The Feudal Flavors

The word Uttar Pradesh (U.P.) brings forth two things in my mind. One is subjugation by the feudal lords and the other is the blue blooded families. People have distinctly carved Uttar Pradesh as the realm of feudalism devouring its subtle taste from British and the then Zamindars (land owners) who had a dichotomous peonage. U.P. has its many hidden treasures and this treasure shall unleash with my visit to certain key places of, rather the CAVAL towns of U.P. The CAVAL towns were named by the British as follows:

C was for Cawnpore, now Kanpur. 

A was for Allahabad, now Allahabad.

V was for Varanasi, then Benares.

A was for Aligarh, now Aligarh.

L was for Lucknow, then Avadh.

We shall discuss the CAVAL towns as well as other prominent towns in Uttar Pradesh.I will bring to you Lucknow and Aligarh soon enough, the intriguing cities with muslim population in majority.

Kanpur

Kanpur, fondly called the Manchester of the East with its numerous factories and colonies of its workers. The town was filled with smoke and had large brick red houses. It had prominent textile mills of the tatas and many others. The leather factories had shrouded a permanent residence and are still growing in leaps and bounds. It takes a huge part in the amount of in bound and out bound trade. Like it is observed, UP has its upper class and lower class. Kanpur too is divided between the same. It has prominent families, brick red houses, wooden floors and sky high ceilings. They sit near the fireplace in winters with their kashmiri carpets spread out and their mastiffs in deep slumber. The colonial houses are in brick red colour which were the official bungalows of the officers who were incharge of the factories. There is strange fun in and around the city like observing the vintage cars parked outside many of the houses. The memsahebs (the ladies) of the factories are driven down by a chauffeur, a black ambassador more likely and the foreigners visiting the factory are given quick snacks made of crackle topped mayonnaise. The foreigners are keen visitors to Kanpur and they are delighted to see ambassadors, cows in the polluted areas and the stark difference between the world inside the factory premises and outside it. The large business houses buy paintings and treats them as a purpose for investment. The house of the district magistrate, other officers are worth to look at. The house of the municipal commissioner is a giant mansion keeping fourty four servants at 24 hour service and is located near a small lake called Moti Jheel. 

However, some parts of the city dirty due to the pollution caused by the factories and its workers. Poverty line is high and high are the cleanliness activities. The cleanliness driver undertaken by the Municipal Corporation is challenging. The city has its markets like gumti number panch (hindi name of a market), wave mall that houses a famous bakery called the Upper Crust. A famous restraunt called Derby prepares wonderful continental dishes.

The markets are flooded with local materials especially leather shoes and things made out of leather. The city’s upper class has been educated in convent schools and has a massive university that has a wonderful helipad for helicopter landing for inspection and numerous facilities for students staying in the campus. The students passed out mostly move out to the metropolitan cities or enter into entrepreneurship by managing the factories. The most prominent, beautiful is the railway station of Kanpur. The mode of transport is buses, auto rickshaw and human rickshaws.

Allahabad

The name Allahabad comes from the name of a king called Raja Ila and was named after him as Illahabad. The hindi version is still spelled like the aforesaid. The British gave the name Allahabad and built the Oxford of the East known as the "Allahabad University" which has a huge clock tower that rings its bell that can be heard in the night. The city was known for its plush bungalows and beautiful gardens. The Allahabad High Court is a highly acclaimed court that disposes various prominent cases and thus the city commands the elite brainstorming lawyers with their well established practices. The city of the late Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru and Indira Gandhi. Their palatial mansions are built into museum, also observes a toddler orphanage and planetarium. The city is more or less quite and often called pensioners paradise with many parallel roads and huge buildings like the Office of the Auditor General of India (AG Office) and the Board of Revenue to name a few.  The Airforce Station and Army Station has beautifully established the Cantonment area. The city has a huge population consisting of Anglo-indians, Bengalis, Christians, Muslims and Hindus. Allahabad is treated as the education capital of Uttar Pradesh and has numerous colleges including MONIRBA, Agricultural University etc. The catholic convent schools are St. Marys Convent and St. Josephs School and College. The protestant institutions are Girls High School, Boys High School, Bishop Johnson and Mary Lucas. The city celebrates the major festivals and Durga Puja or the Navaratra is celebrated with great enthusiasm in every nook and corner of the city.

The city has the famous Alfred Park that reminds us of the assassination of Chandrashekhar Azad, the Fort of Akbar that houses the famous Akshayavat tree from the times of the Mahabharata. The Fort is now taken care by the Indian Army. The Minto Park where the famous Queens Proclamation was read during the pre-independance times. The city houses the bungalows of the famous hindi writers and poetess like Prem Chand, Harivansha Rai Bachan, Mahadevi Verma etc. 

The city comes in full light during the period of the Mahakumbh Mela that comes once in twelve years. The mighty ganges flows through the city and creates the sangam with the blue waters of the river yamuna and the saraswati. The Kumbh Mela takes place every year during the December-January and attracts large amount of pilgrimage from the world map.

