Allahabad's Booming Tourism Industry

Allahabad is synonymous with Kumbh Mela, which has been attracting both religious and curious visitors for centuries. Neha Gupta Kapoor reports on how the city is developing

 

- Neha Gupta Kapoor

Our boatman is old. He is wearing a cotton dhoti without a shirt, and has an elongated vermilion mark on his forehead. His ribs are exposed, but his arms have enough strength in them to row us far into the Yamuna river and back to the shore. As he jumps out of the water to push the wooden boat towards the sandy riverbank, young children, not more than ten years old, rush to greet us. They pull out snakes (often seen around Lord Shiva’s neck) from their cane baskets, asking if we would like to donate for the reptiles’ blessings. Some of them speak flawless English, despite never receiving formal education. They’ve picked up the language from the flow of tourists here.

We’re in a hurry. It’s getting dark and the walk back to the parking lot (a roughly allocated area on the sands) is dimly lit by scarce street lights. We take care not to step on cow dung. These animals roam freely and the nearby temple feeds them, because the cow is a holy animal for Hindus, more revered in North India and the North Indian state of Uttar Pradesh (UP), of which Allahabad is the seventh most populous city.

CASH COW

Hindus form 76.03 percent of Allahabad’s population, as per the Allahabad City Census 2011 data; Muslims form 21.94 percent. The city, one of the oldest in India, is ranked high on religious importance by Hindus who visit to pay their respects to or take a dip in Triveni Sangam, which is the confluence of India’s two holy rivers, Ganga and Yamuna, and the mystic Saraswati river. This sacred riverbed is the venue for Kumbh Mela — one of India’s largest riverside congregations of pilgrims, god-men and tourists — held once every 12 years in Allahabad. Nationwide it occurs every three years at four pilgrimage locations: Haridwar, Allahabad (Prayag), Nasik and Ujjain.