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A for Prayagraj: A Short History of Allahabad
In a for prayagraj, a young writer returns to his hometown to reclaim its stories and histories lost to monochrome. As he accompanies the city’s residents a whisky-swigging criminal lawyer to parkour athletes to language coaches, poets, and theatre artists to a closet grindr date—into their cityscapes, the lines between the past and present start to blur. In the br>Chapter ‘mcaloo Tikki in Allahabad’, we dive into the different pools of the city’s pasts. In ‘SA am daam gun bed’ we look at crime, strategies of survival, and the crucible of street law. ‘Bakaiti’ is a guide through the older and newer spaces of the city’s creativity. ‘Apna time aayega’ deals with education and unemployment. ‘Brae for fyaar, br>f se fire’ is a love story, both literary and digital. Part memoir, part reportage, part travelogue, this book renders Allahabad as neither ageing and grey, nor polarized saffron—instead we see a Sangam of contrasts. In one of the oldest living cities in the world, new things have materialized and others have disappeared, but the city endures.
116 pages, Hardcover
Published August 10, 2021
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September 1, 2021
Udbhav Agarwal’s writing is precise, and he knows how to cut to the chase. Udbhav’s Allahabad is of the past (of course), but it belongs to the present in so many ways, and not just as a means of nostalgia but so much more. And then there is the modern-day Prayagraj that one sees and yet doesn’t (thankfully). Who is to say that Allahabad doesn’t exist? Who is to say that people there do not address it yet as Allahabad and not Prayagraj? That’s hardly the point though.
A for Prayagraj brings forth the city through memory, through what is, what was, and its people who leave and return. The book opens with the prologue aptly titled, “Yogi ki Prayagshala” (a pun on Prayogshala) – where Agarwal returns to the city that is now a stranger in so many ways and yet familiar. The name change hasn’t changed the soul of the city. “That, in one of the oldest living cities in the world, things have come, and things have gone. Things have fallen apart. And yet, the city endures.” he writes with emotion that rings throughout the read.
Whether Agarwal is speaking of Holy Waters touring company owned and run by a practical Neelesh Narayan or when he is documenting his search for Upendranath Ashk’s autobiography “Chehre Anek”, or even as he speaks of the parkour boys, who just want a way out, Agarwal brings to fore the Allahabad – the one that is scrambling to accommodate all spaces – the past, the present, and perhaps even an uncertain future.
My most favourite section of the book has to be “F for Fyaar, F se Firaq” – a love story (lust story?) of sorts – somewhere between Grindr and poetry, there is love, with Firaq paving the way, and yet as it happens with most such encounters, it is in vain.
A for Prayagraj is a memoir of growing up in spaces that no longer exist, or some remnants do. It is a travelogue even, one that made me Google all the places Agarwal mentions in the book. It is about the good old days and how they have disappeared or so it seems. Udbhav’s writing makes you think, and feel, and leaves you wondering – it tells you that the personal and the political are the same, it shows you how a city can become a world.
A for Prayagraj brings forth the city through memory, through what is, what was, and its people who leave and return. The book opens with the prologue aptly titled, “Yogi ki Prayagshala” (a pun on Prayogshala) – where Agarwal returns to the city that is now a stranger in so many ways and yet familiar. The name change hasn’t changed the soul of the city. “That, in one of the oldest living cities in the world, things have come, and things have gone. Things have fallen apart. And yet, the city endures.” he writes with emotion that rings throughout the read.
Whether Agarwal is speaking of Holy Waters touring company owned and run by a practical Neelesh Narayan or when he is documenting his search for Upendranath Ashk’s autobiography “Chehre Anek”, or even as he speaks of the parkour boys, who just want a way out, Agarwal brings to fore the Allahabad – the one that is scrambling to accommodate all spaces – the past, the present, and perhaps even an uncertain future.
My most favourite section of the book has to be “F for Fyaar, F se Firaq” – a love story (lust story?) of sorts – somewhere between Grindr and poetry, there is love, with Firaq paving the way, and yet as it happens with most such encounters, it is in vain.
A for Prayagraj is a memoir of growing up in spaces that no longer exist, or some remnants do. It is a travelogue even, one that made me Google all the places Agarwal mentions in the book. It is about the good old days and how they have disappeared or so it seems. Udbhav’s writing makes you think, and feel, and leaves you wondering – it tells you that the personal and the political are the same, it shows you how a city can become a world.
December 24, 2024
The city of Allahabad has captured the imagination of Indian literary giants from time immemorial. Allahabad seems to have survived bigger things than current onslaughts. That, in one of the oldest living cities in the world, things have come, and things have gone. The city has always endured even when things have fallen apart.
Allahabad also stands tall on the cultural legacy of ganga jamuni brotherhood. If Muharram and Dussehra fall on the same day, the Muslims don't lift the bada taziya that year. There are multiple hindu households within muslim neighbourhoods who do not let the Hindu family light a stove if there is a death in the family. And yes contrary to the current atmosphere, the Hindus and Muslims did play Holi together without any vigilante men checking and abusing fellow humans.
I agree that it's impossible to capture the inherent contradictions and nuances of any city in such a short book. Yet, it remains an engaging read or at least a good starter to understand the ethos of this civilisational city.
Allahabad also stands tall on the cultural legacy of ganga jamuni brotherhood. If Muharram and Dussehra fall on the same day, the Muslims don't lift the bada taziya that year. There are multiple hindu households within muslim neighbourhoods who do not let the Hindu family light a stove if there is a death in the family. And yes contrary to the current atmosphere, the Hindus and Muslims did play Holi together without any vigilante men checking and abusing fellow humans.
I agree that it's impossible to capture the inherent contradictions and nuances of any city in such a short book. Yet, it remains an engaging read or at least a good starter to understand the ethos of this civilisational city.
September 1, 2021
'A for Prayagraj: A Short Biography of Allahabad' by Udbhav Agarwal is yet another addition to Aleph's pocket city series. It takes you inside the city of Allahabad (recently renamed Prayagraj), not an academic look into the city but one that is very personal and intimate.
The prologue takes you through a city that is one of the oldest living cities, that has over centuries had kings as well as commoners travel through and also make it their home. The city which is home to the sangam of three holy rivers also symbolic of the confluence of contrasts that the city has always been about. Religion, art, culture, history, the city carries a lot on it's shoulder. But as you go along with Agarwal on this journey, you see a largely fading shadow of all that was in the past and a city hurtling towards an unorganised modernity, in bits and pieces trying to hold on to so much it carries over centuries and maybe also relieved to let go of all that.