The city hosts many functions of the Theosophical Society of India of the late freedom fighter Ms. Annie Beasant. I will update you more on this city. This city is like an old pure burmese teak wood furniture found in your antique. You cannot throw it away from your attic but you can always keep it, polish and place it distantly in your memory forever. The city is so British in its outlook and english is definitely the second language of the elite here.

Mirzapur  

The small town is located near the ganges bordering the vindhyachal range. It has a huge population consisting of hindus, muslims, christians, bengalis and foreigners across the globe. Basically called the carpet industry area where huge factories have been established and carpets are exported around Indian and abroad. The vindhyachal devi (goddess) temple is enshrined in the vindhayachal range and a must visit for every hindu.

This quaint town consisting of a major carpet industrial area has given a new culture to the city. On one hand there are people who are rural and on the other hand there are people who are extremely urban and educated. The urban crowd consists of carpet industrialists, government officers, professors, foreigners  doing business in carpets and other raw materials. The city is filled bungalows of colonial architecture and plaush gardens with servants dressed in white attire. Grand parties are hosted in such bungalows and soulful western music is played to entertain the guests. Food is brought from abroad and Delhi, Mumbai to serve the invitees.

Mirzapur has a market place called Wasligunj, locally adapted from the name Lord Wellsley [*] of the pre-independence period. Diwali, Holi, Durga Puja and all other Hindu, Muslim and Christian festivals are celeberated with great fervor. The children of the urban population generally study in schools of metropolitan cities in India or abroad. The local rural population however send their children to the local schools in the town. The famous Chunar Fort of Sher Shah Suri, the Mughal Dynasty is located near Mirzapur and is fun to explore. It is also interesting to note that the colorful Indian pottery is made in Chunar and is known to be an important destination for tourists coming to the State of Uttar Pradesh.The notorious Bandit Queen of India the late Phoolan devi’s constituency was Mirzapur and her funeral pyre was burnt with full homage by guards and wreaths near the ganges.Mirzapur is a city of the ganges and the hindu godess vindhyachal devi and attracts a lot of hindu pilgrimage across india.

 Varanasi (Benares)

Varuna and Asi rivers makes it Varanasi.  Varanasi is acknowledged as the city of ghats. The city is older than the city of Babylon and is filled with lanes and older structures. It has a running population of foreigners close to six lakhs. It has an international airport and attracts tourists from India as well as the world.

The city is famous for the Vishvanath Temple (shiva temple) and the mosque named Gyan Vapi that was built by Aurangzeb, the king from the Mughal Dynasty. History narrates that Aurangzeb had demolished the original Vishvanath Temple and constructed the Mosque with the stones from the temple. However, the temple was again rebuilt by the Hindus. Shringar Gauri is the place near the temple and bordering the mosque where every year hindus gather and present their offerings to the god. It is a tense situation for the local administration often getting succumbed to a law and order situation as the wall of the Mosque is near Shringar Gauri . This is a unique example of Hindu and Muslim architecture and culture.

Vishwanath Gali is the lane approaching the temple. This lane consists of shops selling offerings for god like garlands, sweets, fruits etc., also seen are betel nut sellers, local drinks like bhang and thandai (drink), wooden toys, kachauris sabji (flour breads and curries). The whole building of the temple and the Mosque is a high security area and has armed officers in positions, control rooms, cctv cameras and local spys. It is a treat for the foreigners to visit the temple.

Varanasi commands most of the five star hotels and the hotel industry is at its booming best in this city. Investors around India look for lucrative opportunities in this sector. Music, dance and theatre are seen in big fashion in the Benares circuit. The famous Nagri Natak Mandali (Auditorium) hosts music and dance of renowned artists. Also the Ghats hosts functions near the ganges for artists like Sitara Devi, Girja Devi, the late Bismillah Khan, Birju Maharaj etc to name a few. This city is the home to “Benares Gharana” (house of Varanasi music).  All the music stalwarts across india were mostly born here and excelled thereof.

The age old architecture of Varanasi is beautiful. Houses are mostly overlooking the ganges and have in dependant bathing ghats for the royals. The rich live in enormous mansions inside the lanes and their house entrance still has beautifully ornate “palkis” [*] of their ancestors. It’s a historically rich city and home to many famous people of India. The drawing rooms have white bread spreads and cushions and the ceilings have chandeliers of ancient era. I can bet that each house of old Benares takes you on a journey of history of the then period.

Benares is a city of temples, it has the famous Kaal Bhairav, Sankat Mochan, Durga Kund temples that enshrines the hanuman (god) and durga (goddess) idols. There are numerous temples in every nook and corner of the city.

For you people who are reading this note I would like to highlight the festival called “Dev Dipawali” this is a diwali of hindu gods celebrated quite beautifully in Benares. The ghats are adorned with earthen lamps (diyas), fireworks take place in the sky and the houses in and around the ghats are decorated with diyas. Live classical music is conducted on “bojra” (boat) and food like benares chaat is served on the boats. Tourists sail in the ganges to watch the fireworks, music and eat the freshly cooked food served on the boats.

