Past Forward: Peek into Purvanchal
During the winters of 1977 my dad planned a trip to the Purvanchal area (eastern most part of the state) of Uttar Pradesh( a state in Northern India). It was a work cum leisure trip. My father was the finance head of the U.P. State Electricity Board. All the power projects in the state came under the ambit of the U.P.S.E.B.. Rihand Hydro Power Project was the biggest in the state. He had to go there for an official tour and after finishing the work had planned to do some sightseeing. He had been to some of these places as a teenager and wanted to relive the memories. Since the school holidays were on, we also accompanied him. I was very excited as I was going to get a chance to see a big dam and the huge power generating turbines. We had a chapter in our school books about big dams in India and Rihand Dam featured prominently in it. However at that time I wasn’t aware of the huge environmental and social costs of such mega projects. These kind of projects were considered beacons of industrialization and modernity.
We boarded the Triveni Express from Allahabad( now Prayagraj) junction railway station in the night and reached a placed called Chopan early in the morning. There was a large contingent of my father’s colleagues on the platform to welcome him. Though he didn’t like such ostentatious behaviour still it happened on his every official visit. From the railway station we were driven to Obra, the township of the Dam employees, which was 20 minutes away. Obra was a usual government township which was clean, green, spacious and well-planned. Living quarters, markets, banks, schools and all other amenities were there to ease the lives of the inhabitants as it was in a remote area of the country. We checked into the guest house and after breakfast Dad left for work and Amma(my mother) was inundated with social visits by the wives of the officers posted there resulting in multiple invitations for breakfasts, lunches and dinners and we somehow managed to oblige everyone by eating lunch/dinner at one place, dessert at another, breakfast at one place and tea at another….phew.
Next day was going to be an exciting day as we were visiting the Rihand Dam. It was an exclusive tour of the dam. We went inside the cavernous underground area where huge turbines were working to produce electricity and the engineers explained everything in detail which I didn’t understand much but was overwhelmed by the sheer scale of operations. There was a hum of activity everywhere and I felt very proud of Afterwards it was time for a boat ride in the dam reservoir. Rihand Dam is constructed across Rihand river which is a tributary of Sone river and the reservoir created by it is one of the largest man-made lakes in the country. This lake is named Govind Ballabh Pant Sagar after the name of the first chief minister of Uttar Pradesh in post-independence India. The lake and its surroundings are very beautiful but sadly this thing of beauty has drowned many villages and acres of forest land and has displaced a huge number of people. Access to electricity has transformed this area into an industrial belt as it is rich in mineral deposits. But unfortunately this has increased the woes of the original inhabitants as they have lost their lands and forests.
One important mineral found here is bauxite. Nearby town of Renukoot houses a huge aluminum factory called HINDALCO. We visited the factory there. It was fascinating to see how bauxite was brought from mines by trains and turned into aluminum and huge sheets of the metal rolled into humungous rolls and loaded onto trucks to be carried across the country. Renukoot was also a calm and quiet and well planned town like Obra and I have vivid memories of dancing peacocks in the temple premises there.
After Dad finished his official commitments we started our journey to Rajdari and Devdari, two spectacular waterfalls, about three hours away from Obra. Rajdari and Devdari are situated in the middle of dense forests and are perfect for a quiet picnic. Rajdari is on the Chandraprabha river and now the whole area is known as Chandraprabha wildlife sanctuary. Rajdari waterfall is a beautiful place and the best time to visit is post monsoon. Devdari waterfall is on Karamnasha river and is situated close by and here the silvery water falls into a deep gorge and the rocks on both sides look like outlines of temples due to erosion hence the name Devdari (place of God). The surrounding forest was full of vines which produced tiny beads of red and black colour. In local parlance these beads are called “Ghunchi” otherwise known as Rosary Pea. I collected lots of these beads. Dad had visited these places in his childhood and was super excited revisiting those memories and explained everything in detail to us like a professional guide. It was nice to see him like this.
After the falls we went to the Latif Shah Bund on the Karamnasha river. It is one of the oldest dams in India completed in 1921. The name of the river means “destroyer of the religious merits”. There is an interesting legend about this river. Sage Vishwamitra did a tough penance and as a result of this he acquired the power of creating a new universe. This news rattled Indra, the king of gods. He tried his best to stop this. Sage Vishwamitra created a new universe and the first person to agree to go there was Trishanku. The sage used his penance power to send Trishanku to the new universe but Indra used his power to stop him from doing so. As a result Trishanku was suspended mid-air upside down and his saliva created the Karamnasha river. It is believed that if you touch its waters you will lose all your good karmas. As a child I totally believed this and was happy to stay away from the river.
In the evening we reached Varanasi which was the nearest big town. There is a lot to do in Varanasi but since my parents had lived in the city earlier for six years they were not interested in sightseeing in the city. However when you are in Varanasi you can’t miss out visiting the iconic Ghaats of the river Ganga ( steps leading to the riverfront) and the Kashi Vishwanath Temple dedicate to Lord Shiva, the presiding deity of the city. The temple is situated in a narrow lane near the Dashashwamedh Ghaat , one of the most famous of the Ganga Ghaats. Recently the whole area has been renovated and the tiny lanes have given way to a wide avenue and the temple compound has become much bigger and better. After the temple and the river we drove straight to Ramnagar Fort which is situated across the river from the city.
Ramnagar Fort used to be the seat of power for the kings of Kashi( ancient name of Varanasi). The present structure was built in 18th century. It is made of red sandstone and the location very scenic. It is located on the eastern bank of the Ganga above the flood level. The erstwhile royal family still lives in the fort and a part of it is open to public. The kings of Kashi were/are revered by the people of Varanasi as an embodiment of divinity as they are considered as the regents of the presiding deity of the city. Traditionally they have been the patrons of the cultural and religious activities in the city. Not many people visit this fort but my Dad wanted us to visit this fort as our clan has a special connection with this place. I belong to the Kayastha community and our forefathers lived in the area in and around Delhi. When Nadir Shah of Persia attacked and looted Delhi and started persecuting people then our Kayastha ancestors fled the city and reached Varanasi where the king of Ramnagar gave them refuge and employment and some precious land on the banks of the Ganga between Varanasi and Allahabad(Prayagraj) which I call as my ancestral village. Our clan will always be indebted to Kashi Naresh ( king of Kashi) for this gesture. Due to this reason my Dad wanted to visit this place and years later I again visited this place with my husband when we came to Varanasi.
This brought to an end to our trip of this part of beautiful Purvanchal (eastern Uttar Pradesh). We boarded a train from Varanasi and were back home in a few hours.
This was just a peek into Purvanchal. There is a lot more to see and do in the region which hopefully I will be able to do in future.