Agarwal's is an interesting take on the city, one that is young, modern, intimate as the journey is also one of confronting personal ghosts. So while you will get few facts here and there about the city's past, you will get to see the contradictions of current day Allahabad that come together and survive each other.
A city that is to become a 'smart city' (a Govt. Of India Initiative of tech enabled economic modernisation of Indian Cities) but seems to be so deeply parked in it's age old bureaucracy that a woman can't seem to get her now defunct water supply sorted and is being pushed around desk to desk for over three weeks. One of the biggest religious gatherings, the Kumbh Mela, now a place of commercial and marketing delight, even god worship now comes with multiple modern material comfort. If you have the money and the contacts, worshipping can be a very fulfilling experience.
Filled with multiple discoveries, encounters, facts and anecdotes, Agarwal will introduce you to various facets of Allahabad.
Neelesh who runs the tour company Holy Waters specialising in what the author calls 'Colonial Tourism', e.g. : Rudyard Kipling trail, Chronicles of Alfred Park.
Akshat's work on Khanqah's (a meeting place for sufi gatherings).
LLB Kharbanda who claims "to survive in Allahabad, you had to know the laws of the street, not the court."
Sting reporter also know as Sting-Op Bahal.
Cities rich literary history and search for Upendra Ashk's elusive autobiography 'Chehre Anek' (Faces Aplenty).
An aspiring young population in the internet era, educated but with not many options for jobs. Logo+philia: A Latin Lessons school. The Kydganj boys, parkour artists, who traversed the road from being shamed to finding fame in the local community, still struggling to realise their passions on an international stage.
Agarwal's own Grindr date in Allahabad, coming to terms with his sexuality in a city that never gave him that freedom until he walked away.
All of it ending with the author's final confrontation of a complex relationship with his grandfather. Of realisations and meanings both personal and professional that a city can hold for a person.
Well worth the walk, if you are looking for an interesting, personal and intimate perspective to a city. A convergence of the multitudes of experiences (only some of which I have listed here), past and present and a short, snappy travel.
Thank you Vivek Tejuja and Aleph Books for the review copy. All opinions are my own.
The prologue takes you through a city that is one of the oldest living cities, that has over centuries had kings as well as commoners travel through and also make it their home. The city which is home to the sangam of three holy rivers also symbolic of the confluence of contrasts that the city has always been about. Religion, art, culture, history, the city carries a lot on it's shoulder. But as you go along with Agarwal on this journey, you see a largely fading shadow of all that was in the past and a city hurtling towards an unorganised modernity, in bits and pieces trying to hold on to so much it carries over centuries and maybe also relieved to let go of all that.
Agarwal's is an interesting take on the city, one that is young, modern, intimate as the journey is also one of confronting personal ghosts. So while you will get few facts here and there about the city's past, you will get to see the contradictions of current day Allahabad that come together and survive each other.
A city that is to become a 'smart city' (a Govt. Of India Initiative of tech enabled economic modernisation of Indian Cities) but seems to be so deeply parked in it's age old bureaucracy that a woman can't seem to get her now defunct water supply sorted and is being pushed around desk to desk for over three weeks. One of the biggest religious gatherings, the Kumbh Mela, now a place of commercial and marketing delight, even god worship now comes with multiple modern material comfort. If you have the money and the contacts, worshipping can be a very fulfilling experience.
Filled with multiple discoveries, encounters, facts and anecdotes, Agarwal will introduce you to various facets of Allahabad.
Neelesh who runs the tour company Holy Waters specialising in what the author calls 'Colonial Tourism', e.g. : Rudyard Kipling trail, Chronicles of Alfred Park.
Akshat's work on Khanqah's (a meeting place for sufi gatherings).
LLB Kharbanda who claims "to survive in Allahabad, you had to know the laws of the street, not the court."
Sting reporter also know as Sting-Op Bahal.
Cities rich literary history and search for Upendra Ashk's elusive autobiography 'Chehre Anek' (Faces Aplenty).
An aspiring young population in the internet era, educated but with not many options for jobs. Logo+philia: A Latin Lessons school. The Kydganj boys, parkour artists, who traversed the road from being shamed to finding fame in the local community, still struggling to realise their passions on an international stage.
Agarwal's own Grindr date in Allahabad, coming to terms with his sexuality in a city that never gave him that freedom until he walked away.
All of it ending with the author's final confrontation of a complex relationship with his grandfather. Of realisations and meanings both personal and professional that a city can hold for a person.
Well worth the walk, if you are looking for an interesting, personal and intimate perspective to a city. A convergence of the multitudes of experiences (only some of which I have listed here), past and present and a short, snappy travel.
Thank you Vivek Tejuja and Aleph Books for the review copy. All opinions are my own.
August 28, 2021
Ratings: 3.5/5
Read full review on blog: https://soundingwords.blogspot.com/20...
____________
Books about the cities are my comfort soul reading. A for Prayagraj is a nostalgic portrayal of Allahabad. Udbhav Agarwal knows how to tell a story. Maybe, it’s his writing style, beautiful and clear that makes this biography easily readable, fun and gripping.
I devoured this book, in two long reading sessions and started writing about it immediately. Perhaps, it is an interesting anecdotal look at the old city, ‘Before the city had a name, before it was even a city, it was the place where the rivers met.’
It succeeds in conveying the different pools of city’s pasts, as they appear in the present, mirage-like. Udbhav skillfully takes reader to the streets of his beloved place. He added personal stories to make this biography even more layered.
A young writer decides to return to his hometown to reclaim many facets of his city. He loves Allahabad, and its Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb that clearly transpires while reading the book. He writes about his personal experiences, his curiosity of other writings on Allahabad, as well as his reflections. The very personal touch is given from the beginning where he shares his childhood visit of Kumbh Mela.
Udbhav divides his book into easily separated chapters, so the reader doesn’t lose the charm of reading. Each section focused on theme based setting.
In the first sections, ‘McAloo Tikki in Allahabad’ Udbhav recollected his childhood impressions. He talks about his school and friends and how would look for mentions of the city in their history books. He also mentions Sunday evenings in coffee house where he grew up, and movie days in Gautam talkies. Udbhav certainly awed by the Chowk Ki Holi, it was famous for its booming possessions and rowdy play, and the Chowk masjid delivered the most teeming morning prayers in Allahabad.
In the second section, Udbhav discussed Saam Daam Gun Bed, about crime, strategies of survival, and the crucible of street law. The way author was drawn to Balu Raja’s story not only for details on administrative hierarchies but also for its craftiness.
