The name, meaning "city of God", was given to the city by the Mughal Emperor Akbar in 1583. In Indian alphabets it is spelt "Ilāhābād": "ilāh" is Arabic for "god", and "-ābād" is Persian for "place of".

The modern city is on the site of the ancient holy city of Prayāga (derived from Sanskrit, it means a "place of sacrifice" and is the spot where Brahma offered his first sacrifice after creating the world). It is one of four sites of the Kumbha Mela, the others being Hardwar, Ujjain and Nasik. It has a position of importance in the Hindu religion and mythology since it is situated at the confluence of the rivers Ganga, Yamuna, and the mythical Saraswati.

Because solar events in Allahabad occur exactly 5 hours and 30 minutes ahead of Greenwich, the city is the reference point for Indian Standard Time, maintained by the city's observatory.

History

In the times that the Ramayana refers to, the site of Allahabad was a few rishis' huts at a river-meeting in the middle of a huge forest called Dandaka that covered much of eastern Uttar Pradesh. Prince Rama Ramayana, during the first days of his exile, spent some time here at the ashram of Sage Bharadwaj.

The city was previously known as Prayag (a name that is still in use) Akbar realized the strategic importance of the city, built a magnificent fort on the banks of the holy Sangam and re-christened it as Illahabad.

Under the British rule, Allahabad was the capital of the United Provinces till the 1920s. It was a well-known centre of education (dating to the time of the Budda), and in the first few decades of the 20th century, the Allahabad University had earned for itself the epithet of 'Oxford of the East'. It is also a major literary centre for Hindi, with many literateurs being connected to it in some way or the other.

Allahabad was the birthplace of Jawaharlal Nehru, and the Nehru family estate, called the Anand Bhavan, is now a museum. It was also the birthplace of his daughter Indira Gandhi, and the home of Lal Bahadur Shastri, both later Prime Ministers of Bharat. Thus Allahabad has the distinction of producing the majority of PMs in national history.

During the movement for independence, Allahabad was at the forefront of all political activities. Alfred Park in Allahabad was the site where, in 1931, the revolutionary Chandrashekhar Azad killed himself when surrounded by the British police. Anand Bhavan, and an adjacent Nehru family home, Swaraj Bhavan, were the center of Indian National Congress activities and attention, magnets for revolutionaries, student activists and crowds.

The first seeds of Pakistan were also sown in Allahabad. In 1930, Allama Muhammad Iqbal (1877-1938) in his presidential address to the All-India Muslim League proposed a separate Muslim state in the Muslim majority regions of India.

Geography

It is located in the southern part of the state, at 25.26 N. lat. and 81.50' E, and stands at the confluence of the Ganga (Ganges) and Yamuna rivers.

Demography

Allahabad has a population of 1,050,000 as per the 2001 census with about 580,000 males and 470,000 females. It lists as the 32nd most populous city in India. Allahabad has an area of about 65 km² and is 98 m above sea level. Languages spoken in and around Allahabad include Hindi, English, Urdu and some Bengali and Punjabi. All major religions are practiced in Allahabad.

Climate

Allahabad experiences all the four seasons. The summer season is from April to June with the maximum temperatures ranging between 40 to 45 °C. Monsoon begins in early July and lasts till September. The winter season falls in the months of December, January and February. Temperatures in the cold weather could drop to freezing with maximum at almost 12 to 14 °C. Allahabad also witnesses severe fog in January resulting in massive traffic and travel delays. It does not snow in Allahabad.

Lowest temperature recorded −2 °C; highest, 48 °C.

Kumbha and Magh Mela

The word 'Mela' is fair in Hindi. Except the years of the Kumbha Mela and the Ardha Kumbha Mela (Ardha is half in Hindi, hence the Ardha Kumbha Mela is held every 6th year), the Magh Mela takes place every year in the month of Magh (Jan - Feb) of the Hindu calendar. The Kumbha Mela takes place every 12 years and has more significance than the Magh Mela. These fairs take place on the banks of the holy river Ganga. It is widely believed that in the Kumbha Mela of 2001, almost 75 million people visited the banks of the rivers to take part in the festivals. During the Melas, entire townships are built with functioning hospitals, fire stations, police stations, restaurants and other facilities.

 

Places of interest

Passenger transportation

Air: Allahabad is served by the Bamrauli airport (airport code IXD) and is linked to Delhi and Kolkata by Air Sahara. Other airports in the vicinity are Varanasi (147 km)and Lucknow (210 km).

Road: National Highway 2 runs through the center of the city. Allahabad is located in between Delhi and Kolkata on this highway. Another highway that links Allahabad is National Highway 27 that is 93 km long and starts at Allahabad and ends at Mangawan in Madhya Pradesh. There are other highways that link Allahabad to all parts of the country. Allahabad also has three bus stands catering to different routes - at Zero Road, Leader Road and Civil Lines.

Tourist Taxis, Auto-Rickshaws and tempos are available for local transport. There is also a local bus service that connects various parts of the city. But the cheapest and most efficient method of local transport is the cycle-rickshaw. Rates are not fixed and one needs to bargain.

Train: Allahabad is the headquarters of the North Central Railways and is well connected by trains with all major cities, namely, Kolkata, Delhi, Jaipur, Lucknow and Mumbai. Allahabad has four railway stations - Prayag Station, City Station (Rambagh), Daraganj Station and Allahabad Junction (the main station)

See also

External links