto guys kept arguing for no reason, ours did because we did not know the way to where we were going. I was actually laughing by the amount he complained because of that 😆.

We first spent some time in the Cantt area which is always pleasing and the best part of any town for me. With its green open roads lined with trees, huge British bungalows and huge gardens around them, plus cleanliness everywhere - its where I come and catch a breath, whether its in Allahabad or Delhi.

The bungalows in Allahabad Cantt have a very interesting history. These were built by the British but before they left India, they leased a lot of them for 99 years at minimum rent to civilians, right in the middle of the Army areas. The Army owned bungalows are well maintained but the ones owned by civilians lie in dilapidated conditions given the amount of resources required to repair and maintain them. Also there are restrictions on what you can and cannot do to these bungalows. But the ones which are maintained look so charming, I wish I had a few photos of them with me to share.

Boats to go to Sangam

After that, we went to visit Sangam. We took the e-rickshaws which have become the common mode of transport now. The road to Sangam is lined with some pretty buildings from the past, huge colleges set in sprawling lawns which if maintained would look very picturesque. But all of them are rundown now. Also most of the roads on the way were being constructed and there was a lot of dust in the air.

Akbar fort

At Sangam, we first took a boat ride for a couple of hours. The Jamuna always has more water than the Ganga and hence its easy to row a boat here. So the boatmen take you on the Jamuna for a bit till the bridge to Naini, along Akbar's fort. The fort is very imposing and provides many mesmerising shots all along the river.

Sunset and the bridge on Jamuna

There were a few seagulls flying above but mostly, it was very quiet there the whole time with only a few boats on the water. The whole area felt so serene and almost spiritual, I could have stayed there for a long time. With the boat slowly gliding on the water, and all you have around is a vast river with a lot of history and stories about it. It was lovely. We experienced a very serene sunset from the boat, and the silence around it was perfect to enjoy such a fascinating scene.

Boats on Sangam

And then we went to the Sangam which was more crowded than Jamuna. It is said that Jamuna is the elder, deeper and calmer sister, while Ganga is the younger chanchal sister. At the Sangam, you can clearly see the waters from the two different rivers merging given the different shades of the water. Ganga has a lot less water and is very muddy, so it was very shallow at the Sangam. There were a lot more boats and people there, though not as many as there would be in Kumbh. We washed our hands in the water but did not take a dip as it was too less water and felt muddy.

Near Sangam

After the Sangam, we stopped at the Akshay Vat temple which was earlier located within Akbar's fort and was under Army control but now is open to the public. The tree is supposed to be eternal and existing from Ramayan times. We also visited the Patalpuri temple which was underground and had always been closed, but only recently been opened to public. Last we visited the 'Sleeping Hanumanji' temple. All these temples have a long and holy history. And I love visiting places of culture and religion everywhere. But I do always wish Hindu temples were better maintained and cleaner than they are. That would make the whole place a lot more spiritual than it currently feels.

The whole area around Sangam was getting ready for Kumbh and we could see the infrastructure being put into place for the whole event. It was also being said that a lot of construction work was going on in the city for the upcoming Kumbh. Apparently there was no labour available for doing other work either! And the city would be a different place by then, a smart city:). Tall promises, but our countrymen are always hopeful 😜. I dont know if things really changed or not, but I do hope that Allahabad changes a bit. Its not encouraging to see a city the same in 10 years!

Pilgrimaging at Maha Kumbh (Allahabad) and Banaras

On my recent trip to India, I was planning to travel a bit within India and as it so happened my parents were also planning a trip to Kumbh. The mela was about to end soon, and just by chance, I got to be a part of this almost historical happening!

My parents had stayed in Allahabad from 2003 to 2005 and I had already taken a dip many times at the Sangam but never during a Kumbh Mela. I had always wished to experience Kumbh and when the whole trip fell into place, you can imagine how happy I would have been:)!!