In another section, titled ‘Baikaiti’ he talks about the ‘Allahabadiyat’ in different intellect personalities. While talking with Dr. Chopra, he brings out many stories of big writers and big politicians, such as Purshottam Das Tandon and Madan Mohan Malviya. They all are full of confidence, kind of fakkadpan and that was magical. Here, Dr. Chopra shares a moment of the time of emergency ‘If Mahadevi Verma and Firaaq Gorakhpuri gave an impromptu speech, people would run across town for them.’
Also, Udbhav showed concerned on the Writings on Allahabad, ‘Perhaps the truest tragedy of the city was the sqandering of its creative persona.’ He spoke about many books including Vimal Chandra Pandey’s Ii Ilahabad Hai Bhaiyaa and Nasira Sharma’s Zero road.
‘Apna Time Ayega’, it is a fourth section of this book. A quick read as it is played on miseducation and joblessness in small cities. ‘If the outsiders were impressed, the insiders wanted to get away.’ This sentence alone makes it all clear. He mentions a most favourite watch here, Tigmanshu Dhulia’s film Haasil, watching this movie is like to have the dirt of Allahabad beneath your fingernails.
And last section ‘F for Fyaar and F se Firaq’ is dedicated to romance. Although the characters revealed in the book are interesting but I feel lost here and there, maybe it is an absence of single compelling narrative.
Udbhav ends this book with an emotion that echoed throughout the journey ‘What is it about this place, a centripetal force that spools you back? After a decade of planned and unplanned returns, I am still not sure. Ye Shehar Kasturi Re…’
It is definitely not a perfect read yet colourful one. Adding to that, it is a good warm-up if you are making a visit to your own hometown. Don’t expect that this short biography will make you aware about the historical aspects of Allahabad. Yet it will leave you yearning to explore more about the city.
Read full review on blog: https://soundingwords.blogspot.com/20...
____________
Books about the cities are my comfort soul reading. A for Prayagraj is a nostalgic portrayal of Allahabad. Udbhav Agarwal knows how to tell a story. Maybe, it’s his writing style, beautiful and clear that makes this biography easily readable, fun and gripping.
I devoured this book, in two long reading sessions and started writing about it immediately. Perhaps, it is an interesting anecdotal look at the old city, ‘Before the city had a name, before it was even a city, it was the place where the rivers met.’
It succeeds in conveying the different pools of city’s pasts, as they appear in the present, mirage-like. Udbhav skillfully takes reader to the streets of his beloved place. He added personal stories to make this biography even more layered.
A young writer decides to return to his hometown to reclaim many facets of his city. He loves Allahabad, and its Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb that clearly transpires while reading the book. He writes about his personal experiences, his curiosity of other writings on Allahabad, as well as his reflections. The very personal touch is given from the beginning where he shares his childhood visit of Kumbh Mela.
Udbhav divides his book into easily separated chapters, so the reader doesn’t lose the charm of reading. Each section focused on theme based setting.
In the first sections, ‘McAloo Tikki in Allahabad’ Udbhav recollected his childhood impressions. He talks about his school and friends and how would look for mentions of the city in their history books. He also mentions Sunday evenings in coffee house where he grew up, and movie days in Gautam talkies. Udbhav certainly awed by the Chowk Ki Holi, it was famous for its booming possessions and rowdy play, and the Chowk masjid delivered the most teeming morning prayers in Allahabad.
In the second section, Udbhav discussed Saam Daam Gun Bed, about crime, strategies of survival, and the crucible of street law. The way author was drawn to Balu Raja’s story not only for details on administrative hierarchies but also for its craftiness.
In another section, titled ‘Baikaiti’ he talks about the ‘Allahabadiyat’ in different intellect personalities. While talking with Dr. Chopra, he brings out many stories of big writers and big politicians, such as Purshottam Das Tandon and Madan Mohan Malviya. They all are full of confidence, kind of fakkadpan and that was magical. Here, Dr. Chopra shares a moment of the time of emergency ‘If Mahadevi Verma and Firaaq Gorakhpuri gave an impromptu speech, people would run across town for them.’
Also, Udbhav showed concerned on the Writings on Allahabad, ‘Perhaps the truest tragedy of the city was the sqandering of its creative persona.’ He spoke about many books including Vimal Chandra Pandey’s Ii Ilahabad Hai Bhaiyaa and Nasira Sharma’s Zero road.
‘Apna Time Ayega’, it is a fourth section of this book. A quick read as it is played on miseducation and joblessness in small cities. ‘If the outsiders were impressed, the insiders wanted to get away.’ This sentence alone makes it all clear. He mentions a most favourite watch here, Tigmanshu Dhulia’s film Haasil, watching this movie is like to have the dirt of Allahabad beneath your fingernails.
And last section ‘F for Fyaar and F se Firaq’ is dedicated to romance. Although the characters revealed in the book are interesting but I feel lost here and there, maybe it is an absence of single compelling narrative.
Udbhav ends this book with an emotion that echoed throughout the journey ‘What is it about this place, a centripetal force that spools you back? After a decade of planned and unplanned returns, I am still not sure. Ye Shehar Kasturi Re…’
It is definitely not a perfect read yet colourful one. Adding to that, it is a good warm-up if you are making a visit to your own hometown. Don’t expect that this short biography will make you aware about the historical aspects of Allahabad. Yet it will leave you yearning to explore more about the city.
September 4, 2021
• A For Prayagraj •
'I am an emigrant of the imagination.'
How does the history of cities become a since? Had it not been for the memories and imaginations, does one thrive in a city with its history scraped off its edges? How does one feel belonged while the memoirs of history are replaced with tokens of the present? Perhaps, these questions are better answered in literature. Or so do I hope, as a reader.
I often think of stories brewing within cities. Of changed names and forgotten histories. Of the borders crafted between present and past. And, how it's the name of our city that spills a part of our stories while we try to heal the wounds of change. Grappling with a sense of belonging to a city and coping up with its present, I don't think there could have been a better book than 'A For Prayagraj' by Udbhav Agarwal.
A For Prayagraj, a memoir, holds space for Allahabad in the most present sense. It's more of seeking the past to make sense of the present. It takes you into the heart of Allahabad with its shifting histories and changed names. While I was reading the book, I felt I was an observer, a traveler of Udbhav's imagination. And, that speaks volumes about his brilliant writing. There was this strong whiff of nostalgia in his writing that hooked me till the very last page.
