The Timeless Essence of Allahabad: A Journey Through History and Memory
Explore the
rich history and cultural significance of Allahabad, also known as Prayagraj,
through the eyes of Justice Markandey Katju. From ancient lore to modern
transformations, delve into the memories and greatness of this sacred city,
home to the revered Kumbh Mela and a vital centre of India's spiritual and
intellectual heritage.
Allahabad, the city of God
By Justice Markandey
Katju
Bigots may
have changed the name of my hometown. But for me Allahabad will always be Allahabad.
What was
wrong in the name? It means the city where God lives. I have lived 58 out of
my 78 years in that city, so what I am today is largely the creation of the
City of God
When I was
very young, Allahabad was divided into 3 parts, Civil Lines, Katra, and Chowk,
and had a population of about 3 lacs. I lived in Civil Lines.
Now of
course it has expanded, and has a population of about 15 lacs.
Now let me narrate the greatness of Allahabad
This is the
city where Lord Ram came after his exile from Ayodhya, and met Rishi Bharadwaj
in his ashram on the bank of the sangam (the confluence of the rivers Ganga,
Jamuna, and the legendary Saraswati).
This is the city about which the great poet Tulsidas wrote in his Ramcharitmanas :
”Ko kahi
sakai Prayag prabhau
Kalush punj
kunjar mrigrau ”
(Who can
tell the greatness of Prayag?
It destroys
all sins, like a lion which kills an elephant )
This is the city where Emperor Harshavardhan held his assembly in the first Kumbh Mela in 643 A.D. in which he honoured saints and scholars of all religions ( including the Buddhist Chinese pilgrim Hieun Tsang ) and then gave all his wealth to the poor, borrowing a cloth from his sister Rajyashree to cover his naked body.
This is the city in which Kumbh Mela assemblies are held every 12 years, the largest congregation of people anywhere ( 200 million in 2019 ).
This is the city where Hindus immerse the ashes of their dead in the sangam.
This is the
city which was a centre of the Indian freedom struggle
This is the
city which has produced great scholars, poets and jurists.
In Allahabad I met several people who were intellectually far superior to me (they are all dead now), and I sat at their feet like a humble student listening to their rational explanation of things, events and treatises, until I too built up a huge store of knowledge.
Though born in Lucknow, I grew up in Allahabad. I was a student there in the Boys High School, Govt Inter College, and the Allahabad University, then a lawyer in the Allahabad High Court, and finally a Judge in the High Court from 1991.
My exile fom Allahabad began in 2004 when I was appointed Chief Justice of Madras High Court, and since then I have remained out of the city ( except for a few short visits ).
The great Urdu poet Munawwar Rana wrote these verses about Allahabad in his long poem ‘Mohajirnama’ ( which was descriptive of the lament of mohajirs who had migrated from India to Pakistan at the time of Partition, but later regretted it ).
”Gale milti hui nadiyan, gale milte hue mausam
Allahabad ka
kaisa nazaara chhod aaye hain
Kal ek
amrood waale se kehna pad gaya mujhko
Jahaan se
aaye hain is phal ki bagiya chhod aaye hain
Kuch der to
woh takta raha mujhko, phir bola
Woh sangam
ka ilaaqa chhoota, ya chhod aaye hain ?
Abhi hum
sonch mein the ki usse kya kaha jaaye
Hamaare
aansuon ne raaz ugla chhod aaye hain ”
The same is my plight, which cannot be described in words. I miss Civil Lines, Chowk, Katra, my school, the University, the High Court, the Coffee House, the sangam, etc, but all that has gone with the wind, as I am now mostly confined in my flat in Noida
(Justice Katju is a retired judge of the Supreme Court of India. These are his personal views.)
