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India: Uttar Pradesh: Agra, Mirzapur, Prayagraj, Varanasi

Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh, India: It floors
by Prakash Bang, Editor in Chief

Mirzapur is a sleepy little town just about midway, off the Grand Trunk road that connects Varanasi and Allahabad. The town will easily go unnoticed if you are not from the carpet industry or follower of the famous Goddess Vindhyachal whose temple is in Mirzapur.

On the occasion of Maha Kumbh (earth’s largest congregation of humans, that happens once in 12 years in Allahabad – other towns being Haridwar, Ujjain and Nasik), I was to be in Allahabad. Taking this as an opportunity I decided to combine my visit to Allahabad and Varanasi (I have featured this world’s oldest living town separately).

After spending a night in Varanasi, I shifted my base to Mirzapur that was just about a 90-minute drive from Varanasi. I was hosted by a very close family friend Mr Chandraprakash Gupta, who has his carpet manufacturing unit at Mirzapur. He was kind enough to give me a car at my disposal. It made more sense to camp in Mirzapur than in Allahabad as it was only an hour’s drive from Mirzapur. Moreover, it gave me an opportunity to understand the carpet weaving industry that employs thousands of craftsmen as also some outstanding scenic locations around Mirzapur.

The next morning I had kept aside for trip to Allahabad. The plan was to bathe at Prayag - confluence of the Rivers Ganges, Yamuna and Saraswati (not seen though) and take pictures of the action around. However, thunderstorm limited my movement and picture taking opportunities but did not dampen my spirits to wash my sins with a dip at the Triveni Sangam (meeting point of 3 rivers)! By the time I was back in Mirzapur, it was late in the night.

My day began very early the next morning. It was to witness the sunrise on the banks of River Ganges, walk around town to explore some ancient temples, visit the carpet manufacturing units and a few homes of craftsmen and of course the Wyndham Waterfall. I gave visiting the temple of Goddess Vindhyachal a miss as the lines there were miles long – thanks to the Kumbh Fare.

It saddened me no end to see the lack of maintenance of locations that had these beautiful waterfalls. By adding facilities and adopting some marketing, these locations are sure to attract thousands of tourists to the benefit of locals.

It was a day well spent. Early next morning I drove straight to Varanasi airport to board my flight home.

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