I felt like I was in the alleyways of Allahabad noticing its details and listening to its memories. While conversing with people armed and disarmed by the history and realities of Allahabad, while searching for clues of past in places, Udbhav has weaved an alive piece of work. Dhruv, constructing a home for students in English, Neelesh abandoning Allahabad and re-claiming it with his dreams and touring company, Holy Waters, Balu confronting power strongly and every other character added up to make a voice for Allahabad. As is said in the book, "We tell stories to assemble our cities."
I admired the movement of literature, the poems, and the anecdotes. It tells me how stories are blossoms with a whiff of vitality. And, I smiled at the mention of a Holi on Friday. The respect that was once there for the sacredness of each being, I struggle to find it now.
All in all, within 99 pages or so, Udbhav posed so many important questions including the ones on belief and faith. It's as if he rearranged the piles of books and wiped the dust that has been settling on the borders of past and present. Throughout this book, I felt how well Udbhav noticed the details that lay in the crevices of a city.
Quoting him, "The city endures.''
And, I feel like adding in our recollections and memories, in our very being.
'I am an emigrant of the imagination.'
How does the history of cities become a since? Had it not been for the memories and imaginations, does one thrive in a city with its history scraped off its edges? How does one feel belonged while the memoirs of history are replaced with tokens of the present? Perhaps, these questions are better answered in literature. Or so do I hope, as a reader.
I often think of stories brewing within cities. Of changed names and forgotten histories. Of the borders crafted between present and past. And, how it's the name of our city that spills a part of our stories while we try to heal the wounds of change. Grappling with a sense of belonging to a city and coping up with its present, I don't think there could have been a better book than 'A For Prayagraj' by Udbhav Agarwal.
A For Prayagraj, a memoir, holds space for Allahabad in the most present sense. It's more of seeking the past to make sense of the present. It takes you into the heart of Allahabad with its shifting histories and changed names. While I was reading the book, I felt I was an observer, a traveler of Udbhav's imagination. And, that speaks volumes about his brilliant writing. There was this strong whiff of nostalgia in his writing that hooked me till the very last page.
I felt like I was in the alleyways of Allahabad noticing its details and listening to its memories. While conversing with people armed and disarmed by the history and realities of Allahabad, while searching for clues of past in places, Udbhav has weaved an alive piece of work. Dhruv, constructing a home for students in English, Neelesh abandoning Allahabad and re-claiming it with his dreams and touring company, Holy Waters, Balu confronting power strongly and every other character added up to make a voice for Allahabad. As is said in the book, "We tell stories to assemble our cities."
I admired the movement of literature, the poems, and the anecdotes. It tells me how stories are blossoms with a whiff of vitality. And, I smiled at the mention of a Holi on Friday. The respect that was once there for the sacredness of each being, I struggle to find it now.
All in all, within 99 pages or so, Udbhav posed so many important questions including the ones on belief and faith. It's as if he rearranged the piles of books and wiped the dust that has been settling on the borders of past and present. Throughout this book, I felt how well Udbhav noticed the details that lay in the crevices of a city.
Quoting him, "The city endures.''
And, I feel like adding in our recollections and memories, in our very being.
February 15, 2025
Reading your classmate's work is always an exciting proposition. Udbhav's book is a great attempt at quantifying the vibrant city life of Allahabad. A nice quick read with some profound moments around themes of death and discovery of self. Hoping to read many more of his works
December 27, 2022
"a tale of a city is the meeting of stories." Udhav paints a picture of allahabad with memories of his childhood and juxtaposes them with his observations of Prayagraj today as a researcher. a fun light read!
February 12, 2024
Aspects of Allahabad that I would have never known if I didn't come across this book
February 7, 2025
Imagine visiting Khumb for the first time and then picking up this book to read. Story line is completely unimpressive. There is hardly any history. The author just gets his wokeness mixed up with political correctness, making the narrative feel forced rather than organic. Instead of immersing the reader in the rich cultural and historical essence of Khumb, the book fixates on modern ideological debates that feel out of place. The characters lack depth, and their interactions seem contrived, as if they exist solely to push a message rather than to tell a compelling story.
September 4, 2021
A for Prayagraj is Udbhav Agarwal’s first book and as for any first time writer, tackling many ideas and thoughts in a precise biography are difficult. However, Udbhav takes you to the city through his memories and the conversations he has with its many residents – who may or may not address it as Allahabad or for that matter Prayagraj – in a very concise and lucid manner. A city where three rivers (including the Saraswati) meet needs no introduction. In realizing this, Udhbhav directly jumps into the stories that tell a first-hand account of the city!
First things first, the book is a slim work (100 pages) and a perfect partner with tea during an afternoon or a breezy evening. You could also read this on a cold morning if you are sitting at a halwai shop in Chowk. The book begins with the prologue “Yogi ki Prayagshala”, an obvious pun on prayogshala. Here he talks about how the city has changed but also realizes that it is difficult to describe the place one is from (quotes Ryszard Capuscinski’s essay “The Snow in Ghana”). The book is a collection of small stories and anecdotes and every chapter unsurprisingly has a very beautiful ending brimming with hope – Upendranath Ashk’s grandson Shwetabh finally calling on Udbhav in Bakaiti when he is documenting his search for Ashk’s autobiography “Chehre Anek” and is unable to find it (he eventually does with the help of Shwetabh), that every individual has a way to get things done and that “even the powerful pull down their zippers to piss” in Saam Dam Gun Bhed and how one the oldest living cities in the world endures even after a lot of changes in the prologue YKP
Udbhav talks about the city’s past and its image in the present in one of the chapters while another chapter is on crime, survival, and street law. My favorite section though is the chapter “Apna Time Ayega” where he talks about miseducation and joblessness and a company Logo+philia run by Dhruv Raj Sharma, a Latinist in Allahabad whose aim is to revolutionize the study of English using etymology. As a quizzer, I have always wondered where words came from and I think learning etymology is the best way to do that. Dhruv’s story is a story of hope and how a “chota shehar” attracts outsiders while insiders who may want to leave (and return)! Before the epilogues, Udbhav beautifully ends the book with a chapter “F fir Fyaar, F se Firaq” – a love story of sorts interspersed with poetry couplets (which I am trying to learn and remember) and a mention of the dating app Grindr in Allahabad (not though since it is more about presenting the reality of the city than any other story). The last two chapters are very personal in nature and it is only fair that the reader gets an insight into the author
Borrowing the description from the book, A for Prayagraj is part memoir, part reportage, part travelogue. It is not the story of Allahabad more than it is a story of its peoples. The city has rebranded, changed even but Udbhav tried to focus on Allahabad more than Prayagraj – in a way even if the stories are contemporary. The author brings to the fore a city where certain elements have disappeared, certain spaces and remnants that exist, different mindsets, thought processes and most importantly hope.