Bridge on river Yamuna

The Kumbh melas are held every 12 years in Allahabad and it is supposed to be very auspicious to take a dip in the holy Sangam during this period. The Sangam is the name given to the confluence of 3 holy Indian rivers in Allahabad; of Ganga, Yamuna and the invisible Saraswati.

Kumbh arrangements

This Kumbh was bigger than usual as its after 148 years that it is so auspicious (as Hindu mythology says..). Apparently 10 crore (100 million) people took a dip in the river this year during Kumbh with one day seeing almost 3 crore people taking a holy dip!! The number boggles the mind, and is an impressive feat I would say. (Now I understand why in the Hindi movies of yore, children would get separated from their parents during Kumbh and then meet again after 12 years!)

The Kumbh had been going on for more than 2 months and I had seen enough photos about the Kumbh to know what to expect. (And I had seen and read enough of the Naga babas also to know what to avoid!) It appeared to me that the Naga babas come out of hiding only at the Kumbh. I wonder where they are the rest of the year?

Akbar's Fort at Sangam

As for me, I would say that I had a very posh and short experience at the Kumbh. We stayed in the army area and took a boat from Saraswati Ghat to take us to the Sangam area. We went via the Yamuna which has greenish and calmer waters. In Allahabad, the Yamuna is deeper and carries more water than the Ganga, hence its not easy to boat on the Ganga. The location where the Ganga and Yamuna meet, is the location of Akbar's fort. So as we rode in the boat along the Yamuna, we could see the fort on one side. The other had rows and rows of tents for people to stay in during Kumbh.

Towards Sangam

The river looked divine in the morning, with rows of boats all making a beeline for the Sangam and the water shining in the morning sun.

Boats going towards Sangam

Incredible India

Once we got closer to the spot, we could see the thousands of people - the perfect picture for colourful and incredible India - waiting to take the holy dip. It just felt like a sea of humanity on the shore.

Sangam

We all took the dip slightly away from shore, the spot where the two rivers meet and the water is shallow as a lot of sand is deposited there to make it easier for pilgrims to take a dip. The colour of the water changes when the shallow and faster moving Ganga meets the calmer and deeper Yamuna. According to Hindu mythology, Yamuna is the elder sister, and hence maturer and deeper while Ganga is the younger immature (chanchal) sister. This might have its roots in what is visible in the flow of the two rivers where they meet.

The crowd at Sangam

The arrangements at Sangam were quite impressive and I can imagine how much planning would have gone into making a meet of 10 crore people successful. We also got a view of the mela from the control room. This is the view of a part of the spread of the mela around the Sangam site. The tents were spread wide and afar, on the other side of the Ganga and Yamuna and the Kumbh grounds; basically for kilometers till where the eyes could see, all we saw were tents! These tents were setup by religious gurus, each with their own sets of devotees and running their own spiritual discourses during the day.

The Kumbh grounds

Akshay Vat

After the dip, we visited the Akshay Vat tree which is located inside the fort and is said to be the tree under which Ram, Sita and Lakshman had rested during their 14 years exile. We also visited the Saraswati Koop; a temple for Saraswati with a well which supposedly contains water from the invisible Saraswati river. Its a sad sight to see guards sitting around the well making sure people don't throw all kinds of things into the well and choke it like had happened some years earlier.

Another famous mandir to visit in Allahabad is the Hanuman Mandir which is the only temple where Hanumanji is shown sleeping. In this temple, his statue is lying on the ground rather than standing which is the most popular portrayal. And it is said that every year when the level of water in the Ganga rises, it floods the river plain and rises upto Hunamanji's feet and then recedes. As if Ganga touches Hanumanji's feet every year. How lively is Indian mythology? Explaining and linking so many stories together, its always an interesting experience to learn about it more and more..

Other than that, visitors to Allahabad can also visit the Anand Bhawan which is the ancestral home of the Gandhis (erstwhile Nehrus) and now houses a museum.

From Allahabad, we left by road for Banaras, which is one of the most holy Hindu cities, the Kashi or Varanasi of old. On the way, you can see why UP has the highest population in India. There is not a patch of land devoid of human habitation. There are villages all the way to Banaras.

