PRAYAGRAJ ,THE HOLY TRIO -PILGRIMAGE INDIA

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We decided to visit three holy places ,Varanasi,Prayagaraj and Gaya to do pitru pujas and also to see these places .We took a flight from Hyderabad Shamshabad airport to Varanasi Lal Bahadur Shastri Airport
I found an interesting artifact in the lobby there just after the exit from the flight

The airport was quite clean, usually I see the status of the toilets to find out the level of cleanliness of an airport
We found a huge statue of Lal Bahadur Shastri who is my all time favorite politician
 From airport we started for Allahabad which was 123 km away, we would not be entering the Varanasi city and would be by passing it
Allahabad officially known as Prayagraj, also Illahabad and  Prayag, is a city in U.P.
The city lies close to Triveni Sangam, "three-river confluence"or  "place of sacrifice or offering"  which lies at the sangam (confluence)  of Ganga , Yamuna & Saraswathi. It plays a central role in Hindu scriptures
 Allahabad was originally called Kaushambi (now a Separate district) by the Kuru rulers of Hastinapur, who developed it as their capital. Since then, the city has been a political, cultural and administrative centre of the Doab region.
 Prayag or Prayagraj was the ancient name of this city. The name Pra  meaning 'first' and Yag meaning 'devotion, worship or offering'.
 In early 17th century, Allahabad was a provincial capital in Mughal Empire under the reign of Jahangir
Mughal emperor Akbar founded a great imperial city in Allahabad, called Ilahabas  or Ilahabad, impressed by its strategic location and built a fort there, the name later was changed to Allahabad by Shah Jahan
 It is believed that Lord Bramha performed his very first yagna in this land.  The renaming finally succeeded in October 2018 when the Yogi Adityanath-led government officially changed the name of the city to Prayagraj.
 Lord Rama, spent time  here at the Ashram of Sage Bharadwaj before travelling to nearby Chitrakoot
Allahabad is known as the City of Prime Ministers because seven out of 15 prime ministers of India since independence have connections to Allahabad (Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri,  Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Gulzarilal Nanda, Viswanath Pratap Singh and Chandra Shekhar ). All seven leaders were either born in Allahabad, were alumni of Allahabad University or were elected from an Allahabad constituency.
We sped on our way from the airport and made good time till to our bad luck we encountered a lot of traffic jams .

 It was a marriage season , I thought lot of unsuspecting people had decided to enter the wedding bliss that day ,we found big baraths being taken with blatant disregard for traffic or woes of the public ,even ambulances were not spared of the jam ,there were huge mandaps erected and people gaily dancing on the roads

I thought of course it happens only in India !
Finally we reached Prayagraj and we checked into the hotel Polo Max which was perched right in the lap of the station ,now how do we get our well deserved sleep with the train sounds  was my thought.
The room though basic was o.k , food was not available so we had some biscuits from my ever lasting supply of biscuits and slept ,luckily we could not hear the train sounds but this was duly compensated by the trilling sounds of the lift throughout the night 
Next day we had a head bath which was a pre requisite in this holy tour and started very early for Triveni Sangamam
We first visited Ashtadasa Madeswari temple located at Alopi Bagh west of Daraganj, as we had gone early in the morning we were able to have darshan in peace.

 Shaktipeeth “Madhaveswari” is locally known as “Alopi Mata” as the Goddess here is formless (Alopi means disappeared)

The temple appeared simple with an entrance and a holy shrine installed on a rectangular platform. Silk clothes were tied to a wooden cradle (Dholi or Jhula) placed on the holy pedestal. Just underneath the pedestal we could see the hand-like marble slab.

According to Puranas, when Lord Vishnu cut off the dead body of Sati carried by Shiva, her body was cut into 52 parts. The hand of Sati fell here and disappeared and became a Shakti peeth. We saw many devotees around the platform offering flowers, vermilion and fruits. Adjacent area had the nine forms of Durga
We next reached the Triveni Sangam. In Hindi,Triveni Sangam is a place where three rivers meet. It is the meeting place of Ganga,Yamuna and invisible Saraswathi river, which according to the legends, wells up from underground.