Udbhav’s writing is beautiful, simple and unputdownable. Please pick up this book and read about our shehar kasturi (Allahabad or Prayagraj – I’d rather not choose)
First things first, the book is a slim work (100 pages) and a perfect partner with tea during an afternoon or a breezy evening. You could also read this on a cold morning if you are sitting at a halwai shop in Chowk. The book begins with the prologue “Yogi ki Prayagshala”, an obvious pun on prayogshala. Here he talks about how the city has changed but also realizes that it is difficult to describe the place one is from (quotes Ryszard Capuscinski’s essay “The Snow in Ghana”). The book is a collection of small stories and anecdotes and every chapter unsurprisingly has a very beautiful ending brimming with hope – Upendranath Ashk’s grandson Shwetabh finally calling on Udbhav in Bakaiti when he is documenting his search for Ashk’s autobiography “Chehre Anek” and is unable to find it (he eventually does with the help of Shwetabh), that every individual has a way to get things done and that “even the powerful pull down their zippers to piss” in Saam Dam Gun Bhed and how one the oldest living cities in the world endures even after a lot of changes in the prologue YKP
Udbhav talks about the city’s past and its image in the present in one of the chapters while another chapter is on crime, survival, and street law. My favorite section though is the chapter “Apna Time Ayega” where he talks about miseducation and joblessness and a company Logo+philia run by Dhruv Raj Sharma, a Latinist in Allahabad whose aim is to revolutionize the study of English using etymology. As a quizzer, I have always wondered where words came from and I think learning etymology is the best way to do that. Dhruv’s story is a story of hope and how a “chota shehar” attracts outsiders while insiders who may want to leave (and return)! Before the epilogues, Udbhav beautifully ends the book with a chapter “F fir Fyaar, F se Firaq” – a love story of sorts interspersed with poetry couplets (which I am trying to learn and remember) and a mention of the dating app Grindr in Allahabad (not though since it is more about presenting the reality of the city than any other story). The last two chapters are very personal in nature and it is only fair that the reader gets an insight into the author
Borrowing the description from the book, A for Prayagraj is part memoir, part reportage, part travelogue. It is not the story of Allahabad more than it is a story of its peoples. The city has rebranded, changed even but Udbhav tried to focus on Allahabad more than Prayagraj – in a way even if the stories are contemporary. The author brings to the fore a city where certain elements have disappeared, certain spaces and remnants that exist, different mindsets, thought processes and most importantly hope.
Udbhav’s writing is beautiful, simple and unputdownable. Please pick up this book and read about our shehar kasturi (Allahabad or Prayagraj – I’d rather not choose)
August 29, 2021
Disclaimer: I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
“We always carry it to foreign countries, all over the world, to other people, and it is the key of our pride and our powerlessness. We know its configuration, but there is no way to make it accessible to others. We’ll never get it right, even when we really want to. Something, the most important thing, the most significant thing, will remain unsaid.” - Ryszard Kapuściński
Udbhav’s book, part-memoir, part-travelogue, is an exploration of the city of Allahabad (now Prayagraj). Covering a year of his life, it is an attempt to construct a story of the city. Spread across 5 short chapters, the book is a quick read at around 110 pages. The five chapters run the gamut - from the urbanization of the city that stands in contrast to its deteriorating past, the unwritten but accepted ‘street-laws’ that pit politicians, civilians, and local dons against each other, to stories of youngsters daring to carve their own form of escapism within the confines of the city, and finally, and a chapter on the prospect of a romance through a Grindr date.
Each city is a palimpsest. Palimpsests derive their existence from the ability to superimpose the present upon the past, without erasing it. But what do you do when someone’s attempts to write the present come at the cost of re-writing the city’s past? How do you hold on to the past of the city? How does history, written by victors mostly, stand up to the scrutiny of a willful erasure?
Udbhav has attempted to touch many threads in the book. Threads that are too open-ended to be tied within a 100-page narrative. Issues surrounding the state of disrepair of civic facilities, the dying of public spaces, the wealth of indigenous literature that is yet to make its way outside the city, the tension between global aspirations and local opportunities, and with increased moral-policing, attempts to express love within the same dying public spaces.
What this book does really well is present a complicated image of the city, impossible to summarize in a word or nugget. Filled with irony, a bevy of characters, contradictions, and observations, it makes the city seem like a stage where the characters keep switching in-and-out, based on the sway of time. The more forceful ones leave an impact whereas most tend to drift away, “connecting to something far bigger than ourselves, in this place where people have been performing rituals for so long” (as mentioned in the book).
But with a lot left unsaid, I also wonder what my takeaway is. After reading the book, I know a little about many things of the city but I wish I could have known a lot more about something in particular, even about the author himself, who keeps drifting in-and-out of the narrative. I understand it’s a tough ask. And he does a great job of telling the stories without projecting his own beliefs onto the reader but I can’t help but feel curious about the characters that are featured within. What happened to the Pandit who regaled on-goers with his stories? The local don who took on the arrogant DM? The parkour-ing boys who continue to experience a mix of appreciation and criticism for their escapism? As Udbhav writes himself, “The stories remain unfinished”...
“We always carry it to foreign countries, all over the world, to other people, and it is the key of our pride and our powerlessness. We know its configuration, but there is no way to make it accessible to others. We’ll never get it right, even when we really want to. Something, the most important thing, the most significant thing, will remain unsaid.” - Ryszard Kapuściński
Udbhav’s book, part-memoir, part-travelogue, is an exploration of the city of Allahabad (now Prayagraj). Covering a year of his life, it is an attempt to construct a story of the city. Spread across 5 short chapters, the book is a quick read at around 110 pages. The five chapters run the gamut - from the urbanization of the city that stands in contrast to its deteriorating past, the unwritten but accepted ‘street-laws’ that pit politicians, civilians, and local dons against each other, to stories of youngsters daring to carve their own form of escapism within the confines of the city, and finally, and a chapter on the prospect of a romance through a Grindr date.
Each city is a palimpsest. Palimpsests derive their existence from the ability to superimpose the present upon the past, without erasing it. But what do you do when someone’s attempts to write the present come at the cost of re-writing the city’s past? How do you hold on to the past of the city? How does history, written by victors mostly, stand up to the scrutiny of a willful erasure?