Benares is close to a place called Sarnath, the place where Lord Buddha gave his first sermon. The place has Buddhist buildings and beautiful gardens. There is a museum also that has the Ashok Sthambh, the national emblem of India.

The city has prominent hindus including bengalis, jains, gujratis, marwaris, muslims, christians and others.  Benares has its ancient Benares Club that is frequently visited by the urban population. The city is mysterious and has a strong influence to the taste of foreigners.

Andaman and Nicobar Islands

Andaman and Nicobar Islands

Port Blair is the capital of Andaman and Nicorbar Islands and airport that connects Kolkata and Chennai. To start with, Andaman and Nicobar has many Islands and Andaman can be divided into North, South and Middle and has many cities and villages that are connected by roads and ferry. Andaman Islands are a place of great adventure and energy. One has to plan the trip accordingly and to note carefully the group of islands can never be finished in a seven day trip. It would need more than that so plan a trip only after a proper research.

Port Blair being the capital is connected to all these cities and villages and has some lovely beaches like Colvin. Port Blair itself has the Peerless Portico Sarovar, Fortune Bay Hotel, Sea Shell and Shompen (named after a famous tribe of Andaman and Nicobar), to name a few.

The main islands for a traveler’s itinerary are the Havelock, Neil, Mayabunder, Ross, Smith, Jolly Boy, Ross and Viper. The Ross and Viper Island are reachable through a ferry. Ross consists of the remnants of the British Settlement and now an Indian Naval Base. It has some lovely remnants of a british bakery, church, water distillation plant, swimming pool, cemetery, clubs etc. It is said that during Tsunami, the island acted as a wall for Port Blair and faced the onslaught of the giant waves.

Viper Island, it has remnants of a jail where the Indians and others were kept in isolation during the pre- independence period by the British. The city of Port Blair has a fisheries and anthropology museum and has some lovely artifacts. Another island is called Chatham which is very near to Port Blair and connects itself through a bridge built by the British. It has now been renovated by the Government of Port Blair. The Chatham Island has an ancient saw mill which is in running condition and has a small museum consisting of wooden artifacts out of the wood from the giant Paduk trees (of the size of 35 to 40 meters), considered to be a high priced wood carved out of the Paduk trees from the deep deciduous forests of the Andaman and Nicobar jungles. These woods are exported to various countries abroad, specifically Burma. There is giant pith inside the compound of the Chatham Saw Mill that was caused by the British bombs on the Japanese occupation of Andaman and Nicobar.

Port Blair has some lovely pearls, coral, shells and artifacts carved out of the wood from Paduk trees and can be carried as a souvenir for the trip. One of the interesting areas around Port Blair is the Jarawa tribal Reserve Forest, especially if one is looking out for serious adventure. The forest is located at Baratung and one has to wake up at three am to reach there on time. On time is the important quotient of the trip, reason being, the convoy of cars and buses opens at six am sharp for entry in the forest and closes at around 4pm. The forest strictly bars photography and videos of jarawa tribes in the forest and any such act invites imprisonment of seven years and a fine. One can see lovely trees, one being the Paduk that is visible to the naked eyes as enormous height of towering amongst the others. Baratung has a jetty and one has to travel in a cargo ferry to reach the other bank. The other bank consists of speed boats that take people to the Stalagmite caverns inside the forests, mangrove trees and a mud volcano. One can also visit the Jarawa village and Mayabunder city that has turtle breeding reserve, pearl culture and Avis Island.

Port Blair is well connected to Havelock Island and can be commuted through cruises both private and government. Havelock Island consists of there beaches Radhanagar beach, Kala Pathar beach and Elephant beach. Havelock Island has the famous Bare foot resort and other cottages where one can unwind and relax. Scooters and cycle is available to commute in and around the island. Foreigners always make it a point to visit this island.

The famous Neil Island is close to Havelock and can be reached by a speed boat. Jolly Buoy island is also nearby and commutation is available.  Jolly Buoy is famous for its various coloured coral reefs.

Port Blair has varied places to visit and a seven days  is not enough to visit. The must visit for Port Blair is the Cellular Jail Museum and its light and sound show that narrates the story of its close to six hundred inmates consisting mostly of the Bengali patriots that fought for the independence of India. The cellular jail was also visited by Shri Subhash Chandra Bose during Japanese occupation of these islands and hosted the country’s national flag.

So visit Andaman Islands for its lovely beaches and history. Nicobar islands are also famous for its various tribals but however they are strictly protected by the government and avoid any public interference. The government offices are there in Nicobar Islands and only the government officials are allowed to enter the same. One must enjoy the great seafood and the beaches. One may choose the crab and lobster for your curries in most local restaurants.

A word of caution, Andaman and Nicobar Islands are surrounded by sea and one must be careful to swim in the beaches. Many saltwater crocodiles surround the mangrove trees and the beaches specially the Radhanagar Beach in Havelock. The mangrove trees are the breeding place of sea animals like crab, lobster, crocodiles. The beaches though have some boards indicating presence of such predators and one must be careful in observing adequate precautions regarding the aforesaid.