Memorable travel moments

I stay at Indiabulls Greens, Kon, Panvel. Incidentally I went to Lucknow on August 27, 2024 by Air India flight in connection with the birth anniversary of my grand-daughter, and stayed at the residence of my daughter in Rajajipuram locality. My wife reached there earlier to me. We stayed there till September 7, 2024.

        Fortunately there was a memorable travel from Lucknow to Prayagraj, previously known as Allahabad on September 2, 2024. The city of Prayagraj, formerly known as Allahabad, was founded by Mughal Emperor, Akbar in 1853. The city was originally named “Ilahabas” by Akbar which meant city of Allah. The city was founded on the banks of Yamuna River. It was one of the oldest cities in India.

After coming to Lucknow, I was thinking to visit a historical place near to Lucknow. Naturally, name of Allahabad came to my mind, being next Kumbh Mela would be celebrated in 2025. When I decided to visit Prayagraj, I disclosed it to my wife, daughter and son-in-law, they appreciated the idea and requested to accompany their mother and aunt along with us (me and my wife). We all agreed and left for Prayagraj in the morning of September 2, 2024 by a personal car. After reaching Prayagraj, we first checked in Hotel Milan Palace, Stretching Road, Prayagraj. The Hotel was very beautiful and situated in a prime location. After that we took lunch and went to Triveni Sangam.

It is the confluence of the Ganges( Ganga), the Yamuna and the legendary Saraswati River. The confluence is also sometimes referred to as Prayag. It is a myth that the River Gangage and Yamuna could be identified by their different colours of water, while the third river, mythological Saraswati is called invisible. It is a mythological dictum. We hired a boat and went to the middle of the Triveni Sangam, the confluence of three holy rivers and took a dip, performed some rituals offering prayers, fruits, flowers and river water to attain salvation for self and the family members, living and departed. The dip gave us deep peace of mind and pleasure momentarily.

        Then we went to a temple, where a huge statue of Lord Hanuman lying down, prayed to Him, then purchased some valuable goods in the periphery of temple premises and clothes etc. from Civil Line area of erstwhile Allahabad. Then we returned to Hotel at around 10 p.m. and slept.

        The following day we took breakfast sharp at 9 a.m. and went to see some historical places like Akbar’s Killa, small temples, Ananda Bhawan Museum etc. Then we purchased various types of sweets, snacks etc. which were special at Prayagraj.                                                                        

In the evening, we started back to Lucknow. We also saw some part of Raebareli on the way to Lucknow. Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, is the M.P. from this constituency. The constituency is the stronghold of Congress party in general and Gandhi family in particular. We reached home at Lucknow enjoying these two days at about 11 p.m.

        It was a most memorable travel moments for us including the driver of the vehicle. I would cherish the memory of this travel from Lucknow to Prayagraj for many days.

        Lastly, it is true to say that “Travelling is a part of education.”