Udbhav has attempted to touch many threads in the book. Threads that are too open-ended to be tied within a 100-page narrative. Issues surrounding the state of disrepair of civic facilities, the dying of public spaces, the wealth of indigenous literature that is yet to make its way outside the city, the tension between global aspirations and local opportunities, and with increased moral-policing, attempts to express love within the same dying public spaces.
What this book does really well is present a complicated image of the city, impossible to summarize in a word or nugget. Filled with irony, a bevy of characters, contradictions, and observations, it makes the city seem like a stage where the characters keep switching in-and-out, based on the sway of time. The more forceful ones leave an impact whereas most tend to drift away, “connecting to something far bigger than ourselves, in this place where people have been performing rituals for so long” (as mentioned in the book).
But with a lot left unsaid, I also wonder what my takeaway is. After reading the book, I know a little about many things of the city but I wish I could have known a lot more about something in particular, even about the author himself, who keeps drifting in-and-out of the narrative. I understand it’s a tough ask. And he does a great job of telling the stories without projecting his own beliefs onto the reader but I can’t help but feel curious about the characters that are featured within. What happened to the Pandit who regaled on-goers with his stories? The local don who took on the arrogant DM? The parkour-ing boys who continue to experience a mix of appreciation and criticism for their escapism? As Udbhav writes himself, “The stories remain unfinished”...
September 4, 2021
A for Prayagraj: A Short Biography of Allahabad is the latest addition to the much loved “City Series” published by Aleph Publications. Written by Udbhav Agarwal who is a PhD Candidate in Political Science at John Hopkins University, this book is a collection of vivid & diverse experiences that the author had while conversing with locals and comparing it with how he remembers the city as since he left at the age of thirteen to study in a different city. As it says in the book that being a ‘small city’ everyone living here believes that “big things” are happening elsewhere & they need to chase that while for people coming from villages, big things are happening in Allahabad. Going through this continuous loop we get to read the different aspects of a city which remains despite all the political propaganda.
Being from Allahabad and always identifying as a quintessential Illahabadi, this book has rather been a journey through my life than just a simple read. Apart from the prologue, epilogue, acknowledgements & note, the book is divided into five chapters each with a unique title which introduces us to a part of the soul of the city. Navigating through what the author perceives the city as along with rediscovering it through the eyes of his interviewees, each chapter has a cluster of mini stories each different in their own way. From the story of Holy Waters, a company trying to bring out the hidden gems of Allahabad to what the much-famed authors like Arvind Krishna Mehrotra and Neelum Saran Gour had to say, and then there’s ofcourse the mention of a ‘Bahubali’ politician like Atiq Ahmad or how the Queer ‘dating’ scene is in here. Every single one of these narratives perfectly describes what Allahabad is, its not a monolithic entity which can be contained in a box but it’s more like the masala conatiner that one can see in any Indian household which has a collection of different spices and while each of them have their own distinct flavors, when mixed they come up with a different taste altogether.
This city is so intertwined with my being that whenever I read the title of any chapter, I was already hoping about what should be included in it and almost all the times, it did. I know many of the interviewees and their work and I love that it has been included so intricately with the whole narrative. Being a Queer Illahabadi trying to make things better in the city for the community with @raqs since last 3-4 years, I’ll have to specially mention the last chapter ‘F for Fyaar, F se Firaq’ for it being able to move me unexpectantly. This book is a remembrance as well as commentary on how even with the whole divisive politics which aims at othering citizens, by believing that changing names of cities (which nobody asked for) will indeed take away Illahabadiyat from the citizens, in fact it is actually a failed attempt to hide their intellectual bankruptcy. In case I haven’t been able to explain how much I love this book, I’ll just say that it made me revisit all these beautiful places in Allahabad that you can see in the post (link given below) and believe for a better tomorrow for every single one of us.
Click here to check my Insta Post
August 30, 2021
This book was a quick read for me. I requested a copy because I was hooked by the premise – part memoir, part reportage and part travelogue. I guess what I was expecting was to see Allahabad through the author’s eyes. The book opens with immense promise – an explanation for the name of the city, a brief history through the decades until the point the author leaves his hometown. This is the build up to the main action of him returning to take in the various changes that the city has undergone. It was also interesting to me that he meant to study this change academically as a doctoral student of sociology.
Having read this fantastic introduction, I jumped into the first of the five short chapters that outline his story. This I enjoyed too – the idea that the examination of a city was broken down into its various facets – political/administrative, law of the land, cultural fabric, education and employment, and romance and intimacy. The sections I enjoyed most were the ones on culture (Bakaiti), and education and employment (Apna Time Ayega). I found these parts resonated closely with the larger youth of our nation and the state of art/creativity we see on its last legs in most parts of India. The first two chapters also shared a decent insight into the local politics of the city/UP in general but the last chapter on intimacy (F for Fyaar, F se Firaq) felt a bit too rushed and skimmed over for me.
Overall, my expectations were set high at the beginning (and I truly lapped up that intro) but were left gradually unmet during the course of each short exploration. I would’ve liked each topic to be explored in greater detail and be personalized more. Although this is marketed as part reportage, it is also part-memoir and unfortunately, I got to know very little about the author himself. Moreover, I was all set to see the Allahabad of Udbhav’s childhood and youth but got a somewhat generalized overview of it all. The information presented on the city wasn’t new or unique to me. In fact, it might work for someone who is far removed from the Indian context and has no background at all about us as a people. But, for someone like me, Indian and starting from a small town myself to seeing it grow to one of the largest metropolises today, I’m already aware of the ambition and pain points of such a transition.
The language and tone of the book is easy and makes for a quick read, but it also felt detached in places, so I was left wanting a more intimate story. In my opinion, in trying to do too many things – reportage, travelogue, memoir – the book lacks delivering a single style strongly.
I would, however, recommend this to anyone who would like a general feel for Allahabad and nothing beyond. This book was okay for me, but the idea has great scope for expansion.
I received a reviewer copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Having read this fantastic introduction, I jumped into the first of the five short chapters that outline his story. This I enjoyed too – the idea that the examination of a city was broken down into its various facets – political/administrative, law of the land, cultural fabric, education and employment, and romance and intimacy. The sections I enjoyed most were the ones on culture (Bakaiti), and education and employment (Apna Time Ayega). I found these parts resonated closely with the larger youth of our nation and the state of art/creativity we see on its last legs in most parts of India. The first two chapters also shared a decent insight into the local politics of the city/UP in general but the last chapter on intimacy (F for Fyaar, F se Firaq) felt a bit too rushed and skimmed over for me.