As per mythology, the Amrit obtained by churning of Ksheersagar using the meruparvat as churning aid with the nagavasuki as the rope, spilled out and landed in four places - Prayagaraj, Haridwar, Nashik and Ujjain, where the Mahakumbh is organised every twelve years.
 The Kumbh or Ardakumbh are done in Prayagraj and Ujjain, once in six years,over the years it has also been the site of immersion of ashes of several national leaders, including Mahatma Gandhi in 1948.
 Having heard from everyone about the exorbitant rates of the various pitru pujas and unholy fleecing by the holy pundits, we had taken help of a friend who had suggested a priest who arranges for these pujas so we went to his house on the banks of the river Yamuna.

There we found many devotees like us waiting ,there were also rooms to stay We met the  priest and paid for the Pitru puja and Veni puja ,we were allotted a person who accompanied and facilitated our pujas
The main ghat in Allahabad is Saraswathi ghat, on the banks of Yamuna.
 Stairs from three sides descend to the green water of the Yamuna. We could see varieties of boats here, all around us we could see the evidence of the Kumbh mela which had occurred recently

Apart from this ghat there are more than 100 other smaller ghats in Allahabad.
At the bank we got into a boat where we had to squat down on the planks and looked around

As it was early in the morning, weather was cool and all around us we could see different boats , apparently speed boats were not allowed due to the pollution they cause ,so all the boats were steered by hand.

The ride was beautiful ,it is a rather peculiar habit of mine to enquire about the depth of water in the rivers whenever we are boating and when I heard that the depth of water was sixty feet, I was surprised and a bit scared too
We soon reached the Sangam point which was about 2 km from the bank , Ganga and Yamuna contrast in color, depth and speed and after  confluence flow as Ganges to the south. The two visible rivers could be identified easily with the help of our boatman, the Ganga had clear water and the Yamuna greenish

The mythical river Saraswathi is said to join the two rivers  underground,   the only place where the Saraswathi river is visible is at the Saraswathi Koop in the nearby Akbar fort
I had heard about various species of Siberian birds which migrate from home grounds near  frozen Arctic zone Siberian birds which come and settle here  arriving here in October and flying back by March, we could see some  birds, but not many as we had gone in April
With a bath here it is said that one's sins are washed away and one is liberated from the cycle of birth and death.
We were taken to a place where the Ganga was also flowing, we saw that two boats were used to put a platform down below waist high water just like an underwater swing where the devotees were expected to stand & take the holy dips
Luckily we were guided to a spot which had sand dunes

We could stand and bathe and give respects to the risen sun and the Triveni Sangam , Saraswati river albeit hidden

 We also collected some water to take back home as suggested by our boat man as Ganga is shallow but fast moving and has cleaner water compared to Yamuna and can be preserved for years.
But if we are travelling by flights it is very difficult to carry much water home unless packed and sealed in special spill proof containers
We then came to the bank where our guide was waiting,our clothes had dried by themselves in the sun
There we did Pinda Pradhan a ritual performed for our forefathers.
The priest was asking for the names of the father , grandfather and fore fathers of my husband , he however could not remember beyond two generations,
 I was questioning myself why no mention is made about the mothers ,grand and great grandmothers, they are just included as a part of the family members ,felt it was sad

Next there was Veni dhan, a ritual done only on the banks of Triveni  Sangam where all women sit in their husband’s laps and the husbands tie their hair, cut it and the couples pray that they should be born again as couples for seven more births and that their family should be happy and prosperous. It was amusing and quite embarrassing too

The hair which is cut along with the flowers is immersed in the water at the bank and surprisingly does not rise up, I thought hundreds of kilos of hair must be lying submerged in the water there
 On the banks ,we could see the Akbar fort and the 'Vat Vriksh' or Akshay Vat tree,  a very old Banyan tree reportedly millions of years old and existing since Satyug via Treta yug and Dwapar yug to Kaliyug , it was located at one edge of the fort, close to its ramparts

As Akshayvat is inside Akbar’s Fort which is under the control of military ,only during  Kumbh 2019 Akshayvat was opened for the public.

We went inside the garden which was heavily guarded with a steel fence and visitors couldn’t go near it. We could see it only from a distance of about 200 meters through the fence.