You can also see how much handicraft there is in UP. There are villagers sitting next to the roads selling their crafts. Most noticeable of these were around the village of Bhadoi; multiple shops next to the highway selling hand made carpets. How much I wish these handicrafts do not die off due to lack of patronage!

Boats going towards Sangam Devotees

Banaras is an experience of its own, something I have not seen elsewhere in India either. The first evening in the city, we went to see the daily Ganga aarti that takes place in the evening at 6:45pm on the banks of Ganga. The ghats are all located in the old part of Banaras with crowded roads you can't even imagine. Maybe it was because of the Kumbh, but the city was full of people. It was easy to become overwhelmed and get lost in the sea of humanity on this old part of town. I was therefore even more amazed at how easily and comfortably some foreigners were in a place like this when even Indians might feel out of place.

Ganga near the ghats

Ganga near the ghats

The aarti is conducted in a grand ceremony by six young pandits on the banks of the river, with thousands of people watching from behind the aarti or from the boats. Its a 45 mins long prayer and an experience in itself. And on the banks, people were floating lighted diyes wih flowers in the river, all the diyas making for an interesting sight, hundreds of lighted lamps glittering in the water. It was a fascinating sight, which I could not have captured on my camera.

The aarti in progress

The crowds near the aarti

There were many Naga babas sitting on the banks, smoking and just lazing around. There were many foreigners also sitting with them, just smoking and doing nothing else. Frankly, the Naga babas do not seem spiritual or holy at all. I wonder who they are and what they believe in? Also I must mention, even though Banaras is a holy city, its lack of cleanliness takes a lot away from the spiritual and religious feeling it should emanate. This was the feeling I had the last time I had visited and it was the same even now. Sad...

The next morning we saw the mangal aarti at the Kashi Vishwanath temple.  which is one of the 12 jyotirling temples in India. Its a highly revered place of worship for devotees of Shiva and visited by almost 3000 people every day. The temple complex is small with the main temple covered in gold. The mangal aarti happens at 2 am in the morning and you can get a view of this only if you have a VIP pass. Its a one hour long pooja where the jyotirling is decorated (shringar) by the priests; washing the lingam with honey, milk and water and then decorating it with flowers.

Only about 10-15 people can at a time get a view of the mangal aarti with another 50 fighting to get even a glimpse of it. All I remember of my time at the aarti is just all the people pushing each other and arguing with each other trying to get a view of the lingam. Is this religion? Is this holy? Is this what God wants? Unfortunately this is the lasting impression I had got the last time I had been to Kashi Vishwanath temple and it remains unchanged even now.

Once the darshan opens it gets even worse, people fighting to get ahead of each other as if an earlier view of the lingam is going to increase their life by 10 years! On top of it, the policemen posted inside the temple also start showing their power by shoving and shouting at people. This is definitely not what spiritualism means for me and I for one cannot understand this kind of devotion. The visit to one of the most holy of Hindu temples marred by this kind of experience is not one that I look for. And this is my experience when I got a VIP entry without having to wait in the line. I don't even want to imagine what it would be like to wait for 5-6 hours in a queue for a view and then having to deal with all the pushing and shoving. After the Vishwanath temple, we also prayed at the Annapurna and Kaal Bhairav temples which are also part of the holy temples of Banaras.

And the rest of the day was spent in buying Banarsi sarees. I as always fell in love with the exquisite work and could not decide what to buy and what not. In the end I picked up 6 sarees! What inspired me to go on this shopping spree was the thought that these works of art may not be available in a couple of years. Even now we had to wait for hours before we could even see a couple of sarees of the intricate jamavar work! They are just so intricate, its difficult to decide what to buy and what not.

After the shopping it was time to say goodbye and I was back in Delhi. On the whole it was an interesting trip, exploring the pilgrimage places of India and I was actually impressed with the number of young people interested in going to Kumbh. I would have thought most people from our generation would not be interested but I was pleasantly surprised with the numbers; heartening to know that some traditions of our culture might even survive the next generation.