Overall, my expectations were set high at the beginning (and I truly lapped up that intro) but were left gradually unmet during the course of each short exploration. I would’ve liked each topic to be explored in greater detail and be personalized more. Although this is marketed as part reportage, it is also part-memoir and unfortunately, I got to know very little about the author himself. Moreover, I was all set to see the Allahabad of Udbhav’s childhood and youth but got a somewhat generalized overview of it all. The information presented on the city wasn’t new or unique to me. In fact, it might work for someone who is far removed from the Indian context and has no background at all about us as a people. But, for someone like me, Indian and starting from a small town myself to seeing it grow to one of the largest metropolises today, I’m already aware of the ambition and pain points of such a transition.
The language and tone of the book is easy and makes for a quick read, but it also felt detached in places, so I was left wanting a more intimate story. In my opinion, in trying to do too many things – reportage, travelogue, memoir – the book lacks delivering a single style strongly.
I would, however, recommend this to anyone who would like a general feel for Allahabad and nothing beyond. This book was okay for me, but the idea has great scope for expansion.
I received a reviewer copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
October 21, 2021
Jessica Rudes defines a memoir as More focused than an autobiography; a memoir is an intimate look at a moment in time. Also, a memoir is a narrative, written from the author’s perspective, about an essential part of their life. It’s often conflated with autobiography, but there are a few important differences. An autobiography is also written from the author’s perspective, but the narrative spans their entire life. In contrast, memoir authors choose a pivotal moment in their lives and try to recreate the event through story-telling. The author’s feelings and assumptions are central to the narrative.
Udbhav Agarwal’s A FOR PRAYAGRAJ: A SHORT BIOGRAPHY OF ALLAHABAD is a memoir collecting experiences that the author had while conversing with locals and comparing it with how he remembers the city. These conversations happen on one of the important points as the changes the city has been seeing. Here, the narrator co-relates his memories with the town before leaving to another place many years ago.
The urbanisation that has been happening for some years in the country in a way has totally changed the fabric of the country’s own flavour, be it in terms of looks and feel or the food habits. The once known villages, towns, 2-tier and 3-tier cities have undergone a drastic change. The upholdings and the businesses in and around the places are almost similar to the urban cities. The ever happening changes somewhere in the minds and hearts of the people do make an impact, probably in an unhappy manner. This can be felt by an older adult or a person who has lived in a place for a long time. There are many instances where the changes were welcomed and unwelcomed by the commoners of the place.
In this book, debut writer Udbhav gives an account of the then city Allahabad and now Prayagaraj! A for Prayagraj brings forth the city through a memory ride. It all talks about the past glory and how it’s now and what are the changes the city has gone through. It also talks about whether people will stay or go away. How were the people, and how are they now. The prologue is interesting as it talks about the present times.
Written in a simple yet elegant language, the book flows as easy as the mighty rivers of Ganga and Yamuna. The narration of the book also looks like a travelogue that has many details and information. With an endearing story-telling, Agarwal takes his readers onto a great roller-coaster of emotions, politics, social changes and the future of the city.
Udbhav Agarwal’s A FOR PRAYAGRAJ: A SHORT BIOGRAPHY OF ALLAHABAD is a memoir collecting experiences that the author had while conversing with locals and comparing it with how he remembers the city. These conversations happen on one of the important points as the changes the city has been seeing. Here, the narrator co-relates his memories with the town before leaving to another place many years ago.
The urbanisation that has been happening for some years in the country in a way has totally changed the fabric of the country’s own flavour, be it in terms of looks and feel or the food habits. The once known villages, towns, 2-tier and 3-tier cities have undergone a drastic change. The upholdings and the businesses in and around the places are almost similar to the urban cities. The ever happening changes somewhere in the minds and hearts of the people do make an impact, probably in an unhappy manner. This can be felt by an older adult or a person who has lived in a place for a long time. There are many instances where the changes were welcomed and unwelcomed by the commoners of the place.
In this book, debut writer Udbhav gives an account of the then city Allahabad and now Prayagaraj! A for Prayagraj brings forth the city through a memory ride. It all talks about the past glory and how it’s now and what are the changes the city has gone through. It also talks about whether people will stay or go away. How were the people, and how are they now. The prologue is interesting as it talks about the present times.
Written in a simple yet elegant language, the book flows as easy as the mighty rivers of Ganga and Yamuna. The narration of the book also looks like a travelogue that has many details and information. With an endearing story-telling, Agarwal takes his readers onto a great roller-coaster of emotions, politics, social changes and the future of the city.
September 3, 2022
3.5/5
There have been many books written about many cities. I'm currently in the process of reading one about New York. People describe these books as " a love letter to so-and-so". I reject that particular trope for 'A For Prayagraj'. This isn't a love letter - this is a reality check, an exposé, if you will, but in the best way possible. It's a man rediscovering his home town that he left as a freshly minted teenager.
The freshly minted teenager went to boarding school, then University, then a foreign University, then came back to this town and did an analysis. He walked around, he explored the underbelly, he had tête-à-têtes with publishers, professors, chai walas, criminal lawyers, parkour artists, and so many more. I'd like to embark on a cliché here, and say that by talking to the multi-faceted residents of Allahabad, he rediscovered the very soul of the city.
Of course, it wasn't just the seedy grime that people associate Allahabad with, that the author shows. The final chapter looks at an aspect that is yet to permeate the minds of most of the authors of love letters to city so-and-so - that of the ways in which the modern day queer community co-exists with the scent of conservatism. I say co-exist, because (as emerges from the anecdotes the author collected from some very real people) while there are the bulges in the pants, the canoodling in the corner, the discreet brushes of hands while in a restaurant, there are also the sideway glances, the shivers of fear, the bribes, the eyes feigning ignorance - and, of course, the shame. One queer person talked about how he found the liberation to be gay in Delhi - a metropolis - far away not just from family & friends, but also the regression and shame that is in the very air of Allahabad.
Throughout the book, there is this constant juxtaposition of modernity with identity, everywhere. The city is trying to move forward, catch up with the rest of the 'modern' world (aka capitalist Western ideas of development), while also painting itself saffron and holding on with dear life, to its ages old traditions. Not many cities struggle with that. But then, not many cities embody sangam - not just in rivers, but in spirit.
There have been many books written about many cities. I'm currently in the process of reading one about New York. People describe these books as " a love letter to so-and-so". I reject that particular trope for 'A For Prayagraj'. This isn't a love letter - this is a reality check, an exposé, if you will, but in the best way possible. It's a man rediscovering his home town that he left as a freshly minted teenager.