There is a small temple of Sri Ram, Sita  & Lakshman just at the base.
It was thrilling to see the tree which had survived for centuries and resisted many attempts by Moghul rulers and armies for destruction by cutting even its roots and poisonous liquids poured into its base. It is evergreen and flourishing even now. For me it was like a symbol of faith and truth which cannot be destroyed by evil forces
 Akshayavat is a sacred fig tree mentioned in the Hindu mythology. According to a legend, once the sage Markandeya asked Lord Vishnu to show him a specimen of the divine power. Lord Vishnu flooded the entire world for a moment, and miraculously only the Akshayavat could be seen above the water level.
 Lord Rama performed Pinddaan under the tree on the banks of River Ganges. Shuka muni preached Mahabharath to Parikshith Raj here. The tree is above the ground level, but the base of the tree can be seen by going down to the cellar. Here there are statues of various rishis and other deities.
 In a medieval age this place became a suicide spot, people at that time believing that if they died under that tree they will get "MOKSH". So to avoid the suicides Akbar had constructed the fort around the tree.
Patalapuri temple, Saraswathi Koop and Ashoka pillar were inside the fort so we could not visit them
We then visited the Bade Hanumanji mandir the only temple where one can see God Hanuman in a lying position on the ground , placed 4 to 5 feet deeper and one has to take steps down to have a look at the deity

The history says that after winning the fight at Lanka, Ram ,Seeta, Laxman and Hanuman came to this place and took the first rest
During the monsoons, water from the river Ganga enters the temple and inundates the idol of the deity. For a stretch of 15 to 20 days, the temple remains flooded and no pooja happens.

There was a Ram-Janaki temple adjacent to the Hanuman Temple built at an elevation and there were few shops selling Milk Peda for Prasad in the vicinity.
We next went over the new Yamuna bridge and could see the Fort on one side and the Ganga and Yamuna Sangam spot at the far end. This bridge is over river Yamuna and is a huge attraction as it is suspended with the help of iron ropes and has no support from the ground.

Next on our list was Khusro Bagh , definitely one of the hidden gems in Prayagraj .
The garden is believed to be commissioned by Emperor Jahangir in fond memory of his son Khusro, who was murdered by his brother Shah Jahan.
 The two other sandstone tombs that surround it are tomb of Shah Begum ( Khusro's mother) and Tomb of Nithar (Khusro's sister).

The gardens here are now a popular venue for picnics and for young people to meet their friends
Our next stop was at Anand Bhawan comprising a pair of picturesque mansions, called Anand Bhawan and Swaraj Bhawan, set in parklands.
There was a ticket counter and a sign board nearby saying that ashes of Nehru were put there

 This estate was bought by the lawyer, Pandit Motilal Nehru in the early 1900s for Rs. 19,000 and named Anand Bhavan, "abode of happiness", by then a prominent lawyer.
 The building was renovated and now we are allowed to look at the rooms cordoned off and see from a distance its interiors with Mahogany and teak furniture, tapestries, Venetian glassware and Dresden china bought by Motilal Nehru during his trips abroad.

This house became a hotbed for political leaders and activists as Motilal Nehru was a prominent member of the Indian National Congress Party. He and his son, Jawaharlal Nehru, were actively involved with Mahatma Gandhi’s Civil Disobedience Movement.
 Motilal dedicated the original building renamed as Swaraj Bhawan to the nation on 9 April 1930, and it remained the headquarters of the Indian National Congress for many years, and a new two storey house called Anand Bhawan was built from 1927 to become the residence for the family with pillared verandahs and high-ceilinged rooms.
The complex was donated by Indira Gandhi to the nation in 1970. It has been turned into a museum exhibiting books, personal effects and photos of Motilal Nehru, Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi, who was married here in 1942.

 It has 42 rooms and a number of memorabilia including a charkha used by Mahatma Gandhi, photographs of the Indian freedom movement, personal belongings of the Nehru family and an underground room that is said to have been used occasionally for meetings
 The campus also has the Jawahar Planetarium and the Jawahar Bal Bhavan, which runs classes for children.
The buildings were surrounded by acres of well maintained green lawns. Now, the Swaraj Bhavan staff conduct arts and craft classes to children.
A light and sound program is also organized here. There are four shows every day