Daraganj

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Daraganj is a prominent suburb and a landmark in the city of Allahabad, India. It is supposed to be the oldest suburb of Allahabad having existed for at least six thousand years. It is an important religious center with hundreds of Hindu temples, such as Dashaswamedh Temple, Veni-Madhav Temple, Naag-Vasuki Temple, Chhote Hanumaanji Temple, and Sri Jagannath Temple. Hindu scriptures provide reference that the Lord Brahma did penance at the Dashaswamedh Temple before creating the entire world. Thus, it is considered inappropriate to skip the visit to Dashaswamedh temple after bathing in the holy river of Ganges at the Daraganj Ghat. Lord Rama, Sita and Lakshmana visited the Veni Madhav Temple during their fourteen year long exile and it was at Daraghanj where "Nishad", the king of boatsmen, helped them cross the Ganges river. Next to Daraganj is the "Alopi Devi Mandir", It is a temple dedicated to "Mother Sati", the wife of Lord Shiva. The story as told in Puranas suggests that the Alopi Temple was the place where the last remains of Mother Sati fell, when Shiva was sadly carrying them around the world. To bring Lord Shiva out of his mourning, Lord Vishnu threw his "Chakra' at the remains causing the remains to drop at various places on the earth. The last piece of the remains dropped at this place. Hence the place came to be known as "Alopi" meaning disappearance (of remains).

Situated on the bank of the river Ganges, Daraganj is very cosmopolitan in the sense that a significant mix of Punjabi, Bengali, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannad and Gujrathi communities, apart from natives thrive within a small area. Set up in a small village setting, Daraganj is a mesh of narrow lanes without any road signs. However, all of these lanes inevitably lead to the main road. This is the last bathing Ghat on the river Ganges before it joins the river Yamuna. The name "Daraganj" is presumably derived from the word "Dharaganj" meaning the place of the stream or current of water. Legend also has an alternative explanation that it is named after "Dara Shikoh", the elder brother of Mughal king Aurangjeb who was subsequnetly killed by Aurangjeb in the power struggle for the throne. Dara Shikoh was known to have studied Hindu Scriptures and translated many of the Upanishads and Puranas into Persian. Presumably, that translation work had taken place at Daraganj.

Daraganj is the home of the well known Hindi poet and writer, Mahakavi "Suryakant Tripathi 'Nirala'" often known by his pen name "Niraala". Initially, Niraala was a native Bengali speaker and writer. When he got married, was encouraged by his non-bengali speaking wife to write in Hindi and to write about the pains of an average man on the street, a job to which Niraala has no other match to compete with even today 45 years after his death. As a memorial to his contributions to Hindi literature, Niraala's statue has been installed at the main market square in Daraganj which now serves as a landmark for visitors and travellers. Daraganj is also home to well known academic statistician Ravindra Khattree who spent his early years in Daraganj. Hindi writer and painter Jagdish Gupt also resided in Daraganj for most of his life.

Daraganj is the reference point for "Magh" fairs, held every year during winter and for "Kumbh" fairs held every twelve years. On these occasions, an entirely new temporary town is created in the vicinity of Daraganj to serve the needs of the millions of pilgrims, with its own postoffice, bridges, police station and public services. During the "Kumbh" fairs Daraganj arguably becomes one of the most densely populated place on earth, when millions of pilgrims live within its small borders in the makeshift tents.

Daraganj has its own railways station with the same name and has another temporary train station known as "Prayagraj" which is functional during "Magh" and "Kumbh" fairs.