The freshly minted teenager went to boarding school, then University, then a foreign University, then came back to this town and did an analysis. He walked around, he explored the underbelly, he had tête-à-têtes with publishers, professors, chai walas, criminal lawyers, parkour artists, and so many more. I'd like to embark on a cliché here, and say that by talking to the multi-faceted residents of Allahabad, he rediscovered the very soul of the city.
Of course, it wasn't just the seedy grime that people associate Allahabad with, that the author shows. The final chapter looks at an aspect that is yet to permeate the minds of most of the authors of love letters to city so-and-so - that of the ways in which the modern day queer community co-exists with the scent of conservatism. I say co-exist, because (as emerges from the anecdotes the author collected from some very real people) while there are the bulges in the pants, the canoodling in the corner, the discreet brushes of hands while in a restaurant, there are also the sideway glances, the shivers of fear, the bribes, the eyes feigning ignorance - and, of course, the shame. One queer person talked about how he found the liberation to be gay in Delhi - a metropolis - far away not just from family & friends, but also the regression and shame that is in the very air of Allahabad.
Throughout the book, there is this constant juxtaposition of modernity with identity, everywhere. The city is trying to move forward, catch up with the rest of the 'modern' world (aka capitalist Western ideas of development), while also painting itself saffron and holding on with dear life, to its ages old traditions. Not many cities struggle with that. But then, not many cities embody sangam - not just in rivers, but in spirit.
September 1, 2021
When someone questions me where I am from, my chest puffs with pride as I describe the beauty of my city. But the choicest of words fall short to describe the true essence of where I belong. The smells, the sights, and the flavors which assault the senses remain a memory & are hard to translate into words.
In this part memoir, part reportage, part travelogue, Agarwal attempts to do just that. Being one of the insiders who got away, he sets out on a journey to discover the factor which impresses the outsiders. A place he called home, the gullies of which have played a part in molding him, is the object of his ramblings within these pages. He had parted ways with his city called Allahabad returning to what is now renamed Prayagraj, and realizes it is a path of self-discovery and revelations.
Agarwal transcends the tunnel of time - of now and then & discovers Prayagraj is an amalgam of the old and the new. Through conversations with power players who shape the economy & the culture scene, he paints a picture of Prayagraj which has a live beating heart, sometimes pumping fast in leaps & bounds, but other times staggering & falling. The street artists, the libraries crammed with local authors, the printing presses churning out indigenous talent, the politicians playing dirty to meet their own ends -through their stories, an artwork of immense proportions takes shape to highlight the gem of a city called Prayagraj.
The last chapter which contained a lot of soul-baring is moving and the confessions are gutsy & revealing. Hats off to the author for including such a personal experience that had a finger on the pulse of the dating scene through personal revelations.
The whole experience of reading this book felt like taking a flight to Prayagraj, visiting the beautiful rivers, the Kumbh Mela, sampling the local flavors, discovering the history of buildings, getting the dirt of Illahabad under my fingernails, & learning how it feels to be a Illahabadi. Not for the first time, I felt like I went on a trip and returned with a truckload of memories, sitting in one place.
February 26, 2025
Allahabad is/was my parents and my grandparents hometown and mine for a few years, a place we still speak about and visit and that I lived in as a child for a few years. Given that, I couldn’t help but be disappointed with the book.
Maybe this is the sense of the city for the author but in no way is this a book on the city in a meaningful sense. Who lived here, why it mattered, the histories it holds, the places of interest, the schools, the writers, the lawyers, the famous alumni, there is just so much more to the city, none of which is covered. I know the city and I was nonplussed. Of course the decline is crucial to document, but that decline has to be in some context. The writing isn’t bad, but it tries too hard, it’s tough to keep up with what the point being made is - some randomly put together stories and another Aleph city book which failed to charm.
Maybe this is the sense of the city for the author but in no way is this a book on the city in a meaningful sense. Who lived here, why it mattered, the histories it holds, the places of interest, the schools, the writers, the lawyers, the famous alumni, there is just so much more to the city, none of which is covered. I know the city and I was nonplussed. Of course the decline is crucial to document, but that decline has to be in some context. The writing isn’t bad, but it tries too hard, it’s tough to keep up with what the point being made is - some randomly put together stories and another Aleph city book which failed to charm.
February 23, 2025
A lot of the narration is so bizarre and random sometimes you have to read and re-read those parts multiple times to understand what exactly it’s trying to convey and what exactly it is doing in this book!? 😂
What I thought would be a balanced, unbiased book, turned out to be such a biased, left leaning, unnecessarily preachy, condescending narrative.
I think Aleph Book Company is Rupa’s attempt to please the left ecosystem, and books under this banner should be read keeping that perspective in mind. Similar to what Juggernaut books used to do, this banner caters to left and far left audiences. Don’t expect any kind of neutrality or balanced approach.
Enjoy the book if you’re left & ultra left leaning.
Cheers!
What I thought would be a balanced, unbiased book, turned out to be such a biased, left leaning, unnecessarily preachy, condescending narrative.
I think Aleph Book Company is Rupa’s attempt to please the left ecosystem, and books under this banner should be read keeping that perspective in mind. Similar to what Juggernaut books used to do, this banner caters to left and far left audiences. Don’t expect any kind of neutrality or balanced approach.
Enjoy the book if you’re left & ultra left leaning.
Cheers!
May 7, 2023
"The more I had gotten to know, the more there was to discover".
I have always been drawn to cities with a unique history, and Allahabad fits that checklist perfectly.
"A for Prayagraj" is a captivating and insightful account of Allahabad's rich history and culture.
The author's storytelling, which features a lot of personal experiences and stories that offer a unique perspective on the city. The book transitions between past and present, highlighting the diverse communities and hidden treasures of Allahabad.
While some stories could benefit from more detailed descriptions, the book is an overall enjoyable read!
I have always been drawn to cities with a unique history, and Allahabad fits that checklist perfectly.
"A for Prayagraj" is a captivating and insightful account of Allahabad's rich history and culture.
The author's storytelling, which features a lot of personal experiences and stories that offer a unique perspective on the city. The book transitions between past and present, highlighting the diverse communities and hidden treasures of Allahabad.
While some stories could benefit from more detailed descriptions, the book is an overall enjoyable read!
February 21, 2022
Like many books I eventually end up liking, sometimes on the second read - which I don't often do, I like this book not just for what it was supposed to write but what it ended up writing in spite of it. Towards the end the book becomes very lyrical and hastened. It felt like on those good short train journeys. Comfortable, pleasant, and enriching.
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